After months of planning we are ready to begin the 20^th season of The Real World in Hollywood.  For the first time ever we will provide our viewers with daily, uncensored clips (yes – foul language and some nudity) of what takes place inside the house.  Some of these moments you will see in the show – but in a longer and unedited form so you can see what we didn’t put on the air.  You will also see scenes that didn’t make it in the show – scenes we wanted to include in the show but didn’t have time for.  What you’ll get is a complete picture of what took place in the house.  You’ll see how we shaped these raw moments into a story for television. 

Today is “Move-In” Day – and we’re putting the final touches on the house this morning before the roommates arrive this afternoon.  Hopefully the paint will be dry!  We have converted a loading dock and small studio of the old WCBS building on Sunset and Gower into an outrageous living space for our seven new strangers.  It’s the first time we’ve ever created a house out of a studio but it seems appropriate for Hollywood.  The most famous TV show ever shot here was the second season of  “I Love Lucy”.  There’s an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a state of the art Bowflex gym, and an amazing kitchen equipped with Bosch energy efficent appliances.

The theme of the house, created by Production Designer Chuck Aubrey, is all Hollywood.  There are old set pieces, painted backdrops, recycled artwork, old cameras and TV sets – it’s as if we stumbled into an old warehouse of Hollywood memorabilia.  There’s also an amusing salute to the previous nineteen seasons of The Real World with a display of virtual fish tanks – each representing a different city. 

The bedrooms are actually in a small television studio, where initially we had to dismantle an old news set.  The three bedrooms were designed as a salute to a famous movie of the sixties.  If you’ve ever seen Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” then you’ll get it.    

We have affectionately named the house “Stage 20” which is painted on the front gate.  The large gate will roll open like a classic studio gate to reveal this amazing house to the roommates for the first time – if the gate works!  It has been malfunctioning lately and was stuck open for hours a few days ago during load in.  We will be holding our breath to see if it works, when the roommates use the remote to open it. 

The roommates arrived in Los Angeles two days ago.  We have kept them in separate hotels, where they were interviewed on-camera to capture their excitement, anticipation, and fears before entering the house they will live in for the next sixteen weeks.  They can hardly contain themselves, they are about ready to explode.  As we look back at their original audition tapes (check it out on the dailies site) you can see their energy, passion, and desire to participate in this project.  You understand why they were chosen.  Each of them has their own dream of making it in the entertainment business in Hollywood, and each of them will get the opportunity to pursue that dream. 

If the past seasons of The Real World are any indication, these roommates are in for an amazing experience of fun and romance, heartache and conflict, change and growth – and will emerge four months later as different people.

We have some concerns about Brianna; only a few weeks ago she got into a fight with her boyfriend and the police were called – and she was arrested.  She will have to return to Philadelphia for a court hearing at some point but we hope it doesn’t happen during the taping of the show, and remove her from the house. 

“Move-In” day is a big day for the crew as we must plan the roommates’ first meetings, and arrivals at the house.  We have organized to have them meet in pairs all around L.A.  They will be given a map with an arrow pointing to “Stage 20”.  We want to coordinate it so that they all arrive within the same hour – but with the L.A. traffic conditions anything could happen.  Four camera crews will cover the action; and two more crew will begin later in the evening for the first day’s coverage.

We have decided to have Greg, the internet winner, arrive at the house last because the other roommates have no doubt already seen him on the MTV website.  This is the first time we’ve had a roommate selected by our viewers with an online vote.  With the help of his friends and family, and the University of Florida, Greg outdistanced all the other candidates by thousands of votes.  This may put Greg in an odd situation because the other six roommates know him, but he doesn’t know them.

Okay, everything is in place and we are ready to begin.  Now we roll tape, and see what happens.  Here’s to the 20^th season, and the start of The Real World Hollywood!