Media Man News

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Oh, Brother, so it's confirmed - Corey set for house - The Advertiser - 1st May 2008

TV'S worst-kept secret has been confirmed - serial party pest Corey Worthington will appear on this year's Big Brother.

While it's still unclear what his role will be, Corey is currently in lockdown at Dreamworld and his special mission will be revealed on this Sunday's edition of BB.

Meanwhile, word is we haven't seen the last of booted housemate grandmother Terri.

Not only has she been given the power to make Nobbi live in substandard conditions in the complex's Kombi van, Big Brother is also planning to hand her a special mission - but will she accept?

Whether you like him or not, party boy Worthington just won't go away.

Next week, he will release a cover of the classic Beastie Boys teen anthem, Fight for Your Right (to Party).

The track was released in 1986, years before Worthington was born.

He will release the single as a disc, along with digital and online versions.

Since January, when he became either the most loved or hated party boy, Worthington hasn't stopped fielding offers for work, according to his manager Max Markson.

"The interest has not stopped," Markson told Confidential yesterday.

- with the Herald Sun

Media Man Australia Profiles

Big Brother

Network Ten

Television

Reality TV

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Shock jock shock: Big Brother's not so big - The Sydney Morning Herald - 29th April 2008

This year's new-look Big Brother appears unlikely to return the TV show to its glory days, with the launch ratings the worst in its history.

An average of 1.511 million Australians tuned in to watch Big Brother's new hosts, the shock jocks Kyle and Jackie O, reveal the first 14 housemates during a drawn-out, two-hour launch.

The audience for the Ten Network show peaked at 1.91 million.

But while it beat its competitors in most timeslots - except its second half hour when it lost out to Border Security - Big Brother's latest launch was the least watched in the show's eight-year history.

The previous lowest ratings for a Big Brother launch were last year, when the first show pulled in 1.548 million viewers.

The show's most watched launch was in 2003, when it attracted 2.225 million viewers.

Last night, in its third half hour, Big Brother also lost some of its audience to the ABC's Australian Story feature on the late Network Ten newsreader Charmaine Dragun.

The story of the newsreader's battle with depression drew more than 1.1 million viewers to the ABC.

Despite the ratings, Ten said it was "thrilled" with Big Brother because the show had launched on a Monday, not on a Sunday as in the past four years.

"We're thrilled to be pulling those numbers on a Monday and against stiff competition," a Ten spokeswoman said.

Viewers have gradually tuned out of the show since it began in 2001.

In a bid to halt its decline, Big Brother's producers have this year promised a different program.

Some of the changes include: housemates being forced to spend the first night in the backyard and the eviction of one housemate by sunrise, in the first of many "snap" evictions.

For the first time contestants will be accommodated in a far from luxurious house, with no rewards room and a tiny pool.

This year's series will also see housemates sleep in one giant bed and there will be no kitchen, with food to be served on a conveyor belt.

The contestants include a one-metre tall belly dancer, a 52-year-old grandmother and a self-declared young male virgin with a high-pitched voice.

Three more contestants will be revealed on Sunday, while party punk Corey Worthington will later feature as an intruder.

Media Man Australia Profiles

Big Brother

Television

Reality TV

Big Brother housemates revealed, by Shannon Molloy - The Sydney Morning Herald - 28th April 2008

This year's Big Brother housemates have been billed as the most diverse and colourful group yet, with a former religious sect member and dwarf belly dancer making up the ranks.

1. Saxon - SA
Saxon, 22, is heavily tattooed and physically imposing. Since spotting a UFO in the skies over Adelaide a couple of years ago, he has been on a mission to prove that aliens exist.

2. Rory - VIC
While being anti-religion, 21-year-old Rory has his own traditional views and opinions. He grew up in a poor suburb that he calls "the ghetto" and lists his favourite book as FHM Magazine.

3. Rima - VIC
Standing at just one metre tall, Rima is a small package with a big personality. The 25-year-old was born in Melbourne of Lebanese parents, works as a belly dancer and has been married for one year.

4. Renee - NSW
As an abattoir worker and rugby league enthusiast, this 22-year-old tom boy is a country girl at heart and very animated. She is also from the same town as fellow housemate Dixie.

5. Bianca - QLD
This 18-year-old Italian princess is passionate about the works of Plato and Shakespeare and believes her voluptuous body is both an asset and a curse. She rarely goes on dates and says men usually run in the opposite direction when she starts talking.

6. Alice - VIC
Meet the first vet to ever enter the Big Brother house - Dr Alice. The 24-year-old is a high achiever with a private school education, but insists she was a scholarship student who fought hard to keep her place.

7. Travis - NSW
With a high-pitched and squeaky voice, it's easy to stereotype 20-year-old Travis. But don't be fooled - this flamboyant and excitable virgin insists he is all about the ladies. He is staunchly religious and anti-drugs.

8. Rebecca - WA
This 22-year-old promotions model and waitress is comfortable in her own skin, but has a bizarre germ phobia and refuses to ever go barefoot. She even wears thongs in the shower.

9. Nobbi - VIC
This self-described insane attention seeker was born in Japan, and says he is always skating on thin ice. He has only been in love once and was heartbroken, so the 21-year-old remains happily single.

10. Dixie - NSW
Dixie is a uni student and mental health worker, as well as Big Brother's first Aboriginal housemate. The 21-year-old says her commitment issues means she has never had a real boyfriend.

11. David - NSW
Raised as a member of the Exclusive Brethren, David says he "escaped" the religious sect at 19-years-old. Before then, he had never eaten in a restaurant or kissed a girl. These days, the 32-year-old works as a fire fighter and is obsessed with celebrity gossip.

12. Brigitte - ACT
A self-confessed drama queen and wanna-be Paris Hilton, 20-year-old Brigitte describes her hobbies as shopping and "dressing up". One of her biggest fears is being seen on national television without make-up on.

13. Ben - WA
Ben, 19, is easily frustrated and prone to bouts of road rage. As a law student, he is often considered by friends as the voice of reason.

14. Terri - NSW
As Big Brother's oldest-ever housemate, 52-year-old Terri shouldn't be mistaken for a sweet Nanna. This Pauline Hanson fan is passionate and political, and finds the younger generation frustrating.

Three more housemates will be revealed this Sunday night.

Media Man Australia Profiles

Big Brother

Reality TV

Lights fade on foxy model reality show, By Eva Tejszerski - St George & Sutherland Shire Leader - 29th April 2008

THE tears, tantrums and drama queen moments came to a close this month when a bunch of young women packed their bags and farewelled Sutherland Shire.

For nine weeks, they lived under the same roof in a multimillion-dollar mansion in Burraneer while filming Australia's Next Top Model.

Following a nationwide audition tour last year, 13 hopefuls aged 16 to 21 were selected to live together and star in the fourth season of the series. The series, which premiered last week on Fox 8, follows the girls as they set out to prove they have what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of modelling.

The claws came out on the catwalk as the model wannabes competed for a chance to be the next Elle Macpherson.

But a Foxtel spokeswoman said all of the mini-fashionistas were "very well behaved" during the shoot.

Media Man Australia Profiles

Australia's Next Top Model

Foxtel

Reality TV