This is the true story of 600 strangers trying out to live in ahouse, to find out what happens when people stop being polite andstart getting real.
Over 600 18- to 24-year-olds arrived at The Beagle on lowerGreenville Saturday for an open casting call for MTV’s”Real World” and “Road Rules” series. Bothshows are produced and cast by the Bunim-Murray Company and air onMTV. Currently, “Real World Paris” is the 14thinstallation of the series and “Road Rules SouthPacific” is the 10th installation of the series.
Upon entrance, the potential cast members received a call numberand completed an application describing such things as their bestand worst traits, their most embarrassing moment, and the mostunusual thing about them. Once finished with the application,applicants waited until their numbers were called in groups of 20.Some applicants waited for hours to be called.
“I’ve been waiting since 12:30 and it’s now3:30,” junior international studies major Desiree Salinassaid.
After the wait, applicants dispersed into groups of 10 where acasting agent directed a round table discussion of issues rangingfrom the legalization of prostitution to the legalization ofmarijuana.
“We’re look for someone with a big personality, butwe also look for different things each show. Basically, it’slike putting together a puzzle; we have a general frame of whatdirection we want the show to go in, now we’re just lookingfor the right pieces. So if you don’t get selected,don’t take it personal, you just aren’t whatwe’re looking for at the moment,” casting agent JillGoslicky said. Several students from SMU participated in thecasting call.
“I’m just looking for my 15 minutes of fame,”Salinas said.
Other students had different reasons for attending the castingcall.
“I’m just doing it for the hell of it, I just see itas a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said senior corporatecommunications and public affairs and marketing major TeishaHood.
Sophomore cinema-television major Lisa Osterhout had anotherreason, “I was hoping to see Ace from ‘Real WorldParis’, but unfortunately he’s not here, other thanthat I did it out of spontaneity,” she said. “Some ofmy friends and I were coming back from a retreat, and we justshowed up in our pajamas, got an application, went home, changedand came back.”
Goslicky dispelled criticism over complaints from former castmembers that the show manipulates situations through editingtricks.
“Cast members sign a contract. If you don’t want tobe on TV, don’t apply. It’s as simple as that. As faras the editing goes, we don’t edit things to make people lookbad. They do it to themselves. We can’t put words in theirmouths,” she said.
According to Goslicky, no sites have been selected for either ofnext season’s shows. For information about casting dates,locations and where to send a videotape submission visit theBunim-Murray casting Web site at www.bunim-murray.com.
