So You Wannabe on Reality TV

By Jack Benza

There are more than two hundred reality TV shows planned for this year alone. Millions of people have applied to be on these shows; only a handful have been chosen to compete and win big money. One of those chosen few is Jack Benza, and in So You Wannabe on Reality TV he lifts the veil of secrecy to reveal exactly what the experience is likehow to get cast, how to stay on top, how to win. First, the author tells exactly how to pass the auditionperhaps by creating a marketable alter ego,” as he did. Once on the show, readers will need the amazing information on how producers rig shows, how cameras turn into confessionals, and how sex and alcohol are used as rewards. This one-of-a-kind book shows the real world of reality TV.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allworth
• Release date: Sep 1, 2005
• ISBN: 9781621531128

Book preview

Know What to Sell

Them and What You are Getting Into

Four years ago I created a character actor named Jack Benza, a brash New Yorker who did whatever TV producers wanted in order to infiltrate the Reality TV world. During my four-year adventure, I discovered the technique for navigating the reality-casting process, from the day of the audition to the night the show airs. In fact, I am the only person in the world to have competed on over thirty reality/game shows as a contestant. So, You Wannabe on Reality TV ?! I’m here to share my expertise, so you can earn your fifteen minutes of fame—or more.

Based on my experiences, I will show you how to deal with the application/contract process and what to expect when the physical exams, psychological testing, and the extensive FBI background checks begin. I remove the veil of Reality TV to uncover the secrets you need to know once you are hired, how the producers rig shows, how cameras turn into confession booths, how sex and alcohol are used as rewards, why loving thy neighbor never happens, why locations are not safe, and what you will actually get paid. Lastly I will let you share my sordid and scintillating adventures: making out with a porn star, being hunted by a rock star, being almost raped in an Amsterdam bar, and, finally, winning and then smashing up two new cars!

But before you get involved in this latest entertainment craze, you first have to know who you are as a person. Me? I was a twenty-eight-year-old aspiring actor when I moved from New York to Los Angeles in January 2000. Reality TV fever was beginning to catch on and a Screen Actors Guild strike was developing, so getting an acting gig was very difficult. I had paid my dues in New York by studying the craft of acting and bartending late hours in order to make my move to L.A. happen. But I didn’t come out to L.A. to see a naked guy on Survivor win a million dollars and take away valuable TV time that I had worked for. Or to be stopped on every other street corner by somebody handing me a flyer that said Reality Show Contestants Wanted. Times were changing, and I had to change with them, so I decided to use Reality TV to my advantage. Little did I know that over time it would use me as well.

Reality TV was replacing shows on prime time, and it allowed pretty much anyone who had the desire to be on TV to do so. I had always wanted to be on TV, although I had thought it would be as an actor, not as a contestant. But I studied Reality TV and targeted the shows I could easily get on. From there I planned to network, as one would in any other business, getting to know the producers of other shows and building a résumé. Back then it was easier to go on many different shows; the rules are much stricter now.

I got hooked, and somehow I did the right things along the way that made the producers want to put me on TV. I’m no different from any-body else; sometimes a job or an opportunity comes along, and I get lucky. But I realized the guy I really was, Jack Fernandez, was not the guy they wanted to see on these shows. So I changed my last name and made it Italian. Jack Benza. A cocky, brash New Yorker who didn’t give a shit what people thought. It sold. I decided to use this character at every audition, because that’s how I saw it; Benza was a character, and I was acting!

The character Jack Benza allowed me to win over $60,000 in cash, prizes, and two new cars. I got to play on eleven different dating shows, which enabled me to date over twenty different women with all the tabs being picked up by the various networks. It allowed me to go undefeated for seven game shows, including becoming the Grand Champion on Whammy Press Your Luck. Benza allowed me to meet celebrities, travel the world, and gain my own celebrity notoriety.

In this book, I will reveal the inner workings of the Reality World, so that you can see if reality is the genre for you. The first part of this book goes through the audition/casting process and provides you with a truthful guide. After reading this section, you will be able to see the commitment that will be required of you if you decide to accept this endeavor. The second part of the book will take you onto the set where you will see the true reality of Reality TV. After reading this section, you will never again view Reality TV the same way. The last section is about the adventures I had. It contains stories about my best game shows, my best dates, my worst shows, and the show in which I lived with Ted Nugent. If you prefer to know more about me, then read the last section first. If you want to learn more about Reality TV, then read the book from front to back.

Let me warn you that this book is controversial, any way you slice it. People will like it or they’ll hate it. But why don’t you be the judge of that?!

How to Find and Get the Audition

How many times have you watched a reality or game show and wanted to be, or wondered how you could become, a part of it? I did this numerous times and decided that I needed to find a way. So I started calling the contestant phone-line numbers that they list at the end of their shows. Anybody can watch a show and get the contestant phone-line number to call, but when you dial it, all you get is a machine that says thank you for calling and after the tone leave your name, occupation, and where you are from. Very rarely will you get called back, as you get lost in the millions of people who call every day. If you decide to do this, make sure you say something that will make your message stand out. This is the only way they will call you back.

I made the person who heard my message call me back. You have to have an energetic, take-charge attitude when it comes to being on the phone with these people, otherwise you get deleted. When I reached the message machine at Hollywood Squares, I told them, in my Italian brassy character, that I was ready for their show and it was now time for me to be on that show. There was no way that they could ignore this stand-out personality, because television is all about personality. I got called back.

When calling a show, it is important to know something about that particular show. It helps to make a nice comment about the host or the prizes that they award. When Hollywood Squares called me, I told them that this was the only time I would probably ever be talking to celebrities and I was honored. Once you praise the show, obtain the audition information.

Now it is very important to know what shows you want to do, because these days you only get to do one game or reality show a year. I wouldn’t waste my time on the little ones, when there are bigger fish out there to catch. These little ones consist of Street Smarts, To Tell the Truth, and any show that has a grand prize of less than five grand. The big ones are shows such as The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune, or Survivor—shows that offer more. If you decide you want to give game shows a shot, take your two-week vacation and come on out to Hollywood, because this is where it happens! If you live in the Midwest, or any other place, very rarely do they ask you to fly in. They want people who are native, and/or are vacationing in the California area at that time, because they have shows to make. New York may be the only other area that is the exception to the rule, but Hollywood has more variety.

Your next step should be to find out which studios these shows are being cast at, and then map out where you want to go, kind of like a road trip. When I first got out to Hollywood, I wanted to be on The Price Is Right and meet Bob Barker; I mean who doesn’t? But you can’t just show up and get into the studio audience; there is a process. If you’re inter- ested, this is how you do it.

HOW TO GET IN ON THE GAME

The day before they shoot, you must stop by the box office and pick up actual tickets. This doesn’t guarantee you entry to the show, but you need to do this just so you can stand in line the next day. No ticket, no standing. Now, once you get your ticket, make sure you have at least five people going with you, because groups are what they like. If you go there by yourself, it’s pretty automatic that you will just be watching the show that day. The ticket says be there at 7 in the morning, but the actual gates open at 6 A.M. So, if you get there at 7 A.M., you’re already late, and chances are, you are not getting in. If you really want to get into the studio audience, get there about 4 A.M. and start standing in the line outside the gate, because that’s when people start getting there. Once the gates open at 6 A.M., you proceed to another line. After you wait approxi- mately two more hours, security cuts off the line. This is when one of the casting people appears to check out the audience.

It now comes down to three simple questions you must answer: What’s your name? What do you do? And, where are you from? This is when they determine who will be competing on the show and who will remain an audience member. Once those questions are answered, they give you an official ticket and tell you to come back later when the show actually starts taping. Make sure you are back at that time, because you still have to get in.

Finally, once the show starts, you have a 10 percent chance of getting called up onstage, but it’s better than the zero percent you had earlier that day. Usually, if you’re traveling with a group of twenty people or more, someone from your group is likely to be called. This is why groups are very important. Again, television is about personality and presence, and groups give off a lot of energy.

Every show has a different way of auditioning people. On my Hollywood Squares interview, everybody there was required to take a twenty-question true-or-false test. Questions varied from Is the tomato America’s favorite fruit? to Was Harrison Ford a carpenter before he started acting? Now there is no way to prepare for this, so don’t get down on yourself if you fail. For Hollywood Squares, if you failed the test, you had to wait an entire year just to take it again to audition. Game shows usually require a test to help weed people out.

The same goes for Jeopardy. After you make a call to the studio, they invite you in to take a fifty-question test that is timed for thirteen minutes. If you pass, you get to play a mock game on the actual stage the real show is filmed on. If you don’t pass, you have to leave and wait an entire year to take the test again.

Some game shows that are not on a mainstream level will call people in just because they had an energetic attitude on the phone. The way I got on Street Smarts was that I made the person on the phone laugh, because most of these people hate their jobs and entertaining them helps you out.

DATING SHOW TIPS

Dating shows pretty much run like lower-level game shows. But dating shows, like guys at last call in a singles bar, will take just about anybody, because they’re desperate. My first show ever was blind date, and they were happy to get my call. I encourage single people to go for these shows, because you can do as many as you want, you have fun, and you actually meet people in the business. Producers who do these shows jump from show to show looking for their next job. They carry with them a list of the people they know are good to work with. I made that list, called the roster, because I had a monster blind date that went over well. From this show, I got other shows as the months and years went on.

SACRIFICING YOUR PRIVATE LIFE

If you are looking to get into Reality shows, there are four things you must consider. First, know that if you plan on doing these shows, the private life that you know now will no longer be private. The network will expose and humiliate you in some form or fashion. If you can live with this, then let’s move on.

Second, in order to do a Reality show you must devote a lot of your time to it, probably at least two months of your life. One month will be devoted to the actual audition process, which I will cover in the first section of this book. The second month requires doing the actual show.

This requires you to put your life on hold. If you can deal with the intrusion of your privacy and if you have the time, you’re ready to proceed.

Third, you have to download the actual application off the Web site of each show. I recommend that you do this at home, because it is draining. I cover the application process in the next chapter.

The fourth thing you will need is a five-minute edited tape of yourself. I will cover how to make these tapes in chapter 3.

Reality shows require you to mail in the application and a tape in order to be considered. If it’s possible for you to drop off your submission in person, do it; it makes a bigger impression. Once you have the address to the place and your application and tape ready to go, then you are ready to audition.

Filling Out the Lengthy Application

The application is your first introduction to the casting directors and producers of a show. From the applications, the producers will be able to find out what kind of person you are. They want to know if you are somebody that people would want to watch on TV, and most importantly, if they can work with you.

Now think about this before filling out your twenty-page application. If millions of people are sending in twenty-page applications just like you, how long will it take before producers get bored or even tired of reading them? The answer is, not that long. So my first bit of advice is to keep it brief, no more than two lines per question. Less is more, and if your answers are clever, they will want to keep reading.

My second bit of advice is to keep it sharp. The kinds of questions that are on these applications are designed to reveal your personality in a short matter of time. They want your personality to jump off the page. They are looking for a certain type of person. Remember, my type is the brash New Yorker. Here’s how I apply my character to each question in the application. A frequently asked question on my applications has been: What was your most embarrassing moment? My answer? I shit my pants at a comedy club! Now is that the truth? No, but it does catch their eye, and it compels people to ask about the story. Now, that may not work for you, but for my character, it did work. It showed humiliation, desperation—and it was funny.

WHAT DO THEY WANNA KNOW?

Here are some more examples from three different reality-show applications: Mad Mad House, Surviving Nugent, and Exhausted.

Question: What do friends say are your three best qualities?

My Answer: I’m well-equipped, fit, and I don’t take shit!

Question: What do friends say are your three worst qualities?

My Answer: I’m cocky, pig-headed, and stubborn!

Question: If you were on a deserted island, what would be your luxury item?

My Answer: Angelina Jolie.

Question: What would you say is your proudest moment?

My Answer: I convinced a woman that my grandfather invented the honey bears—you know, those little bears you see in stores that carry honey—and that I was born into money.

Question: If you do not succeed on being on this show, what is your next milestone in life?

My Answer: To leave a nice, steamy hot shit outside your door!

If you look at all the questions on this application, you will see that they are trying to trigger responses from people. You can take the safe road and answer honestly, or you can take a chance and win some money. Bottom line, it’s about being different; it’s about standing out. You go on a show to win the money, and you have to play to win. In every answer I gave, you can see the character I was playing, and it was actually fun to not be myself. Just in case you’re wondering how my answers faired? In Mad Mad House and Exhausted, I ended up being a first alternate. Surviving Nugent, I got on the show.

Do not write your life story. These people don’t know a thing about you except for what you tell them. It is very important to be vague if you’re hiding something you are ashamed of. Just like in a court of law, it is the prosecuting attorney’s job to prove that the defendant is guilty. It is the casting people’s job to search databases with your name to find out information. They are looking for your job history, criminal record, entertainment history, etc. If they don’t find anything incriminating on you, then you are moved on to the next phase of casting. Yes, the approach I am suggesting here is a bit shady, but so is Reality TV!

If they do some research and accuse you of a lie on your application, just