When the shit hit the fan with the economy and I lost my decent job in early 2009, I ended up collecting for a very long time. If I did see a job, I would be making much less than I was collecting. It started nice, getting lots of stuff done and eventually finishing school. My now Wife lived 2 hours away & we alternated weekends on visiting each other.
THEN- the laziness starts. Sleeping half the day away, staying up watching TV. I ended up turning on Showtime and saw this weird show with a bunch of people hanging out. Turns out one of them yells the time and I was like- "This is Live". Ended up being "Big Brother Afterdark". I watched these guys 7 nights a week from Midnight until 3am. It was a decent way through the season, so I basically learned the way the show worked. Having to watch 3 shows a week on CBS. Well I was hooked, the next season- I was set, watched it every night, even paid to have the 24/7 app. The CBS shows were edited to make some things more interesting than they really were. There were some players you get to like, others you hate and it's about 3 months of this. When it is over, people usually go back to their normal lives. I was only on twitter at the time and befriended one of the cast members, we both liked a lot of the same stuff.
After the next season, This person, Matt, was having his annual Halloween Party outside of Chicago and he needed a photographer. I said I'd do it, which shocked him that I would drive half way across the country for a party. Next thing I know, they have a huge crew there and are broadcasting it live online. The house was decorated incredibly for just being a basement and a first floor (I'll add a few photos at the end of the post). 2nd floor was off limits for people except for bathroom emergencies. I got there a little early to take photos before the place got trashed.
I'll only name the Reality show contestants. I had 2 separate sections, because Matt knew a lot of the friends/family wouldn't want to be all the web. Trust me, this was a crazy party and later found out that many people snuck in & a big fight (besides the lightsaber duel) happened as people were leaving (People can really hate you from watching you on a reality show).
This was Matt, his wife, Will (BB),Joe (BB), and his wife
Kat Edorsson (2 Survivor seasons, Her then boyfriend Hayden Moss (Winner BB12, on 1 season of Survivor with Kat), Wil Heuser (BB14- one of the funniest houseguests), and Sarah Dawson from Survivor- funny thing was as I was walking around she mentioned a few times that she was on Survivor- I didn't watch at the time- then she was going to stay in our hotel room because she didn't book the extra night, but we took off a day early because of Hurricane Sandy. When we got home we noticed she was all over Survivor news, she was voted off and kissed the host Jeff Probst- For Survivor fans, this was a big deal.
Ian Terry, winner of Big Brother 14- wearing his Dog costume that he was forced to wear for a week on the show. So, this show was over a couple weeks before the shoot. It was surreal to walk in and here's the kid asleep on the couch that you watched for 3 months and won $500,000
Ok this guy- Gene Bryant- I am literally pissed the hell off. He is known for being on the only season of 'The Glass House' AND I just read that he was Darth Vader in one of the scenes of Episode 3 ( I didn't know that until 5 minutes ago).
I watched him have a lightsaber fight with Will (someone had it on youtube)
Drove him, Sarah, and Will to our hotel- with everyone singing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs (We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together). He forgot his lightsabers in my trunk (I still have the voicemail). Had breakfast with him, he offered to take us around Chicago & now I find out he was f'ing Darth Vader.
Here are some of the setups Matt had at the house.
I have many more of the displays I could use for another post, especially if Matt or Hayden are back for All-stars possibly next month. But I'll leave you with a photo of Beaker