Adding to the glamour and drama is Blair’s successor, Miss Teen USA® 2007, Hilary Cruz who moves in mid-season, and former Miss USA 2006®, Tara Conner, who serves as unofficial peer advisor to the beauty queens throughout the season.

Dropping by to check-in and make sure they all stay on track is Donald J. Trump, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization which produces the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants annually. Titleholders and roomies for one year, Riyo, Rachel, Katie and Hilary are out to prove to the world that they’re more than just pretty faces. As they maintain a grueling schedule, become sudden stars and learn to temper the natural jealousies and friendships that arise, the girls have a now sober Tara to guide them away from the temptations and unrelenting attention that led to her notoriety when she was Miss USA.

The cameras show all the triumphs, fun and drama, as they deal with being plucked from obscurity and learn what it takes to be Queen. Crossing the globe to become Miss Universe, 20-year-old Riyo attempts to handle the culture shock of being so far from her home in Japan and her sick grandmother who raised her; 22-year-old Rachel struggles to step out of the shadow of her predecessor’s notorious reign and leave her own mark; in addition to weathering the challenges of a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Josh, 19-year-old Katie prepares to relinquish her crown to 18-year-old Hilary and step out of the limelight she has grown accustomed to; and Tara, now 21- years-old, tries to rebuild a reputation that was almost destroyed during her reign and impart some crucial wisdom to her four counterparts.

Starting Wednesday, September 26th, viewers can log onto MTV.com for cast profiles, interviews and photo flipbooks; weekly episode trailers and quizzes; and the inside scoop on what it was like to film the show from the beauty queens’ personal blogs. In addition, Riyo, Rachel, Katie, Hilary and Tara will share their top beauty tips and music playlists so site visitors can learn everything from how they apply their makeup for a fashion shoot to what music they listen to when they work out. Full “Pageant Place” episodes will also be made available for download on iTunes.

“Pageant Place” is Executive Produced by Evolution Film & Tape, Inc., The Miss Universe Organization and Trump Productions. Douglas Ross, Greg Stewart and Kathleen French serve as Executive Producers for Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. Paula M. Shugart is President and Executive Producer for the Miss Universe Organization and Donald J. Trump and Andy Litinsky are Executive Producers for Trump Productions. The series is a co-production from Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. and the Miss Universe Organization. Co-Executive Producing for Evolution are Joe DeVito and Russ Heldt. Drew Tappon, Jackie French and Lauren Dolgen are the executives overseeing the project for MTV.

Celebrity and Hollywood News

 Riyo Mori & Donald Trump

 

Trump Brings ‘Pageant Place’ To MTV

NEW YORK, NY (June 20, 2007) — Donald Trump may have fired his last “Apprentice,” but the billionaire mogul isn’t done with reality TV just yet.

The Donald is partnering with MTV on a new reality series called “Pageant Place,” VARIETY reports, which casts former Miss USA Tara Conner as a “den mother” to three winners of Trump’s beauty pageants.

Conner was the subject of controversy last year when she was scrutinized (and nearly dethroned) over her partying lifestyle. But Trump, who co-owns the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss Teen USA pageants, has never been one to shy away from controversy.

“We’d been thinking about everything that happens backstage and how women like Tara captured the imagination of so many of us, including a slob named Rosie O’Donnell, who didn’t like that I gave Tara a second chance,” Trump reportedly said in an interview, “And we thought, Wouldn’t it be great if we let the cameras roll?”

 

The half-hour series will follow Conner and the beauty queens — current Miss Universe Riyo Mori, Miss USA Rachel Smith and Miss Teen USA Katie Blair — as they go about their crown-related duties; including modeling, charity appearances and international trips.

The fact that the women live together in the same apartment gives it that extra reality-show touch, especially considering that Conner and Blair have reportedly had a “rocky relationship” at times.

On top of that, the cast will inevitably be in flux as one woman ends her reign and another replaces her. Over the course of the planned eight episodes (although there could be more), Blair will move out as the newly-crowned Miss Teen USA takes her place. Production is scheduled to begin this summer, with plans to be on the air by the end of the year.

Trump will serve as executive producer for “Pageant Place,” along with Trump Productions president Andy Litinsky, Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart, and Evolution’s Doug Ross.

 

 

Copyright 2007 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

Miss Universe is  a NBC & Donald J. Trump partnership

Reality TV World By Christopher Rocchio, 09/26/2007

MTV has announced Pageant Place, a new Donald Trump-produced reality series that will follow several beauty queens as they live together in a New York City apartment and represent their different crowns, will premiere Wednesday, October 10 at 10:30PM ET/PT.

Current Miss Universe Riyo Mori and Miss USA Rachel Smith as well as former Miss Teen USA Katie Blair will star in Pageant Place, which captured the beauty queens’ daily lives during their respective reigns this past summer.

Pageant Place’s season will also eventually feature Hilary Cruz — who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2007 last month — moving in with Mori and Smith and adjusting to the spotlight that comes with being Blair’s successor.

While the women coexisting together isn’t new — as they normally live together during their yearlong reign — this will be the first time viewers will be invited inside to witness some royal cattiness.

In addition, The Donald — who is co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, which includes Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA — will also make regular appearances on Pageant Place to keep the beauty queens on track and in check, similar to the way he handled the January controversy surrounding former Miss USA Tara Conner’s underage drinking.

The previously announced eight-episode series is being produced via Trump Productions (which Trump launched last summer), Evolution Film & Tape, Inc. and the Miss Universe Organization.

The News got a first look inside the home of MTV’s new reality show, “Pageant Place,” last week – and found that living with three princesses isn’t always pretty.

Slobby habits can cause ugly scenes, and domestic bliss relies on the roomies pulling their weight.

“I leave my stuff out,” admitted Katie Blair, 2006’s Miss Teen USA. “I don’t put out the trash. It’s disgusting and I don’t touch it.

“[Miss USA] always hated that…. You have to get used to knickknacks, people’s pet peeves. Everyone has their things they worry about and make a big deal over.”

“Pageant Place,” promises to put you upclose and personal with Miss Universe Riyo Mori, Miss USA Rachel Smith and former Miss Teen USA Katie Blair.

Meet Miss Universe Riyo Mori on Daily News

Click here: 

http://multimedia.nydailynews.com/slide/2007/09/23/Riyo_Mori/index.html

The series also features Hilary Cruz, who won Blair’s tiara last month and replaced her in the luxury pad three weeks ago.

Former Miss USA Tara Conner, who last year became more famous for her wild partying and drug problems than for winning her title, also drops in as a big sister, eager to help guide the girls away from temptation.

“I put school on hold when I won Miss Teen USA,” said Blair. “This was like my sorority. These girls were like my sisters.”

But even sisters aren’t always close.

“We are girls first and foremost,” said Smith, “normal young women….

“It’s good to have people to talk to, people who understand things like having a bad hair day.

“But we spend time apart as well,” said Smith. “It’s just like any other roommate situation. Just because we are roommates doesn’t mean we have to be best friends. When it gets too much, I spend time in my room.”

The apartment, owned by Donald Trump – who runs the Miss Universe Organization – has three almost identical bedrooms, all with double beds and private bathrooms. They all have white bedspreads, dressing tables and a TV. Fresh flowers sit on bedside cabinets.

And all have personal touches added by their occupants in a bid to make them feel like home.

A photograph of Cruz’s dog Maddie hangs above her bed, a framed picture of Smith’s parents sits beside her TV and a leopard print blanket brought from Tennessee is draped across a chair.

Mori, the furthest from home, has a few Japanese books on a desk.

“Living with two girls, I like it,” she said in almost perfect English. “If I was here by myself, I would get homesick. They distract me, we have fun together.”

They also learn from each other. Mori teaches the other two Japanese words, they teach her English.

“But they teach me slang,” she says. “I don’t even know what it means. Sometimes I use it, and people laugh.”

All their closets are packed, though the clothes and shoes that have not come from sponsors or as gifts could fit in a single suitcase.

The rest of the apartment – a living room, dining room and kitchen with views up to Central Park – is bare of personal items. The refrigerator is empty.

“I moved in here three weeks ago, but we travel so much,” said Cruz. “This week is the first time I’ve spent any time here. When I am here, I sleep as much as I can.”

“Pageant Place,” which debuts Oct. 10 on MTV, will follow the beauties’ hectic schedule – both at play in the city and at work as they travel the world.

And when they are in town together, the three do socialize.

“We watch TV together,” said Mori. “We talk a lot. Oh yes, and we go shopping!”

My sweet home in France. FRaU sent a writer and a photographer to my home during my holidays to interview me. My sister did my hair and it felt so bizzarre to work in my farm in the middle of a little medieval village!