You might remember Brooke Miller from last season of America’s Next Top Model – she was the perky Texas high school girl who transformed into something ravishing when her hair was dyed brown. Sadly, Brooke was booted after she failed to match Fabio's cheesiness in a photo shoot - of course, this made us like her more.
Now Brooke is a freshman at the University of Texas, majoring in broadcast journalism. What’s her first official assignment? Serving as the first-ever Top Model Critic for us!
Here’s what she said about the first episode – it aired Wednesday, though most girls we know will watch it tomorrow morning, TiVo style, on the couch...
So Brooke, did you make it through the whole episode? I did, I watched the whole two hours which was so painful. It brought up so many memories and watching it from the other side, knowing what goes on…
What did you think about the chosen girls? Obviously, from an editing point of view, I felt like a lot of the girls were chosen from their stories. It’s gone downhill from who has modeling potential. Now it’s who’s got the sob story; who can turn into Cinderella. I’m hoping the makeover episode will change my mind, but I was like, these girls are a mess.
Tell us something we don’t know about the way they choose the finalists. We weren’t allowed to talk to each other, except when there were cameras. We were in complete isolation, even with 40 other girls, we couldn’t talk to them. It was all about initial reactions to each other. When they finally let you talk, you have a million things to say.
What are the girls thinking in total silence? There was a lot of sizing up going around the room. CariDee immediately, you were like, “Oh my god, beautiful.�
What did you think of the first photo shoot the new girls had to do? Where they acted out political issues? “I don’t think Top Model has a huge budget for photo shoots. I heard Jay Manuel complain about it more than once; they don’t have a lot to work with. But I get so frustrated, it’s like, does every photo shop have to have a theme? Are you assigning me a character every time? Can we ever just look pretty? I wish they would cut back on the themes and do a real campaign or a real editorial spread. Sometimes it felt like school photo day.
What about during judging – does Tyra mess up when she announces the Cover Girl prizes? How many times does that have to get filmed? So many times! But Tyra is great; she would flub a line and be like, cut that and keep rolling, and she’d just start over. She’s a pro. But it’s hard when you’re waiting to be judged.
Do they tell you what to wear? Why does every girl wear a black top and jeans to judging? The first time we went to the judging room, we had no clue where we were going and the producers said to dress as if you’re going out. We quickly found out that the model uniform they want you in is form fitting jeans, high heels, and a tank. Also, before the cameras start rolling, they adjust your outfit.
You thought CariDee would win last season and you were right – who do you think will win this season? I think girls with real life modeling potential probably won’t win Top Model. But Samantha’s photograph was very impressive. Her face is strong and once they wax her eyebrows she’ll be good to go. Next episode, makeover episode! And I was pleasantly surprised with Brittany’s photograph. I was like, “Eh, she’s tall and skinny.� But her picture was great.
What about the two plus size models in the competition? For Top Model it’s a good idea to have them, especially with all the controversial modeling bans for skinny girls. And with so many little girls watching the show, I think it’s great. Also, it takes the pressure off Tyra to be the biggest girl in the room.
Do the judges really select the best photo of you to be judged? I will never ever know, but I’m going to go ahead and say no. They shoot anywhere from 50 to 200 frames depending on the shoot. There’s some behind the scenes control. I would have loved to have seen all the contact sheets from my photo shoots just to see what the other photos looked like. There’s so much manipulation.
Will you watch the entire season of Top Model? I’m going to go ahead and say yes, definitely. I can pretend I won’t, but it’s a great show!
posted by Arcadia
Mar 02, 2007 2:20PM
finally an interview from a former contestant on the show worth reading! i've read other interviews on other sites where i feel they kiss Tyra's butt too much (she annoys the hell out of me!). thanks Brooke for being so candid!