July 14, 2005 |
ABC Evicts Unwelcome Neighbors
The diverse group of applicants vying for a dream home in ABC's Welcome to the Neighborhood won't become TV stars anytime soon. Less than two weeks before the much-maligned reality show's July 10 premiere, ABC abruptly pulled the plug. The show, in which seven families competed for a house in an upscale Austin, Tex., subdivision, came under fire for its offensive premise: Three white Christian couples living in the subdivision were to choose new neighbors from the contestants — including African-American, Asian-American, Latino and gay families. National Fair Housing Alliance president Shanna Smith, who has seen two episodes of the series, believes it violates the Federal Fair Housing Act, which bans discrimination based on race and religion (among other categories). Smith says she had four "honest and frank confidential discussions" with ABC president Alex Wallau. "ABC clearly wouldn't have created a show where a restaurant would refuse service because of religion or color. ABC had no malicious intent," Smith says. She adds that Wallau "listened to our concerns and arguments about the law." Before the network scrapped the show, Smith was preparing a temporary restraining order to keep it off the air. (According to a source, the family who "won" the pretaped competition will be allowed to move into the house even if the show never airs.) The network and the producers refused to comment beyond a statement defending Welcome to the Neighborhood as "transformative" and explaining that they axed it "given the sensitivity of the subject matter." TV Guide has learned that viewers might yet get to visit the Neighborhood. A source says there's a chance that the show might show up "in some other form" on ABC at some point in the future. |
Beauty and Geek Reunion Surprises
TVGuide.com: You two seemed to get along the best. What was the key to working well as a team?
Richard Rubin: Mindi and I had a good, solid business relationship. It was like we were a married couple for 50 years.
Mindi Emanuel: I would say it was very much like that. There was a lot of patience on my part, and I'm sure there was a lot on Richard's part as well.
Richard: Mindi rescued me from the elimination chamber. I want to make that clear that I am grateful for having Mindi as a partner.
Mindi: Well, I am grateful for having Richard as a partner. I've told everyone Richard was my left side for three weeks. I don't think I could have been with a better person. If either of us were with anyone else, we wouldn't have been such an amazing team.
Richard: Everyone says Mindi has the patience of a saint; I'm the first to admit that. TVGuide.com: You don't seem like such an airhead, Mindi. Why were you right for this show?
Mindi: I am a very, very ditzy person. The things that I know about, I really know about, but there's a lot of stuff in this world that I'm just clueless about. I'm a very naive person. TVGuide.com: Were some of the lessons things you felt you needed to learn?
Mindi: I knew when I was in the house that I was there to learn. I was open to [that]. People [ask me], "Would you ever have been friends with a geek before?" I was friends with everybody [before the show]. If you were a huge geek, that didn't mean I wasn't friends with you. If we had something in common and got along, I was going to be friends with you... No one's status affected me. That wasn't something I felt like I needed to learn.
Richard: Fashion was never a big interest of mine. It was nice that I got to see where women are coming from [on that issue]. I hadn't the faintest clue before that. TVGuide.com: But these weren't skills you thought you lacked before.
Richard: These were things I had no idea about. Everything on the show was a first for me. Every competition was a first for me. I had to walk away with something. TVGuide.com: Will you apply those skills in real life?
Richard: The jeans, probably not. Certainly not. I'm a staunch enemy of jeans. TVGuide.com: Denim in general, or just jeans?
Richard: Probably denim in general, but jeans are what first come to mind. TVGuide.com: Why had you never kissed a girl before the show, Richard?
Richard: I really don't know. I'm shy around girls I do like. TVGuide.com: So what made you kiss Krystal after her elimination?
Richard: Krystal, at the time, was my biggest fanbase in the house. She was my chief supporter, and when she was gone, I figured I was on my own. It was tough to see her go. They didn't really show our interactions, but we had a good time together. That hurdle [of the first kiss] is the toughest hurdle to leap. Then you're off and running like Don Juan, Lothario and Cassanova put together. TVGuide.com: Why did Chuck have such a beef with you, Richard?
Richard: I don't know exactly why. For whatever reason, we didn't get along. We didn't see eye to eye, and that's more to do with the fact that he's taller than I am. It's funny that you say Chuck had a beef, 'cause of chuck steak. TVGuide.com: What do you say to those who think you were acting up for the camera's sake? Richard: I'm actually worse in real life.
Mindi: He comes across really calmly on TV. TVGuide.com: Mindi, were you surprised what Richard was like when he played the piano?
Mindi: I said this on the show: I really wish they would have had a piano in the house the entire time. That's his element. It was almost like he was a different person. Richard, you just seemed very genuinely happy that whole time. Being in the house was so stressful.
Richard: If they had a piano in the mansion, it certainly wouldn't have been any quieter but I would have been out of people's faces. TVGuide.com: Since the show has aired, has your social life changed much?
Mindi: My life's changed a little bit. I know Richard's out in L.A. right now, and I'm planning on moving there in a few months. I'm just the same old person, you know. When I go out sometimes, it's weird because everybody thinks they're my new best friend now, and it's like, "I talked to you once — two years ago."
Richard: I don't know. I don't forsee any drastic alterations in my social life. You get recognized and things like that. Who knows what's going to happen? I'm definitely not going to ask a woman if she likes garlic.
Mindi: That's good, Richard. See? You did learn something! |
TV's Next Big Idea Is Here
More than two decades after Sundance and other film festivals began infusing American cinema with fresh, cutting-edge talent, characters and stories, a similar creative spirit is about to hit TV, thanks to the inaugural New York Television Festival, which will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3 in downtown Manhattan. The event is the brainchild of Terence Gray, who once asked audiences Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as a writer for the smash-hit reality series. Now, as the founder and executive director of the NYTVF, he hopes to find out who wants to change the face of television by inviting would-be J.J. Abramses, Larry Davids and Mark Burnetts to compete for a chance to impress Hollywood heavyweights and maybe, just maybe, earn a shot at their very own show. "A lot of creative people went into film because there was a platform there for independent, next-generation artists who knew that if they made a movie, they could probably get it into the 100 or 200 film festivals around the world. There was no outlet for independent television artists to get their work in front of executives in the same way," says Gray, who has also worked as a producer for VH1, ESPN and others. "As our greatest shared medium, television should in turn be our greatest shared canvas and now, for the first time, it will be." Presented in association with TV Guide, the NYTVF has already piqued the interest of ABC, NBC, Comedy Central, Creative Artists Agency, the William Morris Agency and Deutsch Inc., all of which have representatives on the festival's executive board. In addition, A&E and Rainbow Media (IFC, AMC, WE) have signed on as official sponsors, with more networks currently under discussion to join. "Why hasn't this been done before?" asks Donny Deutsch, CEO of Deutsch Inc. and host of CNBC's The Big Idea, who serves on the NYTVF's board. "In an age where there are more and more alternatives to traditional television, you need really fresh content. What better time, what better place [than this festival], to have a showcase for all that's exciting and new in TV." To ensure the best possible programming, the NYTVF has opened up its Independent Pilot Competition to aspiring writers, directors and producers from around the world. They can submit half-hour or hourlong pilots in five categories: drama, comedy, reality, documentary and animation. "So far we've received pilots from all over the United States as well as the U.K., Australia and South America, from a mixture of professionals, amateurs and college students," Gray says. "The main rule is that the pilots can't have been funded by a studio or network." In addition to the new pilots, the NYTVF will also present screenings of current shows from around the world and classic episodes, commercials and clips from decades past, all open to the public to enjoy. For both the competitors and the broadcast and cable television execs invited to attend, the appeal of the festival should be obvious, according to Gray: "What would normally take a month of meetings in New York and Los Angeles will be accomplished in one day. Development people from across the television landscape will have an opportunity to see your pilot at the same time — if it's something hot, there could be an instant bidding war. And executives will get to sit with the general public, see pilots that are in a mature state and, based on the reaction of the crowd, know whether or not they may have a hit without actually spending any money." Think you have a concept that deserves to be on television? Prove it: Pilot submissions for the NYTVF will be accepted through Aug. 1, 2005. For more information on how to enter, go to www.newyorktelevisionfestival.com. |
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