Interesting Recruiting Note

[moviegal]

I found this earlier today, and found it interesting. It did come from Joker's site, so take it with the proverbial grain of salt. Apparently during a recruiting event in North Carolina only 24 people attended. Lack of publicity for the event contributed somewhat to this circumstance but who would have thought that attendance would be this low? I have no idea what kind of crowds they're drawing in other recruitment cities, but this really surprised me. Of course, they could have interfered with the NCAA tournament's schedule - something they take very seriously in NC. Here's the link:

http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/31/BigBrother.html

As I said in my letter to my local CBS affiliate (thanks to you Dingo) BB has gone from casting doctors, nurses, firemen and entrepreneurs to con artists, strippers, former prisoners, drug dealers, faded Pets and amateur porn stars. Originally there were a few of these people thrown in for spice. They've now done a 180, and this has become the norm. Whatever happened to a group of intelligent people who could not only play the game, but come up with ways to entertain themselves (and us) that didn't only involve sex? CBS is facing a major decision - are they going to cast for the network shows or are they going to cast for Showtime and/or the feeds?

I was channel surfing very, very late one night last week and saw the advertisement on Showtime for BBAD. It was Natalie laying on the floor with her breasts covered with whipped cream and people crawling towards her, with an edit to Natalie bending over backwards with her boobs popping out of her top facing the camera. On both she had a wild-eyed, glazed look on her face.

History has shown that the original is almost always stronger ratings wise than the auxillary. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

[dingo]

Apparently during a recruiting event in North Carolina only 24 people attended.

:eek:

that's pretty sad

[Hbomb]

Wow 24 people, thats it? That is pretty sad. The article looks pretty straight forward and credible. I know what you mean about taking it with a grain of salt from the joker site though.

Thanx for the link!:)

[moviegal]

I also read that they had about 140 people show up over 8 hours in NYC, sounds better, but I thought NYC would have had about 1000 at least. Who knows?

[babydoll]

I was at the Big Brother 10 Open Casting Call in New York City and there were over 200 people that attended. It was an awesome experience!! Really fun day all around! :)

[dingo]

I was at the Big Brother 10 Open Casting Call in New York City and there were over 200 people that attended. It was an awesome experience!! Really fun day all around! :)

wow 200 is still a low turnout for NYC

do tell what happened! how'd you do? what was the process like? etc etc etc :)

[babydoll]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to come by and share my Big Brother 10 Casting Call experience this past Sunday. I arrived in Manhattan to the New York City Casting Call with my friend, Adam, at about 11:45AM. We got to the building and saw a bunch of people waiting in the lobby of the building. We stood outside for a bit before one of the guys waiting said that he wanted to be a "Team Player" and told us there was a sign-in sheet inside. We were numbers 63 and 64, respectively on the list. We continued waiting for about another 1/2 hour, until someone came downstairs to let us all know some information.

He began by telling us that through the years at the New York City Casting Calls he continuously has to change venues because a big mess is left behind at the locations. He told us to make sure we treated the building and studio as if it was our own. From there, they began to call people up in groups according to the numbers from the list. They were calling up about 10 people at a time. There was a bit of confusion and chaos regarding what was nessesery to have on hand as part of the requirements to be accepted into the call. Quite a few people brought a completed application, myself included, along with their Driver's License, Social Security Card, and two photos, as per the Eligibility Requirements on the CBS website for what to mail in if you're auditioning. (Full body shot and Head Shot) My friend and I did not have the photos and he did not have his Social Security Card on hand with him, (I did) so we were both worried we would not get in to be seen without the items we were missing. We then went a few blocks down to a Kinko's to make a copy of my Social Security Card and a few other items and took photos on my friend's Digital Camera and looked for a place to develop them ASAP. Unfortunately, we did not find a place that could develop the photos in a reasonable amount of time, so we headed back.

At about 3:00PM, we still had not been called yet, so my friend and I came back to the building and got my friend an application to fill out. We also spoke to the woman in charge of the Casting Call, named Kat, and asked what was needed for admittance into the Call and she said that all we needed was our completed application and a copy of our Driver's License. They were going to take our photos there, so I was relived to find out that we had everything we needed to get in. My friend filled out his application and then we went to get lunch. We got back at around 3:30PM and our numbers still had not been called, so we started to speak to some people who had already been finished. We talked about the show and what the Casting Call back in November in NYC for BB 9 was like. It was MUCH less crowed. Amidst all this, Alex from this season of BB 9 showed up and was giving encouragement to all the folks auditioning. He arrived at about 1:30PM. At about 3:00PM-ish he left to get some food and about 20 minutes later showed up with a box of White Castle hamburgers. About 100 of them to be exact, and started passing 1 out to anyone who wanted one and was hungry. He said he knew what a grueling process the Casting Call was like and wanted to help us all through it.

After all that, time started to pass a little faster, with some people even providing Live Feeds to the folks waiting in the lobby, on their laptop computers. At about 4:30PM, my friend and my number's were FINALLY called. We headed upstairs and waited in line to give Kat our applications. We then sat in rows of about 4 apiece and moved down the line, like Musical Chairs, to get closer to the much anticipated and elusive door, to which behind it held our audition room. While waiting, Alex was there to sign autographs, take photos, and just provide words of encouragement and insight into our process and the show, as well.

There were quite a few characters at the Casting Call, some who had been before MANY times, every season to be exact, and some who had never been, like myself. Some had outgoing personalities and some kept a bit more to themselves. I, personally, was surprised at how many people were there that had never seen the show before, just wanted a chance at the half-million dollar grand prize, were of various ages or who just seemed to 'know' someone.

At about 6:30PM, it was finally my friend's and my time. I was SOOOO surprisingly not nervous and I had even written down some key points I wanted to touch on in my audition. My friend was up first, and when he came out, I went on in. Some people were in the audition room for a bit, others were in and out. It was a small set-up with just the auditioner, myself, and one other person. I was in the room for what seemed like a really short amount of time and when I came out, I felt very at ease, confident and excited. We then went to take our headshots, holding a piece of paper with our last name and first initial. I felt like I was taking a mug shot, but in a good way. We were finally finished at about 7:00PM and I think the Call ran way over it's scheduled 8:00PM deadline. There were over 200 people that came out, all tolled.

I know what I've just explained seems like such an intense process, of waiting and having nothing to do, until you get your two minute audition time, but I have to say it was the BEST experience I've ever taken part in. I left with the best feeling, and whether I make it or not, I had the best day, doing something I really wanted to do, meeting new people who were embarking down the same road I was, talking about my favorite reality TV show with fans, and people who came to the call and just all around, really giving myself an ego boost. I said throughout the day how tired I was, and that I'd never do this again, but after I left that room, I wanted to come back and do it all over AGAIN.

I TOTALLY recommend going to a Casting Call if you can, where ever you can. A great group of people come out and it was THE best experience I have ever embarked upon.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my Big Brother 10 Casting Call Audition, and I hope I provided you with insight to such a FUN day!

[dingo]

WOW what a great write-up! thanks so much for sharing all that, and glad you had such a good time :)

GOOD LUCK - HOPE YOU MAKE IT ON!!!

keep us posted!

[moviegal]

Dingo: I'm with you, that seems like a very, very low turnout for the country's largest city. Again, I thought it would be 5X that, at least.

Babydoll: Thanks so much for sharing that experience with us! I'm so glad you had a great time, and I'm cheering you on! Please, keep us posted.

[babydoll]

Thanks so much for all your kind words and sentiments, dingo and moviegal. I will keep you updated, for sure. I want to stay positive that I might get a call-back, but in the back of my mind seeps in some reality, that there are soooo many to choose from, I probably won't. But, for the first time, this pessimist it looking optimistic. Either way, thank you so much! :)

[storygirl]

Hi Babydoll!

Thanks so much for giving us the scoop on your great experience ~ it was awesome to read what it's really like. Good luck and hope you get a call-back! :D

[cherryred]

if you get on the show - you'll have to either take a babydoll or talk about your babydoll so we know it's you :D

[Alwaysroomforcake]

Thanks for the great info, babydoll - and good luck!

[Luckieirish21]

Babydoll, what an experience! I am pulling for you to get on the show! Your excitment in telling about your audition was so heartwarming and inspirational. You have a dream and you went after that dream! A lot of people never try to reach for their dreams and you had the guts to just cannonball in to the water! Kudos to you and thanks also, I enjoyed reading your account. Remember us here at Hamsterwatch if you do make it on the show and try to give us a shout out. You can do a Babydoll at night show and tell us all what is going on and some juicy tidbits about the other houseguests. Any way, I am blabbing away now. LOL Good luck!!!:)

[babydoll]

Thanks to everyone, for your truly touching and kind words! :) They mean so much to me!!

[yaz96]

Very cool, good luck getting on the show, and especially if you get cast....you'll need it! :)