Carissa Marsh
A&E Assistant
Reality stars colide (Photo courtesy Jamie Trueblood)
The stars shined brightly in Malibu this summer as two hit television shows returned to Pepperdine to film their sophomore efforts.
Returning students will remember the first campus invasion of Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101” during the 2004 summer. The other show returned for filming after a much longer hiatus. Originally filmed at the Malibu campus in 1976, “The Battle of the Network Stars” became Bravo’s “The Battle of the Network Reality Stars.”
Nickelodeon once again transformed Pepperdine into Pacific Coast Academy. In “Zoey 101”, PCA is a former all-boys boarding school that has recently started admitting girls. Thirteen-year-old Zoey Brooks, played by Jamie Lynn Spears, the little sister of pop icon Britney Spears, is one of the first girls to attend PCA. Zoey must deal with normal middle-school pressures such as fitting in, roommate stress, proving oneself and being independent.
Spears’ character may face many challenges, but on “The Battle of the Network Reality Stars” today’s biggest reality stars tackle physical challenges.
Almost 30 years after the original “Battle of the Network Stars” aired, Bravo has taken the concept behind the popular 1970s show and tweaked it to fit society’s modern love affair with reality shows. In Bravo’s updated version of “Battle,” reality TV stars formed teams that compete against each other in highly physical and aggressive challenges. The events, reminiscent of the original show, include a joust, kayak race, tug-of-war, obstacle course, dodge ball, Simon Says, inner-tube water polo and a dunk tank.
The stars battle it out for cash and prizes.
Some of the stars generating this drama are Coral Smith and Mike “The Miz” Mizanin from “The Real World,” Evan Marriott from “Joe Millionaire,” Ryan Starr from “American Idol” and Richard Hatch, the first winner of “Survivor.” Trishelle Canatella from “The Real World,” Omarosa Manginault-Stallworth from “The Apprentice” and Bob Guiney from “The Bachelor” serve as sideline reporters. “Battle” is hosted by Mike Adamle, former host of NBC Sports and “American Gladiators.”
The original “Battle” was hosted by legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell and featured still well-known stars such as Billy Crystal, Farrah Fawcett, David Letterman, and Heather Locklear. In homage to the original program, the new show includes cameos by former “Battle” contestants who play the role of referees. The show will also feature clips from the original series.
History was also a factor for the filming of “Zoey 101.” The show already taped its first season on campus last summer.
Sally McIlwain, coordinator of Special Programs, oversees filming and reservations on campus. She worked closely with “Zoey 101” all summer, securing locations, parking and equipment for the crew.
“‘Zoey 101’ established Pepperdine as the PCA campus, and they wanted to keep the theme and storyline intact,” McIlwain said. McIlwain added that the crew thought Pepperdine was a beautiful location — the perfect setting for an upscale boarding school.
The decision to bring “Battle” back to Pepperdine was also initiated by the production company.
Kelly Luegenbiehl, manager of development and production at Bravo, was the supervising producer on “Battle.” She said it was the history of the original show that brought Bravo to Pepperdine.
“We thought it would be a great way to capture the spirit of the original ‘Battle,’” Luegenbiehl said.
Bravo decided about six to eight weeks before shooting began that they would resurrect “Battle of the Network Stars” and bring it back to Pepperdine.
“It was a quick production and casting process,” Luegenbiehl said. “But it was exciting.”
Luegenbiehl described casting the 32 reality stars as a fun process that relied heavily on the Bravo team’s personal likes and dislikes.
“We talked about our favorite stars and researched the biggest villains and personalities,” Luegenbiehl said.
Set-up for “Battle” began in late May and shooting started on June 4 and wrapped up June 9. The crew filmed six episodes in just six days.
“It was extremely hectic with a lot of long hours, but it was similar to summer camp because of the outdoors and all the games,” Luegenbiehl said.
Nickelodeon started shooting “Zoey 101” in early May. Production wrapped up Aug. 17.
After filming the first season of “Zoey 101,” the show became the network’s break-out star, named the top-rated live-action children’s show as well as the highest rated show Nickelodeon has produced for the 9- to 13-year-old category. “Zoey 101” has also garnered an Emmy nomination.
During the filming of the first season of “Zoey 101,” there were student complaints about having to work around the production crew and being inconvenienced. There were also parking problems because the crew took up most of Rho parking lot.
Similar complaints arose this summer.
“The first priority is our summer students,” McIlwain said. “Second is our clients. Many times ‘Zoey’ had to work around the students.”
Occasionally, paparazzi would sneak onto campus for a photo of the “Zoey” star’s older sister, Britney, who visited the set.
Despite conflicts and complaints, McIlwain said she thinks there are many benefits to allowing filming on campus.
“This is revenue brought in for the campus, and it helps keep Pepperdine the way people like it,” McIlwain said. “It is a fair trade off.”
“Several departments benefit from the filming,” McIlwain added.
Some of the departments that benefit financially include Sodexho, Public Safety, Special Programs and the Villa Graziadio Executive Center. Pepperdine kept as much of the revenue from filming on campus by offering all available services to the production crew.
McIlwain estimated that “Zoey 101” is a $500,000 client for the school. In addition to providing an extra source of money filming also provides the University with national publicity and exposure, she said.
While some may see on-campus filming as shameless self-promotion or giving Pepperdine a cheesy, Hollywood image, McIlwain said she disagrees.
McIlwain said Pepperdine is very particular when it comes to accepting film offers and that scripts are carefully screened to make sure they go along with the university’s mission statement.
“Nickelodeon is simple and safe,” McIlwain said. “The content is acceptable. No one should be embarrassed or ashamed of the projects filmed here. Pepperdine is lucky to have the opportunity to do this.”
Some students also got to work on “Zoey 101.” The higher levels of student involvement in the production of the show is a change from last summer’s filming. Some students were able to work on the show as interns. These students registered in an internship class so their work would count for school credit. Other students were hired by Nickelodeon as background people or extras.
Melissa Roy, a freshman psychology and acting major, worked as an extra on the “Zoey 101” set.
“I just walked up to the casting office in Dorm 10 and talked to one of the assistant directors,” Roy said. “I asked if they needed help and they did.”
“I’ve always wanted to be an actress and be in the industry, so I got to learn a lot being on set,” Roy continued. “I also got to network with a lot of people.”
She got paid for her work as well: $90 for 8 hours or less, $10 for each wardrobe change, plus overtime.
Roy said she had fun working as an extra and played her part as a middle-school student for about 12 to 13 days of shooting.
Roy said she agrees with McIlwain that filming does not damage Pepperdine’s image.
“I don’t think it makes us look bad at all,” she said. “If anything, it gives us more publicity and lets us attract the ‘Zoey’ audience.”
A digital film camp studying at Pepperdine for the summer got in on the “Zoey 101” action too. During one of the filming days the high-school-aged campers were able to participate as extras.
The second season of “Zoey 101” premieres Sept. 10 at 8 p.m on Nickelodeon.
“The Battle of the Network Reality Stars” airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Bravo. The final episode is Sept. 21.
08-29-2005
