On Monday’s episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, the teams were asked to create a viral video to generate buzz for Chock full o’Nuts Ground Coffee. With his acting and directing background, Lorenzo Lamas stepped up for Team Vortex to take on Leeza Gibbons and Team Infinity. Almost immediately, Geraldo pushed his two cents forward as he instructed his team that they should go with a commercial that takes an old product and makes it new again. While Geraldo initially suggested that he do a rap (brilliant), the team eventually went with a twist on the idea and focused on an old school couple drinking the coffee to an outdoor street dance (with Geraldo starring in both elements). While Lorenzo was the project manager, it seemed like Geraldo was once again doing whatever he wanted. When Leeza’s team came up with a brilliant catfight between Kenya and Brandi, it was no match for Team Vortex. In the boardroom, Lorenzo fell on his sword and told Mr. Trump that he wasn’t going to bring back any of his teammates and that he was the one who should go home. Last week, I caught up with Lorenzo to discuss what happened and ask him why they didn’t end up going with the rap idea (which would have almost assuredly been successful).
Murtz Jaffer: Hi Lorenzo how are you?
Lorenzo Lamas: I am good how are you?
MJ: Very good. Let’s get right into it. You definitely were a captain who went down with the ship as you refused to bring back any of your team members. Do you regret the decision?
LL: No of course not. I knew that it would basically come down to me because everybody else… they all pulled their weight and we really all believed that the video was the good one and the best one we could have made. You just can’t tell what the client is going to decide and why. It’s a variable that you just can’t foresee but no I wouldn’t have done it any differently.
MJ: Was there any part of you that was tempted to bring Sig back? He didn’t really contribute anything to the task and seems to be skating by.
LL: The fact that Sig didn’t contribute anything wasn’t his fault! I mean I was the project manager. If I had put Sig in a position to offer something or to add something to the video and that is the reason why we lost then maybe. But you can’t get somebody fired over the fact that they just didn’t contribute unless they were flat out lazy. And he wasn’t and he never was so I just don’t think that was fair. I mean it was my decision to basically highlight Geraldo and make him the center of this video. Could I have brough Geraldo back? Maybe. Would I still have gotten fired? Probably. So I just… I made a decision to just take the responsibility for my team.
MJ: You know I figured Lorenzo, that it might have something to do with you not wanting to be (like let’s assume you did get saved by Trump), I figured you wouldn’t want to be stuck on a team with the feuding Vivica, Kate, and Geraldo.
LL: Well I was ready to go the distance. I did the show for my charity The Book Campaign. It’s the only reason why I did the TV show at all. I really wanted to stay and fight to win some money for my charity. But I guess I painted myself into a corner with the fact that I misread the criteria of the client. They wanted a viral video and I guess looking back, that means they wanted something shocking, something sensationalistic, something provocative and I just didn’t deliver it.
MJ: Speaking of Geraldo, your relationship with him seemed to change. You went from what seemed like a pretty solid anti-Geraldo alliance with Kevin and Ian, to working quite well with him after the switch. What changed in your dynamic?
LL: What changed in the dynamic was that I decided (especially with the last task… the one that I was the project manager on) that I wanted a cohesive team. I wanted everybody to pulling together. I wanted us to go into this task being united, and what you do with a person like Geraldo is you treat him like a kid. You basically give the kid a lollipop. That makes him happy. Then you put him in front of everybody, make him center stage so he isn’t a destructive force and basically you align yourself with this kid. That may have been the undoing of the project. From a viral video point of view, I probably should put him in a pair of Speedos with a lollipop but hindsight is 20/20.
MJ: Geraldo seemed to really call people out for not fundraising on tasks where he was the project manager and you openly admitted that you didn’t have the same connections that he did. Would you have preferred to have been fired on a task that was fundraising-related versus on a task that was more in your producing wheelhouse?
LL: No. I felt pretty good about going out on top. Having directed the video, it was something that I am passionate about and I enjoy the process of directing. The fact that the client picked the other video, I don’t think was a reflection of my directing ability as much as it was a reflection of the type of the video. It would have been really embarrassing to go out because I couldn’t raise enough money. I think I went out at the right point of time.
MJ: In the brainstorming portion of the episode, it seemed like the idea was to go from Geraldo singing the old-school jingle to rapping and that would certainly have been viral. In the execution, however, it just seemed like he was singing again. Was there a reason you decided not to have him rap?
LL: Well Vivica and I went through the choices of the music that we were given to use. You can’t just go and take the sound from a song. It had to be cleared by NBC, so both teams were given a disc with available music (music that was able to be used in the viral video). Vivica and I (well, they didn’t show this in the episode) but we went through probably 20 beats, 20 musical choices and we came up with the one that was closet to being modern. That’s also why I liked the idea of putting the dancers in the background and just bringing this up. What I likened it to was the “I’m A Pepper, You’re A Pepper” Dr. Pepper campaign from the 70’s. The one that David Naughton did on TV, where he comes out and starts dancing in the street and everybody starts following him like he’s the Pied Piper. That is how I saw this because I didn’t think Geraldo would be able to do the rap. I thought it would be corny. I liked him better in the top hat and tails to be honest with you. When came up with that idea, I saw the peanut guy. I saw the brand. I tried to put the brand in there, but again it wasn’t about branding.
MJ: Yeah, he definitely looked like Mr. Peanuts meets Colonel Sanders in that outfit. Why did Vivica and Kate seem to dislike each other so much?
LL: Oh gosh, you’d have to ask them! I mean God love them but why do women do the things they do? It’s anybody guess. I just… I tried not to get in the middle of the drama as much as possible because I think that derails the creative. It tends to tank any positive energy that the team has going forward. I got along great with both of ‘em. Vivica and I were friends before and we are friends now. Kate and I got along. It’s just… the girls.. oh boy… the girls!
MJ: And speaking of some other girls Lorenzo what was the tension like when Kenya took the shot at Brandi and aired her dirty laundry in front of Trump? It seemed like you could cut the tension with a knife.
LL: Well I think we were all shocked and taken aback by that. I mean that is hitting below the belt. I mean it is a TV show. I think we felt like maybe it was a little bit too much but I tell you, it got a lot of attention. You guys are all talking about it today! The bottom line is that the tabloid stuff really sells. It really gets the attention.
MJ: It seems like the other team is on a bit of a hot streak as they won both tasks last night. What do you attribute this to? Is it the anti-Geraldo factor?
LL: I think that they are more successful without Geraldo. The voice that is the loudest is Geraldo’s. There is really nobody that can compete with that kind of just unadulterated ego. I mean certainly there is ego on the other side but there’s also a lot of creativity. Ian is very creative. Kenya is very creative. Brandi is creative. Leeza is creative. I mean you got all these creative people so it made for a very formidable team.
MJ: What’s next for you and can you tell me more about your charity, The Boot Campaign?
LL: Sure. The Boot Campaign is a charity that aids the troops when they come back home. After being deployed and being away from their families, they sometimes come back with devastating life issues (whether the injury is mental, physical, or financial). The Boot Campaign acts sort of like a safety net where if the government fails, The Boot Campaign can help. And the motto of The Boot Campaign is “we give back, when they come back.” As for what I am working on now, I have a book out called ‘Renegade At Heart.’ It’s my autobiography. It’s basically my side of every tabloid story that was ever written about me. At the time, I chose never to address it because I didn’t want to give them any more attention but through five marriages and four divorces, there were a string of successes in the business and some not so successful projects. It’s my story and it’s fun. It has a lot of anecdotes. There are a lot of really hilarious stories about me and my life. It really is my side of the story. It just came out three weeks ago and is available now.
MJ: I saw a really great quote from you Lorenzo that I saw from the recent TCA press tour event where you said that the only thing you wanted from The Celebrity Apprentice was to get verified on Twitter. Do you see that in you future?
LL: [Laughs] I hope so! That was a joke but I guess it caught fire!
MJ: Perfect Lorenzo. Thank you so much! It was great talking to you!
LL: Thanks so much, it was also great talking to you.
The Celebrity Apprentice continues tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC
