FOX has announced the panel of judges for the new reality show ‘On The Lot’, the brainchild of producer Mark Burnett and uber-director Steven Spielberg.

From the official site:

Actress, author and screenwriter Carrie Fisher (”Star Wars,” “Postcards From The Edge”), as well as directors/producers Brett Ratner (”Rush Hour 3,” “X-Men 3: The Last Stand”), Garry Marshall (”Georgia Rule,” “Princess Diaries,” “Pretty Woman”) and Jon Avnet (”The Starter Wife,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Risky Business”), will serve as judges for the series’ two “audition” episodes airing Tuesday, May 22 9/8c and Thursday, May 24 9/8c on FOX. Judges for additional rounds will be announced at a later date.

The premiere deals with three ‘competitions’, called the “Hollywood Boot Camp”.  First up is the pitch, where the prospective filmmakers will give the judges a Hollywood pitch meeting for their personal film submission.  Following that, they’ll have a “24 Hour Film Shoot”, in which the contestants must film and edit a film in a one-day period.  Finally, the competitors will have a “one-page, one-hour” test, where they will attempt to complete a one page scene with a completely professional film crew.

A special two-hour “Film Premiere” episode, featuring the first films produced by the 18 finalists, will air Monday, May 28 8/7c on FOX. It will be up to the American public to determine the first finalist to be eliminated from the competition; voting results will be announced the following night on the expanded first “Box Office” results show Tuesday, May 29 8/7c. ON THE LOT’s weekly “Film Premiere” episodes air in their regular time period beginning Monday, June 4 8/7c, and the weekly “Box Office” results shows will air on Tuesdays 8/7c starting Tuesday, June 5.

I don’t normally care for a lot of reality TV.  I enjoy Idol, and I’ll catch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition if I’m in the mood to cry like a little girl.  But I love movies, and I love the filmmaking process.  I was a bit nervous when I first heard about this project, thinking that it sounded an awful lot like HBO’s ‘Project Greenlight’, but it sounds like they are bringing a much more competitive aspect to the show.  I can’t wait for this one.