If you’ve been following the epic story of Beauty and the Geek from the beginning, you’ll know that the show’s on TV, I gave an interview over the radio and, well, this blog is just a dust mite compared to all the information you can find on the Internet. I think the only form of media that hasn’t been flooded yet is carvings on cave walls.
Seriously, though, the show is eventually going to get some exposure on paper, too. Sure, there have been plenty of columnist reviews across the nation, most of which gave the show good marks—those who didn’t like it… they’re pretentious pricks. Why? Because I said so. And don’t question my judgment on this—I could have you destroyed in the blink of an eye by an angry mob of fans who think I’m cute.
But I’m not talking about general opinions from people who only saw the first two episodes before promoting or condemning it. I’m talking about juicy information that you wouldn’t find out for yourself by watching the show… or reading it on my blog. Something much cooler than newspapers, but something you can still burn in effigy if it tries to make you seem like a pretentious prick.
So here’s what led to this entry: Yesterday, I got a call from Kathy, the publicist out in L.A., who asked if it would be okay for People to give me a call. No, not just random folks off the street—People, the magazine. It’s not like I had better plans that afternoon, so I told her that’d be fine. (I did have plans to go shopping with my mother, but they weren’t better plans…) She asked me when I’d be available and we eventually got it scheduled for 3:00.
At approximately 3:20, my phone rang. It was Kathy again, but as part of a conference call—she’d be lurking on the line with the mute button on during the interview. If I had any questions, she could pipe up with an answer. Then her voice disappeared, at which point the interviewer’s voice asked me how I was doing.
The questions were very low-key, I tried to be as candid as possible and avoid little white lies. For example, I admitted that my social life hadn’t changed much since I’m still spending most of my time in the basement studying for the bar exam. Still, I could tell her that while it still feels kinda awkward approaching women, I’m more comfortable just engaging in a conversation that might arise. Or that might be a white lie, I haven’t decided for sure—it’s been a while since I’ve talked to a strange woman (not including the oddballs I already know).
The one thing I definitely remember was when she asked me to complete this sentence: “Not all geeks are [blank].” “…Geeks.” Hey, it was the first thing that came into my head. As I was thinking about how to elaborate on that, Kathy jumped into the conversation to say that’s exactly what she was thinking: “Not all geeks are geeks.” I eventually came up with something like “There’s still a person behind the horn-rimmed glasses and the pocket protector.” I don’t recall whether I added that you might have to try a little harder to find that person, but the sentiment is the same.
That was pretty much it. I don’t know how much of the conversation they’ll put in print, but it was nice to hear the interviewer say it was easy to talk to me. (Maybe it wasn’t a white lie after all…) Perhaps you’ll feel the same way after watching future episodes of Beauty and the Geek… or maybe not—you probably shouldn’t talk at the TV too much or people will start looking at you funny.
Oh, one more thing: if you want to see which parts of the interview they used (along with interviews of all the other male cast members), pick up the issue of People that’s coming out on June 17th. The Bachelor issue. It’ll say that I’m single and available. I just hope it won’t lead to my social life changing because the basement gets raided by a mob of strange women who think I’m cute.
