Imagine our surprise while channel-flipping the other day to find millionaire Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG, making a cameo appearance on Donald Trump’s NBC reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”
His face-time on camera was limited, so there were no reviews of his performance from real critics. Suffice to say that if there were, it would have contained the sort of body blows Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are absorbing for “The Da Vinci Code” over in Cannes.
Perhaps part of the problem was that his appearance was such a blatant promotional stunt to generate buzz for Dreamworks’ upcoming movie, “Over the Hedge.” It didn’t help that one of the two contestants to receive a trip to L.A. as a door prize gushed about the as-yet-unreleased film throughout the interview with the studio exec.
If there is a winner in all this, it appears to be “Apprentice” (and “Survivor”) producer Mark Burnett, who is moving the show to Los Angeles next season. Burnett is credited with convincing director Steven Spielberg a co-founder with Katzenberg and David Geffen of the DreamWorks SKG film studio to develop Fox Network’s “On the Lot,” in which amateur directors compete to become Spielberg’s apprentice.
Blogger Andy Dehnart of web site Reality Blurred, said cameo appearances on reality TV shows are becoming pass & #233;.
“It seems like a way for people to push themselves into the pop culture space,” Dehnart said.
Vying to be on TV appears to be the latest trend in Los Angeles’ billionaire boys club. Former Walt Disney chief Michael Eisner parlayed a guest appearance on “The Charlie Rose Show” into his own CNBC gig, which barely registered in the ratings.
Maybe Spielberg, who is reportedly considering starring in “On the Lot,” should reconsider going in front of the cameras.
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Los Angeles’ hunger for literature was evident last week at the Getty Center.
The “Food Fiction” program celebrates the short story by pairing local actors with famous authors. The first program, “Much Ado about Dinner,” teamed actors John Lithgow, Rene Auberjonois, Fionnula Flanagan and Samantha Eggar with readings of Alice McDermott, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov and V.S. Pritchett.
To reach its targeted audience, the Getty eschewed advertising in the Los Angeles Times. Instead it stuck with a glossy mailer sent to all New York Times subscribers in Los Angeles County.
So, do Center execs feel that the New York Times readers have higher literary brows than readers of the L.A. Times? Not really. It was more a question of seating room.
“Frankly, it’s much more cost effective,” said John Giurini, the Getty’s assistant director of communications and special projects. “We can’t accommodate millions.”
Staff reporter Kate Berry can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 228, or at
[email protected]
