The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #104286 Message #2135498
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
28-Aug-07 - 04:19 PM
Thread Name: BS: Kid Nation - don't like the sounds of it
Subject: RE: BS: Kid Nation - don't like the sounds of it
CBS has prepared a preview clip, which is available on the Los Angeles Times website.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is looking into the 'shoot' along with the New Mexico Attorney General. Nothing actionable has been found so far. A legal question is whether the kids were amateurs or became professionals covered by AFTRA. New Mexico recently changed its laws to comply with those of California.
A Second series is being planned and interviews being held; its production will depend upon the reception the first series receives from CBS viewers. The contract is similar to that signed by participants in the "Survivor" series. Canada is being mentioned as a possible location.
The 'ghost town' is bogus; it never existed except for a couple of stone ruins built by a speculator long ago. Buildings are sets for previous films, solidly constructed and not just fronts (it is the Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch); a few new buildings were constructed for the shoot. The place is wired for electricity and has running water. The film clip shows the low-grade ranch land of the area, which I know from the time I lived near there. Some 200 longhorns roam the movie play-ranch. There are a few small abandoned mines in the hills nearby, which the Bureau of Land Management have been filling or otherwise making safe. A portion of the area is being taken over for a preserve and park. Part of the area is occupied by rather expensive little properties that are suburban to Santa Fe. The location is eight miles from Santa Fe, thus close to four-star accommodation and meals. It is on the list of Santa Fe tourist attractions.
The fauna and flora are distinctive, and deserve protection, which they are receiving in part. Two weeks ago, a cougar came into downtown Santa Fe, and was removed to a wilderness area. Not far away are abandoned (the famed Cerrillos Turquoise) turquoise mines, operated since pre-Spanish days; much of the turquoise used by the Aztecs in Mexico came from these mines. The small silver-copper-lead-zinc deposits in the Cerrillos Hills never amounted to much, no town ever developed.