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How to Absolutely Blow the Open Casting Call

How Not to be Cast on The Biggest Loser

The following stories and examples may or may not be exaggerations but are all based in reality.

“The Casting Call Is When?  I have an appointment at Supercuts”

You must show up. This sounds obvious but so many people have emailed me that ‘this’ or ‘that’ ‘came up’ and they ‘could not make it’ and ‘is there anything’ I can do to help them blah blah blah.  There isn’t.  If changing your life is not worth the time to show up then I can’t help you.

“Why the h*ll is this taking so long?”

Don’t complain about the wait.  Enjoy it.  Some people are going to talk in the line and get to know everyone around them and others are going to clam up (see Erik’s interview) but complaining about the wait is stupid.

I had one lady tell me she had been there standing in line for 4 hours and had borrowed someone’s car to get there and had to get it back to her friend and that she had driven 20 minutes to get to the casting call blah blah blah.  I’m typically never rude to people who stand in line but I was definitely stern with her.  I explained to her that A) the first person in line had taken a plane from Seattle, Washington on top of a 1 hour cab ride to get there.  Someone else had B) driven 12 hours from Georgia AND someone else had C) driven the night before in the snowstorm traveling along at 35 miles per hour on the freeway from Columbus Ohio (which is normally a 4 hour drive at 60 mph).  Someone else was D) moving their daughter from Chicago back somewhere down south and decided to take a 4 hour detour, swing by the casting call and stand in line for 8 hours before getting back on the road.  Yes the moving truck was in the parking lot!  PS – They got a call back .  The lady I was stern with stopped complaining and ended up staying at the casting call.

“I am going to wing it!”

Don’t be a dumb dumb! Do your research or ask for advice in advance.  Winging it might work by there is a scripture that says – In the multitude of counselors there is safety. So get some counsel.  I have had friends and acquaintances (at least 5-7) come to the casting call who never even got in touch with me to ask me what they should expect, even though they saw me weekly.  Ask people – email folk, read our blogs, etc. etc. etc.

“My favorite hang out is the library.”

You must have personality and you must speak up.  The open casting call ( cc ) is not a manners competition.  You will not be guaranteed your ‘day in court’.  So speak up when the opportunity presents itself.  You will only have a couple of minutes in a group of other people so make sure you are at least ready to get your point across.

Here’s a tip.  Watch a few live interview style political news shows (Meet the Press, Fox and Friends etc.) and watch how the hosts of these shows interject questions in the middle of the sentences of the person answering.  If you are not heard you will not get a call back.  Don’t be obnoxious but practice how to be heard.

“I think that Rosa Parks should have kept quiet.”

You must stand out!  Typically, standing out comes natural to those who are the highest of type A personalities.  For example;  At one table there was this guy and every time he spoke the rest of the table just stopped and listened.  I mean it was amazing.  They just stopped and listened!!  He could have spoke for 10 minutes and no one would have interrupted.  It was natural and he just commanded attention.  Perfect. BTW – He got a call back.

“I think Jackass The Movie should have been rated G”

Don’t be obnoxious. There is a fine line here I know.  Sometimes people don’t have anything worth saying so they just say dumb stuff.  The casting directors are professionals.  They know when you’re a dumb, dumb and are just repeating non-sense.  Be confident and speak up but don’t stir up a bees nest by saying something dumb.  Stirring up a bees nest is good if you have a good argument.  Actually that is great!  If you are opinionated you had better speak up!

“My personality is all I need.”

Don’t forget to bring pictures. Do not bring poor pictures. Pictures do not have to be originals and they can be on regular paper but at least make sure they are GOOD quality and can be left behind.  Make sure you have at least a good picture that shows your pretty hair, face and smile (well groomed of course).  Bring pictures of you and your partner together if you are trying out as a pair.  Bring pictures of potential partners if they cannot make the casting call.  I know someone that got a call back and eventually made the show just from a PICTURE!  No LIE! They never even came to the casting call but were in someone else’s picture!  Full length pictures are fine.  Pictures with other people in them are ok. But just make sure we can see your face. Heck speaking of pictures, it is ok to take pics of the contestants in attendance, the CD’s etc.

“They will remember my name and my pretty round face.”

Don’t forget to write your name and contact info on the back of all pictures. What happens if your picture and your application get separated?  You just missed your opportunity to be cast because the picture/application will go in the trash. ‘Why is this picture here by itself?  Wow they would be perfect for the show.  Oh well, in the trash it goes.’ It has happened!

“I think that all Personal Protection Orders should be ignored.”

Don’t be a stalker!  One would-be contestant was in line early and was seen early by the CD’s.  Hours later we looked around and literally saw her sitting behind us.  She sat around for the entire casting session and then congratulated us for seeing everyone. Note: The casting people do not take kindly to stalkers! They are regular folk and get weirded out like everyone else.

“My small friend believes that all Personal Protection Orders should be ignored also.”

Don’t bring along a friend to be a stalker. There was one particular young lady waiting in line who was there with her small friend.  The stalker friend asked questions in advance of the Casting Directors. Then stalker friend asked questions immediately after her friend made it into the interview area and was seen by the casting directors. Then stalker-friend went and started bothering one of the casting directors when the CD was trying to take 5 minutes and eat lunch.  This does not help your friend’s case.  If you don’t have the personality to stand out on your own then having a stalker-friend tag along will only hurt your chances.  After all you can’t take stalker friend on tv to help your personality can you? To be clear, having friends and family come along is fine!  It is going to be a long day.  I enjoyed meeting many people who were not trying out but were there for support.  But having them bug the CD’s is dumb .

“I have inner-beauty.”

Don’t do this – Clean the dog kennels, change the oil in the pickup, drop the transmission, feed the dogs and then come straight to the casting call without changing clothes. You must dress the part. You are not trying out for a part on The Biggest Sloppiest Nastiest Loser.  I have seen people wearing dirty black sweatsuits with cat hair on them.  Why would you come out of the house looking like you just rolled out of your brother-husbands trailer and are trying out for a character on Earl or as Eminem’s moms love interest in the movie 8 Mile?  Even the people who drove very long distances looked nice and clean.

“Forget you Pete – I saaiidd I have inner beauty (neck roll)”

HEY! Pay attention to that last point again! I said dress nicely! This is a TV show about weight loss.  Not a weight loss show that happens to be on tv. Personally, I always tried to look my best whenever I was in public – granted it was hard at 416 with a 60 coat size but still I tried. I dressed nicely when I had my own computer consulting company and as a Real Estate Investor.  Erik Chopin, Season 3’s Biggest Loser said he bought a new leather coat and jeans to wait 8 hours in line in Manhattan. Don’t forget the makeup and grooming people!!

“Why are they taking so doggone long in there?”

Don’t be rude! This didn’t happen in Detroit (I love my hometown) but I was told about a time when a lady actually took time to measure how much time the casting directors spent with each group and gave the CD’s ‘lip’ because they took too long with one group and took for lunch blah blah blah (here in Detroit the CD’s took about a 20 minute standing lunch – that’s 10 hours of interviewing and a 20 minute break).  Come on!  Shoot the decision maker why don’t you.  You would probably curse out the head of NBC because the casting calls are not in every city if you got the chance!

“Fat March, Celebrity Fit Club, that new show with that lady on it – You are all basically the same right?”

It’s called The Biggest Loser. 10 million viewers per week. Watch the show.  You are going to be asked some general questions about the show.  At least know who the main people on the show are.  At least have a working knowledge of the show even if you don’t watch it every week.  Know the main 3 characters and the last few winners.  That should take you all of 15 minutes to read up on.  But don’t feel too bad, the Sunday morning news anchors on our local NBC affiliate, WDIV, didn’t even know who Bob was – and this is one of the best shows on their network!

“I need to go prepare dinner”

If your in line then stay until the end. At the very end of the day we only had approx 2 minutes to look at 10 people at a time.  Even then, there were a couple people that stood out above the rest and were considered for call backs.

“Ba Ba Junior!! I told you to get off that ceiling fan and get back over here!”

Don’t bring your bad kids.  They distract everyone including the Casting Directors and mess up your chances of making it on the show.

“I don’t need the show to lose weight.”

If you can lose weight without the show and you don’t really need the show then don’t show up for the casting call.  What’s the point?

“Pete, I could crush you when you were your biggest!”

You can be too big.  Yes it is possible.  One day I am sure that there will be a 600 pounder on the show who is tall enough and ‘healthy’ enough to be picked for the show.  But until that day comes you need to understand that even a show called The BIGGEST Loser has its limitations. You have to be able to ‘do’ the intense exercise required.

“I am just going to give up!”

Bill and Jim Germanakos interviewed 3 times/seasons before making it on the show. Send in your video, go to the next casting call. Don’t give up.  But let’s be honest, if you’re the type to not give up your not going to wait around for some dumb show to lose weight are you?  One caveat – do you qualify for the show?  Are you what the show is looking for?  More on that in another post.

For the whole series of articles click here

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s a Winner Within You!

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I will edit this all later – this is the outline of my outline but I am throwing it up now because I am running late . Listen now and check back later.  Refresh this post to see if I have made any more additions lately. I am sorry if it does not show or play correctly I am literally doing this while the car is warming up. I have found out that there may be a problem viewing this in Internet Explorer. Try Firefox if you cant view it correctly.

When to come

Arrive 5-10 minutes before your appointment. No need to come any earlier. If the front desk does not know where you’re supposed to go, then just hang out in the lobby until someone comes down to get you.

What to bring

Have your paperwork filled out. Before you get here. They will read off of it! What to bring – Bring Pictures – Bring them both on paper for the casting people to see and on disk or usb key so they can be emailed. Be prepared to leave behind anything that you bring. Don’t even ask for it back. Bring pictures from when you were young till now. Hopefully they show a progression of when you were young and lovely until you were older and fatter and uglier

These are the pics I took to my casting call back.

I printed out my pics on 8 x 11 paper and glued them to large poster board and PUT THEM ON A DISK that the casting directors could take back with them.  You do NOT have to do exactly this.  But you get the ideal.  If you do bring pics then have good stories to go along with them.

How to dress

Come dressed very nicely. Hair done, nails done, clean shaven or waxed.  Think of it as a chance to appear on camera an impress America. Don’t come looking sloppy.  Don’t overdo it.  Accentuate the positive.  If you have great eyes then accentuate them don’t downplay them. If your in a uniformed profession now is the time to wear that uniform – very nicely press and all mind you!

Also expect the Casting Directors to take a very up close polaroid picture of you before you leave.  So make sure you look good.

What To Expect

The setting

1 couch 2 chairs 1 camera – Real simple. You are the star!

On the way up to the room

Make them your fan! Know the names of the casting directors – address them by such. (I still know the names of my casting directors Adam and Liz from way back in 2004).  Build a rapport with them.  Ask them about them! Ask how they got into the business, where are they from etc. But dont be fake, be sincere.

What to say and do

Type A personalities get cast for the show, and I would add, The Type A of Type A’s. The point is to be outgoing and outstanding!  Treat the casting directors like they are your close relatives and you are just hanging out with them.

Tell stories about your life that are funny and revolve around you (and your teammate if applicable). Don’t sit around like a rock and not say anything.  Show them your personality.  Your trying out for a tv show not a job in a library.  When a cd asks you a question take the opportunity to take the question and absolutly run with it.  Talk it up!

Additional Info: If the casting directors instruct you in a certain way then you need to follow their direction.  If they want to know about some painful event then go down that line of discusion.  Don’t switch topics to something else.  They are asking you something for a reason.

The Season Six plus Joelle Factor  – If you don’t need the show then dont even show up.  If you fine with the size you are then don’t apply.

Hook or Themes

If you have a story accent that story.  Always the Bridesmaid?  Tell them and show them.  Bring the bridesmaid dresses.  Lost the love of your life?  Bring pictures of those lost loves.

Are they looking for teams – then play that up.  Two doctors should come dressed like doctors and bring cadaviers.  Two lawyers should come with gavels.  I am kidding.  Maybe.  But do bring props etc.

Be witty, be very chipper.  Be open and free.  Talk about your kids with cancer. Reason for wanting the show. Etc. Talk about why you ‘must have’ the show.  Never leave the room saying ‘I wish I had said this’.  Have no regrets.

Your Weight.

Round up. Little fat people do not make it on the show.

For the whole series of articles click here

Also refresh this post to see if I have made any more additions lately.

Once your Private Interview is over then your best bet is to follow the conversation at Matthew McNutt’s place

For the whole series of articles click here

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s a Winner Within You!

Like these articles? – Please click the Share/Save button below

Kim Pardi, one of my Facebook family alerted me to this this morning.

NBC just announced that they are developing and releasing  The Biggest Loser Video Game for Nintendo Wii and DS in October 2009.

And, according to the website, yours truly, Pete Thomas, will be featured along with Bob, Jillian, Ali, Amy H, Michelle, Drea, Bernie, Matt and Jim!  How cool.

While I don’t get royalties my character had better keep his weight off once the game is turned off!!  Now I will have to get a Wii. Better yet, I need to talk to the game designers and see if they can give me a fake tan.

If your interested in reading the complete Biggest Loser Video Game press release click here or go to the official Biggest Loser The Game Web Site.

Talk to you soon and remember,

There’s A Winner Within You!

WE WANT CERTIFIED TRAINERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH OVERWEIGHT CLIENTS.

IF YOU HAVE A STRONG PERSONALITY AND AN AMAZING TRACK RECORD OF TAKING THE WEIGHT OFF YOUR CLIENTS, THEN COME AUDITION TO BE PART OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL WEIGHTLOSS SHOW ON TELEVISION.

* YOU MUST BE CERTIFIED
* YOU MUST PROVIDE REFERENCES
* NUTRITIONAL CREDENTIALS ARE A PLUS

PLEASE NOTE: March 31st is the deadline for submitting tapes and applications. There is no guarantee that tapes and applications received after the March 31st will be reviewed in time for season 8.

TO AUDITION: ATTEND A BIGGEST LOSER OPEN CALL IN YOUR AREA!

COME AUDITION FOR SEASON 8 AT ONE OF OUR OPEN CALLS LISTED BELOW:

(Pete says: Trainers have had their own separate waiting area and have not had to wait for hours like other contestants.)

We will do our best to see the first 500 people in line. Please do not line up more than 3 hours before the start time. Please bring a non-returnable photo of yourself.

MARCH 7th

HOUSTON
10am – 5pm
Dave and Buster’s
(Marq*E Center off of I-10 & Silber)
7620 Katy Freeway #100
Houston, TX 77024

MIAMI
10am – 5pm
The Shops at Midtown Miami
Fountain Plaza
3401 N. Miami Ave.
Miami, FL 33127

COLUMBUS
10am – 5pm
Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe
1421 Olentangy River Rd
Columbus, OH 43212

PHOENIX
10 am – 5 pm
US Airways Center
201 E. Jefferson St
Phoenix, AZ 85004
MARCH 14th

LOS ANGELES
10 am – 5 pm
CITADEL OUTLETS
100 Citadel Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90040

SAN DIEGO
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Liberty Station Conference Center
2600 Laning Rd.
San Diego, CA 92106

* You must be at least 18 years of age and a legal resident of the U.S.

I am doing weekly video updates on the current season for my buddy John Gonzalez of the Grand Rapids Press and his Going Gonzo Blog over at mlive.com.

This week is feel good week as teams have a challenge in a food pantry and have the potential for everyone to stay on the ranch.  Also I update the Detroit Biggest Loser Casting calls. Have a watch and check out John’s blog.

Talk to You Soon and Remember,

There’s A Winner Within You!

I am doing weekly video updates on the current season for my buddy John Gonzalez of the Grand Rapids Press and his Going Gonzo Blog over at mlive.com.

This week the contestants are so bored that they play in the mud!  And they also get locked out of the gym, have to row for their lives, nearly die at the beach and then one of our Michigan teams fall below the yellow line! Auuuggghhhhh!  Lots of good stuff and check out my Biggest Loser Casting call tips on this website.  Have a watch and check out John’s blog.

Talk to You Soon and Remember,

There’s A Winner Within You!

Pete Thomas