Sunday, November 30, 2014

How Pawn Stars Is Filmed

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The chair that Rick is sitting in was first seen in the first years of Pawn Stars.
They still have it???
From the LVRJ:
Running a pawn shop that doubles as the set for a popular reality TV show is no easy task.
But one Las Vegas local makes it his goal to seamlessly keep a business going with 14 people working for television crews coming in and out.
Gold &Silver Pawn’s general manager Travis Benton, 30, has a long history with the Harrison family, the owners and funny cast of “Pawn Stars.”
Benton has been friends with Corey Harrison and Austin “Chumlee” Russell, who star in the History channel series, since he was 11.
Benton went to work at the shop in 2005 and moved into management as the behind-the-scenes show, launched in 2009, gained national exposure.
Although the show has brought more good than bad, Benton said, running a business while facilitating what can be a large and unpredictable production crew presents its challenges.
The show clearly helps foot traffic, drawing 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a day to the storefront at 713 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Sometimes they stand in line outside the store.
But, Benton said, sales can suffer because of the show. When the production crew wants to shoot, staff has to kick out customers who aren’t going to be in the show.
It can be frustrating when a sale has been in the works and it means less commission for the sellers, said Corbin Brown, a salesman from Las Vegas....
Although Harrison and Russell frequently are seen in the shop signing autographs and meeting fans, it’s unlikely you will catch them selling at the counter, Benton said. That’s about the only part of the show that’s misleading.
He says “Pawn Stars” is never scripted, and the people seen on TV are authentic.
As for the merchandise on the show, Benton said there’s a good chance “it came through the doors to one of my guys.”
The pawn brokers Benton manages typically spot unique items and show them to producers who decide if they are worthy of broadcasting.
Once an item is deemed “possible TV material,” its seller is coached on how to act while on camera, said Rocco Landi, a Chicago native who does “pretty much everything” as a weapons expert and salesman.
Some people have a great item to sell, but they appear nervous on film. It can take several tries to get it right, depending on the person, Landi said.
Producers have cut items from the show because the seller could not “pull it together” on camera, but it doesn’t happen often, he said.
“It’s a give-and-take thing,” Landi said. “We wouldn’t have this if it weren’t for the show.”
http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/running-pawn-stars-store-brings-challenges
Fact is, Rick and the others on Pawn Stars cannot conduct business when they are not filming, unless the shop is closed-meaning at night.  The reason is that the pawn business is supposed to be confidential and if you have Rick or Chumlee doing business during regular hours, with all the autograph and camera hound out there, they are unable to do any business except what is for television or a very large transaction.
So, if you want to do normal business at the Pawn Stars store, don't bother if you expect any members of the cast to wait on you... unless you have a very unusual item.   Then they may talk to you, after going through the TV people first.

1 comment:

  1. maybe they know this, but Degravio was a hood out of Ohio, and Marciano was known to hang out with the hoods. regarding marciano's punching bags.

    http://www.secondsout.com/columns/thomas-hauser/rocky-marciano-revisited--part-two

    ReplyDelete