How would you like to receive a live telephone call from Alizée?
One type of personal appearance business has the celebrity attend a fair, convention or other meeting all day long. But in an age of the cheap communication and storage of information, much smaller opportunities with comparable hourly compensation rates exist as well. This post will examine one firm specializing in such.
The site
HollywoodIsCalling.com was created in 2003. Its goal: "...to make it possible for people all across the globe to be inspired and entertained by live phone calls from actual celebrities..." And since then, it has embraced other media as well. Prices start at US$20 for a standard live call or US$30 for a custom-scripted call, neither longer than 30 seconds. Curiously, you cannot yet ask that you be sent a high-quality audio file instead (or additionally).
A less than fawning four-minute interview of the site's founder was undertaken by National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States, the recording of which can be accessed
here. A truly snarky short satirical take on the site is
here. And finally, a friendly syndicated article from a journalist who personally tested the service is
here, among other places.
The site itself offers an FAQ
here. If you want to go whole hog, you can even purchase a scripted video press release, described
here. You are informed "Your Message Must Be Professional, Polite, Courteous And Non-Offensive." Be prepared to pay US$300 for 3 minutes, US$500 for 5 minutes, or US$1000 for 10 minutes of video. There is no mention of the ability to solicit singing, LOL! But I imagine one might well script segway material for favorite music video playlists! The aforementioned page includes a short sample video featuring Marina Sirtis, better known to many as Counselor Deanna Troi of the
Starship Enterprise.
All the celebrities who participate were once familiar to American audiences. So don't look for any French songbirds at this site any time soon. But what can be done for Americans might well be done for the French or other nationalities. For all I know, perhaps it is being done already.
One interesting thing about HollywoodIsCalling.com is that all the celebrities are financial peers - no one's time is charged at a higher or lower rate than is anyone else's. Web site name notwithstanding, that regimen surely has nothing to do with Hollywood!
How much would you pay Alizée to record bumper monologs for your personal playlist?