Andy Warhol had the right idea, but maybe he wasn’t exactly on the money. He once said that, “In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Change that to, “Everyone will WANT to be famous for AT LEAST fifteen minutes,” and you’re on to something.
A unique Web site, www.iwannabefamous.com, aims to provide a stage for those who seek the fame and fortune of the limelight. Every day, one ordinary person is chosen to be highlighted on the I Wanna Be Famous site, the thinking being that exposure on the Internet will help that person’s career. It’s highly doubtful that the next Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts will be discovered here, but you never know, and that’s the allure of it all. As the site says, “Being featured on this Website may not make you famous, but we’ll sure try.”
Bill Hartzer, founder and CEO of I Wanna Be Famous!, had this to say about the site. “We originally started the I Wanna Be Famous! Web site because of all of the publicity and hoopla about all of the “reality” television shows; it’s amazing so see what people will do to become famous. And we wanted to see who, out there among us ordinary people, wanted to be famous. Needless to say, the response has been overwhelming. We started featuring one person per day on our Web site on October 21, 1999 and have had literally thousands of people enter our unique “contest” to be featured on our Web site. There’s no other site like ours.”
Iwannabefamous.com has been trying to make people well known for nearly two years. It features “one ordinary person, like you” every day. To get your 24 hours of fame, all you have to do is fill in the form, explain why you have a burning need to be known and include a photo of yourself or your act.
The best part is the site’s “heritage” list, which includes links to pics of all the would-be stars, alongside their explanations, many of which make fine reading.
“I wanna be famous because I’m very shagadelic!”
“I wanna be famous because I can make people happy by sharing my beauty with the world!”
“I wanna be famous because the people who are currently famous are doing a poor job!”