Mogul by Ginger Voight Read Free Book Online

out
personally during Love Plus
One , when I was certain that I’d be
skewered by the audience for being so different, only to find they
were rooting for me to ‘win.’”
    Gwen nodded. “The average American woman is a
size 14, so seeing people like Shannon and Dixie represented in the
media affirms their value outside the accepted norm in the media –
which is nowhere near the ‘norm’ for anyone else.”
    “So the idea is to open up Reality TV to
something ‘real?’”
    Both Gwen and Shannon nodded, grateful that
he got it. Gwen suspected he might, given his affection for Andy.
He could have had any woman he wanted, and probably had, but he was
willing to die for someone society generally disdained thanks to
some arbitrary dress size. Shannon was passionate as she went on.
“I want a show to embrace the inner diva of any girl with a dream,
who has the chops to make it happen. I don’t want her plucked and
prodded and crowbarred into some paint-by-numbers pop model that
fits some passing fad of the moment. I want to give the audience
someone to root for, someone they can truly idolize as a role
model, even beyond a TV finale.”
    “We want to call it Fierce ,” Gwen added, and
somehow he got the feeling the magical publicist had a hand in the
title.
    “And it’s open up to all kinds of
contestants, not just one specific type,” Shannon clarified. “We’re
not exalting any one group over any other, because we feel that’s
just prejudice working in reverse. Male, female, gay, straight,
fat, thin, able-bodied or challenged, we want everyone watching to
feel represented. This is about talent – and owning who you are as
an individual. As long as you are unafraid to sing your butt off,
you can compete on our show.”
    He nodded. It was a positive direction that
dared to put talent over image, and in the pre-packaged,
homogenized environment of Los Angeles it was a breath of fresh
air, one not likely to be championed by entertainment types that
bought into the traditional paper doll formula music had become
since the advent of music video. “I like it,” Graham declared.
“What do you need from me?”
    “Your branding,” Gwen answered. “Shannon and
Dixie can produce a talent show, but they want to give the winner,
or really any of the contestants who earn your support, a true
career in the business. That can happen with your label behind
them.”
    He noticed that Maggie had slipped in the
room unnoticed. She had gotten used to being stealth since they had
returned to the office. He gave her a wink of acknowledgement as
she sat. “We’re always looking for that next superstar,” he said.
“I would love to be a part of it.”
    Gwen smiled. “There’s more. And this is the
exciting part. Because this show is so progressive and inclusive,
it’ll be a positive publicity boost for anyone who gets involved
with it. We’d like Vanni to be one of the judges.”
    Graham sat back in his chair, his hand to his
chin. “How long of a commitment are we talking about?”
    “We have been in network talks to run a
summer season from May to September. We’d like the preliminary,
off-camera judging to start in March. He’d be there from the
beginning all the way to the finale.”
    Graham nodded. It sounded perfect.
    “He’s got a bit of a bad boy image, where
he’s a sex hound who dates a certain type of woman…Lourdes, Kat,
Holly. This would soften him up a bit – expand his appeal to those
in his fan base who think they could never get a guy like him.
It’ll show he values women beyond just the little sex kitten on his
arm.”
    He chuckled. If only they knew.
    “But,” Gwen cautioned, “This means he’d have
to keep his nose clean.” It was her hidden agenda to recommend
Vanni, to force him to behave like a good boy so she didn’t have to
keep cleaning up his messes. He had the recognizable name that
could work for Shannon’s purposes, but frankly Gwen wanted a break
from prostitutes and highly