Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Domino's CEO Interviews Candidates - Seriously

David Brandon, chairman and chief executive of Domino's Pizza,
will appear on this week's episode of The Apprentice to interview the final three candidates and share his opinions about them with Trump. Brandon is one of several interviewers whose feedback will help determine who moves on to the final two.

Apparently Domino's Pizza has not endured enough humiliation on The Apprentice this season. They seem to have developed a taste for it. Sort of like how many Apprentice viewers in 64 markets have developed a taste for Papa John's pizza, no matter how many times Trump may tell them people don't like meatball pizzas.

Back when this week's episode was filmed, neither The Apprentice producers nor the marketing geniuses at Domino's likely realized how badly Domino's product placement would work out for them. It wasn't all Papa John's "fault" and it was absolutely foreseeable, though. Plus, their subsequent attempts at damage control insulted viewers' intelligence. So every time we have Domino's foisted upon us again (particularly as a reminder of a model corporation), we should remind ourselves of the many ways in which they suck.

To be fair, it looks like "40sish dude" David Brandon might grill Craig pretty hard this week. I'm still not going to eat a Domino's pizza, but if the guy turns out to hate Craig, I will at least think better of him. However, if the promo is misleading (as they so often are) and David Brandon is President of the I Love Craig Fan Club, it's so on, David Brandon. Is that what the kids say? It's so on? "I'm bringing you down" sounds a mite too threatening.


Sunday, May 01, 2005

Trump vs. Romber for May Sweeps

ABC has scheduled its unauthorized Donald Trump bio to air on Tuesday, May 24. Trump Unauthorized is based on Gwenda Blair's biographies Donald Trump: Master Apprentice and The Trumps: Three Generations that Built an Empire, as well as "other sources." Justin Louis, who Trump finds handsome, plays Trump but the movie only covers the Ivana and Marla years. Anyone hoping for a dramatic recreation of Trump and Melania's love story, or of classic moments from The Apprentice's first season, is out of luck for the time being. However, it does cover the breakup of his first marriage, which was ugly, and some people enjoy watching that kind of thing.

Also for your viewing consideration that evening: Rob And Amber Get Married, which sounds like either a 1950s sitcom or a movie Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck should not make, but will anyway. You just know they will. And it won't be pretty, dear God, it won't be pretty. It really is the two-hour extravaganza devoted to Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich's April 16 nuptials. Two hours sounds like a long time to spend watching a couple of strangers get married, but consider this:

"The show will include behind-the-scenes fodder as well as footage from Brkich's bridal shower and their bachelor and bachelorette parties."


Decisions, decisions... Both programs air at 9:00 PM EST. Hope you have a VCR or TiVo.