My take on the Top Gear Shoot.. and one forum member....

[we_lol_at_you]

So I love this site and appreciate it as all the og Top Gear fans do.

I wanted to give my take on the filming. I agree with almost everyone’s sentiment here, the show didn’t disappoint and with some polishing, will be great. Adam was Adam (great as usual) and I really think Tanner was just as good. Eric also did well, and given time will become beloved, just like May.
The real reason I’m posting today is the reaction that you guys gave the “pretty people” who kept getting placed in front, compared to how you have responded to Lara Burstein.

There have been several posts about how rude it was to have some people brought in front of you, and how some were obviously paid to be there. Well, me and about 50 or so other people had a different take on It and Laura.

When my group was walking in near the front, one of the producers pulled a couple off to the side and asked them to sit in front of the hangar and that they would be on camera. They were what looked to be very excited and a bit confused...not planted. Good for them. It was a little annoying that they and several others were placed in front every time, but what was VERY annoying was how Laura and the douche that was with her finagled their way to the spots on camera.
We noticed them after the 2nd or 3rd audience shift, where her and her guy happened to be in the back of the crowd and were talking very loudly the entire segment. The group that was around us, including people we didn’t know were all rolling their eyes and upset that they couldn’t be bothered that there was a show (that she’s a “HUGE fan” of) being filmed a hundred feet away. We all laughed that since she wasn’t on camera, she didn’t care what was happening. Very rude.

But then.. we noticed what really made us laugh at her: when the director called for an audience shift, she BOLTED to where she thought she would best be seen on camera! Literally trotted to the next spot.
We all laughed and laughed- her man would slowly catch up to her. After that, each time the director would call to move, we would shout “GO LAURA GO!!!” and yes sir, she went. During the news segment, when everyone was getting in position, not only was she heading fast to her spot, she had placed her 1992 coach bag and her suede shoulder padded jacket on the stage to secure her spot right behind Tanner and Eric! WOAH- did she really think she was any better than anyone else and thought she could reserve a spot? My oh my.
The very truth is, there were several of the producers laughing and talking about it to. One of them was telling us she was offended that at one point Laura said loudly “I’m a girl that actually knows about cars!” she said “wtf, who the hell is she, she doesn’t know me” We filled her in on what we had been laughing about and she said “ohh I see people like her every day” and laughed about it with us. Does Laura actually think that because she’s an automotive journalist she is the only female that knows about cars? How vain. You might know about cars, but its obvious why you don’t write for a fashion blog.

Woof indeed.

Anyway all the attention seeking worked as Eric turned and wanted to ask some girls (I said GIRLS) their opinion on something. 2 girls stepped forward, but Laura’s hand reached the mic first (of course) and the other girl (the PRETTY one in the pink dress) slowly back to her spot, as she was edged out by the media mogul.

It was laughable and pathetic at the same time.

BUT THEN the best part of the night happened as we were speaking to Tanner after the show. After chatting a few min about TG and his other show, One of the good people in my group jokingly asked if when Laura was talking to him while he was on the couch, she asked him to move a bit so she would be seen. He laughed and said, “no but she was talking about how we drove the same car on the winter Porsche camp.. I don’t know what the fuck she was talking about , whatever” All 6 of us busted out laughing so much that Adam, clear across the stage, kinda motioned his hand like what’s going on…
Good times.

Some of you have responded to her posts here and have been happy to talk to her, even complimenting her looks. Well, the truth is, she would step right in front of you (or over you) to get to the front if she had to.

In summation: Adam is awesome, Tanner was great, Eric will be great, the show was great, standing sucks, people laughed all day at Laura and the douche, 1000 points of light, fart.

GO LARUA GO!

[teletubby-warrior]

You sure showed her!

Thank you for sharing this compelling story with us.

[wooflepoof]

ah, the classic children's tale of Laura and the douche. Or was it sex ed lesson Laura and the douche?

[nocturne1]

Love it. #1 recap so far.

[gtrietsc]

So...to be honest...

While I do think Laura has the experience to be on camera, as she obviously has been before...I did mention to my wife during the taping that it was odd that she kept appearing in camera-friendly places. I shrugged it off, as I didnt see what you saw, but the coincidences were obvious to me, and I was far away most of the time. We had to really make an effort to *possibly* be in frame for *one* of the shots. I think she will appear in the majority of them.

[watto]

Who is this Laura and what does she do and when was she a member (or is she still a member?)?

[Prost264]

^ +1

[we_lol_at_you]

Originally Posted by watto

Who is this Laura and what does she do and when was she a member (or is she still a member?)?

Shes a member now, and if you dont know who she is, just watch the episode.. you will.

[chitownjeff]

I'm a little disapointed that they didn't the "normal" thing a lot of shows are doing now - leaking the pilot to the internet.

[dunny]

Spot on review.

My wife and I were fortunate to be people picked to be in the front of the crowd for many of the scenes. We got there early, had the appropriate tickets, and hung out with another couple that were both huge fans of the show. It was a dream experience and worked out for US better than I could have ever imagined.....

....now, as for the other folks who did NOT even get into the building.....I honestly was upset when I got back to the hotel room and read about this. To think that they were letting in ladies that looked like they just stopped by before hitting the clubs was bullshit. I would have bet every penny in my pocket that they were clueless about TG. Honestly, while I thought "Laura's" big "comment" that was supposed to be funny wasn't very entertaining at all I didn't mind her because she looked like a NORMAL person! Geez we stood very close to a girl who was trying to look like Barbie and get on TV.....she wore such loud clothes, her hair was bleached with roots showing, and she had like 3lbs of makeup on. She was not the only one we saw that looked like that. Now maybe I'm weird but that is not what I'd want to see in the background of the show! When we were filming the second part of the big challenge (in front of the map) they let in even more trashy girls and they tried to place themselves up front in FRONT of us. It was great when they moved them.....

At any rate, it was sad to see true fans get treated poorly while people off the street dressed like prostitutes were seemingly ushered to the front.

[Nocturnal]

Originally Posted by dunny

At any rate, it was sad to see true fans get treated poorly while people off the street dressed like prostitutes were seemingly ushered to the front.

Way of the world Im afraid.

As for this Laura character, my 'opinion' of her is somewhat biased, given that up until I read this thread I didnt know she existed. That said, she sounds like a troll.

[NooDle]

wait, there's girls on Finalgear?

[tone76]

Originally Posted by NooDle

wait, there's girls on Finalgear?

I thought the closest thing to real live girls on FG were people that put themselves in the 'Not a Dude' group.

[edkwon]

Originally Posted by chitownjeff

I'm a little disapointed that they didn't the "normal" thing a lot of shows are doing now - leaking the pilot to the internet.

pilot just taped last week? why are you assuming they are all done with editing and polishing the final cut already?

[girloncars]

Wow, it's funny how people can get different impressions of the exact same event. First off, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was being rude to any of you who were there. I was directed to stand behind the couch for the first segment. For the next couple of segments, as the original poster even pointed out, my friend and I deliberately lingered in the back of the crowd because we felt like we had our turn up front. And yes, we were talking -- mostly about how the show was looking in comparison to the original, the production quality of the pre-taped packages, etc. -- BECAUSE we are such big fans of the show (for example, did anyone notice that they cheated Stig's entrance? It cuts from a shot of him skydiving to a shot of him already sitting in the car, without showing the landing). I initially left my purse (vintage 1970's, sorry) on the floor against the stage, then moved it behind the couch later so I would have somewhere to sit because I'd recently had a piece of glass in my toe and my feet were killing me. So I guess you can blame me for being selfish and wanting to get off my feet for a few minutes.

During the news, when they first asked the question, Eric specifically pointed at me to answer. If anyone was trying to finagle their way onto TV, it was the girl in the pink dress who jumped out and tried to answer instead. And the poster is wrong -- I never grabbed a microphone because Eric didn't even have a microphone when that happened. They added the mic in during the second take. And by the way, there were several other girls on the set who were trying WAY harder all night to get their faces in the shot than I ever was. Why not call them out?

For the last few segments, the assistant director with the long hair was specifically placing me near the front. He asked for me by NAME over the microphone a couple of times -- which is probably why you saw me "bolting." And to be honest, by the end it was getting a little embarrassing, especially when the warm-up guy came over and kept asking creepy questions. I think we were all tired of him by that point.

As for my comment, which was misquoted (it was "some girls actually know about cars"), that was specifically in response to the associate director telling us "ladies, pretend to be interested in the cars." I thought THAT was offensive.

The anecdote about Tanner is strange -- I went on a press event for a Porsche snow driving school that he also went on for an episode of Supercars Exposed. We basically just exchanged a few words about how it was a really cool event. So either the poster is stretching the story, or Tanner is curiously duplicitous.

Anyhow, it's sad to see one or two haters grossly exaggerate and skew reality in a forum of members who either didn't know the whole story, or who weren't there at all.

And by the way, some of those girls in clubbing outfits weren't paid to be there (not by Top Gear anyway), they were with their "boyfriends." Maybe the poster is one of those dudes, and is simply lashing out because he showed up with some female who had nothing to bring to the taping except a minidress and a blank stare.

People aren't perfect. I was excited to be there, just like everyone else. And I'm willing to take the blame and apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings at the taping. And I'm willing to do it in full public view, instead of hiding behind an anonymous user name like my accuser.

Laura

[normansan]

OK, I think that Laura wins this one...

we_lol_at_you, a rebuttal to Laura's opening statement?

[matt2000]

Right, this is my first post in the American TG forum, so I'll start with:

WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON HERE?

Looks like we have an attention seeker, and I already see this as a huge problem with American TG, some Americans.

Can someone fill me in on this please? Has 'Laura' been to filming before or something? Top Gear in any country is not the place to get your face on TV, and never bloody well should be. I personally think it's pathetic that anyone should try to get to the front of the crowd, and here lies the difference between the real TG and this.

I'm not going to be watching any of TGA so don't tell me to watch the show when it comes out.

Edit:

Originally Posted by girloncars

And by the way, some of those girls in clubbing outfits weren't paid to be there (not by Top Gear anyway), they were with their "boyfriends." Maybe the poster is one of those dudes, and is simply lashing out because he showed up with some female who had nothing to bring to the taping except a minidress and a blank stare.

Nobody should be 'bringing' anything to a TG filming, because that's not what you're there for. If you want to show off on TV (and it's obvious that a majority of the people at this filming do) then TG is the wrong show I'm afraid.

[Koenig]

Who the fuck is this "Laura" person and why should any of us give a shit?

[MXM]

girlsoncars (4 posts up) is Laura as far as I understood...

[normansan]

Originally Posted by matt2000

Top Gear in any country is not the place to get your face on TV, and never bloody well should be.

+1

Originally Posted by matt2000

I'm not going to be watching any of TGA so don't tell me to watch the show when it comes out.

Why not? Just because there are some people who want to get their faces on TV? It's not like they will be well lit or the focus of the camera. Fortunately for us they will blend in with the rest of the crowd completely unnoticed just like the British Top Gear.

Anyway, I wouldn't write off TGA only for this reason, because I'm sure that there are audience members on British Top Gear who have the same ulterior motives. Plus the American pilot was surprisingly quite good, so you might be missing out. But whatever, its none of my business.