If you want a glimpse inside of contestant selection/casting, then this article is for you.
The author of this story requested people not to re-post his story, or otherwise I would have provided it here.
Here is a preview
Upon arrival, finalists are given a grid for appointment times...and times are written in as they are assigned during the week. Possible appointments are listed as Producers, Medical, Psych A, Psych B, Call Back, and Written Test.
Finalists are given a stipend of $50 a day that must cover all meals, and said that because the hotel’s restaurants were so expensive [the finalist only bought breakfast and dinner]. Other finalists used their stipends—or their own money—on alcohol in the bar. For dinner, they had the option of eating in the restaurant or the hotel’s bar.
Producers insist that they have moles among the finalists (the instructions say producers have “people we call ‘spy’s’” [sic] who “will try and test you to see if you engage in conversation”), and threaten them with disqualification. This scare tactic worked, as the finalist I talked to said he was extremely paranoid and was convinced his room was bugged.
On day one, two tests were administered: an timed, standardized IQ test, and a personality test. The personality test was broken into three parts: an hour-long multiple choice test, and two 15-30 minute shorter exams. Some of the questions, he said, asked things like if the finalists had ever considered suicide; what they would do if they discovered their sister was a lesbian; and what they’d think if their mother was revealed to be a murderer.
On day two, producers interviewed him for just over a half-hour; he understood that the longer the interview, the better. That group included his casting producer; executive producers Alison Grodner and Rich Meehan; casting director Robyn Kass; two camera operators; and three interns who typed everything he said. The hotel room’s TV set showed his own face, so everyone could see what he’d look like on TV.
The finalist learned two to three weeks before the show debuted that producers rejected him, following weeks of e.mail messages from the casting producer saying producers were still piecing the cast together; he was also told that producers kept going to between him and a person who actually made it to the house.
The finalist was told that producers would call a week in advance of sending a camera crew to make sure that they’re home. In other words, and as is obvious on television, houseguests are not blindsided when they are confronted by a camera crew.
The site realityblurred.com posted documents given to finalists, "The first two pages are sent to finalists before casting begins, while the second, the letter from Our House Productions, is given to them at finals."
- Finalists “MUST have seen at least one FULL season” and already know what their strategy will be, both of which contribute to giving us similar seasons year after year, rather than allowing a group of houseguests to approach the game in a new way.
- Finalists are told that they absolutely “DON’T” get along with all kinds of people—and of course, producers want to know exactly who they don’t get along with, likely so they can cast for conflict.
- Multiple sections of these two documents refer to contestants’ appearance: their clothing (they’re encouraged to buy new clothes for the casting process) and their bodies (they “should be looking and feeling [their] best for pool time”)
- As noted above, the rules for finals say that producers have “spy’s” (they’ve pluralized it with an apostrophe and S, rather than spelling it correctly: spies) who will report back to producers.
- Judging by what producers have chosen to communicate in ALL CAPS, there are two things that are important in the rules: Talking to other people is “ABSOLUTELY NOT PERMITTED” and they “CANNOT TAKE SPECIAL REQUESTS FOR SNACKS."
See the full article here:
Big Brother finals casting process: how it works, rules finalists must follow
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