Zach Lipovsky is one of the 18 finalists on Fox’s new hit reality television series On The Lot and it just so happens that we have something in common, Zach, like me, is a Vancouver boy! Zach is a highly respected special effects guru and is considered by many to be one of, if not the best, in the city of Vancouver.

On The Lot has provided 18 people with the opportunity of a lifetime. Not only will each contestant have their work made known to millions of people all over the world, one lucky contestant (hopefully Zach), will win the ultimate filmmakers prize, a coveted job at DreamWorks studios! Even better still, the winner of the reality TV series will get to work with the master director himself, Steven Spielberg.

Though only 22 years old, Zach Lipovsky is far from new to the filmmaking industry and has in fact had his hands in a number of films and animated shorts; he is even a part/founder (though I’m not 100% sure on that) of Zeeworks Media. One of his most recent projects is titled Paradise Redrawn.

Paradise Redrawn is a live action/animated short film about a girl (Sophie) in Catholic School who is bored with her classes and begins to draw and doodle in her notebook. As she doodles, her drawings come to life and peel off the pages, eventually evolving into two separate nations that go to war with one another. Sophie, being the creator of both nations and essentially god, has to come to terms and deal with the events.

Paradise Redrawn Featurette by Zach Lipovsky

On The Lot episode 3 aired last night, giving Zach another opportunity to have his work featured, and by all accounts his 1-minute comedy short film was a hit. I am rooting for him to win, but not just because he is a fellow Vancouverite. From what I have seen of his work so far, it is beautiful, and I think he could bring a great deal of creativity and innovation to the filmmaking industry.

For a better idea of why I’ve been raving about Zach’s work, watch his Paradise Redrawn Featurette (above) and his incredibly inventive audition video (below), or watch the short film he and two partners came up with in only 24-hours in episode 2 of On The Lot, entitled “Time Out“.

Zach Lipovsky On The Lot Audition Video

I must have missed something here. I thought I had seen every episode of On The Lot that had aired thus far, but I guess I must have missed one. From what I remember at the end of episode 2, the TV show was down to 24 contestants, waiting to cut things down even further to the final 18 contestants in episode 3, yet when episode 3 started up tonight, the list of contestants had already been worked down to 18 finalists. Maybe I’m just confused, but I swear six contestants just vanished without explanations.

With that being said, tonight was the first 1-hour “film premiere” episode of the reality television show’s regular schedule and all 18 contestants screened their 1-minute comedy shorts for the judges. Some of the short films were loved by the judges, some were misunderstood, but oddly, none were completely hated. Though the judges didn’t really care for a few of the short films, they almost shied away from criticizing them. It may be the fact that I’m used to the two soft judges and one hard-ass judge style of American Idol, but it seemed fairly obvious to me that the On The Lot judges were big fans of the positive-negative-positive style of giving feedback. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the blood-thirsty sadistic drama-monger in me wants to see one of the judges tear apart a contestant’s work.

The most notable films of On The Lot episode 3 were by far that of Andrew, Zach, Adam and Shira-Lee. Andrew did a great short film on a cop pulling over a UFO full of drunken aliens. Zach did an awesome short all in one take on safety in an incredibly unsafe lab. Adam’s short featured a man that communicated only through interpretive dance and Shira-Lee offered a sexy take on security screening at the airport. All in all, the night’s films were great! At this point, my pick to win it all is Zach Lipovsky, a special effects guru and hometown boy from Vancouver, Canada.

On a side note: Fox Television has seriously screwed up with On The Lot! They have one contestant from Spain, one from the U.K. and even a local boy from Vancouver, BC Canada, yet voting is only open to residents of the Unites States. What exactly is the point of promoting the fact that the contestants come from all over the world, and even taking contestants from all over the world, when people outside the United States can’t even support their contestants? Being from Vancouver, a big fan of On The Lot and a fan of Zach Lipovsky’s work, I’m rather pissed that I can’t show my support and vote for my favorite contestant, or any contestant, for that matter. Seriously guys, reality television shows broadcast to countries all over the world and, when you use that fact as a way to draw in viewers’, you should at the very least support those viewers votes. I’m very disappointed in Fox TV for this one.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about the entire premise of the newest reality television show to hit Fox, On The Lot. Luckily, and after watching only two episodes I may add, the show has officially won me over. As a matter of fact, I believe On The Lot may just be one of the most promising new reality TV shows of the season.

The idea behind the show is fantastic, the challenges have, thus far, been entertaining and, more importantly, incredibly challening, and I think the series has the potential for greatness. Chalk another one up to the reality TV world’s most noted executive producer, Mark Burnett. But not all the credit can be given to Burnett alone, after all, the legendary director/producer behind such films as Letters From Iwo Jima, Munich, Memoirs of a Geisha, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, ET and Jaws, Mr. Steven Spielberg himself, stepped up to help mold the show.

In case you haven’t seen the show yet, On The Lot will pit 18 aspiring filmmakers from all over the world against one another, all in the hopes of scoring a lucrative $1-million development deal with DreamWorks. One The Lot features four very well known and highly respected judges: Carrie Fisher, better known as Princess Leia of the Star Wars series; Jon Avnet, director and producer of over 50 feature films; Brett Ratner, director of X-Men 3 and the Rush Hour series; and legendary actor and funnyman, Garry Marshall.

With episode 1 and 2 having already airied, the list of contestants has already been trimmed down to 24 hopefuls and, come Monday, May 29, the show will lose yet another 12, leaving only 18 lucky contestants to wage cinematic warfare. Miss episodes 1 and 2? Watch On The Lot Online, and get caught up!

On The Lot airs on Fox Television every Monday and Tuesday, with a one-hour “Film Premiere” episode, followed Tuesdays by a half-hour “Box Office” results show. Check your local listings for dates and times. And don’t forget the popcorn!