CHEYENNE - Hollywood is a tough town.

But a pair of aspiring filmmakers from Wyoming could get the break they're looking for from the moviemaking reality television show, On the Lot, which premieres May 16 on Fox.

Ian Rowe said he and friend Dillon Petrillo didn't even hear about the show until a week before the Feb. 16 submission deadline.

But since the duo had worked with tight deadlines before, they weren't fazed by the challenge.

"We've gotten pretty good at guerrilla filmmaking," Rowe said. "Get the shot and move on."

They also weren't worried about telling a story within five minutes, either.

Petrillo said he and Rowe have known each other since elementary school. And they've been making films for just as long.

So it only took a couple of days to shoot, edit and produce their film, The Limbic System, which features a love-struck man, played by Rowe, who consults his inner conscience, also played by Rowe, as he sits on a bench next to an unattainable woman.

"The Limbic System deals with emotions in your brain," said Petrillo, who wrote the script and directed the film. "I thought it was a technical name and it worked for the movie."

He said that other contenders probably had months to arrange for sites and preproduction.

He and Rowe, on the other hand, just used spots around their San Francisco apartment, including Presidio Park near the Golden Gate Bridge.

The pair took apart a broken microwave and strung the wires about their bathroom to look like the inside of a brain for the flick.

For crew, they enlisted the help of their friends.

"It's gratifying enough just to make the film and show it to our friends," Rowe said. "But to be able to do films as a career is the main goal."

Petrillo, 20, is a film student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, but he's originally from Cheyenne.

Rowe, 19, moved from Cheyenne to Los Angeles when he graduated from high school to pursue music and acting. Before long, though, he was back in Cheyenne and has applied to the University of Wyoming, auditioning for their theater department.

For now, the pair must wait. Their film has been posted online at the show's official site, gathering viewer votes and comments. While The Limbic System has only a few hundred hits so far, Rowe and Petrillo are hoping that will change soon.

Petrillo said they also should know soon if they've been selected to appear on the show.

On The Lot is produced by Mark Burnett, Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Television and Fox. After a nationwide search for films and filmmakers, 16 finalists will vie for a $1 million development deal with Dreamworks, according to the Dowd Agency.

During the show, which will air two nights weekly, the finalists will be made into filmmaking teams. They will produce short films ranging from comedies, thrillers and personal dramas to romance, sci-fi and horror.

They will be able to use professional writers, casts and crews in their productions.

If the teams are resourceful enough, they might be able to get Hollywood stars appear in their films.

Rowe said Petrillo will be the one competing for the $1 million studio contract. He said he's an actor with some production experience, but that Petrillo is the director.

"Directing and acting are two different things when it comes to the film industry," he said. "For acting you have to get signed to an agency, audition for movies, get little parts and then build up.

"For a director you have to basically start making films, send them to places and get them seen."

Petrillo said he expects an American Idol-esque show filled with a variety of filmmaking challenges. And since he already knows how to come up with an idea quickly and cheaply, he's prepared for any tests ahead.

But even if they don't make it, this won't be the end of their filmmaking.

They've already shown films at a San Francisco film festival and online at YouTube. Rowe said the two will continue to act and direct, trying to get their work out to as many people as possible.

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