MY PLAYBOY INTERVIEW

The year was 2000 and I was unemployed, Again. Not by choice mind you. I had spent the previous 5 years working in television production in Los Angeles as either a Researcher, Segment Producer, Clip Clearance Coordinator or Assistant. Whatever position was open and needed filling, I did it.

This particular time I had finished my previous TV project 3 months prior and had been without a paycheck for a while and it was beginning to hurt. So I went out to the bookstore and spent about $49 on an employment staple for below the line production folks, The Hollywood Production Guide or something close to this. It was a soft cover 200-300 page book which listed every greater Los Angeles based TV and film production company and included the names, addresses, phone #'s, fax #'s and email addresses of the all the company's warm bodies in charge. Luckily for me I had a fax machine in my San Fernando Valley apartment( I shared with a girlfriend and my sister) and plenty of time to saturate the town with my cover letters and resumes. I do believe I faxed to every single company listed who had a fax machine #.

As I made it to the P's (the company's in the book were alphabetized) I came across Playboy Entertainment. My first instinct was to skip over the company because my country Southern Baptist upbringing was screaming inside my head that Playboy was dirty, but the emptiness in my wallet was telling me I could work for them ;as long as I didn't have to get naked and as long as they paid in U.S currency. I faxed over my cover letter and resume and moved on to the next company under "PL".

Two weeks later, still unemployed, broke but feeling hopeful I checked my voicemail and nearly crapped my pants. On my machine was one message left by a lovely sounding woman named Kate (not her real name)who was a Supervising Producer on a show for Playboy TV. Kate said they had just received my resume and lo and behold if they didn't just have an opening for an Assistant Production Coordinator for several of their TV shows. I danced a jig and then froze as I thought how I was going to tell my strict religious Southern Baptist mother that I had a job interview with Sodom & Gomorrah Television. It never crossed my mind that I could possibly get the job, but just interviewing with Playboy was beyond exciting. I decided since I probably wouldn't get the job anyway, I'd never tell her about the job interview, and that was 3 hours of chastising and preaching avoided.

I couldn't wait to tell everyone, I had an interview with Playboy! My girlfriends were impressed; if only for the fact that Playboy was an internationally known company and legendary and less for the fact the company's main focus revolved around naked women. I couldn't wait for the interview, I wore my black business interview suit and I was at their Wilshire production offices early. The Playboy productions offices were in the same building as The Hollywood Reporter and they occupied an entire floor. It was very nice and upscale with the exception of large framed photographs of Playboy Playmates adorning all the walls. I sat in the large open airy front office area waiting for my interview with Kate and tried not to stare at all the scantily clad ladies smiling coquettishly down at me from their airbrushed perches.

Everyone that I saw walking in and out of the waiting area to the elevators looked average, normal, everyday and obviously not the talent. After maybe a 6 minute wait, an attractive late 30's woman in a business suit came out to greet me. This was Kate and she was the Producer of one of Playboy TV's live call in talk shows called Night Calls. She was friendly yet business like. She didn't have big boobs, obvious plastic surgery or blonde hair and I could tell she knew her stuff. We went to her office which was small with a lovely view of Wilshire Blvd.

There were scripts lying about, a TV stand with a DVD/VHS player, past issues of Playboy magazine strewn about and mounds of VHS tapes laying all over everything. Some of the tapes had covers which indicated they were of the adult film variety and some were just plain black vhs tapes with masking tape and Sharpie notes scribbled on them. We sat down amongst the tapes and magazines and to be honest I can't remember what she asked me or what we discussed except for one thing. She asked me if I had a problem with sex or nudity. This is isn't something I usually got asked in job interviews. But I was broke and needed a job and she seemed to be impressed by my qualifications, so without skipping a beat I answered no, I absolutely did not have a problem with sex or nudity. She then stood up, walked over to the TV and put a vhs tape into the vhs player, hit play and left the room. It was an episode of Playboy's live talk show, Night Calls, which I had never seen before. I don't know why I'd never had the desire to call into a late night cable sex talk show to chit chat with half dressed hosts all while engaging in some random sex act by myself or with a partner.

I had certainly viewed adult films before, but never while sitting in an office in my best interview suit. Luckily the tape was 1/2 hr and about 10 minutes in, Kate came back into the office to gauge my response to the subject matter I would be subjected to in person on a daily basis. I wasn't shocked by the unusual situation at all, if anything I was amused and psyched. How cool to come from the back woods of rural Louisiana, graduate from college with a degree TV/Film, drive across country in red Toyota Corolla to California and end up in the legendary Playboy offices. I was calm and cool and told her in no uncertain terms, I was not bothered in the slightest and I would love to work for Playboy.

We shook hands and she escorted me back out into the front office where I bid the framed Playboy Playmates adieu and skipped to the elevator and down to my car. I really wasn't expecting to get the job, but I thought what a cool story this would be to tell.

Luckily I did end up getting the job and there are many more stories to tell.

FELICA DEVERS 2007