Says Daniel Franco to Santino on the "Project Runway" reunion show. Santino: "It's just straight shit talking. There's a part of this competition that's like a basketball game. It's like: you suck... It didn't come from an evil place... I doesn't matter." Did Santino justify himself enough? Did he verbosely excuse enough bad behavior?
Anyway, great show. I mean, it was a relaxing interlude in the competition, but it was nice. I especially liked the montage of Andrae's expressiveness. And of all the singing, especially about Daniel -- he's straight! -- Franco, with the suggestion that he'll come back again for Season 3. Yeah, he should! We never quite get enough of DF.
February 22, 2006
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Back during the second season of The Apprentice, I decreed that any reality show participant bleated out any variation on "I didn't come here to make friends, I came here to win" should be flung into a pit of bears.
I am extremely unamused that my orders have not been carried out.
Daniel Franco IS straight? I wondered if he was when he stared into Heidi Klum's eyes and said, "I want to make something beautiful for you," on the lingerie project. I thought it was pretty bold of him, what with her pregnant belly being right there and her being married. But, I thought, he's probably gay and so Heidi knows he's not coming on to her.
My son and I figured he was straight because his hair always looks so awful.
Tonight's awkward moment between Daniel and Heidi is one of the best things I've seen on TV recently. And Guadalupe's behavior. I did not expect such a dramatic reunion with this crowd.
I thought Santino completely justified himself... I wish he would have reminded everyone that they're on a TV show and he was just coming up with entertaining soundbites. People who criticized him in the reunion were made to look hypocritical in the flashback montages where people clearly relished his antics in the design room. He is what he is... An entertaining guy who can't seem to make a decent article of clothing.
My favorite was the montage of Tim Gunn's negative reactions to the contestant's fashions in the work room.
I watched some of "Project Jay"... I had forgotten how funny and likable he is. I enjoyed it.
I think the only reason Santino survived is because of his antics, his attitude.
That's one of the complaints I have about this show (and maybe about the fashion industry at large) is that bad behavior, extreme personality, and overdramatic self-importance are seen as signifiers of creative genius.
Someone with quiet meticulousness is clearly doomed (ala my beloved Daniel Franco and Emmet, for example).
In many creative arts, diva-ishness is tolerated for the sake of genius, in fashion it seems that genius and diva-ishness are considered one and the same.
If Santino wasn't such good TV and was instead a quiet, respectable person who made the same exact garments, he would have been done long ago.
Bring back Daniel Franco for season three.
"In many creative arts, diva-ishness is tolerated for the sake of genius"
phew, that's the truth!
Re: "In many creative arts, diva-ishness is tolerated for the sake of genius"
I would suggest instead that, in most human endeavors, diva-ishness is mistaken for genius. Such unwarranted arrogance is as common in the business world as the arts. Bullying seems like leadership, and seems like talent, or at least you can threaten people into believing it.
Santino has the personality style of a toddler, but stuck in a large body with a threatening voice. Only someone who is unaware of evil would say "It didn't come from an evil place... I doesn't matter." But of course Santino's only definiton of evil is anything that gets in my way. The fact that one judge thought she might be killed was clearly meaningless to him.
By accident of birth such personalities are either destructive to few or many people. Being a fashion designer, he will hurt only a few people in his lifetime. If instead he was an Austrian painter in the early 20th century unable to bully people into accepting his grandiose self-image, he might stray into politics and paint the town a Nazi red.
So be glad Santino is marginalized thus. (And what to say of Nick, crushed by the man, hating him, only to support him? Ick.)
The fact that one judge thought she might be killed was clearly meaningless to him.
Well, of course it was - it was a bogus statement. If Nina had felt genuinely threatened by him, he would have been booted, or she would have left.
And how was Nick "crushed" by Santino? Santino didn't say anything negative about him, except to crit the suit that got him kicked out after Nick gave him the silent treatment. (Nick coud be a diva as well.)
Most of them were laughing along with him for weeks and weeks, so their indignance didn't wash with me. I didn't hear any of them sticking up for the people he parodied. Their beef should be with the judges and producers, if they thought it wasn't fair for Nick to get kicked out. That's hardly Santino's fault, and has nothing to do with his cattiness.
This is a little off-topic, but it relates to Santino, so here goes... I was watching an episode (I don't remember which), when Santino mentioned he was from Missouri. Being a Missouri native myself, I had to find out where, of course. It turns out he is from St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis. I found that interesting... and then I remembered that my good friend Michael is from St. Charles, and is the same age as Santino (30). I know there are a couple of high schools from St. Charles, but I thought there might be a chance that they might have gone to school together. I asked Michael if he knew someone named Santino Rice, and he said yes, they were in high school together. They were even in the same musicals! When I told him that Santino is on a Bravo TV show, he was flabbergasted! Of course, he's straight and has no interest in fashion, so I'm not surprised he hasn't seen the show. However, I bet he'll be watching now.
Re: "And how was Nick "crushed" by Santino?"
I mean that Santino won, and Nick lost, even though Nick thought Santino a boor. Nick is a bit of a diva, but he's nowhere in the same league of personality disorder as Santino or Zulema.
Re: "If Nina had felt genuinely threatened by him, he would have been booted, or she would have left."
Wrong. Behavior like this is often rewarded by society. Bad bosses are so often promoted, it's more the rule than the exception. Bullying is a successful method of seeking status, in fashion and in business. Surely, Nina did not mean "killed", but she was quite obviously afraid of him.
You seem a poor judge of this kind of behavior, really.
Re: "Their beef should be with the judges and producers..."
Of course it should. That bullies succeed is clear. What is unclear is why people support, encourage, and reward bullying.
Santino's seems an idiot for stomping on people he might need to rely on in the future. But then this style has worked well for him so far. Why change now? He's as ruthless as Wendy Pepper, but with a fine sense of humour, a boyish playfulness, and a capacity for lying that she lacked. He does seem to have a remnant of a conscience however, as his reactions betray the slight presence of shame. I'd bet he'd be a blast to party with, but I wouldn't let him watch my back for a second.
You seem a poor judge of this kind of behavior, really.
Back atcha. I think the people who view Santino as a "bully" are really lost. I'm unimpressed by those people who laughed at his jokes for weeks on end suddenly claiming to find them "inconsiderate" - they fed the beast, then chided him for becoming fat.
I also find it odd that people who think his jumpsuit should have lost won't concede that he essentially designed Kara's makeover outfit for him. His vanity really helped her. And her showing trumped Nick's puckery suit. That wasn't about "bullies" being rewarded, in my opinion.
Re: "I think the people who view Santino as a "bully" are really lost.
...they fed the beast, then chided him for becoming fat."
I think you are right, but only partly so.
People like Santino can be quite charming and funny. He's smart and engaging, and does a laugh-riot imitation of Tim Gunn. But he'a also a bully, verbally caustic and insensitive, aggressive and mean.
People do like the "fun" side of bullies while simultaneously deploring their bad behavior. That's humans for you. But it often takes quite awhile before one discovers that the playfully naughty fellow is one to be avoided.
My perception always was that Santino intimidated everyone and they were all sort of reluctantly playing along....probably just to deflect his meanness from themselves. It was a pretty passive, non-confrontational group.
But eventually and inevitably, they did get sick of him and shut him out. Oh, I just read what pogo just posted and that pretty much says it all....
Anyway, Santino's a mean bastard, there's no way around it. His Diana stuff was just cruel.
Nick and Danny V. played along with him and participated independently for most of the show. Nick doing the wickety wack thing about Marla's designs, or Andrae's theatrics about the overlock machine are now conveniently forgotten, as is Danny V's comment that Kara's work was simple - "not in a Calvin Klein way, but in a J.C. Penny way".
I thought Chloe, Danny V. and Kara punished Santino for Nick getting the boot, and it wasn't fair. That's what keeps me defending Santino this much. I suppose if a viewer always found him "mean" that's one thing - but it doesn't describe a lot of the people who were giving him the treatment last night. I think Nick knew this perfectly well, and was ready to let it go.
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