For the first time I've fully realised that the reason the fashion ramp is called a Catwalk is because of how catty those who walk it always are.
This is I know after seeing all five seasons of America’s Next Top Model
and trust me when I tell you - I was amazed.
The
first season of the show started on eTV last week, I wasn’t expecting it to be very much of anything besides schmodels dressing up and was thrilled to discover that even though it is, it’s also totally not.
I haven’t actually seen every episode of all five seasons but rather caught an excellent
True Hollywood Story about them on E! at the weekend. By watching I’ve committed the
ultimate Reality TV horror though because they interviewed all the winners which means I know who the winner of the every season is.
Oddly enough I don’t mind knowing and kinda like the idea of watching inside-out in this instance – espesh considering how surprising the winner is. Models are whacked - they're supposed to be so gorge and stuff, yet they’ve mostly got very peculiar faces that all look the same - but also don’t?
The THS told the stories of the five seasons to date by showing snippets from each of them, as well as behind-the-scenes footage. In between there were interviews with the winners, contestants and other people involved with the show, which didn’t include Tyra Banks.
She must have been too busy working to be spoken to because everyone said that she never stops working, sends e-mails at 4am in the morning and that she insists on being part of every aspect of the show, particularly the editing.
The two who had the most to say were Michael Kors – a producer/designer type - and also some puffy chick with long dark hair who’s job description I can’t remember.
She had interesting things to say though like the fact that the first season was a
sleeper hit of note with no-one expecting it to do nearly as well as it did. Before it started nobody was particularly interested, resulting in them struggling to cast it when hardly anyone pitched up for the auditions.
Michael Kors said that they’d also not been given enough money to make it and that they’d spent the first episode lugging sets up eighty flights of stairs when the lift in the building they were filming in broke and they couldn’t pay the $80 000 they needed to fix it.
After the first episode the crew and production went into mutiny saying it was impossible to carry on unless they got extra cash to make it happen. They got the money, completed the first season and by the second the casting for it was a very different story when millions que’d to be on the show.
They also featured interviews with the models who were involved in the very first task they did last week - where they were really literally blown off the icey building.
Seeing them all in such trauma was diviiine and from the looks of it there’s loads of suffering yet to come for them, including cat-claws surrounding the bible bashing loon, lots to do with eating disorders and a trip away to an exotic location when the competition’s most intense.
Modelling is a very strange thing isn’t it? The idea of it – that peeps would put clothes on – or take them off – then walk up and down, striking poses, not being the focus but also not disappearing. There must be some kind of skill to it I suppose, otherwise everyone would be able to do it, yet they’re not.
I see tonight they’ll be learning the skills of it – how to walk and strut and use the catwalk properly. They’re going to have to concentrate on being as sexy as possible for the shoot they do afterwards. which is for a men’s magazine.
Hows that for being the ultimate in Sneak? Men’s magazines and the way they’ve somehow managed to convince everyone (chick’s included) that the reasons they have pics in them are completely different from Playboy’s.
Besides the winner, the THS showed a couple of other contestants from the show too but I can’t remember any of them. I actually can’t remember who the winner was either as others came after her with the one from the fourth season being so unforgettably uggers you have noo idea.
I’m off to see who’s who again so I know what’s going on for the next episode. If you haven’t checked them all out yet, here’s a link to the show’s showpage where you’ll find pictures of each of them:
America’s Next Top Model.------------
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