Here was the sign up form...
https://ccasting.wufoo.com/forms/master-collectors/
They totally planned to con people into signing up, then blindsidding them with the real intention of the show. They knew that no collectors would sign up if they knew the spin and direction they were going for, so they suckered people into thinking they were going to be on tv to SHOW OFF their collection and get praised for their big collection.
Not sure if I said it here, or only on my Twitter, but when we saw the ad for the show, it asked for "you or a loved one with an amazing collection?"
Then when we signed documents, it said it was called "MASTER COLLECTOR".
With each subsequent meeting, they would tease us with a bit more...
"Well, they might want you to sell some stuff, would you be ok with that?"
and so on.
Only after taping, and once promos started airing, did we learn it was called "Collection Intervention".
So no, we never signed up for an intervention show, because I don't need one.
I would not even give them that much credit though.
In our casting video, the girl (who worked for the casting agency, not the studio) turned off the camera and started coaching us.
"Why don't you say they're taking over my house!"
stuff like that. We told her that we didn't feel that way, she said and this is almost a verbatim quote...
"Oh, this is just for the audition, once they pick you you'll be able to be your honest self"
or something along those lines.
We never saw that girl again, because once they cast us, the agency got paid and it wasn't their problem.
This type of "Say it now and we'll change it later" type of cajoling was rampant.
Eventually, we twigged onto it and started saying "NO" to their requests for sound bytes.
Example, they asked me to say "I would NEVER put them in storage".
I said I couldn't say that, because they were in storage back in Chicago.
And so on....
You've all been great here, I appreciate the interest and if you have any more questions, feel free to send them my way.
My god....that's DISGUSTING.
Dude, unless you signed an NDA (and I'm assuming you didn't, if you're coming here and telling us about the experience), I say blow the lid off of this.
You're sitting on a seriously good story here and one that really SHOULD be told. These kinds of "Schaedenfreude Theater" reality shows disgust me, and doubly so if it's because of lying editing and intentional manipulation of the subjects of the show.
If people knew how awfully constructed these so-called "reality" shows were, and how they sandbag the people on them, maybe they'd start tuning out and we could get some REAL damn shows on.
I might not be interested in watching it myself, but "Master Collector" where they showcase a collection, offer tips about how to maintain it or improve it, as well as maybe tips on how to avoid going overboard, THAT would be a WAY better show than "OMG look at these FREAKS!! who...um...by the way aren't actually freaks...we just made 'em look like that..."
Disgusting. Just ***king disgusting. Burn these bastards. That's what I say. And you know the best part? It'll all be true. They can't say you're badmouthing them if you're just telling the truth. I'd bet you aren't the only one who went through this experience, either.
Seriously. Go public with this. Although -- one thought -- write up your side of the story as a separate blog post FIRST, and THEN take it elsewhere if you're gonna do so. That way when some unscrupulous news reporter spins the story of your story being spun, you can say "And THAT a-hole lied, TOO. Here's the story. Check out my blog post."
The more I learn about the production of these television programs the less I like them.
My son (18 yrs old.) is a talented singer/guitarist who expressed interest in trying out for American Idol. They held try-outs this year in Newark, N.J. and we took a trip intending to give it a shot.
I took one read of their release form and scrapped that idea.
They make you sign a brutally one-sided release form stating you turn over everything about yourself, to be used in any way they choose, now and forever, throughout the universe, and in every media known and un-known! It's awful how these production companies exploit people.
One thing about that kind of release -- it might not be enforceable to the full extent they claim. "WE OWN EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR SOUL IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT!!!" probably won't hold up in court, ya know? That said, they craft these things this way so that a judge will give them the maximum legally allowable, and YOU bear the burden of requesting the judge to pare it back. And they're counting that the onerous nature of the release will scare you off from even trying to do so.
Oddly (and this may betray my own professional biases), I don't have as much of a problem with the overbroad contract clause as I do with sandbagging people and goading them into "Just say this on camera SO WE CAN MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A GREAT BIG FREAK!!! MWAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Mostly because I figure a competent lawyer can blow holes in a poorly drafted, overbroad release form, whereas once the lying show airs, you can't put the genie back in the bottle.
