(EDITOR'S NOTE: To be clear, no one is angry that they didn't get to see the taping of "Anderson." We are upset because we were held in a room for three hours believing we were waiting to see the taping, when it turned out the producers knew they already had a full audience -- and filmed the show -- but never bothered to tell us.)
Michael, our friend Arick and I just spent the last THREE HOURS at the Time Warner Center studio of Anderson Cooper's new talk show -- only we didn't end up seeing a taping of the program. While I understand that they routinely overbook audience members to ensure that they have enough people, we arrived well in advance, but for reasons that have still not been adequately explained to us, we were sent to (what turned out to be) a lounge where "stand-by" audience members hang out, only NO ONE EVER BOTHERED TO TELL US that's where we were. A warm-up guy kept trying (rather unsuccessfully) to entertain the crowd and Amy Winehouse music was blasting -- it was indeed a Very Special Amy episode -- so even though we were waiting there for an inordinate amount of time, TV shows are always about waiting, so it didn't strike us as odd. (Arick actually thought we'd been selected to wait for the taping in a VIP area!)
It was only when Anderson FINALLY CAME OUT (for lack of a better term) for two seconds to "say hi" -- mentioning that it's actually "much cooler" where we were than "in the studio" -- and that they would be coming out to interview some of Amy's fans periodically that we realized that we weren't in a waiting room preparing to be seated in the studio, we were just there to "hang out." (Sure, Anderson, we're such fans that just being out outside your studio is worth taking a day off work for.) When Arick told one of those annoying production assistants (with the ever-present headsets) that we had tickets, she said that they should have sent us to the 6th floor, not the 5th. The whole thing was a complete clusterfuck -- not to mention a waste of time -- and could have been completely avoided if they'd just told us: a) to go to the right floor; or b) that we weren't going to get to see the taping, but we were welcome to hang out in the "Amy room" with other fans. Just don't leave us standing there for HOURS last assholes thinking we're about to see a taping -- you know, the REASON we were there in the first place!
Oh, well, It's not like I wasn't warned. Here's what a reader sent me this morning before I left:
Hey Ken
I hope your taping was better than the one I saw…which was 3 weeks ago. I’ve been invited back by them now 3 times making me think they are having a difficult time getting audience members.
The one I saw, without being specific, we had to sign a form saying we would not talk about it…was not fairly represented, many more on one side than on the other…long, standing in line for a very long time before getting to sit… pretty thin people in the center front…the rest of us, and the heavy set further back and on the side. Huge room, probably 3 times the size of Rosie’s audience. Great view outside the windows…
I was bored by the first 10 minutes… and of course we could not leave… it was a long, dull morning into afternoon.
Have a better experience
d
13 comments:
Thank you for this info. I was thinking of trying to go to a show but now I will not waste my time or money to get there. It's sad that they can't seem to get it together.
Another guy tweeted about going to a show this week and said it was VERY disorganized and WAY too long. It seems they need to get their shit together.
Sorry man, that you were treated so badly. Hope you don't let it ruin your day.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Sounded like he made reference that he had a partner (finally! if this is true!).
Same thing happened to me Ken. I hope they cancel his show! I would never go back there again. 90 people working there as "Production Assistants" and no one knows what they are doing. Piss off Anderson.
Sad to hear, as a fan of Anderson's I'd doubt I'd even try to go now. On a side note, he might get word of your poor treatment, after all 15,000 friends of the "kenneth in the (212)", no sarcasm meant. You are a Star in my book.
@ Anon 2:56:
The rumor of Anderson mentioning a partner during his mother's taping are false. Someone who attended the taping tweeted about it and said the show was mainly about Gloria and Anderson didn't say anything about a partner.
@djfuzzycuffs @Truther01 he didn't mention his partner. The show was more about Momma really touching stuff.
So, did Kathy Griffin talk much? From the sounds of it, she is a friend of Gloria's, but somewhat curious why she was there on the program if it was about Gloria, was kind of curious why she was there. was Gloria on the entire time?
i had tickets too but decided not to go when i realized that my tickets for the 1:30 taping said "general reservation" and did not guarantee admittance.
my ticket said to arrive by 12:15. is that the show you were going to? also, were you invited or did you request the tickets?
oh and on wednesday, i received this e-mail:
AMY WINEHOUSE FANS
IN THE NYC / TRI-STATE AREA!
“ANDERSON” NEEDS YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS
FOR A VERY SPECIAL TAPING OF
ANDERSON COOPER’S NEW DAYTIME TALK SHOW
THIS FRIDAY, 9/9
(9AM arrival for Special Celebrity Guest that morning)
(12:30PM arrival for Amy Winehouse Tribute that afternoon)
Or stay for both!
According to Jack Gray, Anderson bought lunch for him, Kathy Griffin, and Gloria Vanderbilt around noon-ish. maybe they were done by 1?30 taping.
@Robb: Interesting. No, I hadn't seen that email, but now I understand what the Amy party was about. We wondered how people KNEW to dress up like her. It doesn't, however, explain why they didn't count the number of people they needed in the studio and then tell the people who hadn't "made the cut" that they weren't going to be seeing the taping, but could stay for the "party." We're not mad that we didn't make the cut -- like I said, I know that happens -- we were angry that no one told us what was going on, and now we're even more upset now that we realize they used us because not enough people showed up in response to that email to fill the room for the "party."
Two anonymous comments have recently gone up acting like we're being ridiculous because we "got to see Anderson in person" (for two seconds) and "got to have the day off"(!) and should just be happy. (Are you fucking kidding me? Clearly the "Anderson" social-media team is reading this.)
If they'd simply told us what had happened, we'd have just left. It was a beautiful day in New York City -- we could have enjoyed it instead of being a stuffy room FOR HOURS full of people who I'm sure were also duped. Don't tell me that guy from Elizabeth Arden who answered the trivia question about Amy's rap band or all those housewives from Jersey were there to "hang out": EVERYONE THOUGHT they were just waiting to go into the studio. Totally fucked up.
I had gotten the same email that anon 9:11 PM had gotten. I decided not to go at all since it seemed I may not get in at all. Had better things to do with my time than spend money to get into the city and then hang around to get a glimpse of a guy (Anderson).
That's fucked up. If they didn't need any more people for the audience, why didn't they just tell them?
I was in NYC this past week visiting from Santa Monica, CA. It was a very interesting week for me ... I had mega FUN. Wednesday night it was raining hard. I walked from Chelsea to Upper East Side and in the rain as I was on 3rd Avenue some guy asked where Lexington was. I told him it was West of where we were and he asked where I was going. I said 88th. And then I went off, and he said "good luck back to 88th" with a smile and I continued running as it was raining and then I realized the good looking guy was trying to "cruise me" but hey, I am from LA area, and it was raining, and I don't understand this type of "cruising". Oh well, even with the rain, it was fun talking to that guy.
And YES it was beautiful on Friday and Saturday and a great time to be around OUTSIDE in New York.
:-)
Wow! Sorry, you had such a terrible experience. That definitely sounds like poor communication on everyone at the show. At least it's (kind of) a fun story to tell people?
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