Reality TV Rumor Stirs Up Hornet’s Nest at MHS

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

An unsubstantiated rumor that MTV is planning a new “reality” TV show about Malibu High School has spread like wildfire, stirring up controversy in the MHS community.
The Current, MHS’s student newspaper, touched off the firestorm with a report that approximately 40 MHS students auditioned for the alleged show in December, and that callbacks and the start of filming would be imminent.
Parents immediately began raising concerns over privacy for their children and the issue of whether the cash-strapped school district, which is currently facing layoffs and furloughs due to a state financial crisis that has generated a $12 million deficit, would receive money for the project. Others expressed fears that the purported show could damage the school’s academic standing and image
Parent fears may have been premature. The article extensively quotes a freshman student purported to have auditioned for the hypothetical show, but does not cite an official source for the story. MHS Principal Mark Kelly stated in a phone interview with the Malibu Surfside News that neither the school nor the district has been contact by MTV for permission to film.
“You know as much as I do,” Kelly said. “They can’t film without permission, and I know that the district office has not received a filming request from any network.
MTV publicist AJ Sarcione also told The News that he was unfamiliar with the alleged series. “It’s not us,” he said, after checking with MTV development. “It could be any one of various independent video productions, but it isn’t MTV.”
MHS has already been featured in a six-part MTV series called “School of Surf,” which aired in December and January and is currently available on the Internet. Kelly confirmed that MTV received official permission from the district to film the series that focused on members of the MHS surf team competing with a rival team from the East Coast.
Exterior shots of the MHS campus were used in the show, together with the school’s name, but filming took place at external sites.
High school-themed series have proved to be a highly successful formula for MTV, which currently produces “The Jersey Shore,” “16 and Pregnant,” “My Life as Liz,”
The MHS series rumor may prove to be a teapot-sized tempest, but prospective participants in any reality show are warned to carefully examine contracts and liability issues before signing away their rights.