Saturday, February 19, 2011

Any "Biggest Losers" out there???

Things are ramping up again for Biggest Loser contestant hopefuls all around the country. This weekend begins the 5 city stretch of open casting calls for the next season of NBC’s beloved series geared towards Americans who have over 100 pounds to lose. For a complete listing of cities click here: CLICK HERE.

For many it’s the break they have been looking for with a lifelong struggle and all out battle with their weight. These hopefuls come with the dream of being whisked away to the Biggest Loser ranch where they can once and for all focus on getting healthy.

So, what to expect when putting oneself through the grind at a Biggest Loser casting call? First of all, come with plenty of rest and nutrition in your body. These are long days. Biggest Loser casting director, Holland Striplin, who has been casting for the show since Season 5, recommends bringing plenty of healthy snacks, water, and lawn chairs since it is a lot of waiting in line. Holland also recommends to just be yourself in front of the casting directors. This is a common request from casting directors from shows that don’t require the normal “Let’s Make a Deal” attire throughout the duration of a season. Most, if not all of the time, these costumes serve as a distraction from the casting directors seeing who you really will be during the season. At the ranch, all costumes are stripped, and contestants can’t hide behind the façade of character they’ve made up, which is the beauty of the show, and how the breakthroughs happen. For more tips, check out this article: CLICK HERE.

 For more information on losing weight in a healthy way even if you’re not a part of the next season of Biggest Loser, head over to their website and sign up to be a part of their online community. Just because you were not chosen for this season, or subsequent seasons, it does not mean you still can’t win the battle against weight. A new and healthy life is possible, but more likely to be achieved within the context of community.

Now get out there and audition, and even more importantly, begin changing your life now! 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Blush Free television? It could happen.

I’m a girl who comes with a lot of passion for reality television. Ever since the creation of shows such as “Survivor” and “American Idol”, something in my gut has been stirred and fire up. I love watching, celebrating, and also critiquing it. One my main critiques stems from the profane themes that run rampant within this type of programming. It comes as no surprise that reality television produces some of the most profane content on the tube currently.

Even with so-called “family-friendly” shows like “American Idol”, with the addition of beloved Steven Tyler (I really do love him), we’ve also seen an incredible increase in the show logo used as bleep symbol over Mr. Tyler’s mouth over the few weeks of this new season. American Idol is not the only show out there that provides an obscene amount of obscenities (no pun intended).

I happened across an article on the website, Parents Television Council, written back in 2002 highlighting the increase of profanity in all forms on reality television. I was shocked (and yet not) when I browsed through the statistics the shared. For instance, no surprise, “The Osbourne’s”, which follows the life of legendary rocker, Ozzy Osbourne and his family, holds the record for the most profanities per hour. This MTV show, as reported from the PTC website, had a combined average of 140.5 instances of offensive content per hour, due to their vulgar language. Wow!

Check out the article to read more about the crazy statistics regarding profanity/ violence, etc.: http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/reports/realitytv/main.asp

What if there was an alternative? What if those of us who love reality television and see the potential for what amazing good it could do began to produce something different? Something clean…and dare I say, blush free? Stumbling upon this article was even more of an affirmation for the project I have been working on in my Business Storytelling and Brand Development class through Full Sail University. We had to create an entertainment company and conduct several projects regarding the creation of our company. In a last minute decision I decided to create a reality television production company, called “Blush Free Productions”.

Our mission statement: Our mission at Blush Free Productions is to create family-friendly programming that highlights major social issues, providing viewers with a call to action, all the while entertaining through exceptional storytelling.

I have posted one of my latest projects regarding the creation of Blush Free Productions. Take a look, and dream with me what profanity free, yet entertaining and meaningful reality television could like!