No, it isn't another exceptionally "fanciful" revival pilot/host combination proposal, this is instead mention of the
Hollywood Is Calling service. For one small medium-to-large-size price, one of Hollywood's not-all-that-big-but-hey-you-mighta-heard-of-them names will ring up a loved one of your choice and deliver a thirty-second message to them. $19.95 gets you a standard message from a choice of a list of about twenty ($19.95 divided by thirty seconds is sixty-six and a half cents per second) or $29.95 gets you a customised message of up to 350 characters at a price of a gnat's semiquaver under the titular Dollar A Second.
The stars on offer include said Hatchmundo, but also Jim Starr who was "Lazer" on American Gladiators, and plenty of others who have had guest stints on Weakest Link (Kato Kaelin), Banzai (Lou Ferrigno), almost certainly Ver Squares and so forth.
Thirty seconds ain't a lot and the terms and conditions are definitely heavily tilted for the convenience of the celebrity but I dare say it's just long enough to get a celeb to do you a message to use on your answerphone. The other downside is that there's no telling exactly when the celebrity will call, so much as the thought of getting Richard to ring Chri$ L! in February and say "Hey, I saw what you said about me on your Survivor All-Stars recap last night and I didn't think it was very nice" amuses, it would represent quite a gamble for $30.
Mind you, if they had a similar scheme with British celebs, I would
so have a go. All they would need would be to get the commentator from Banzai to ring and we would spending thirty seconds shouting "YOU RUBBISH!"
"YOOOUUU RUBBISH!" "YOU RUBBISH!"
"YOOOUUU RUBBISH!" "YOU RUBBISH!" at each other. That would be fantastic.
I idly wonder why they don't get the Wazzzzup guy from the Bud ads as a celeb?
Chris
