By Jeanne Sager
CALLICOON — September 27, 2005 – A genie has washed up on the shores of the Delaware.
When the casting crew of NBC’s “Three Wishes” started looking for a small town in New York to feature on the show, they came across Callicoon.
And now they’re putting the word out to folks across the town – your wish is their command.
According to Bryan Stinson, supervising casting director for the new reality series, the folks at NBC have been looking across the country for small towns that could use their help.
Along with Grammy-winning singer Amy Grant, the network is granting three wishes on each Friday night show to people in towns across America.
“The concept of the show is basically, we take over for seven days and grant these three wishes to really deserving people with great stories,” Stinson explained.
They’re hoping to find three of those deserving people in Callicoon – people with stories to tell and dreams to fulfill.
“We felt that it fit,” Stinson said of the small Sullivan County hamlet. “We felt it was the right size, we felt it had the right look.”
There is no relationship between “Three Wishes” and the people from TLC (The Learning Channel) who remade Jeffersonville for the cable channel’s “Town Haul” last fall.
“We didn’t even know about it,” Stinson said, asking for details on the community’s response to the television crews.
There are a few other New York towns on the short list, but the residents of Callicoon are being offered a chance to bring wish-granting Amy Grant to town as soon as this fall.
People are being asked to send wishes for themselves, their town, their friends and family, to the NBC casting department.
E-mails can be sent out, people can sign up on the Web, or videotapes can be mailed right to the NBC offices in Burbank, Calif.
“We really gauge the interest of the community by the number of e-mails we get,” Stinson said.
If the stories pull at the heartstrings of Stinson and his crew, they’ll pack their bags for a trip to Callicoon in early October, setting up an open casting call where people can make their wishes right on camera in hopes of being chosen.
“It could be an individual, it could be a family, it could be a community,” Stinson said. “If we get a community wish, it should have a personal angle.”
In a release from Stinson’s office, the network said there is “no limit” to what the show can do for a family or town.
“We are looking for people and neighborhoods in need, heroes who deserve recognition, reunions, unfulfilled dreams, military stories, community sites and businesses that need saving or restoring, public apologies and thank yous, children's letters to Santa . . . and so much more!” the release stated. “Cost is not an object!”
The only provision is that wishes are not for home makeovers – this show is distinctly different from other reality series on other networks, said Semi Aboud, associate casting producer.
To nominate someone, go to www.NBC.com and click on the link for "casting" and then choose the link for "Three Wishes,” go directly to www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/Three_Wishes.shtml, or send emails to semia@glassmanmedia.com.
You can also submit a video of your wish through www.NBC.com.
Submissions should include the following:
• Background info on the person(s) being nominated
• The WISH that should be granted (be creative!)
• A picture of the nominee, and
• All contact info (name, address, phone number, etc.)
Mail can be sent to Casting, Three Wishes, c/o NBC, 330 Bob Hope Drive, C-117, Burbank, CA 91523.