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Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #100 on: March 16, 2009, 11:30:32 AM »
Claudia Jordan's Blog:

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE RECAP: EPISODE 3!

She’s back! Guest blogger Claudia Jordan breaks down episode three of Celebrity Apprentice."

"Last night’s episode makes three victories in a row for the ladies.

Tom Green, who jumped at the opportunity to put on a wedding dress, as the task was to raise the most cash selling gowns, led the men’s team.

Thirty-second-summary: Dennis Rodman and Herschel Walker went missing-in-action, and I believe Dennis was hung over after a night at the bar, but he did say that he touched a dog – or a cat – and had an allergic reaction.

Tom was accused of being late to task when he was the leader. It seemed after last week’s loss the team had it out for him.

Once again, then men seemed to let super egos take priority over success. That’s clearly why they are falling apart.

Team Athena had thousands of dollars coming in, and I felt there was no way we could lose unless something really incredible happened on the men’s side.

We raised a whopping $103,000 compared to the men’s team, which raised $61,000. We win, again!

I was still very under the weather, so I was really happy to get back to our room to relax and celebrate!

Okay, here’s what bothered me about this episode: They edited so much footage out!

I worked my butt off and so did Tione (T-Boz of TLC), and they really didn't show us at all.

I worked with the designer to make the outside of our store appealing and inviting. I called in a favor and got an actual red carpet to be rolled out in front of our store.

I pulled another favor and got a store to donate six mannequins for us to use, and I also got a friend to get a couple models to come down and model gowns for us. None of that was shown.

When the foot traffic got low, Khloe Kardashian and I walked up and down the street solicit customers.

I had a New York publicist Marvet Britto send some of her socialite friends down, and they spent thousands.

I even went to the men’s store and tried to steal some of their customers. It was a lot of work. I tried gowns on for customers!

But at the end of the day, the important thing is that we came together as a team and did very well.

Brande Roderick was a great project manager. She got the job done without being bossy or mean, and she brought in a lot of cash.

Joan Rivers got QVC to bring in a nice amount of money, $25,000.

And Annie Duke, who never fails to get the bug bucks, didn't let us down one bit. She got one of her friends to fly in and spend $10,000 for one dress.

This week we all got along much more. We were so busy with the task there was really no time for bickering.

Joan was gone again for the first day. It was only our third task and this was the second time she was gone! But we still kicked butt.

Please come back next week as I step up and become Project Manager. Can the ladies continue the winning streak? Stay tuned and find out!"

xoxo,
Claudia
Team Athena

http://www.okmagazine.com/blog/post/12540/Celebrity-Apprentice-Recap:-Episode-3!

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #101 on: March 16, 2009, 12:03:36 PM »

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE 2

Episode: 7

April 12, 2009

Teams must design and build an in-store display unit and packaging for LifeLock, a company that provides identity theft protection. One team is pushed to the brink as deadlines loom, and one of their celebrities falls ill. A mounting feud between two teammates finds the other team struggling to get along. In the end the executives choose a winning presentation and Trump fires another celebrity, leaving the final eight to reveal the strategies that got them this far on the road to becoming The Celebrity Apprentice.


Offline apskip

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #102 on: March 16, 2009, 12:48:13 PM »
Celebrity Apprentice 2 Recap

As the episode opens, George Ross steps out of the limo. As this challenge progresses, he is questioning both teams. That means that his value is increased by having a perspective on both teams and able to make judgments on all aspects.  I am glad to see George back, as he demonstrates that he can ask the really tough questions. Joan Rivers is away for the day 1 planning of the task for Athena. Tom and Brande are chosen as Project Managers. Tom is motivated by the fuss he caused last week. Brande just wants to showcase her leadership talents. Khloe is shown delivering a check for $20,000 to her charity.

The task is to sell 125 bridal dresses each donated by RK Bridal (what a fine thing for them to do to raise big money for charity). However, when the counting is finished it is clear that the big money is not selling dresses but mining corporate and individual contributions. The heavy hitters there prove to be Joan Rivers with $25,000 from QVC, Annie Duke with $10,000 from an unnamed Las Vegas gambler, amounts unshown from Melissa and Brande, Herschel Walker with over $10,000 and Clint Black with $35,000. It's good for the charities benefitting for the major focus to be on calling in IOUs, but I think that this has gone way overboard and is harming the Celebrity Apprentice as a competition. Donald Trump is driving this absurdity and he should stop it for all future Celebrity Apprentice seasons.

The actual preparation of selling spaces for the task highlighted critical differences in approach. Brande wanted it to look inviting and welcoming, with flowers and other classy decorations. Tom wanted it to look bare and like a fire sale. Several of the men focused on who they could tap and were not asked to really do much else. Dennis Rodman went out with Herschel for an evening of carousing and was so hung over that he concocted story of being allergic to a cat (yeah, and there's a bridge in Brooklyn for sale). Tom apparently felt that the team could perform without him present as he did not arrive until 840am. The excuse of knocking on Rodman's door for 30 minutes was later reduced to 20 minutes. He tried to get Dennis involved, but should have given up on it sooner. Athena was smooth and cohesive and when the sale opened they had a line waiting to get in. However, before the end of the 3 hour sale things had reversed and the men had the traffic and the women's store was empty. The sale ends and the teams head to the Boardroom.

There is the usual asking questions by Trump of who did the best and worst. The best according to Brande are Melissa and Annie. On the men's side it's Herschel and Clint. The worst was not addressed on the women's side and on the men's side it was between Dennis and Tom. The money raised tells the tale. KOTU did very well at $63,000 but they are far outclassed by Athena at $103,000. Trump says Athena wins and Brande as the winning project manager will get to give $127,000 to her charity. The women are excused but get to watch the entire rest of the Boardroom action (a first for this season) on the closed-circuit TV in their suite.

So it is down to who will be eliminated from KOTU. It is clear that Dennis is in trouble once again for a non-caring, non-participating attitude. Tom  gets low marks for the performance of the Men's team on many different dimensions, particularly the sales spaces' ambience not being attractive to brides. Trump will only go so far in coming after Dennis. He has no such self-restrictions in going after Tom. however, I think it was the insights of George Ross which were the most damaging. He said KOTU was missing key players and Tom appeared unconcerned about that. Trump said that Tom brought in no money and really didn't accomplish much.

The way I look at it, Dennis is a cancer who needs to get excised, as he brings down the men's team by setting a poor example and actively resisting any attempts to manage him. I am afraid that it will take him being eliminated before KOTU can find any cohesion. Is that about to happen? No such luck, as Trump elects to ax Tom instead. Until Trump stops protecting Dennis (who is not adding anything positive to this show), this show will be less than it should be. It looks like KOTU members will be picked off until just Herschel and Clint remain.

This was a one hour episode. I think that was an excellent decision. To string this out for 2 hours would have allowed showing more detail and that's the only positive aspect. Otherwise it would be a waste ot time to view.






Offline TexasLady

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #103 on: March 16, 2009, 01:18:30 PM »
Quote
apskip:

So it is down to who will be eliminated from KOTU. It is clear that Dennis is in trouble once again for a non-caring, non-participating attitude. Tom  gets low marks for the performance of the Men's team on many different dimensions, particularly the sales spaces' ambience not being attractive to brides. Trump will only go so far in coming after Dennis. He has no such self-restrictions in going after Tom. however, I think it was the insights of George Ross which were the most damaging. He said KOTU was missing key players and Tom appeared unconcerned about that. Trump said that Tom brought in no money and really didn't accomplish much.

The way I look at it, Dennis is a cancer who needs to get excised, as he brings down the men's team by setting a poor example and actively resisting any attempts to manage him. I am afraid that it will take him being eliminated before KOTU can find any cohesion. Is that about to happen? No such luck, as Trump elects to ax Tom instead. Until Trump stops protecting Dennis (who is not adding anything positive to this show), this show will be less than it should be. It looks like KOTU members will be picked off until just Herschel and Clint remain.

Thanks for another excellent recap apskip. You are a RFF gem! He has to go, the show is sliding down into something close to nasty with the Russian "model" and some of the participants who obviously are not really there in a serious way.

I also agree with you about the charitable aspect, it's overdone. One of the things that hit me last night was the lack of marketing, no fliers, no publicity... and it just goes back to your comment about raising money. It has gone overboard and can hardly be considered a competition and it is ruining the show.
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Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #104 on: March 16, 2009, 02:42:33 PM »

LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY SCHEDULED GUEST

**Wednesday, March 18 – Tom Green


Offline TexasLady

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #105 on: March 16, 2009, 07:00:35 PM »
Intense unkindness!

Celebrity Apprentice: No More Reality TV For Clint Black

March 14, 2009 09:00:36 by Paulene Hinds


Clink Black is one star that you are not likely to ever see on Reality TV once his stint on Celebrity Apprentice is over. The country singer says he has had enough.

In an interview with The Houston Chronicle he says that, after his experience on the hit NBC show, he “will never do any reality show ever again.”

Clint Black is not accustomed to experiencing “intense unkindness,” which he said many of the Celebrity Apprentice contestants displayed. He says the contestants rude behavior was difficult to deal with, even when it wasn’t directed at him and says it “was hard to be around.”

Clint Black even called his wife Lisa Hartman Black at one point and said, “I don’t belong here.”

This is the third week of the previously taped show and Clint Black has found himself the victim of producer editing. He said that last week’s show was heavily edited to make it look like he was arguing with everyone.

So far Clint Black hasn’t been fired from the Celebrity Apprentice and viewers are going to have to wait an extra week to find out if he is headed out of the boardroom. The show will not return until March 22 on NBC. Clint Black appears on Celebrity Apprentice to benefit the charity International Rett Syndrome Foundation.

Catch the next episode of Celebrity Apprentice March 22 at 9PM ET on NBC.

Source: http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2009/03/14/celebrity-apprentice-no-more-reality-tv-for-clint-black/
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Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #106 on: March 18, 2009, 05:45:55 PM »
Melissa Rivers Blog:

Melissa Rivers: “Jesse James is the Smartest Player on the Men’s Side”

Last week on Celebrity Apprentice it all came down to the boardroom. Watching the broadcast I wished they had shown more. Dennis Rodman minced some testy words with Ivanka and Donald in the closing boardroom. Donald was frustrated; he felt Dennis wasn’t really putting in an effort for his team. They exchanged some heated words and at one point Dennis said to Donald, “Do you think you’re better than me because you have money?” Maybe not the best choice of words… By the look of things, Dennis might appear to not be trying. But let me tell you, he absolutely is. What he doesn’t like is how his teammates treat him sometimes. He has a mindset; If you’re going to treat me like an idiot, I’ll act like one. He just wants respect from his guys.

At this stage of the game, the boys’ team has fractured into four camps:

1) Brian and Jesse.
2) Herschel and anyone, he gets along with his whole team. Except Dennis that is.
3) Dennis and Tom. (But now that Tom’s gone, Dennis needs a new partner)
4) Clint. Who is an island all unto himself…

Jesse James is the only one on their team who has his total act together. I think he’s the smartest player on the men’s side.

Our team had a great time in winning. It was a fun task, and a real team effort that required all of us to be on the same page. But, there was one person on our team that disappointed me this week, Claudia. Yes, she did get us models to wear the wedding dresses, but what you didn’t see was the models sitting around drinking champagne with Claudia and just having fun. Which is fine, I suppose… She contributed somewhat, but we all need to complete the task as a team till the end. I was definitely surprised by her lackadaisical attitude. Especially after working with her and seeing what she can pull of when she’s properly motivated.

And again, Tionne is the unsung hero for Athena. In our shop, Tionne was on her knees, pinning and adjusting the wedding dresses and did an overall remarkable job. What you might not know is that Tionne owns an exclusive children’s boutique in Houston (named after her daughter) called Chase’s Closet. So she knows how to sell and that footage was left out. This Saturday, there’s a two hour encore version of last week’s episode. I hope they put all that stuff in and also show when our team was let loose in the wedding store. It was hilarious. I know my friend Jacqueline is hoping they show it. She’s getting married and wants to know everything there is about wedding dresses.

While it looks like our team operates quite smoothly, there are bumps. Without giving anything away, coming up in a new episode two of our best players get into it with each other and one, how can I put this nicely? One manages to verbally and mentally eat away what’s left of another player’s brain. You don’t want to miss it.

Big thanks out to QVC for bringing in a 25k donation for our team. I also want to thank Preston Bailey for helping us. Preston is probably the most famous wedding and gala event planner out there. I met him Preston when he was just starting in the business. He designed my wedding and did an amazing job. Then he appeared on Oprah (who also became a client) and his career skyrocketed. I called him and only had to say, “I’m doing a charity event and I need your help.” He instantly said, “What time and where?” What he did with our space was incredible, he’s beyond talented. I know the guys complained about having to sell wedding dresses, but it really came down to just setting up a good store and making it appealing for the customer. It had nothing to do with the product, we could have been selling widgets. It was about creating the perfect environment for the task. We had makeup consultation, food, champagne, and to top it off, Klohe called her contact at Jimmy Choo who brought 15 of the most incredible pairs of wedding shoes for the ladies to use when they tried on the wedding dresses.

In the final boardroom, Tom Green’s firing was just brutal. I love Tom, but seriously, you don’t oversleep when you’re the project manager. While Tom looked disheveled and tired during the actual task and especially in the boardroom, given the circumstances after a night of drinking with Dennis at the hotel bar, he looked fantastic. As far as Dennis and his mystery eye infection go, he and Tom needed to get their stories straight. It kept changing before our uninfected eyes, first Dennis is allergic to cats, then to dogs, then why is a cat in the hotel, or a dog, and then why are pets at the hotel bar for that matter? It was rough watching Trump basically scold them. On the men’s team, they are the two I was the closest with. I was sad to see Tom go, but there was no way out for him on that one. He was getting fired.

One last note about Dennis, at the end of the episode Trump says to him, “Dennis, can you try a little harder, please?” That’s because Trump knows Dennis is quite smart and can contribute plenty to his team..if he wants to apply himself that is…

Also remember, three weeks into the broadcasts translates for us as six straight days of working and filming that are 16 hours each at a minimum. Dennis needed to blow off some steam and took Tom along for the ride. Sadly, Tom had to take a ride home alone because of it. See you next week!

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/celebrity-apprentice/melissa-rivers-jesse-james-is-the-smartest-player-on-the-mens-side/

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #107 on: March 19, 2009, 12:21:04 PM »
Video:  :lol:

Tom Green Talks to Hollywood.TV


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKcwcq-LzMU

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #108 on: March 19, 2009, 08:28:40 PM »
Video:

Celebrity Apprentice:Claudia Jordan Interview

Professional gameshow hottie Claudia Jordan knows a thing or two about giving away money;

now she needs to show she can earn it. Claudia stops by Reality Chat to talk about her time on CELEBRITY APPRENTICE.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWqvGKd2ojE

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #109 on: March 20, 2009, 10:08:24 PM »
An interesting article:

'Celebrity Apprentice' exclusive: Piers Morgan to visit for two episodes

Celebrity Apprentice season 1 winner Piers Morgan has told EW exclusively that he'll be stopping by the latest installment to be "Donald's eyes and ears" for two episodes starting April 19. Morgan, who is currently filming auditions for the fourth season of America's Got Talent, boasted, "I am and remain the only Celebrity Apprentice. Nothing I've seen so far lives up to my mantle."

So what will it be like when Morgan -- who says he's "not massively impressed" with Celebrity Apprentice's second season thus far -- drops by? He tells EW, "It all gets very, very heated."

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/03/piers-morgan-to.html?xid=rss-tv-%27Celeb+Apprentice%27%3A+Piers+Morgan+returns


Offline apskip

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #110 on: March 22, 2009, 10:54:30 PM »
I have strong feelings about the judging of tonight's presentations by the ACN  sales reps. I was amazed that they fell for the non-product oriented presentation by the Men, particularly heavy on singing by Brian Mcknight and bringing those sales reps to an emotional high. However, that content-free presentation, except for the solider video, was a huge preference. I think the women's presentation was better and should have won.

« Last Edit: March 23, 2009, 09:01:33 AM by apskip »

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #111 on: March 23, 2009, 07:14:14 AM »
Apskip, because of the TAR delay, we missed the first hour. I'm not sure what the challenge was, were they supposed to have a concert or have a sales presentation for the sales reps? If they had stopped with the soldier or had more clips of people using the phone I think it would have been more effective.

(I'll try to watch it today so I can catch up.)
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Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #112 on: March 23, 2009, 10:25:15 AM »

THE 12 REMAINING CONTESTANTS ON NBC'S "THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE" HAVE THE TABLES TURNED ON THEM WHEN TASKED WITH MANAGING A PROMINENT NYC HOTEL THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 29

NBC Press Release

After the women experience their first loss, which resulted in the firing of Claudia Jordan, the women begin to feel the heat and tensions rise on "The Celebrity Apprentice." In the upcoming episode airing Sunday, March 29 (9-11 p.m. ET), the remaining 12 contestants prepare for their next challenge -- to manage and run a Loews Regency Hotel – catering to the guests' every need.

Teams Athena and Kotu must manage five rooms each at the Loews Regency Hotel and accommodate all of their guests' wishes. The celebrities don hotel uniforms and run every aspect of the hotel, cleaning rooms, running the concierge, and delivering room service. Each celebrity wears several hats, and the tables are turned on them as they try to deliver the high-end service they would request. One team must contend with a disgruntled celebrity guest, while the other team faces off with a leader who's out of control and an explosive meltdown follows. Guest surveys give one team the edge and in one of the most powerful boardroom confrontations yet, competition is set aside to confront one celebrity about their harmful addiction.

Clint Black, Annie Duke, Natalie Gulbis, Jesse James, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker and Tionne Watkins are the remaining celebrities still vying to be The Celebrity Apprentice.

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #113 on: March 23, 2009, 10:48:29 AM »
Annie Duke's Blog:

Episode 4 of Celebrity Apprentice: Claudia Goes Home. The Rodman Meltdown Continues.

Well, I survived another week…yay! Tonight I watched the show while commenting on Twitter. I tweeted on the @CelebApprentice account. Really fun and Joe was replying to some of my tweets.  I mean he was sitting right next to me but he wasn’t telling me what he was tweeting and I just kept bursting in to laughter during the show whenever I saw one of his replies. One great example of a Joe tweet tonight was something like: Next week the task is who can drink the most in gay bars while wearing a wedding dress. Rodman project manages.  I love my man. He is freaking funny.

Anyway, on to my analysis of the episode. I was pretty sure going into this challenge that from a strategic standpoint the women winning could be bad. Here is why. Personally, I really knew my team at this point. I had a good understanding of what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses were. I was finally getting along with them (well most of them). The men’s team was a bit of a mess. I had no idea what any of their strengths or weaknesses were. I knew Rodman was a complete, disruptive mess. I also understood that if the women won this challenge the teams would be reshuffled. They can’t have the teams be 8 on 4 and I did not want a reshuffle. I was comfortable where I was… that on my team I was unlikely to be brought into a boardroom and I wanted to keep it that way and avoid the reshuffle.

In poker we call this a freeroll. I figured if we won the challenge then I would avoid the boardroom which is always good. It is always good to not even fade the possibility.  But I also figured that if we lost the challenge I could keep myself out of the boardroom and then not fade the reshuffle of the teams. Two weeks ago I was begging for a reshuffle of the teams. Now I was going to be happy staying put where I was. Two weeks can change a lot. Because I considered it a win either way and the only sure way to stay out of the boardroom was to win the task, I was going to work my ass off to try to make sure we won. But if we lost I was probably okay with it, too.

When I heard the task I knew that I could not contribute much to the show itself. Putting on a stage production for a product launch is definitely completely outside the realm of what a poker player’s skills are! I assumed Melissa was going to step up since it sounded like a big production thing which is what Melissa says her skill set is. I definitely didn’t think it was a good task for Claudia. It seemed like something someone who has experience mounting live shows should take on and that would be Melissa or Tionne. But Claudia seemed really excited about it so I guess the group let her take it.

The men did not make the same mistake. Brian McKnight stepped up to the plate and he has put on tons of live stage shows. It is what he does. It is completely in his wheelhouse. That being said, even with all that experience, the volatility of he men’s team might get in the way anyway.  And the fireworks started right away. When Clint and I were negotiating for the order in which the shows went on Rodman was sitting away from his team and there was clearly tension. But then that tension erupted with Rodman completely getting in Clint’s face in a very threatening way. I thought it was a joke at first so I wasn’t really scared about it but then I figured out it was real and was completely freaked out. Dennis is a huge dude in person. His hands alone are bigger than my head. And to see that kind of anger erupting from that body is, frankly, scary. It was very uncomfortable. And then Dennis stormed off and quit.

But I am going to talk about Athena first because I think the dynamics on Athena were the most interesting this week, despite the Rodman meltdown.

After the Rodman scene, the girls went on our way to start working out the details of our presentation and two things were clear right away: Claudia was not a great leader and Melissa and Claudia really, really did not like each other. Talk about a personality conflict on steroids. Holy cow. Now interestingly, early in the day that conflict really did come from Melissa. Melissa was pushy and aggressive with Claudia and, as Claudia said, Melissa was somewhat obnoxious in the way she was dealing with people. Melissa was essentially trying to be project manager and completely stepped out of bounds. If she wanted to project manage, she should have stepped up to the plate. But letting Claudia take it and then totally stepping on Claudia’s toes was really not okay and it was obnoxious. However, once Claudia snapped at her about it, Melissa stormed off for a cigarette and when she came back she completely transformed…to her credit. She apologized to Claudia and basically just said I will do whatever you tell me to do. That was the right move by Melissa. She made it clear she would completely defer to her PM. But by that time Claudia had made this whole thing personal and did not see what Melissa was trying to offer at this point.

This whole thing reminded me of what happened with Scott and Tom on the Zappos.com task. Yes, Tom was annoying. That was clear. But Tom had the best ideas and Scott allowed his personal feelings for Tom to get in the way of seeing that Tom’s ideas were actually the best ideas on the task. That is why Scott got fired. You sometimes have to work with people you don’t like (as Khloe said in the boardroom). But just because you don’t like them does not mean you should close your mind to what they have to offer. To do that is a fatal error. Don jr. said so. Trump said so. Ivanka said so. They are spot on there. Claudia was the Scott Hamilton of this task for sure. Melissa was the Tom Green.

So, Claudia ran the creative on this and decided to do these three little scenes or vignettes live on stage. Natalie and I were sent out to get props for the stage show. This was the second task in a row that we spent together and we had a great time, as usual. At this point, while we were out, we were still under the impression that Melissa was really causing all the problems. If you had asked us at that point in the day who should be fired if we lose I know I would have said Melissa, hands down, and I think that Natalie would have as well.

When we returned, I was tasked with writing a marketing brochure for the phone to hand out to the sales reps. But I couldn’t even think or concentrate because the room was complete chaos. There was a screaming baby, people just yelling over each other. I mean, as I said on the show, it was like the 7th rung of hell. At this point, Natalie and I both heard what the structure of the show was and I felt like it was too much like a high school talent show with all the skits. So I asked if I could talk to Claudia in private. We went to a room alone (I thought it would be disrespectful to the project manager to discuss it in public) and I told her that I thought the skits were too much, they were cheesy and that she should edit the show down. Let Joan do her thing and maybe do one great skit. 2 max. Claudia just kind of smiled and dismissed my input. Fine by me. I said my peace and just hoped I was wrong.

Finally, everyone left and Khloe stayed behind with me while I wrote the marketing brochure in a quiet room. It was so great to have some peace again. Khloe was a great sounding board for the writing as well. At that point, Claudia and Brande and Tionne went off to edit the videos and Melissa and Natalie came back to the war room and we all started timing the show out. Now I heard what was happening during the rehearsals and all the reports were that Claudia was refusing to listen to Melissa, that Melissa was being completely shut out. I mean Melissa actually knew how to stage the show. Cutting her out of the process was not smart and it was clear that everyone who came back to the war room felt like Claudia was not managing the task well because she was letting personal feelings cloud her judgment. The person whose input I trusted the most on this was Natalie. Natalie was 100% that Claudia was at fault. She was clear on that. Natalie is a very fair person and I really trusted her judgment on this so at that point I was very sure where to place the blame but I did want to see for myself. I had that opportunity the next day.

When we went in to rehearse the next morning it was a total disaster. The show was horrid. Joan Rivers was very funny but the timing was off, the skits were horrid and cheesy and Claudia was, frankly, dismissive and rude to Melissa. Claudia just could not see how bad this show was despite tons of input the day before and the morning of to that effect. I was doubtful the show would even get mounted at all that morning. When I was asked to rate how bad I thought it was on a scale of 1 to 10 my answer was “A Billion!”

In the meantime, Claudia had snuck a peak at the boys’ rehearsal and was very sniping about it. One thing I did not like from watching the show was that Claudia’s comments always seemed so personal about everyone…personally insulting. I think comments on this show should be kept to business and to make fun of someone’s face (as she did in commenting about Melissa), whether you like them or not, is below the belt…in my opinion. Claudia should not have been so sniping about the boys’ show. She should have been quivering because their show rocked. Sometimes, overconfidence can really hurt. And she was overconfident. And dismissive of anyone trying to give her any warnings that the show might be failing.

Okay…so we get to the boardroom. I am not really confident. There was a moment where I thought Joan really pulled it out…they caught that on tape. I think it was just the exhilaration that we had a show at all. But by the time we got to the boardroom I was feeling like we had lost. In fact, Trump asked me how I thought we did and my answer was something like: If we won it is only because of Joan Rivers. The rest of the show was just so bad. So, immediately the fighting starts between Melissa and Claudia. But what is also clear is that the whole team is backing up Melissa on this one. Regardless of whether Melissa was obnoxious or rude or whatever, she was the one who pulled the show together so we could stage anything at all. Everyone on the team knew Melissa had come through. And no one was going to throw her under the bus.

After we found out we lost, Trump asked me a lot of questions about it. I think I was really fair. I didn’t want to get personal. I wanted to keep it to business. And I believe I did that. My point was that both Melissa and Claudia had been obnoxious to each other to begin with but Melissa had put her head down and decided to just work hard and not make waves that first morning but Claudia had refused to accept that, continuing to be rude and completely closed off to Melissa’s input (or mine or Natalie’s for that matter). Claudia, as everyone pointed out, had allowed her personal dislike of Melissa to completely get in the way of making good business decisions. I also said of Khloe, when asked, that she was at loose ends, waiting for a job to do. But I said it was Trump’s decision whether that was Claudia’s fault for not managing Khloe well or Khloe’s fault for not stepping up and volunteering. I personally think both are at fault but the bigger fault there lies with Claudia.

Interstingly enough, Claudia really allowed her personal feelings to get in the way of making a good decision about who to bring in the board room. There was no question that Melissa was not getting fired. Claudia should have heard that loud and clear and not brought Melissa into the boardroom. Trump basically told her to bring Khloe in. Claudia heard that. But Trump also told her loud and clear to bring in Tionne. Trump felt Tionne should have performed. I think he might very well have fired her for not stepping up to the plate and doing so. We will never know because Claudia’s friendship with Tionne stopped her from hearing the advice from Trump. Claudia’s hatred of Melissa drove her to bring Melissa in with her instead. Big mistake because now Claudia had to hope Trump would fire Khloe. She only had one out instead of two.

In the end, Trump fired Claudia and I believe it was the right decision. As I said in the boardroom, Claudia made a lot of noise, and I think was kind of mean about her team members, but she didn’t really produce. If you are going to be that loud, you need to produce. Period. She didn’t. So she was the first to go.

Now onto KOTU.

The men did an amazing job this week. There is actually not that much to say. Jesse James, as usual, hit one out of the park with his video. He always just produces in such a big way. Brian was great and put on a great show. There were only two interesting things about the boys this week. First, the dynamic between Clint and Brian was quite amusing with Clint clearly getting pissed that his expertise as a performer was not being utilized. That being said, Clint really acted like a team player and subordinated himself to Brian well. Kudos to him for that because I imagine that for someone with his performance experience that must have been really hard to sit back like he did.

Now on to Rodman. Obviously, the blow up was very out of the blue and crazy. But what I found more interesting were his comments when he came back to the war room to try to work and Brian wouldn’t let him be involved. First, I don’t really blame Brian for that. Rodman has been nothing but a disruptive force on his team and I don’t blame Brian for wanting him out of the way (I would have taken the free monitors, though). Second, I find it interesting that Rodman just complains and complains about how unfairly he is treated, how everyone is persecuting him for no reason. He was disruptive on the first two tasks, spent the whole third task either drinking, drunk or too hungover to even show up, then blows up the morning of the 4th task delivery and quits the show briefly. Is he not able to take any personal repsonsiblity for his behavior, take any responsibility for why people treat him the way they do? I mean say what you want about me, but I take full responsibility for why some people really don’t like me. I totally understand the things I do that get under people’s skin, that rub people the wrong way. Dennis’ behavior is so outrageous and yet if you listen to him he is as meek and quiet as a lamb and never does anything that might piss people off (or scare them for that matter). A little more self awareness would go a long way with that guy.

On a closing note, I was asked a very interesting question tonight. Someone asked me why I defended Melissa so vehemently in the boardroom tonight and gave Joan big props when they had been mean to me on the previous tasks. First, I want to say that Melissa and I had no problems up until this point. We were actually getting along. Joan, obviously, is another story. But even so, even if  Melissa had been asshole to me, it shouldn’y matter and I found the question a but confusing. The answer is that they did the best job on this task. Period. How they feel about me as a person, whether they like me or are nice to me, has nothing to do with my judgment of who performed on a task. They did the best job. If I don’t say so then that is dishonest. I think the person who gets fired should be based on merit and not personal like or dislike. Claudia would have done well to take that to heart herself.

http://www.annieduke.com/2009/03/episode-4-of-celebrity-apprentice-claudia-goes-home-the-rodman-meltdown-continues/

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #114 on: March 23, 2009, 10:55:37 AM »
Video:

Claudia Jordan "I Got Fired"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w9qp3f44bY


Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #115 on: March 23, 2009, 11:31:09 AM »
Claudia Jordan's Blog:

CELEBRITY APPRENTICE RECAP: CLAUDIA'S OUT!

Our Celebrity Apprentice celeb blogger Claudia Jordan explains why her head was on the chopping block this week.

“For the fourth project I decided to step up and volunteer to be Project Manager.

It seemed like no one else was anxious to step up for such a daunting project, which surprised me.

As bossy as a few of my teammates were, I was actually shocked that they weren't dying to be boss.

But I suppose some would rather boss from the back seat than to actually step up, take the wheel and drive.

We had a huge challenge to promote and launch the ACN videophone. I had never heard of it but was informed they did a half billion dollars in business in a year. In a recession. Sweet!

We were struggling at first to come up with direction for this project.

I was sort of amazed by my team that on all the other tasks they seemed to be so eager to step up, take initiative and do things without being told.

But soon as I was PM I felt that they needed to be micro-managed in every aspect of the challenge. And if they weren't, they would criticize me.

Joan Rivers was absent for yet another task. I was amazed that it was okay for her not to be with her team again!

I had a gig that I had to just lose on a weekend because I didn't want to leave the city on my day off, and she was off and about several times during our taping!

But I really like Joan. I knew she was a professional and would be able to step up when I needed her. Still would have been nice to have her in the brain storming sessions.

Joan was stuck in Texas with no late night flights, and Natalie Gulbis took some initiative to arrange for that private jet that brought Joan back in time.

I worked hard as I possibly could, and I got to tell you, after our run thru, it wasn’t looking good. Our show was a mess. I saw the doubt in everyone's eyes.

But I am never good in rehearsal, so I wasn't as worried. I knew we were going to be fine. By show time everything went off without a hitch.

I really thought we had won and all of a sudden all my doubtful teammates were friendly to me again, wow!  I was nervous but I thought we had pulled it off.

In the boardroom, we were informed that the ladies had lost our first challenge. I saw how quickly people change and will say and do just about anything to not jeopardize themselves.

A few times I heard some of my team speaking negatively about Tionne from TLC. And I quickly defended her. I thought for sure when I needed her, she would come to my defense.

Or my girl Brande Roderick or Natalie… Anyone? Nothing! This was the most hurtful part of the show, to watch them one by one not want to stand up to Melissa Rivers because they knew they would have the wrath of Joan as well.

In the end, I asked Khloe Kardashian and Melissa back into the boardroom. Khloe was stressed because she had a plane to catch to get back to court for her infamous DUI.  I didn't know that before I asked her back.

I think she took it extra personally, and in the lobby the very fake Melissa was consoling Khloe, which was hilarious since that was the most I saw them talk the entire time.

It was clear I was out numbered and I prepared for those two words: “You’re fired!”

In the end I was sent packing. It didn't hurt being fired by Trump, but it did hurt being disappointed by women I thought cared a little bit more.

Trump told me if one person had spoken up for me, I would have not been fired. But since it was unanimous...he couldn't justify not firing me.

At the end of the day, Trump has integrity and for that he has my respect.

Boy, I can't wait to come back for the finale in May!”

Xoxo
Claudia

http://www.ok-magazine.com/blog/post/12708/Celebrity-Apprentice-Recap:-Claudia's-out!

Offline Texan

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #116 on: March 23, 2009, 12:15:17 PM »
They really showed claudia to be the bad person on this episode.  Funny I thought even when Melissa was apologising she still talked over Claudia. 

I have also foung it strange that they have both Melissa and Joan on the same show as they obviously were going to defend each other.  And we saw that with Melissa telling her mom to defend her.  Funny Joan was not there to defend on the issue they were talking about.

I think Claudia did take it personally and Melissa did too.  But I have to agree with Claudia if this was about producing why was melissa not the project manager.  And I do think the ladies are worried about standing up to the tag team of the Rivers.

I missed the blow up... but if Clint could get over it and be a man about is so should Brian.  he should have taken the monitors as his contributions to help.  I really think Brian would have been fired if they lost for it.  I also think, from what they showed Brian was not friendly to Clint and almost rude.

Offline tory

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #117 on: March 23, 2009, 12:29:20 PM »
ty for the blog and vid mg.. i watched the show this morni, online i coudn't dvr it bc 60 min ran over and amzing race and desprat hw take presadet lol..i was glade brian did what he did to dennis r. don]t let him in and he can screw things up. i was sad to see clauda go like that i liked her but she wasn;t a good pj mg jmo. she needed to rein in those big mouths and there might have been better ideas come out. :meow: :meow: but i am sure the girls r glade they don't have a dennis on there team..omg i would hope i could pull off what brian did love him..
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Offline tory

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #118 on: March 23, 2009, 12:37:18 PM »
if u go to hulu.com u can watch the show online texan..dennis was way over the edge he has been the last two weeks. it is like he might be bipolar, i don't mean that in a mean way bcause i get what u r saying he can come off sooo sweet.

but not so sweet the last 2 weeks and i am sure they r trying to give him a good edit or he would b gone by now, trump like dennis. but dennis is out of control..i love the way the guys handeled it i the board room i love jessy saying i beat u up lol they were all adorable. jmo there real men!!! :flirt: :flirt:
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Offline apskip

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #119 on: March 23, 2009, 01:31:48 PM »

THE 12 REMAINING CONTESTANTS ON NBC'S "THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE" HAVE THE TABLES TURNED ON THEM WHEN TASKED WITH MANAGING A PROMINENT NYC HOTEL THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 29

NBC Press Release

After the women experience their first loss, which resulted in the firing of Claudia Jordan, the women begin to feel the heat and tensions rise on "The Celebrity Apprentice." In the upcoming episode airing Sunday, March 29 (9-11 p.m. ET), the remaining 12 contestants prepare for their next challenge -- to manage and run a Loews Regency Hotel – catering to the guests' every need.

Teams Athena and Kotu must manage five rooms each at the Loews Regency Hotel and accommodate all of their guests' wishes. The celebrities don hotel uniforms and run every aspect of the hotel, cleaning rooms, running the concierge, and delivering room service. Each celebrity wears several hats, and the tables are turned on them as they try to deliver the high-end service they would request. One team must contend with a disgruntled celebrity guest, while the other team faces off with a leader who's out of control and an explosive meltdown follows. Guest surveys give one team the edge and in one of the most powerful boardroom confrontations yet, competition is set aside to confront one celebrity about their harmful addiction.

Clint Black, Annie Duke, Natalie Gulbis, Jesse James, Khloe Kardashian, Brian McKnight, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Brande Roderick, Dennis Rodman, Herschel Walker and Tionne Watkins are the remaining celebrities still vying to be The Celebrity Apprentice.


What kind of a challenge has Donald Trump developed. Loews Regency Hotel has 353 guest rooms, including 74 suites and 12 specialty suites. So what are 12 individuals still in the running for Celebrity Apprentice 2 going to accomplish taking care of only  10 of them. That is 3% of the total rooms in that hotel. If the staff is in proportion, then there would be a staff of 400 at the hotel.  I have tried online to develop that information without success. However, I will venture a guess that the staff is less than 400. I expect the Celebrity Apprentice 2 competitors are being given what it is believed they can handle rather than what normal staff does.


Offline apskip

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #120 on: March 23, 2009, 02:13:15 PM »
I want to offer a mini version of a recap for this episode 4. Brian McKnight was the KOTU Project Manager and Claudia Jordan the Athena Project Manager. I missed most (but not all of the first 46 minutes of CA2) but started viewing full-time when the Women's presentation to ACN started. Joan Rivers was clearly about 80% of the show and if you like schtick, then she is the ideal comedienne to use. I don't like schtick so I was not totally amused, but at least the women put significant content into their show. The video was OK and the video transforming into live action skit was very good. I give the Women a grade of solid B  for their efforts.

The Men had a super video of the Soldier, but otherwise it was totally the Biran McKnight show. Now he's a good singer and rabble rouser, but there was no content about the videophone other than the solider. I would find Brian McKnight's tour de force performance entertaining on the stage in Atlantic City or Las Vegas, but what did that type of singing( designed to make people emotional and start clapping) have to do with ACN or its products? I give the Men an A for the soldier video and a D for eveything else. My combined rating of them would be C.

So I thought a mistake was made when there were no limits placed on the performances to force teams to stick to the topic. A professional panel of judges would not make the mistake that I think the ACN salespeople did in selecting the slick emotional content over the real content. Their actual vote was 386 to 61 or the 85% that Trump reported.

There were no significant decisions on the KOTU side after they discovered they won. They trotted on back to the suite and watched how Athena was hemorrhaging. It was pretty clearly Claudia vs. Melissa. Usually, the Project Manager is fired when his/her side loses. In this case two alternatives developed, Melissa and Khloe. Melissa had been disruptive, but she reformed and did a decent job of producing the Athena presentation. The problems with it were on the creative side, which Claudia was pretty much responsible for. Annie was asked her opinion and, although you could expect her to support Claudia she surprisingly did not, focusing on the chaos that was Claudia's fault.  In spite of her missing the first nearly 24 hours of this challenge, Joan Rivers flew in from Dallas ona redeye arriving at 4am to be part of it. Joan of course was supportive of her daughter. I have believed from the beginning that Joan will fall on her sword at the proper time to help Melissa get ahead. Joan did bail out the women's presentation with just hours to spare before it happened. The other possibility was that Khloe would be fired for being useless, doing little and just marking time. I am sure Trump considered that, but he was not going to override the ultimate responsibility of the Project Manager.

So Claudia was fired.

Offline marigold

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #121 on: March 23, 2009, 03:16:14 PM »

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE 2

Episode: 8

Air Date: April 19, 2009

Teams are tasked to pick jewelry from Ivanka Trump’s boutique to be auctioned off later that night. The winner will be determined by the profit from the auction. Fallout from the previous boardroom spills over and one celebrity is shunned by their team. An attempted sabotage puts thousands of dollars up for grabs, a sum that could determine a winner. Last season’s winner, Piers Morgan, joins Ivanka Trump as Trump’s eyes and ears. In the boardroom Piers witnesses a battle that eclipses his own with Omarosa from last season. While substantial profits are raised on both sides, only one team leaves the boardroom victorious and the other team loses another celebrity.


Offline tory

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #122 on: March 23, 2009, 03:44:02 PM »
i am confused askip do u thnk a hotel stafe is one stafe member for evey room??

i live in a resort town and i think i have stayed at the hotel they r going to flim at in ny if it is 32and and lexington? any way wth that said they have like 4 ppl at the desk checking ppl in and out a manager and concer allso the kitchen staff is a whole  other part of the hotel and so is maide servace. oh and even on the crues i went on we only had one person per like 20 rooms to clean up 2 x's a day. thease ppl can easyaly handel 10 rm's each..they need to put the right person in the right job and wk as a team..
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Offline apskip

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #123 on: March 23, 2009, 03:55:40 PM »
i am confused askip do u thnk a hotel stafe is one stafe member for evey room??

i live in a resort town and i think i have stayed at the hotel they r going to flim at in ny if it is 32and and lexington? any way wth that said they have like 4 ppl at the desk checking ppl in and out a manager and concer allso the kitchen staff is a whole  other part of the hotel and so is maide servace. oh and even on the crues i went on we only had one person per like 20 rooms to clean up 2 x's a day. thease ppl can easyaly handel 10 rm's each..they need to put the right person in the right job and wk as a team..

tory, it doesn't sound like you are confused. It sounds like you agree with me that the staffing of Athena and KOTU at 7 and 5 members each for 5 rooms is excessive and there should have been many more rooms included.

Offline TexasLady

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Re: Celebrity Apprentice 2
« Reply #124 on: March 23, 2009, 06:46:11 PM »
They really showed claudia to be the bad person on this episode.  Funny I thought even when Melissa was apologising she still talked over Claudia. 

I have also foung it strange that they have both Melissa and Joan on the same show as they obviously were going to defend each other.  And we saw that with Melissa telling her mom to defend her.  Funny Joan was not there to defend on the issue they were talking about.

I think Claudia did take it personally and Melissa did too.  But I have to agree with Claudia if this was about producing why was melissa not the project manager.  And I do think the ladies are worried about standing up to the tag team of the Rivers.

I missed the blow up... but if Clint could get over it and be a man about is so should Brian.  he should have taken the monitors as his contributions to help.  I really think Brian would have been fired if they lost for it.  I also think, from what they showed Brian was not friendly to Clint and almost rude.

Hi Texan!!  The blow up was a bit strange. All of a sudden Dennis went ballistic on Clint Black for no discernible reason but perhaps we didn't see it because of editing. It was sort of funny because Clint was so small compared to Rodman towering over him. I'm liking Clint more and more, he tries to help, he does the menial jobs and says nothing to the others about it. He went out of his way to talk to Rodman and try to get some camaraderie on the team.

I do agree, Brian should have accepted the offers of the monitors. It was a small petty action. 

My hubby and I laughed when Melissa whispered to her mother to jump in and help her.

The choices we make dictate the life we lead.