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Reality Show (film)

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Reality Show
Directed byColin Trevorrow
Written by
  • Daniel Klein
  • Colin Trevorrow
Produced by
  • Peter J. Clark
  • Daniel Klein
  • Colin Trevorrow
Starring
  • Dan Sherbondy
  • Greg Garcia
  • Joe Gnoffo
  • Justin Lee
  • Austin Meredith
  • Chris Anderko
Narrated byDean Welsh
CinematographyMatthew C. Boyd
Edited byMatt Thiesen
Music byBrandon Krueger
Production
company
The Gravity Collaborative[1]
Release dates
  • November 21, 2004 (2004-11-21) (New York International Independent Film and Video Festival)
Running time
55 minutes[2]
72 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Reality Show is a 2004 documentary film directed by Colin Trevorrow. It was written by Daniel Klein and Trevorrow, who also acted as producers along with Peter J. Clark.[4] The film documents the attempted production of an unaired pilot for a reality television show titled Rock the Party.

Synopsis

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To achieve instant fame,[5] eccentric millionaire Dan Sherbondy[2] funds his own reality show.[5] His Craigslist advertisements invite 10 women to compete for the title of "America's Craziest Party Girl".[5] Sherbondy, his best friend, 10 women, a little person, and an inexperienced production crew travel to Baja, Mexico,[2] but the millionaire's appalling treatment of the cast and crew causes them to rise up against him. The film is narrated by Dean Welsh.[4]

Production

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The project began production in 2003,[5] as a self-produced[6] pilot for a reality television show[7] titled Rock the Party.[5] The pilot was funded by entrepreneur Dan Sherbondy,[2] who also hosted a late-night television show in Las Vegas, Nevada.[6]

According to director Colin Trevorrow, "It's footage of a real thing that happened, which is this guy, who is kind of a lunatic, and really just the world's biggest asshole, took a crew off of Craigslist, and a bunch of women, and told them they were on a reality show. He took 'em down to Mexico, hired a bunch of guys for nothing to shoot it, and he was really just...I don't know what he was doing; he was really down there to sleep with all these women, essentially. And I was hired to direct that. It was my first thing, you know: "I'll pay you $500!" "Great! I'll do it!" And it turned into this absolute disaster."[8]

Filming locations included a hotel in the Mexican city of Rosarito Beach. Trevorrow said, "The shoot at the hotel was the seediest, worst experience of our lives…we made the worst reality show in history."[6] Sherbondy ultimately gave Trevorrow all the footage. The crew then filmed each other giving interviews about the troubled production. Trevorrow cut the interviews and footage together to form the documentary.[8] Trevorrow said "I have interviews with the crew, where they discuss this preposterous bullshit that went on. It's a strange doc about how people use this reality show medium to take advantage of people."[6]

Release

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Sherbondy allowed the film to be released after securing an executive producer credit and any future profits.[2] The film was first shown at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival on November 21, 2004.[3] In 2006, the film was shown at San Francisco's DocFest and the Milwaukee Film Festival.[2][9]

In 2012, Trevorrow said the film was no longer available: "The guy it's about -- the movie is basically a documentary about how awful he is -- he actually lost a job or something over it, so he made us take it down everywhere and you can't find it anymore."[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Reality Show trailer". YouTube. January 14, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Reality Show". SFIndie.com. 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "2004 schedule". NYFilmVideo.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Reality Show - Episode 9". YouTube. June 8, 2007. Event occurs at 4:20. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Reality Show synopsis". RealityShowTheMovie.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d von Busack, Richard (June 15, 2012). "Interview with Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed: time travel and directing "an enchantress."". MrMovieTimes.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  7. ^ Vizcarrondo, Sara Maria (June 12, 2012). "Little Time Machines Everywhere: Director Colin Trevorrow on 'Safety Not Guaranteed'". BoxOffice. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Colin Trevorrow Interview". DVDTalk.com. 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "Reality Show screenings". RealityShowTheMovie.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007.
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Reality Show at IMDb