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Episode 19 – TV Talent Shows
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Have you ever taken part in a TV talent show? What was your experience like?
Yes, Paul, I have. I performed a blindfolded car drive a few years ago on that big American Talent show that everyone “Gets.” It was a crazy experience.
One of the producers saw a video of me driving blindfolded and called me to ask if I would like to perform it on the show. After talking to some magician, mentalist, escape artist friends who had actually been on the show (they schooled me how to “do” that show), I was confident that I could perform in such a way as to not give them fodder for turning it against me somehow (which they are prone to do at times it seems). I agreed and was flown out to LA soon to film my spot. They flew me out, fed me, and gave me an excellent hotel room, etc. This was in April of 2014.
They changed everything on me once I arrived. Instead of doing it on a closed course during the day, they wanted it on the streets and at night. They wanted me to wear a different blindfold. Then I couldn’t drive the car before the live shoot. A lot of things changed at the last minute. If I didn’t comply, they weren’t going to shoot the spot. They also wanted to know the secret and demanded it be known for insurance and other purposes. I told them to ask Chris Kenner, who at the time was their magic consultant for the show. Instead the producer just gave me a blindfold test and I amazed her. She left and returned to tell me everything was a go and that they were shooting it after all.
The shoot was great. Howard Stern was the nicest of all of the judges (to me personally). I played it up; swerved car, hit the brakes, etc. I had an 8 man police escort that closed roads ahead of me, a TV camera truck in front of me, Go-Pro cameras, etc. The whole shoot took about an hour as I drove through the streets of Hollywood with four A-list celebrities in the car with me. It was a smashing success and I was voted through to the next round. It was perhaps one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I had ever experienced, and I’m an U.S. Army veteran who used to jump out of helicopters and almost fell to my death once during a training exercise.
Two weeks before the show was to air they canceled the spot. It never ran. There was nothing I could do about it but tell all of my friends and family that all of the hype and getting them to wait was for nothing.
They reminded me of the confidentiality agreement. I’m supposed to keep my mouth shut about my experience.
These shows are not about talent at all. It’s TV. It’s about ratings and advertising dollars and they will do anything to do that and don’t care at all how people are affected by it in the process. Once people understand this, it makes dealing with the cut-throat nature of it all a bit easier. If it happens to work in your favor, then wonderful. If it doesn’t, then just move on. Sometimes it’s a golden egg-laying goose, but most of the time it isn’t. Whatever their reason for canceling it was, I’ll never know. Everyone on the set went nuts and loved it, even the producer. It was going to be a huge TV spot.
Don’t get me wrong; the people were very nice and I had a lot of fun with them. I even worked directly with the director of the entire show (unknown to many)! However, the decisions are made by people behind the curtain. They look at a lot of factors, and change their mind on a dime if they think a better idea has suddenly come along. It’s not personal.
I’m a full-time professional and have been for many years. My advice to anyone considering making an attempt to be on shows like this is to ask yourself if your career can withstand any huge negative publicity that could happen as a result (if they make you look like an idiot, which they can do with editing). Also, to have a clear plan of attack and to see any success as a stepping stone to a larger picture. You must know what that picture IS, however! Every career is different. Just getting a spot of fame isn’t necessarily enough! Don’t believe me? How many people can you recall that had great appearances on the show? No doubt you’ve forgotten about most of them and so has the rest of the world.
There’s a lot more that could be said, but I’ll spare everyone here. The shows are good to a point and have their place but they are definitely not for everyone. I congratulate all of those who have seen much success as a result. Meanwhile, the vast majority of us “working-class” performers who aren’t as fortunate to get those moments continue to do all that is necessary to keep our calendars full, put food on the table, plan for retirement, etc.
Chris, that sounds like an amazing experience and I bet one you will never forget. It’s really a shame that it never aired as I bet it would have made great TV.
I’ve worked on so many pieces for people that get filmed, and you think, great I can talk about this soon, and then ‘BAM’ never sees the light of day. My golden rule for media is to never talk about it until it is on the TV, otherwise you end up looking a bit silly. I used to tell people everything then look silly when it didn’t come off.
Great advice too, thanks for taking the time to comment and at very enjoyable length too 🙂