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Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Week That Was

I just thought how strange it is for me to blog on the people in the If I Can Dream house and not my own life. Well, hell, I don't want to put people to sleep - HaHa.

Needless to say that some of my predictions inside the house held true this week. Some, not so good. I was wrong about Casey leaving American Idol. It was, instead, Aaron. I guess I better start taking a more feminine look on the elimination of Idols. Why would you vote to keep someone in based solely on their looks? No, surely the American public is not that shallow? Well, as Gomer Pyle would say, suprise, surprise, surprise.

The one other prediction - that Fridays and Tuesdays are key days in events that shape the Dream House, still holds true. This is evident from the events of Friday, May 8.

I should of sensed something major was up when I saw executive Producer Michael Herwick and the camera crew at the house at 9:30 yesterday morning. This results of this meeting would eventually effect the entire house and one of the Dreamers in particular.It was dead silence as Michael spoke for about 30 minutes. This was one of those "I speak and you listen" meetings. Michael said it was time for a reality check, to see what worked and didn't work. I have to appreciate Michael's job. He is the cog that makes the entire production run. He said it was evident, from the viewers, that some changes had to be made. If the viewers weren't happy, then viewers would not tune in. No viewers, no sponsors, no show.

Well, I didn't think much of it after the meeting was over. Michael would be having meetings throughout the day with everyone. I was sure that there would be another house meeting down the road to discuss what happened in those meetings. Everyone went on their way for the days activities.

All was well into the afternoon. Amanda had her a reverse Tweet session. Which was very proactive of her to do. Amanda has been a real trouper through the last two months. The day fell apart when Amanda returned from her meeting with Michael. My first inclination that something wasn't right was when I heard both Kara and Amanda crying. I turned my attention back to the monitor and clicked into the living room. It took me only a minute to realize why the two of them were crying. I was able to hear Amanda say she had decided to leave the house voluntarily. I thought, "Oh, my, God, what in the world?" Amanda stated that it had become too restrictive inside the house. All of this stemmed from not being able to go out when she wanted and restricted to the house on certain days.

Alright, you're going to say I shouldn't have let this effect me the way it has. I really hate to see someone give up on their dreams. Well, at least the way they were going about obtaining that dream. It saddens me that Amanda has given in to her lack of independence. My only hope is that she has given this alot of thought. This is a life changing decision. That decision surely could not have been an easy one for her. I fear her decision may have come without alot of thought. I wondered if she had talked to Dan. If it had been me, I would have wanted someone to talk me out of leaving. In my opinion, I think Amanda made a decision based on the moment and her emotions. I really feel that she may long regret her actions of yesterday. I know that Dan will support and help her.

So, now you're probably wondering where I come off saying all this. Well, I speak on this based on experience. First of all, I grew up in L.A., worked my summers interning at Disney, Warner Brothers, and NBC Television studios. I saw what the actors life was like. I realized then I wanted to move from in front of the camera to behind it. Second, I spent 20 years in the Navy. I know what it is like to have my freedom severely limited, do things I don't like to do, and go places that I would have perfered not to go to - like combat zones. Once in boot camp, at age 25, my first thought is, "what the hell am I doing here?" Then, I wanted to quit. Well, you learn that you just can't quit the military. People told me if I could make it through the next six months, then I could make it through 20 years. It was rough. I learned to build up my self-confidence and learn from my mistakes. The other rough part was being constantly separated from my family. Another thing I can relate to what Amanda is going through.

Well, Amanda, you know that your fans will remain true to you. This is just one small hrudle you have to get over. You have to pick yourself up, brush of the dirt, and move on. We all know you have what it takes to be a sucessful actress. Only advice, based on my experience with Hollywood, is the you have to toughen up that exterior. Rejection is very hard to accept. But, it is part of being an actress. We'll stay with you, amanda, like you stayed with us.

Okay, that is my rant for the day. Please leave your comments. I want to know what y'all are thinking.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for this post, Randall! It gave me a better idea of what's going on, since I've missed a lot this week.

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  2. I think Amanda made the right decision. I mean, let's get real. In all the time she's been in the house, she's only done ONE photo shoot and TWO auditions, as far as we've seen. That's pretty bad considering the substantial resources that have been put into this project. Everyone else has seen their dreams moving forward in some way, except for Amanda. Although Kara hasn't gotten any professional gigs yet, she has been on a lot more auditions. So IMO, she isn't really giving up "the chance of a lifetime" since so far, this big hasn't produced jack squat for her.

    Then there's the freedom issue. I think all the dreamers thought the biggest challenge would be to overcome living under the constant spotlight. I don't think Amanda knew it would also mean giving up so much freedom. I doubt the producers fully explained they wouldn't be able to leave when they wanted to, that the chef would throw away their personal food if she didn't approve of it, that they would have to beg just to use a car, etc. After a while, for someone who is very strong-willed like Amanda, it starts to feel like a prison, no? A golden cage is a STILL a cage, after all.

    I think Amanda will do great in Hollywood. I don't think she'll have trouble finding an agent and going on far more auditions than she did in the IICD house. She'll get to do that AND have her freedom as well.

    -- Peace, silhouette1920

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  3. I can only imagine how tough it was for Amanda to make such a tough decision. I haven't been watching the show as faithfully lately as I did in the beginning because of lack of time, but I still have been watching the episodes and vlogs on Hulu. Amanda was one of my favorites and I am sad to see her go. She is extremely talented (as everyone knows). I am confident that she will be able to make it in whatever she chooses to do with her talent, whether that be acting or modeling. She has a lot of fans that are pulling for her, myself included.

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