Dan Gross: A 'Housewives' for Main Line?
A LOCAL COMPANY is quietly casting Main Line women for a pilot to pitch to Bravo as "The Real Housewives of the Main Line."
A LOCAL COMPANY is quietly casting Main Line women for a pilot to pitch to Bravo as "The Real Housewives of the Main Line."
Bravo typically chooses the cities, including New York, Atlanta and Miami, featured on the popular reality series and then hires producers and gets involved with casting.
"Bravo is not involved with this project," Cameron Blanchard, a Bravo spokeswoman, said last night. "I wouldn't speculate that," she added, when asked if the station would consider such a pilot if it were pitched.
"We're involved in casting all over the country for a variety of projects. This is not one of them," she said.
Personify Productions is "seeking women who are extremely charismatic, outgoing, candid and self-confident with strong fashion sense and style," says an e-mail being passed around by Main Line socialites. The casting call also says Philadelphia residents will be considered if your "personality is dynamite and you run in the same social circles as the Main Line."
The women, their significant others and families must be open to sharing their experiences, the casting notice says.
Those interested are asked to e-mail their name, bio info, a photo and phone number to personifyproductions@gmail.com or visit personifyproductions.com.
Personify Productions is the company of filmmaker Daniel M. Kalai. His credits include "The 4th Dimension," released on DVD by TLA; "The Anderson Monarchs," about a girls soccer club based out of Smith Playground in Point Breeze, which won a grant from the Sundance Documentary Institute; and "Committed," starring St. Joe's Prep grad Michael Rady, who was later seen on the "Melrose Place" remake. Contacted yesterday, Kalai declined to comment about his reality project.
Speaking of 'Real Housewives'
Lynne Curtin of Bravo's "Real Housewives of Orange County" mingles with guests at Tweed (114 S. 12th) from 9:30 to 11 tonight.
Where's the beef? Food Network
Nick's Roast Beef (20th & Jackson) will be featured on the Food Network's "Meat and Potatoes" at 10 p.m. Monday.
Author keeps up with artist
A congratulatory e-mail from author Tom Wolfe awaited Nelson and Leona Shanks upon their recent return from Italy, where they made final revisions for the catalog of Nelson's Russian exhibition. Shanks painted Wolfe at a charity event several years ago. Shanks will exhibit at the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, June 2-July 20; and the Russian Academy of Arts, Moscow, beginning Aug. 4.
Meanwhile, the artists at Shanks' Center City contemporary-realist art school, Studio Incamminati, are performing painting demonstrations daily at the Philadelphia Flower Show, and will show off those skills tomorrow at the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra's annual gala. For info, visit studioincamminati.org.
Scott signs to Warner Bros.
Soulful songbird Jill Scott has just inked a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records for her upcoming fourth studio album, "The Light of the Sun," to be released later this year.
Charitably minded
Mount Airy-raised Holly Robinson Peete, and Julie Chen, hosts of "The Talk" on CBS, will be in town Tuesday to help kick off a phone-bank fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House Charities at 3 p.m. live in the station's broadcast center. CBS3 and CW Philly staffers will field calls from donors and be seen on both stations until 8 p.m.
* NBC10's Monique Braxton hosts the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc.'s 25th anniversary Madam C.J. Walker awards luncheon Saturday at the Loews Hotel. Journalist and author Angela Burt-Murray serves as this year's keynote speaker. The awards recognize African-American female entrepreneurs; Beverly Harper, founder and president of Portfolio Associates, receives the Community Award. Earlier Saturday is a seminar and a lecture from financial planner Brooke Stephens. Tix are $75 at ncbw-pa.com or call 215-350-4042.
Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest updates or follow PhillyGossip on Twitter. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit www.philly.com/DanGross.