America’s Next Top Model 10, Episode 9: Blood and Guts

Two weeks ago, the girls had a few go-sees and then the dreaded water shoot where they posed through water while lying on plastic. Claire and Lauren were drowned by the competition and Claire was sent packing. It seems like so long ago, doesn’t it?

We’re halfway through the lineup of girls now and down to the final seven. There’s chatter as the girls are in the kitchen. Some are rather surprised that Claire was sent home so soon, while others are realizing that they have made it so far already. My favorite girl, Whitney, is proud of being a plus-sized model and staying this long.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom Fatima, Dominique, and Katarzyna speculate that the overseas trip should be coming up soon. Fatima is excited, yet concerned. You see, she isn’t a native and came here as a refugee. She had papers from the consulate, but somehow lost them in Atlanta. She’s worried that she won’t have her paperwork squared away in time to go on the trip. Her lawyer is working on the situation, but she could possibly end up having to leave the competition on a technicality.

To me, I’m mildly surprised that she was allowed to come onto the show in the first place if all her documents weren’t in order. Again, it goes back to being ready for the show. Remember how Hok from So You Think You Can Dance? wasn’t allowed on the show because his paperwork wasn’t in order from Australia and he was postponed for a season or two? [Assistant Editor’s note: Same with Carly Smithson on American Idol. Also, Lisa from last cycle said she had tried out before but wasn’t allowed to compete because she wasn’t a citizen – why have the rules changed?] I think Fatima probably should’ve gone through the same process. Then again, this surely makes for good television, right?

Back to the show. Paulina comes for a visit and this week’s lesson in thinking on your feet. She runs through a couple of scenarios involving talking at a party and interviewing on a red carpet. The first scenario involves Paulina pretending to be some sort of makeup mogul at a party. Each of the girls has the opportunity to come to chat her up as if they are approaching her for the first time. Anya starts out the field well by striking up a conversation with her, asking about her family. The rest don’t do quite as well, including sweet Stacy Ann who comes off almost too sticky-sweet and insincere.

The next scenario, Paulina is a bubbly entertainment reporter asking the girls interview questions. Fatima actually does well. Both Dominique and Whitney come off as too chatty. Paulina points out to Whitney that she came across like a beauty pageant contestant, very bland and zoned out. She also tells the girls that Dominique needs to understand the value of a good sound bite.

On a side note, I did a brief stint as a television reporter years ago and there are days it’s difficult to narrow down a quote to something poignant when someone is rambling on. Even worse, the cuts are usually cut down a second time for even shorter clips. This is definitely a lesson the girls need to learn if they want to get more exposure.

The girls are in the kitchen making breakfast when a shriek comes out of Lauren. While cutting onions, she cut a large chunk out of her thumb, deep into the nail. We find out after a quick commercial that she does end up getting stitches in it and has it wrapped up. Yikes!

The next morning, the girls are treated to a giant box at the door. Three of them will be going on a group date with Matt… oh, wait, wrong show. The box is full of lemons and limes, but buried beneath them is a special invitation to a party hosted by Jay Godfrey, who is a notable designer. The lemons and limes allude to the party sponsor of 7-Up soda. Ah, I see the connection now with seven girls remaining and a 7-Up plug and sponsorship!

Katarzyna is quick to tell us at home that she thinks the challenge will involve them mingling at the party or having to work an interview since the training they got this week from Paulina was just that. If this is the case, I hope people at the party will understand Anya and her funny accent and that Dominique doesn’t ramble on and on like she can do.

Sure enough, the bell rings and at the door is one of Jay Godfrey’s assistants bringing dresses hand-picked by the designer for each of the models. They’re to wear them to the party. Remember, they’ll have to remember the designer’s name, if asked.

Sure enough, there’s a mockup of a red-carpet event, which subjects the girls to their entertainment news interview. Stacy Ann is beautiful, but comes across as if she’s answering a beauty pageant question, as does Whitney. Anya is stunning as well, yet handles her questions with poise. Dominique completely flubs the designer’s name, calling him Jay Giorgio instead of Jay Godfrey. The funniest and most brash interview of course goes to Lauren, who tells the reporter that she’ll “kick the $h*% out of those girls anytime.” Wow, how do you respond to that?

Next, the girls must mingle with the guests at the party. Lauren digs into her punk-rock-chick roots while talking to Ric Ocasek, who was with The Cars and is Paulina’s husband. Anya chatters and mingles well with just about everyone, asking questions as well as answering them. It all goes downhill after that, though, as we see shots of Whitney yammering about relatives in Texas she doesn’t know about and Stacy Ann caught up in a Groundhog Day-like moment talking about being from Miami. They’re both not coming across as very genuine.

At the end of the night the girls are critiqued by Jay Godfrey and the reporter on how well they performed throughout the night. As expected, they call out Lauren for her potty-mouth, Dominique for flubbing the designer’s name, and Stacy Ann for not coming across as genuine. The winner of the challenge is Anya, who remained natural through the entire night. She wins a photo shoot for a 7-Up advertisement. That’s pretty exciting, but I wonder if the shoot will actually be used in an ad?

Her shoot is beautiful where she’s lying on a bed covered with green leaves, lemons, and limes. Her hair is flowing all over the place and she just looks, well, natural, like 7-Up is proposing it is. The photo turns out well and it looks like it will be used in magazines. As she’s cleaning up to go home, she’s treated to her first check as a working model – $10,000. That’s certainly exciting and she can hardly contain herself.

Back at the house, Stacy Ann is a bit jealous and thinks she should’ve won the prize. She seems to be getting a lot of airtime this week; I wonder if this isn’t a good sign.