Let us introduce 14 New Zealanders who look up to the likes
of Richard
Branson and want to be as successful as Wellington's glossy
Terry
Serepisos.
Two thousand applicants were easily whittled down to 1000
based on the face value of their CV, says the producer of the
New Zealand version of the The Apprentice, Glenn Sims.
Five hundred were picked to audition, and were screened
against criteria of business drive as well as television
chutzpah.
To make the cut, they had to be prepared to either leave
their jobs or take two months leave to film the series, which
was shot all over Auckland and in Wellington.
The final 14 come from jobs as diverse as new medicine,
accountancy and media.
Some are from privileged backgrounds, others are not.
And tonight they will strut their business nous in a sausage
sizzle competition, which Sims says is an example of
sprinkling a New Zealand flavour through the show.
The overall winner of The Apprentice will work for the
show's judge, Terry Serepisos, who Sims says he hand-picked
to be the Donald Trump of the New Zealand show.
"He is a success story.
"He inspires thousands of people down in Wellington because
he recreated football in New Zealand.
"So having someone who is a sporting figure and a property
developer as well, plus has this charismatic aura around him,
just made him absolutely irresistible as the boss," he says.
Serepisos says the calibre of the 14 contestants is
outstanding.
"It shows the impressive young business talent that exists in
New Zealand.
"Each and every one of the 14 would-be apprentices has the
drive, ambition and expertise that would benefit any
company."
Though the local version of the American show was created on
a fraction of the budget, it still looks slick, and uses the
same number of cameras.
It was an all-hands-on-deck operation, Sims says.
He has been producing reality shows in New Zealand for the
past five years and says The Apprentice offers one of
the biggest prizes he has seen: a $100,000 salary plus luxury
accommodation and use of a new BMW for a year.
The total package is worth $200,000.
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