Random Reality – Josh Clinton Interviews Kenny Luby of On the Lot

Features, Interviews, Shows

Josh Clinton: Hey Kenny.

Kenny Luby: Hey man. How are you doing?

JC: Good. How about yourself?

KL: Good.

JC: Cool. So you were a big skateboarding fan growing up?

KL: Yeah, man. It was something that I always loved to do.

JC: What got you interesting in that? Someone like Tony Hawk?

KL: Um, Tony Hawk is the guy that everyone who doesn’t know about skateboarding at least knows. He was definitely a guy I admired, because he has done some amazing stuff. But there are so many other skateboarders who are just as insane, if not more, than Tony Hawk.

JC: Alright, cool. What were you doing before you got on the show?

KL: I was basically doing some freelance skateboarding stuff here in my hometown. I wasn’t really professionally active in motion picture. I was also painting house to get by.

JC: Yeah, I understand that. Were you a reality TV fan at all before?

KL: Not really bro. Actually, I did watch The Apprentice. I thought that show was pretty cool. I liked the format of that show a lot. That’s the format I would have preferred for On the Lot.

JC: Yeah, speaking of which, the format of show has been pretty criticized. What did you think of the format of the show?

KL: Well there are all kinds of theories and opinions that could be given about it. When we first got on location for the show, everyone thought it was really cool that we got some detailed critiques on ever aspect of filmmaking. Not just the story or just great visuals. So it would have been nice if they continued with that, especially with Jon Avnet. That guy breaks things down into things that you never even thought about your film. It was really cool. So it would have been nice to have gotten that, and then bring in qualified film critics to be judges. I mean there are other ways of doing it, but I think that America voted more on the filmmaking and the whole package.

JC: Did you wish that you could have talked to the judges beforehand about your film before they saw it?

KL: That would have been great. But when are up on stage there, it’s already nerveracking to have live cameras on you. The show is taped live and the audience is least a few hundred people. I never really got used to being up there. Then again, Marty Martin spoke out against the judges. I think he went a little too far, but it came across as he was a guy who couldn’t take criticism and was stubborn. People can take that the wrong way and I feel that they did with Marty Martin. So it would have been nice to be able to talk back and forth with the judges, and have them ask questions like “where were you going with this?”. Like my action film, “The Losers”, it would have been cool if they had asked me where that was coming from. I then could have told them. So it would have cool to explain that, rather than just get criticism for it. But other than that, the show was cool.

JC: Right. So do you think the judges were fair with their comments or were they way off?

KL: I have finally gotten the chance to watch the episodes now. For the most part, the judges were very fair. They said what they felt. It was nice to hear some of the comments from Carrie, since she liked the visual aspects of my films. I always like listening to Garry. And the guest judges were all pretty cool. I was a little disappointed in Antoine Fuqua’s comments. I felt like that was my only moment where I had to explain myself. It came across as me being a guy who couldn’t work with anyone and was stubborn. But that’s not true at all, because if I couldn’t work well with others we wouldn’t have finished the film. So I think he just saw the package that was edited together and gave me criticism on that. That was the only comment that I didn’t think was that accurate, though. But that is TV, you know?

JC: Yeah, it’s all about the editing on these shows. On the last film you did, you wanted to do a skateboarding stunt. Do you think you were too invested in that part of the film?

KL: It was just something that came natural. Now that I’m looking back at that whole situation, it was clear to me to not have made it that big of an issue. I should have known from the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to do it, because of union laws. So I should have just accepted and focused more of my energy on the entire film, rather than getting worked up about it. But at the time, I thought the movie would have been better if I did the stunt. It’s not even me being in the movie and me doing my own stunt. I just wanted the stunt to be real and we would have saved time doing it. So that was my whole issue. Instead we faked it, and it still came out okay, but for the skateboarding people watching it would have been better if it was real. So that was that. It really was only an issue for about 20 minutes.

JC: Why do you think you got eliminated when you did then?

KL: First of all, if I had to get eliminated with someone, I’m glad it was with Mateen. Me and him were probably the most independent filmmakers on the show. We weren’t going to sacrifice what we wanted to do to get votes. Granted, I’m not taking anything away from the other filmmakers, because they are all good and deserve to be there. But really I’m surprised that I made it as far as I did. Now that I have watched the show. I think the packages were what really hurt me. They made me look like a guy that couldn’t handle things and someone that went off the deep end too much. That’s just the way it is, though. When we were making the films, I wasn’t really concerned with the television cameras. I was more focused with making the films, and I didn’t really realize that the cameras were capturing me being a director. That’s just who I am as a director and I think that’s why I made it as far as I did. I think the voting public that watched it saw something that rubbed them the right way with them. Also too, the horror film everyone liked, but my action film with the judges comments probably played a part in my elimination as well. It’s such a weird medium to judge, filmmaking. How do you judge and compare films?

JC: Yeah, that is kinda hard to do. Out of the remaining contestants left, do you have a clear favorite to win it all or is it even?

KL: I honestly feel like it’s pretty even with all five. I think everyone of them has strong attributes that got them to the end. It doesn’t pay off to criticize the judges that’s for sure. That’s one thing. It doesn’t matter how good your film is, because the judges have criticized good films and liked some films that weren’t that great. But that’s how it goes. I would have to say that I think Zach is golden no matter what. Whether he wins or not, he has great stories and has a great future regardless. I think Will also has some great stories and since he is a writer that really helps. This show is really a writer/director show. We had to do a lot of writing on the show. I think that Will has a lot of cool stories. So naturally I’m going to predict that he makes it to the end, but really no one has any idea. Some of the greatest filmmakers that I thought were good, didn’t do that well. That’s just way it goes, though.

JC: Yeah. Overall, did you enjoy your experience on the show?

KL: Yeah. It was a very big learning experience for me. The whole way reality television works and how production goes. I met a lot of cool people and developed a lot of great friendships from the show. I also got to work with a whole bunch of different people, which I never really have done before. I probably could have handled things better, but I am surprised that I made it as far as I did. It was really a great experience and something that people won’t get to experience. Being thrown into the herd like that and make films in less than a week’s time. When you are on the show, you can’t really sit back and enjoy it. You are just focused on getting further on the show. But now that I can look back on it, it was a crazy experience. It would have been nice if they would have shown more of the behind-the-scenes stuff, because there was a lot going on back there to get the films done. But it was great man.

JC: Cool. What are you doing now? Any projects coming up?

KL: Yeah, it’s been good. When I got eliminated, I wasn’t thinking I would get this many offers or anything like that. It is such a big industry and there are a lot of directors out there that are starving. It’s really a gnarly industry out there. What I am doing now is that I’m actually back in Owego, NY. I’m going to take care of some stuff here, and then I’m going to move out to Southern California. One of the first things I’m doing there is shooting a music video for this group called “Years Around the Sun”. They are the band that I used in my submission film called So Today. It’s on the On the Lot website on the “Most Viewed” list.

JC: That’s really cool.

KL: Yeah. They are an awesome band and we are going to make a really cool music video. I just kinda want to stay low-key and work my way up to the big stuff. Shoot some music videos and in the process write a script for a drama or a horror film. We have that opportunity now to hand in scripts and hopefully make a movie out of it.

JC: Yeah, that would be nice. Well thanks for your time, and good luck with everything.

KL: Yeah, Josh, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. Take care man.


On the Lot airs on FOX on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT time all summer long.

On the Lot airs on the CTV network in Canada on Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT time all summer long.

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