Thursday, March 6, 2008

Million dollar Password with Regis Philbin

Story of the Week:
Well, they're bringing back my all-time favorite game show yet one more time...PASSWORD! This time it's being hosted by Regis Philbin, filmed in New York City (Queens) and called MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD.
I heard about it and found the information to be a contestant on the CBS website and made an appointment to audition to be a contestant. The audition was held in a nondescript office off Fifth Ave. near 37th St. and is actually the offices for The People's Court TV show.
Now, let me preface this by saying I KNOW HOW TO PLAY PASSWORD. I'm a total word-game GEEK. I love crossword puzzles, Scrabble, and I've watched all the versions of Password since elementary school. Even now I record the old re-runs from the Game Show Network and watch them in the evenings. Hell, words are words. True, many of the celebrities are dead, infirm or just plain forgotten about, but what the hell....words are still WORDS, and I enjoy word games! So when we played the game, I did really, really well. They paired me up with a fluffy blond housewife from Florida who giggled a lot and was a mediocre player. But she told cute stories and THAT'S what they seemed interested in. It became very clear that they wanted contestants who not only displayed ENERGY (they kept reminding us to have ENERGY) but they wanted "reality show" type contestants. They kept asking me ON CAMERA...things like:
"Jim, tell us what's the most ridiculous thing you ever did in your life."
"Jim, what is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done."
"Jim, if we spoke to your friends, what would they tell us about you?"
"Jim, what's the one thing in your life you regret the most?"
"Jim, what would you do with the money, should you win the $1million?"
and on and on and on like this. Forget about the fact that I guessed ALL the passwords in one or two clues each.
Forget about the fact that when it was my turn to give the password clues to the Florida housewife, I gave her such excellent clues that she guessed every one...and we did it in 42 seconds! The guy giving us the test said it has NEVER been done that fast since they've been holding auditions!
But I couldn't come up with a stupid story to make them LIKE me while the camera was running. So, if anybody should EVER go out for Million Dollar Password (or any other game show)....remember: They don't care so much HOW you play the game...they just want you to have really stupid, moronic stories that will give Regis Philbin something to poke fun at when he introduces you as a contestant!!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Jim, I had a casting call on Wednesday, 3/5/08

I thought I did really well (at least played the game well) but I guess I wasn't bubbly enough? I don't know- I drove 3.5 hours to get there so I was a little low on bubbles....