**Potential Spoilers** Bachelor 14 Rumors & Speculation

[lavender1960]

I think this site in AZ was where Jenni Croft (Bachelor 11/Brad) was with her friend Angela. On Jenni's twitter, she said that she and her friend, Angela, were at a casting call for "The Bachelor" and said "I hope she gets it". She also posted a photo of herself with her friend.

I'm just dying to know who the new bachelor is going to be. If these girls find out Monday, I hope one of them leaks it.

Here's a revolutionary thought - if the Bachelor/ette was serious about making love connections, did I type that with a straightface, why don't they cast the Bachelor and contestants from the same region of the world.

Austin, Chicago, Philly and particularly LA are large areas that could fill one show without going elsehwere.

[lavender1960]

About compensation for the Bachelor/ette - why do I have it in my head that Jillian got $250, 000. Maybe I was mixed up with VH1 dating reality shows.

I know for fact that the F1s on Flavour of Love got paid $250,000, a major fact never mentioned on the show so I can only imagine how much they paid Flav. Hoops, who won Flavour of Love, stated it in an interview, and/or her own website, she won $250,000 for Flavour of Love 1 and she made $250,000 for winning I Love Money Season 1, now that was openly the goal there, of course, girl cleaned up and all shared with her basketball player boyfriend that she had before she ever went on Flavour of Love 1. Think about it, who would want to get near Flav unless you got paid well.

So to me, $300,000 for a real estate agent is still chump change. I'd be holding out for a half million.

VH1 must have much deeper pockets huh.

[VelvetRed]

Here's a revolutionary thought - if the Bachelor/ette was serious about making love connections, did I type that with a straightface, why don't they cast the Bachelor and contestants from the same region of the world.

Austin, Chicago, Philly and particularly LA are large areas that could fill one show without going elsehwere.

Yeah, duh! Plus, not only would the same region make things easier for life after the show, but casting for similar interests/dislikes and other compatibility factors would be a logical approach to match-making. But that just ain't gonna happen on this franchise.

I guess TPTB need to find enough gullible and willing victims that satisfy the eye candy, drama, and low cost requirements, so they have to cast their nets further and in all directions. And the more twisted and convoluted that the storylines get, ditto. Even the ones who go on the show "for the wrong reasons" (IMO, almost everybody) vary from naive to super-savvy.

[lavender1960]

Edit aside, my hope is that the candidates take a cold hard look at what the show is doing to the leads and their choice post-show from a PR perspective. The use of scandal to perpetuate and possibly, grow interest in show should be a red flag to all being considered. I'd ask myself if I wanted to be on the cover of US and People in a scandalous fashion for everyone in the checkout line at the grocery store to see.

For instance, I had dinner last week with friends who never watch but wanted to know all about Ed and Jillian and in the past asked all about Jason/Melissa/Molly. They wanted to know what they've been missing since they thought TB was a boring dating show.

The PR churn of these past few editions also sets up the expectation for the "drama" and "trainwrecks" to rule the editing over romance since more viewers associate that with the show more now due to the PR groundwork. It's a nasty, vicious cycle.

Well said, I am calling it the VH1ification of Bachelor. Fleiss and company are running out of ideas and seeing how hugely popular the VH1 dating reality shows are. We were aware that some Bachelor production people are now working on VH1 shows. No doubt that works both ways, some VH1 one people are now working on the Bachelor. Someone at JU indicated that there is indeed one person who worked on both Bachelorette and Daisy of Love and the coincidences between those two shows have to be more than coincidental. We need to sleuth that name out. When I found out one of the coproducers, her name escapes me and I don't know if she is still around worked on All My Children AND Jerry Springer, well there you go.

I watch some of the VH1 shows knowing from the begining it was all fake and just a vehicle for the star to resurrect a flagging career [I mean seriously who would fight over Flavour Flav - heh saw him in an airport last week, no entourage for Flavour] or now they take the popular contestants from each show and give them a show and now we have shows like I Love Money and Charm School where they can pool a bunch of the popular contestants from each show. Fleiss must be just salivating or very green with envy with what VH1 has built. What ever happened to music on music channels?

I always thought there was some reality in the Bachelor/ette but I think I have to agree any love that occurs does so by fluke not design and now that it seems the Bachelor is heading for VH1 land, the show is doomed.

If they cast two black wannabe rappers who are brothers we know the VH1fication is complete.

[Bloomers]

About compensation for the Bachelor/ette - why do I have it in my head that Jillian got $250, 000. Maybe I was mixed up with VH1 dating reality shows.

I know for fact that the F1s on Flavour of Love got paid $250,000, a major fact never mentioned on the show so I can only imagine how much they paid Flav. Hoops, who won Flavour of Love, stated it in an interview, and/or her own website, she won $250,000 for Flavour of Love 1 and she made $250,000 for winning I Love Money Season 1, now that was openly the goal there, of course, girl cleaned up and all shared with her basketball player boyfriend that she had before she ever went on Flavour of Love 1. Think about it, who would want to get near Flav unless you got paid well.

So to me, $300,000 for a real estate agent is still chump change. I'd be holding out for a half million.

VH1 must have much deeper pockets huh.

The only thing I heard on Jillian was her remark that they paid her to cover the loss of her job and income.
I don't think we ever heard an amount on Matt, DeAnna, or Jason either.
It would be interesting to know. Maybe sdl, jlccaz, kasha or one of supersleuths can find something out for us.

The sense that I always got from this show was that the producers were not only tight-fisted but also arrogant as well. The attitude appeared to be almost that it was an "honor" to be on the Bachelor, so most of the participants actually paid the show in the sense that they donated their time from work. Of course the show made all kinds of money.

We know that early on many of the leads said they weren't paid ( with the exclusion of the stipend in the contract which relatively speaking wasn't that much). Those leads were generally well enough off in their own right so that it wasn't that much of a stretch to believe it.

We felt like they had to pay Travis because they wanted a doctor in the worst way, and he was very reluctant and had to be talked into doing the show. The same was true with Jen who was, afterall, a working woman the same as Jillian. When they wanted someone badly enough, we figured they paid for them. The figure we heard on Jen Sheft was $60K, and we heard that Travis' medical student loans were paid off.

As reality shows became more plentiful and the competition became stiffer, we began to hear that they paid leads and contenders, but my sense is still that the tendency is to pay low as this franchise is viewed as one of the grandaddies of reality tv, and up until recently was viewed as fairly decent.

Someone suggested that they pay commensurate with DWTS, but I say, "No way!" Although many of those people are trying to infuse life back into a flagging career or get one started, with the exception perhaps of Melissa last season, all of them have made much more in their careers than what they were paid to perform on DWTS. For example, if Lil Kim made the same $325K that we think Shawn started with, then that is nothing to the $900k that Lil Kim owed just in back taxes.
I just don't think we can compare the two salaries - DWTS and the Bachelor.

[lavender1960]

Thanks so much jlccaz for the "Edgar After" image. :nono I may not sleep tonight. Maybe it's not Jake...wasn't the dentist mentioned as a possibility during the 'ette show from the Dallas area?

I agree that the Hollywood portion of the entertainment industry seems to be agnostic in that they preach their own narrow view without taking the grander design into consideration. They work in a company town and their allegiance is to power; in this case, the Fleismeister holds the golden ball. Evidence of their lost focus on "middle" America is the jaded, snark filled show description left up on the new website. IF Jake or any male with a sense of altruism signs the devil's contract, his blood will be tainted and his soul squeezed dry. A bit dramatic? Yes...but when you start that slide down the slippery slope of dramatized lives you end up in a Holly/DeAnna video making gansta signs.

I think snarking the show from this point forward would be too kind. Cynical smears would be more to the point.

Well written post, love it. Soul squeezed dry. Bwah. Could be an analogy for the whole reality TV industry.

So this is the first post in this thread. Maybe she's one of the pre-selected F4 types, and that explains why filming/scouting is happening in Dallas this month....don't think so, but it's interesting to pull this post forward. Jake Marries Local Girl as the headline?

Can you imagine going on this show without having watched it? I can see that would be a big plus for the producers if she is being honest and not a savvy game player herself.

Thank you, Bloomers ... seriously, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and was completely taken aback that for a couple of weeks of so much intense advertising for contestants: handouts, fliers, billboards, print, radio and multiple network broadcast.

Now it could be because the economy *tanked*, casting managed to get far more bang for their advertising buck to be able to run so many television spots on multiple networks, which in particular caught my eye in what otherwise has always been considered such an expensive media market. Nonetheless, for a couple of weeks, I found getting the word out there surprisingly intense --- flooded --- compared to other years in my neck of the woods.



I am certain that list you posted were only the later casting calls (and earlier ones truncated).

I am rather certain that every year, casting does whatever it takes to encourage and bring in the kind of contestants they might be looking for (man on the street, internet applications, word of mouth solicitations), as it would seem to me that typical "cattle calls" might, for the most part, bring in more of the same.

For example, I do remember reading Melissa from Jason's season recruited and, also, Graham from DeAnna's season.

I would think that the way the last 3 seasons have played out, it has been harder to find suckers, I mean recruits, and particularly if they have a story arc in mind.

Actually Chris said in an interview that there was a shred of truth in the article and difficult to fight because of that. That's the trouble with gossipy mags like US, they fit in bits of truth with the made up stuff. CH is a company man but he also has a snarky sense of humor which I like. I don't think you can take everything he says at face value just like anyone else involved including those that sold their stories. I'm not so sure he's not telling the truth about the choice not being made or at least the contract isn't signed yet so can't be firm until it is.

I think Kiptyn is the most likely one of the 3 to be the next bach. but would love to see someone new instead. Reid might be amusing to watch just because of the potential for a trainwreck or Kiptyn because he's such a classy guy but Jake would be a snoozefest as far as I'm concerned.

Well Chris isn't going to fess up to anything because many fans believe the producers knew everything and misled Jillian like a lamb to the slaughter.

I think Kip and Reid however will not be malleable enough for the producers, they are too smart, and Jake will be their perfect sacrificial lamb this season.

I can only see Reid or Kip taking the gig if the payoff and/or terms and conditions were negotiated to their favour - ie if they thought they could negotiate a way to minimize the damage to their reputations but I think that would be naive, I don't think the smartest lawyer in the world could prevent a negative edit.

I say I won't watch if Jake is chosen but I will. And I will have no emotional investment so perfect for sleuthing.

I dont think he would do it if he was asked too this is what he said in one of his post show interviews

The ABC boards want you to be the next Bachelor, any chance of that?
11:58
[Comment From JEFF]
WOW! I don't think Jordan would like me to be on the next Bachelor...HA! "The Amazing Race" sounds much more appealing.

but here's another pic for anyone interested

now that would be fun, Jordan and Jeff on Amazing Race, you know there are more real romances that come out of Big Brother than the Bachelor

looks like Jordan and Jeff are more than a showmance

I didn't realize how scripted either until I found FORT and learned from the experienced people on board. If you get a chance, watch More to Love, another one of MF's shows. Talk about scripted, geesh.

I've watched every season of the Bach/ette, you would think I would clue in at some point. But to the average viewer, they don't realize the magnitude of scripting, and I can fully understand that.

A friend of mine decided to invent a drinking game watching More to Love, you have to take a swig of alcohol every time someone cries, this is resulting in more drinking than expected......

with Bachelor it would be every time someone says "connection"

As reality shows became more plentiful and the competition became stiffer, we began to hear that they paid leads and contenders, but my sense is still that the tendency is to pay low as this franchise is viewed as one of the grandaddies of reality tv, and up until recently was viewed as fairly decent.

Someone suggested that they pay commensurate with DWTS, but I say, "No way!" Although many of those people are trying to infuse life back into a flagging career or get one started, with the exception perhaps of Melissa last season, all of them have made much more in their careers than what they were paid to perform on DWTS. For example, if Lil Kim made the same $325K that we think Shawn started with, then that is nothing to the $900k that Lil Kim owed just in back taxes.
I just don't think we can compare the two salaries - DWTS and the Bachelor.

I wonder though if the show is having trouble finding recruits and it has become general knowledge how much the VH1 peeps are getting paid, that perhaps more people are holding out for more money on par with VH1 or it is going to take more money for people to agree to the humiliation.

[Romanticsucker]

Define "so many" though!

How many "watch" -- ten million give or take a couple of million

How many tweets -- fewer than 20, mostly from people who post/read here

How many posters care -- couple dozen, which significantly overlap the tweeters

They have superior research methods to gauge / predict the audience, for the particular sort of entertainment they are casting, planning, and plotting. I doubt they barely glance at these posts or tweets, much less weigh them.

It's a national broadcasting company casting the lead in a primetime series. Internet interactivity would be a very, very small piece of the picture, and even then only perhaps at an aggregate, anonymized web analytic level. Of course they publicly say things to Fan/Addict types to encourage them to be interested, and manage risk of leaks ahead of their carefully planned Public Introduction of their final casting decision.

Alas, we may be the Center of SOMEONE's Universe (hopefully, among some flesh and blood friends and family), but I sincerely believe -- with my usual reasons -- that ABC/Next cast with the barest of sideways glances to what any anonymous internet poster -- or even Reality Steve or lincee or anyone says.

In short, just because Ashton Kutcher replies to a Tweet doesn't mean the tweeter will be invited to Rumer's weddding.

How can I summarize it? It's fan management, not fan consultation.

A brilliant post. Yes, that is probably how the network and production companies see it--and they are wrong. We--you and I--the hardcore internet fanbase (Maybe 10,000?) the ones on here discussing the show even when its out of production, are the ones who create the buzz. We pester our friends, families, and co-workers--talking up the show and the cast. The show never varies much but the ratings have done a roller coaster these past few seasons. Why? One guy/20 women, blah, blah, but the ratings move a lot depending on the cast.

The ratings for the Mesnick season were higher than they had been in years for one reason: Reality Steve. He became a force multiplier despite the relatively small number reading his blog. The media picked up on it and hype, hype, hype, ensued. If ABC/Next doubt that they are delusional. An explosion in cyberspace has ripples like a pebble landing in the middle of the pond. A few years ago a movie called Snakes on a Plane used an internet strategy to hype the box office. Most critics and many fans said the movie was a turd, but the hype gave them a big opening and financially saved the film.

I put a poll on my blog that I think reflects the wishes of the base--some of you voted in it and the results are in. If ABC ignores we hard cores, well, I think they're nuts and it will cost them. This is like politics: ignore your base only at your own peril.

[biglove44]

About compensation for the Bachelor/ette - why do I have it in my head that Jillian got $250, 000. Maybe I was mixed up with VH1 dating reality shows.

I know for fact that the F1s on Flavour of Love got paid $250,000, a major fact never mentioned on the show so I can only imagine how much they paid Flav. Hoops, who won Flavour of Love, stated it in an interview, and/or her own website, she won $250,000 for Flavour of Love 1 and she made $250,000 for winning I Love Money Season 1, now that was openly the goal there, of course, girl cleaned up and all shared with her basketball player boyfriend that she had before she ever went on Flavour of Love 1. Think about it, who would want to get near Flav unless you got paid well.

So to me, $300,000 for a real estate agent is still chump change. I'd be holding out for a half million.

VH1 must have much deeper pockets huh.

Where are we getting this 300k from? Lisamill was the only source we had to Reid and they never mentioned that exact dollar amount in any of their 600 posts. Bloomers mentioned this dollar amount between pages 15 -17 and some posters just went with it.

Why pay someone more money when you can get someone else for less, who's much more willing to be on the show? Maybe Jake really is looking for love, he seemed genuine during the MTA.

Jlccaz is most likely right about Jake being the next bachelor, from the extra info we were given about Reid up until last weekend, I highly doubt he'll be a part of TB franchise.

[lavender1960]

Where are we getting this 300k from? Lisamill was the only source we had to Reid and they never mentioned that exact dollar amount in any of their 600 posts. Bloomers mentioned this dollar amount between pages 15 -17 and some posters just went with it.

Why pay someone more money when you can get someone else for less, who's much more willing to be on the show? Maybe Jake really is looking for love, he seemed genuine during the MTA.

Jlccaz is most likely right about Jake being the next bachelor, from the extra info we were given about Reid up until last weekend, I highly doubt he'll be a part of TB franchise.

I agree it is likely Jake. Judging by the internet polls it would seem that Reid Jake and Kip are about equal, different polls say different things add it all together it appears they are equally popular even if there are more Kip or Reid fans on this board.

If the producers really thought though that Kip or Reid would bring in substantially more viewers, and Kip and Reid were interested in the gig, then the producers might pause to consider paying more money. Simple math- more ratings = more ad revenue.

But they may feel that there would be no real difference or no appreciable difference in ratings between the three and if they go with a new person, that's a whole other question. At least with the Bachelor itself it seems there is no lack of candidates so no they don't have to pay more. Also weigh that with an ability to maniplate the Bachelor which might be just as important to the producers especially after the very independent minded Brad Womack shattered their engagement requirement.

I am quite surprised by the general consensus however that the contestant search seems more aggressive than ever. I think that speaks to the increasing difficulty in getting contestants and/or perhaps they want to avoid paying recruits this year. They may want only bona fide applicants no recruits. If Ed was indeed a paid recruit as some suspect, he could have been a very costly recruit indeed if the rumours had spilled before airing.

Then again do they want to avoid paid recruits so that money could go to secure the Bachelor they want? On the other hand, hasn't it been that the Bachelor has less trouble historically finding contestants for than Bachelorette?

I wonder does anyone know what kind of budget is set for the show and when? They seemed to have spent a lot of money on Jillian's season just based on all the travel though indeed I suspect much of that was provided free in return for the endorsements. Canadian tourism thanks ye!

[StanleyCupCanes]

A brilliant post. Yes, that is probably how the network and production companies see it--and they are wrong. We--you and I--the hardcore internet fanbase (Maybe 10,000?) the ones on here discussing the show even when its out of production, are the ones who create the buzz. We pester our friends, families, and co-workers--talking up the show and the cast. The show never varies much but the ratings have done a roller coaster these past few seasons. Why? One guy/20 women, blah, blah, but the ratings move a lot depending on the cast.

The ratings for the Mesnick season were higher than they had been in years for one reason: Reality Steve. He became a force multiplier despite the relatively small number reading his blog. The media picked up on it and hype, hype, hype, ensued. If ABC/Next doubt that they are delusional. An explosion in cyberspace has ripples like a pebble landing in the middle of the pond. A few years ago a movie called Snakes on a Plane used an internet strategy to hype the box office. Most critics and many fans said the movie was a turd, but the hype gave them a big opening and financially saved the film.

I put a poll on my blog that I think reflects the wishes of the base--some of you voted in it and the results are in. If ABC ignores we hard cores, well, I think they're nuts and it will cost them. This is like politics: ignore your base only at your own peril.

I agree with many points that you make. In the age social media: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, texting, camera phones and the Internet, the power of viral marketing/messaging, while hard to measure, is very powerful. In many cases, the customer or consumer now controls the message around "the product" whether it's a TV Show, a car or a technology product. This type of commentary or feedback is often more believable and respected in certain segments - than many a canned marketing/ad campaign.

Often times, the best the producer of a product can do is effectively manage the outreach in social media settings to try to capture what's being said, digest it and use this feedback to steer opinion or defend against negativity.

Also, if the networks were as savvy as they believe they are, I would hope that they wouldn't miss the mark in programming choices as often as they do.