Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Wrestling With "Reality"

For whatever reason (perhaps this blog?) I recently received an invitation to a closed casting call to be on the next season of The Bachelor—I apparently have what “they’re looking for”. Whatever that means.

My first reaction was total disbelief. I definitely belly laughed and then wondered which of my goober friends pulled the prank. But after a little research, I discovered that the individual who contacted me really IS a casting agent for ABC.

I’ve polled a lot of my friends and every single one of them thinks I should audition. (Whether they think I’d do well or just want to tell people their friend is “famous” is unclear...)

My thoughts on auditioning are mixed. On one hand, it could be a great experience. When else would you get the opportunity to fly to exotic locales and drink loads of champagne on yachts? But on the other hand, every time I’ve ever watched The Bachelor, it’s mainly to laugh at the silly drama of all the stupid hookers. I can’t quite wrap my head around the thought of BEING one of them.

The only way I can come up with solving this dilemma is the classic pro/con list:

Pro: Free vacation. (Hell yes.)
Con: Telling my boss why I need three weeks off work.

Pro: Fantasy trips/dates.
Con: Putting up with (probably annoying) women tagging along on said fantasy trips/dates.

Pro: Being on TV. (Or is this a con?)
Con: My ENTIRE FAMILY watching me make out with a dude on national television.

Pro: Being one of the only cool, down-to-earth girls in the show’s history.
Con: Living in the same house with Barbie look-a-likes who think Oscar Wilde is an edgy designer.

Pro: Free booze.
Con: Being craftily edited to look like a snarky bitch on national television.

And…we’re back to square one. I’m torn. This is of course all assuming that I even make a call back, which is doubtful. The casting agents could just think I’m “nice”…

I’m opening the floor for your opinions/advice/hysterical laughter.

To Bachelor or not to Bachelor?

7 Comments:

Blogger Spud Mack said...

Sounds like a great opportunity. I have always thought that it will generally end in devastation for the women though. Each girl has a one-in-fifteen chance of landing the guy who is probably making out with each girl the entire show and they all must think they are winning him over. I also wonder what it would be like watching the show back after it as all over. That must cause some relationship drama when you see him telling the other girls how much he loves them.

12:23 AM  
Blogger londongirl said...

Humn. I can see both sides of this one. Yay for the holiday. But not yay for the bimbos. But maybe they are trying to recruit non-bimbos for this next show.

Maybe go to the casting session and if all the girls are dreadful, you can back out?

4:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think you have to do it. I tried out for Jeopardy six or seven years ago and, while just missing out, I will never forget the experience. If you make it, remember it's a game; there's more than one strategy in playing. I'm not sure "depth" and "integrity" play too well on reality TV, but you can certainly agree that it'd be a novel approach.

8:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Definitely do it...give the show a chance at least. I understand all of your cons - but it is still pretty cool in concept. Go for it!

2:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You hooked me at "free booze"

3:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok, I've had my own experience with news media, and I did it for a "cause," cause I found that most people have no real concept of homelessness. but in every signal interview I've given, the reporter has gotten at least one thing dead wrong, or created a characterization of me that I felt was inaccurate, and that's true for international news with Associated Press, national news with USAToday (plus the Jane Pauly show which never aired) - and all the local news channels and print.
Dispite all the inaccuracy, it at least got people talking about homelessness, and that was a good thing. Still, to a degree I felt that I was betrayed by the reporters - and really f#cked over by some.

And then there was a couple I met at a church in town who were on the "reality" show, Wife Swap. The show did air, and they recieved 15,000 bucks. And they had to sign a contract saying that they would not talk to the media about their experience on the show. during they taping, the producers were constantly trying to create havoc so to get the family to act out. they would even lie, (claiming one person said something awful about the other) just to stir up grief for the cameras. And in the editing process, they made things look differently than what actually happened.

What I'm trying to say is that you will definitely get screwed over, embarassed, made a fool of, lied to, and lied about. You will also be provoked to act differently than you would under more normal circumstances.

That is what the true "cons" are about being on TV in this day and age. Please take them into consideration.

with all sincerity,
Kevin

11:28 PM  
Blogger Annie said...

The Bachelor?! Of course you should do it, go for it!

But then again, I would say that — I'm a blogger after all, and one of my favourite hobbies is watching people demonstrate all their character flaws and humiliate themselves in front of potentially millions of viewers.

1:05 PM  

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