The Chair

The notion of competitive filmmaking is hardly a new one, so viewers will be forgiven if they find the concept a snooze. Project Greenlight began in 2001, after all, and it didn't exactly create impressive cultural waves. Not only that, shows such as Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge, Face Off, and Project Runway already are filling the artistic-competition niche. But the immersive spotlight on just how difficult it is to make a movie is an eyebrow-raiser. Week after week, Martemucci and Dawson struggle through scenarios that will be familiar to any indie filmmaker: The money runs out. The locations are un-gettable. Filming stuff is so ungodly expensive that it's not always possible to get the shot you want. And so on.

The Chair doesn't make filmmaking look fun to actually do (aspiring movie moguls may disagree), but it's a lot of fun to watch. It's also instructive to young film fans, who may never have thought about what goes into making the stories they love. Dawson and Martemucci run through the whole process, from polishing up the script to editing every last frame in the movie. Watching them swing from exhaustion and elation is a kick, and so is this show. Families with an interest in filmmaking, particularly those with teens with artistic aspirations, are advised to take a look.