Teen Sailor's Dad Says Making Reality TV Show

[The Straight Story]

Teen Sailor's Dad Says Making Reality TV Show


(Thousand Oaks, CA) -- The father of teen sailor Abby Sunderland says a reality TV series based on his family is in the works.

Laurence Sunderland told the "New York Post" that he signed a contract for a show called, "Adventures in Sunderland" a week after 16-year-old Abby set sail back in January.

Abby Sunderland's the California teen whose yacht, "Wild Eyes," became stranded in the Indian Ocean last week, setting off an international search.
The Australian government has said the rescue tab could reach 300-thousand dollars, which the family says it can't pay.

The Sunderlands live in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks with seven children and another on the way.


Laurence Sunderland said the reality show, quote, "might be about family, it might be about Abigail's trip." Magnetic Entertainment, a studio outside of LA, is promoting the "Adventures in Sunderland" show along with a documentary called "Abby's Journey" on its website.
Laurence Sunderland, a sailing instructor, insists he didn't push Abby out the door just to make money.

He said, quote, "The wheels in motion for this trip had actually started when Abigail was 13 years old."

http://mystateline.com/fulltext-news/?nxd_id=170235

[cbayer]

1. Teen sailor's family denies plan for reality show

Teen sailor's family denies plan for reality show

By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press Writer
Posted: 06/14/2010 11:40:21 AM PDT
Updated: 06/14/2010 11:56:09 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES—A spokesman for the family of the 16-year-old California girl who was rescued from the Indian Ocean while trying to sail around the world says the family has no current plans for a reality TV show.
Jeff Casher says he spoke with the father of Abby Sunderland Monday morning and that Laurence Sunderland says such a show was discussed last year when her brother Zac sailed around the world, but it never came about.
Officials for Magnetic Entertainment, which lists plans for the show on its website, did not return calls Monday.
The New York Post reported Monday that Laurence Sunderland signed a contract for a show weeks after his daughter set sail and quoted him as saying it might be about the family or her trip.
Casher says Abby Sunderland was equipped with cameras on her voyage.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHjXcYeUuFF-2s5nbXWGWMoG0OiAD9GB7RE81

[iamthebandfanman]

3. did the flying saucer boys dad say the same thing? n/t

[Lance_Boyle]

5. See for yourself:

"But Magnetic Entertainment of Studio City, Calif., is already promoting 'Adventures in Sunderland' and 'Abby's Journey,' a documentary, on its Web site."

http://www.magneticent.com/html/projects.htm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4426268

[cbayer]

7. Funny that. The production company isn't returning anyone's calls.

Seems like they would really relish this opportunity to push the story, doesn't it?

[Lance_Boyle]

8. Family has no doubt asked them to hush it now that the news is out that

the Sunderlands were "balloon-boy, the wet version" from the start.

[cbayer]

10. Except, she was actually in the "balloon"

[Lance_Boyle]

11. Yes, she was in it... for the money. n/t

[cbayer]

12. I'm just reporting the news

:hi:

[doc03]

2. If that family didn't have money they would have taken custody

of their children months ago.

[surrealAmerican]

15. If they didn't have money ...

... their daughter wouldn't have had a yacht.

[doc03]

17. True, I guess that's why I assumed they had money. n/t

[SoCalDem]

19. They say they can't afford to pay Australia for her rescue

$300K...gee maybe they could sell some boats.. or hit up some rich relatives for help..

[MineralMan]

4. Aw....man....

If this is true, it markedly alters my opinion of this. Instead of a brave adventure by a precocious teenager, it's just another publicity stunt if this is true.

Major bummer!

[spanone]

6. ain't that fucking america....

[Bobbieo]

9. Why would this comes as a surprise to anyone??? I figured it out the other day before she was

rescued that it was stated in one of the reports that dad was looking for "another sponsor" for their project.

[customerserviceguy]

13. Hmm, which is more evil

Reality shows where people have too many children, or reality shows where people attempt to kill their children?

[Silent3]

18. How about a reality show where people with too many children...

...reduce the size of their families by pairing off their kids against their own brothers and sisters in a series of gladiatorial death matches? :evilgrin:

[customerserviceguy]

21. Ok, but only on pay-per-view! (n/t)

[cbayer]

14. Abby Sunderland's family cuts ties with TV reality show producer

June 14, 2010 | 1:54 pm
The father of Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old girl whose solo sailing effort ended when her boat was damaged, cut ties with a company that planned to do a reality TV show about the family because he disagreed about the direction the producers were taking, he said Monday.

“There is no show at this time, nor will there be,” Laurence Sunderland said, addressing reporters outside the family's Thousand Oaks home.
Long before Abby Sunderland set sail on her around-the-world attempt in January, Sunderland was approached by Magnetic Entertainment about the possibility of a reality show, he said. His wife, Marianne, was against it, he said, but they eventually agreed a show focusing on "inspiring kids doing inspirational things” was a story that needed to be told.

Sunderland's son, Zac, became the youngest person to sail around the world at age 17.

Magnetic did some initial filming but could not sell the show, said Sunderland, a shipbuilder. He also had a falling out with the partners over the angle they wanted to take, he said.


more at link:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/abby-sunderlands-family-cut-ties-with-tv-reality-show-producer.html

[cbayer]

16. Teen sailor's mother denies plans for reality show

By JOHN ROGERS (AP) – 33 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES — The family of a 16-year-old California girl rescued from the Indian Ocean as she tried to sail solo around the world has no plans to cash in on their child's adventure with a reality TV show, documentary or any other deal, Abby Sunderland's mother told The Associated Press on Monday.
Marianne Sunderland also said reports the family signed a deal for a reality show while her daughter was at sea were untrue.
"There is no reality TV show, there's no documentary that's going to be made, there's no book deal," Sunderland said.
The New York Post reported Monday that Abby Sunderland's father Laurence said he signed a contract for a reality show weeks after his daughter set sail from Southern California last January.
Marianne Sunderland said that report and others were based on misinformation and misunderstandings.

more at link:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHjXcYeUuFF-2s5nbXWGWMoG0OiAD9GBAO080

[cbayer]

20. I have been trying to understand some of the reactions to this whole event, and I

have a thesis.

As a member of the boating community, I have learned something I was unaware of previously.

Boaters in general, and liveaboards or cruisers (those that travel long distances) in particular are generally seen one of two ways.

We are either considered rich yachties who light our cigarettes with $100 bills while our $5/hour employees put suntan lotions on our backs.

Or we are seen as homeless vagrants who are busy scheming how to scam or steal from other people.

And those of us who are female and live this life, I can't even post what people think of us.

All of these misconceptions have been expressed, and expressed passionately, in the extended discussions about Abby Sunderland and her family.

Not that this will change anything, but it has helped me understand what is going on here.

We are, mostly, pretty good people who live off the grid, are extremely environmentally conscious, have extraordinarily small footprints and love life. Our budgets are generally very tight, but we don't need much. Most of us earn money by working on line when we can, or providing services to others in the community. We have a strong code of ethics when it comes to assisting anyone on the water who may be in trouble, no matter how it happened. We are risk takers at time and are constantly monitoring our environments for change that may require us to act. We do most of our own work on our boats, are generally very generous with our time and assistance, and we are honest.

We are actually people who I think most of DU would really like. I don't expect that this will change anyone's POV on this event, I just wanted an opportunity to say it.