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June 22, 2007
America's Next Top Filmmaker
A Texas Tech alumnus competes for DreamWorks Studio spot.
Written by John Davis
Texas Tech alumnus Will Bigham is competing to be the next top filmmaker. Vote for Will Bigham.
For independent filmmaker and Texas Tech graduate Will Bigham, 2007 is all about rent.
But not the Broadway musical – the reality of affording it in Hollywood.
Bigham, a native of Canyon, may have gotten the break of a lifetime, though – that is, if America picks him as winner of Fox’s “On the Lot.”
The reality TV show pares down 50 undiscovered filmmakers each week who compete to become the next big Hollywood filmmaker and sign a development deal with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios.
June 18 was the latest chance to be cut from the competition. Bigham, as part of a group of five, had his short films judged by Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall and a guest judge Wes Craven. Fortunately, his films made it through and Bigham is still in the running.
“My wife and I started a production company last year here in Hollywood,” he said. “Whenever you start a company, you have a lot of expenses. We’re at the point that we have to make something this year or sell our equipment and try something else for a while.
“Hopefully this is the chance I need to stick around in Hollywood for a couple more years.”
Doing a show like “On the Lot” means long hours of brainstorming and writing, Bigham said. His collaborative group shares scripts and choose the best one. On show days, the group rehearses tapes and hopes the short film will impress the judges.
Changing Directions
Studying meteorology, his chosen field at Texas Tech, didn’t make him as happy as he’d thought, but Bigham said he discovered acting while attending the university from 1994 to 1998.
While here, he performed in shows such as “Annie Warbucks,” “What the Butler Saw” and “The Imaginary Invalid.”
“I started with one theater class,” Bigham said. “To be a part of that community was amazing. It was more of a playground where I could have fun and find my place in the world of theater.”
Jonathan Marks, interim dean of the College of Visual & Performing Arts, directed Bigham in “The Imaginary Invalid.”
He said he was impressed with Bigham’s ability to take risks and accept unconventional ideas about characterization.
“The year I did ‘Imaginary Invalid,’ Will took a role about which I had kind of unconventional ideas,” Marks said. “He just took them and flew with them. I thought he was wonderful. I just grew and grew in my appreciation for him.”
On the Lot is a new reality TV show airing Tuesdays 8/7c. Every week hopeful filmmakers produce short films from a chosen genre, running the gamut from comedies to thrillers, dramas to romance, action to horror.
Prior to graduating, Bigham proposed to his wife, Catharine Gray, in front of news cameras during the final dress run of “Guys and Dolls.” The couple married in December 1997, and Bigham graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in theater arts in May 1998.
Following that, Bigham and his wife worked for five years at the Barter Theatre in Abington, Va., beforehe earned a master’s degree in film in 2003 from Florida State University.
Hoping for Their Big Break
Bigham’s wife, Catharine Gray, said the couple decided to become proactive and create their own film production company after living through years of having no control of their acting career’s destiny.
The news that her husband would compete came at just the right time.
“We were about to give up,” Catharine said. “We were not making it. And then, we suddenly had this beacon of hope shining in the distance. Even if he was in the top 50, what a wonderful opportunity that would be. After kids would go to bed, we’d stay up talking to come up with story ideas in different genres. That’s all we could do to prepare.”
Now, she keeps her fingers crossed as the show progresses that her husband’s work will continue to please the judges and the American viewers.
“I know he can do it,” she said. “He’s just so focused and he never lets anything stress him out. But it always makes me nervous on vote nights.”
Watch Will Bigham's competition films and learn more about this upcoming director. Will Bigham needs all Red Raider votes, so Vote by going to the Web site as often as possible.
Voting for On The Lot opens at the end of the voting show each week and stays open for at least 2 hours, subject to time zone restrictions. You can vote as many times as you would like when voting is open for your time zone. Read the instructions for voting.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136.
Web layout by Gretchen Pressley