Real World 25 - Casting

[QUOTE=mcis1979;161849]Something I just noticed... there not casting in the cities Phoenix, Detroit, or Boulder...all 3 of which have both been highly thought of as locations where future season can take place, this is something to consider because of the fact that they usually don't cast any of the 7 strangers in the same city where they could be used. Yes I'm aware that could be just bc theres a city already listed thats closer to them...so san diego and las angelos are still both listed on there...doesn't mean anything... idk just my 2 cents...I still bet its gonna be international though...[/QUOTE] For RW24, they didn’t cast in Atlanta; however, they did cast in New Orleans despite planning to film there. Of course, the reason they were likely to cast there is because they were searching for people affected by Katrina or some kind of natural disaster…which is one of the reasons we saw them having open casting calls in coastal cities like Savannah as opposed to Atlanta. With that being said, we can’t assume that just because they aren’t casting in those cities that it means they will be filming there. But honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them head to Detroit or Phoenix to film. Phoenix in the summer equals HOT which could mean lots of skin like Hawaii.

[QUOTE=KitKatsBrkFs;161885]If you are casted as RW house mate, does MTV and BM basicly own you? and if yes how many years? does that also mean you couldn't do other reality shows? ... BTW this is a serious question.[/QUOTE] To some extent they do “own” your life as you have to sign a contract that forbids you from posting on sites like Vevmo, makes you commit to Challenges, signs over the rights of your life for the period of time you film (meaning you cannot write a book or anything about your experience on RW…and if they want to make a movie about you, they can), etc.

[QUOTE=mcis1979;161849]Something I just noticed... there not casting in the cities Phoenix, Detroit, or Boulder...all 3 of which have both been highly thought of as locations where future season can take place, this is something to consider because of the fact that they usually don't cast any of the 7 strangers in the same city where they could be used. Yes I'm aware that could be just bc theres a city already listed thats closer to them...so san diego and las angelos are still both listed on there...doesn't mean anything... idk just my 2 cents...I still bet its gonna be international though...[/QUOTE] In addition to Phoenix, Detroit, and Boulder, they also aren’t casting in Savannah, Charleston SC, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and San Antonio. Correct me if I’m wrong…this is the first year I’ve seen them cast directly out of Lubbock, TX. I don't remember seeing that one before. I'm very curious if they are going to do something "more serious" for RW25 or if they are changing their plans to try to boost ratings. For one, I hope they do a serious season but learn from the mistakes of DC. If they are going to do "serious" stories then take it over the edge and make it radical and extreme. They need to also add some personalities in the house that clash (like Pedro and Puck) to keep things interesting.

REAL WORLD 25 IS HOLDING OPEN CASTING CALLS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: Anyone between the ages of 18 and 24 may apply. Bring a photo ID and a recent photo! SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-5:00PM Bricktown Brewery 1 N. Oklahoma Ave., Oklahoma City, OK, 73104 SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-4:00PM Buffalo Billiards 154 2nd Ave. N., Nashville, TN, 37201

[QUOTE=nightmarekev;162017]Would they do another casting call in Washington DC[/QUOTE] Yes. For everyone on here, BMP posts the new casting calls each week or so. So if you're interested in auditioning then go to their website...check to see if you're near on of the cities they are casting, send an email (follow the instructions), and take it from there.

[QUOTE=shred;162106]Here's the thing.... all of you are trying for hints and clues and searching for things that you should do in order to get on this show....If you're searching for what it is you need to do to get on the show, then you probably don't have it.[/QUOTE] I believe this same comment has been made on this forum at least 4 times that I know of, including once by myself, and yet people continue to ask for tips and advice. But then again, some of the shows most die hard fans are on this forum and yet BMP doesn't listen either. Instead they choose to cast middle of the road casts and shotily implement what could be somewhat decent concepts and ideas. So since BMP isn't listening either, perhaps they no longer have what it takes to keep this show running, evovlving. I'm willing to bet BMP that a handful of people from thsi website who know the show inside and out could out cast their casting team and deliver a season with higher ratings than any season they have had the past 2 cycles.

[QUOTE=jillakadabom;162112]I totally agree. I also think that some of the questions or easy ways they go about "Weeding out" people in the casting process are ridiculous. When someone said they asked who liked a season better and chose only the people who like a certain season to move on, I was like ohhhh really?!?!? Yea, that's not the real world. That's fake and lazy... i guess. bahhahah let their ratings go down then. smh at hardheadedness lmao[/QUOTE] The reason they ask what type of seasons someone watches is to see how opinionated you are and why you liked the seasons you do. If you don't want to answer that question then simply respond, "Sorry -- I don't watch the show."

SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-5:00PM Hooters 4208 Rosedale Highway Bakersfield, CA 93308 SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-5:00PM Lotus Nightclub and VIP UltraLounge 211 Gold Ave SW Albuquerque, NM 87102 SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-5:00PM Bricktown Brewery 1 N. Oklahoma Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73104 SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd, 10:00AM-4:00PM Buffalo Billiards 154 2nd Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37201 SATURDAY, APRIL 24th, 10:00AM-5:00PM Hudson Grille Midtown 942 Peachtree St. Atlanta, GA 30309

It means they are desperately trying to stir up some interest and PRAYING for some good people to show up! haha. Because I guarentee there's a correlation to the number of people who try out verses the ratings. ;-)

Here's an article for those interested in learning more... [url=http://www.whomag.net/interviews.php?ID=7]Who?Mag Online - whomag.net[/url] Damon Furberg If the name Bunim-Murray doesn't ring a bell, I'm sure their clients MTV Real World, Paris Hilton's Simple Life, Puffy's Making the Band, and many more are all regulars on your viewing rotation. Check out this article as Damon breaks down the science of the Real World Casting. This article is a MUST for anyone auditioning. Interview by Rob Schwartz WHO?MAG: Explain how to audition for The Real World? Damon Furberg: It’s essentially a “cattle call.” The lines tend to be really long, so the early bird gets the worm. We bring the crowd into groups of ten and they fill out short applications. Then they sit at a table with a casting director and we give everyone some time to tell us about themselves. Every casting director seems to have their own techniques. With me, I tend to play a “get to know you” party game like “Two Truths and a Lie” and “I Never” and things like that because I find that that can get interesting and provoke people right away. That part of the process is pretty quick actually because we see a lot of people over the course of the day. If they make it past that audition, we give them an on-camera interview later on. WHO?MAG: How do you determine your location for auditions? Damon Furberg: Generally speaking we do it according to proximity of big schools and areas with a lot of students, since our demographics are 18-24. Obviously we are looking for college kids. You can see that from the cities we selected, like Boston for instance, obviously there are tons of schools there with lots of students. In addition to that, we are trying to get some geographic diversity. We want some people from the South, Midwest, East Coast, and West Coast, because obviously there are different kinds of people in different parts of the country. It’s a mixture of places we know we can go and get the right age and different kinds of folks. WHO?MAG: About how many people attend these casting calls? Damon Furberg: Anywhere on the low end maybe 500 people show up, on the high end, we had as many as 2000 in Washington, DC. WHO?MAG: What is the number one key element you look for in your applicants? Damon Furberg: Charisma is absolutely number one because we really have to make snap judgments about people from the very beginning. Some people just draw your attention. There's always that person who walks in the room and every eye goes to them, and it’s not necessarily the best looking person in the room. Some people just have magnetism. That’s some thing that comes out very very quickly, even when you are just talking to a group of people for a couple of minutes. Story telling ability is also very important. They have to be able to express themselves because of the way the show works. Obviously things happen and the kids are interviewed about it later and if they can’t tell the story well then it’s pretty difficult for us to tell the story of the show. Also, an interesting background always helps. People being at a turning point in their lives is good. We are always looking for people who have big decisions to make, who can be changed by this experience, learn something, or have their beliefs tested. WHO?MAG: What kind of inside information or helpful hints can you give our readers for their auditions? Damon Furberg: The number one thing, I know it sounds like a cliché, is be yourself. I think a lot of people come in and feel that if they imitate a character type that they have seen on TV before and try to be the ***** or the bad boy or whatever, that that will sell them. We’ve been doing this for a long time and we can see through that kind of stuff. Another thing is people hear the word audition and they immediately think actor, singer, dancer, whatever, we’re really not looking for someone like that. We are looking for regular, non-Hollywood, non-showbiz people. A lot of the time people will come in with headshots and think that gives them a leg up, but actually it’s a strike against them. WHO?MAG: How do you determine the final locations for the final seven candidates? Damon Furberg: In the beginning, it was just the major cities in the U.S. and abroad. The show has been around for so long that we already used up most of those locations. Now they actually start to think of it in terms of “Okay, if we put them in this location, what can we get them as a job?” So that’s become a big part of it. For instance, San Diego popped up the season before last, partially because they thought it would be great to have them work on boats. They think of it in terms of what activities are available in the city they are living in. WHO?MAG: MTV’s The Real World has became a household name due to its longevity and the chemistry between the cast members. What other elements are important in creating the vibe for the show? Damon Furberg: As self-serving as this may sound, I feel that part of why this show is such a phenomenon is the casting calls. It’s the fact that the fans of the show get to feel that they are a part of it. They can show up and meet other people who are fans of the show and it creates a real community for it. In addition to that, particularly among our demographic they get to watch the show and think to themselves, “That could be me up there and maybe if that were me, I would make the decision differently or maybe I would do the same thing.” I think in the end what it is is that our viewers are really able to identify with these people or look up to them in some cases. You start to feel like they are your friends. WHO?MAG: Besides being one of the originators of reality TV, what separates The Real World from other reality based television shows? Damon Furberg: Although we did create the formula and a lot of other major shows have taken off with it, followed it, and created their own sort of mutated versions of it, one thing about this show is that it is a lot more real than other reality stuff that you see. There are degrees of how manipulated things are. I think that even former cast members most of the time will look at the episodes after we are done filming them and say “You know what? That’s pretty much what really happened. They may have compressed the time frame and edited it, but they definitely didn’t put words in my mouth or manipulate the situation.” From what I know of production, they are very strict with that. The crew does not talk to the kids at all. They really have this formula down and they want it to be like real life. They want it to be a documentary and for the most part it really is. WHO?MAG: I noticed your company was also involved in The Simple Life with Paris and Nicole. How did you determine their destinations? Damon Furberg: That was a very interesting casting situation because they picked the locations entirely based on the jobs they wanted to give the girls. As a casting department, we were kind of placed in this position where if the girls were going to go to a specific place, we had to find a family in that town. It was tough!!! We were in some really really small towns where we started feeling like we already talked to everyone who lived there. That was definitely an adventure. WHO?MAG: Working on this type of television program may seem like a dream to some. What kind of experience do applicants need to work for your organization? Damon Furberg: There was an article not too long ago where they listed Bunim/Murray as one of the best companies for an entry-level position. They really do believe in promoting from within. They have a great internship program so a lot of kids come here and end up working here for free to start with, as one often does in the entertainment and they end up working their way up the ranks pretty quickly and end up in a paid position. Another great thing about the internships is that they rotate you through all the different departments, so you get a chance to find out what job you’d eventually like to do. I think that the main thing that they look for more than hardcore skills or a film background is for people who are very ambitious and willing to work hard, because they do give people a lot of responsibilities right off the bat and they promote very quickly. WHO?MAG: Your company has played a major role in the entertainment industry by creating reality TV. How do you feel about the sudden increase of this form of entertainment? Damon Furberg: I think it’s like anything. Once something becomes popular, there is an explosion of bad shows as well as an explosion of good shows. But I think also like any other genre or medium, the cream eventually rises to the top. I think that right now it’s a really big fad and people ask me if I think its going last. Is it a boom and bust situation? I think it will last, but I think it will change and evolve. One show that we are doing right now is called “Starting Over” which is actually a daytime show that runs everyday of the week like a soap opera. I actually see that as being part of the future of reality TV. We saw the same thing happen with talk shows in the late 80’s when Morton Downey Jr. and Geraldo were really hot. It was prime time and then it subsided a little bit and went back to daytime. I think reality shows will always be around because people watch them and they are relatively cheap to produce. It’s just the question of are they going to be in primetime and are there going to be as many of them. WHO?MAG: Where do you see the future of television? Damon Furberg: I think it’s going in a few different directions. You do see a lot more stuff that does not involve actors or writing, but in a weird sort of way it has come full circle. It started out as you pick Joe Average off the street and put them on TV and see what happens. Now you have these reality shows with celebrities in them. Or you have shows like My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé or Joe Shmoe where it’s a very manipulative situation where most of the people there are actors and there are only a few people that are “marks” and don’t realize that everyone else is an actor. You definitely see a lot of mutation in that genre, it’s kind of cross pollinating between reality and scripted television and it will be interesting to see how that will turn out and what shape that will eventually take.