You`re Fired: Arkansans and Others Bid for "The Apprentice"

By now we`re all familiar with the phrase: You`re Fired! Hundreds of Arkansans and people from around the country arrived at the KARK 4 Studios Friday night and Saturday, to audition for the NBC hit show, "The Apprentice." For Donald Trump`s newest apprentice, the lifestyles of the rich and famous, could start in Little Rock. Four hundred hopefuls came, and did their best to stand out in the crowd, even, Elvis. "I want to be the next Apprentice," said Dwight James, from Memphis, Tennessee, dressed as Elvis Presley. Some of them are on their second or third audition. "Trump says never stop trying. I`m gonna try til they put me on the show," said Amy Parks, a global sales specialist from St. Louis, Missouri. But the candidates only had ten minutes to show their stuff to the casting directors, in interviews with 19 or so other people. "I`m very driven and very dedicated, focused person. So I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me," Shannon Humphrey, said, a U of A law student, from Little Rock. "I look at the show, and I`m just as good as anyone else on there," said Jeffrey Bryant, a computer tech and minister from Little Rock. Armed with business suits and resumes, they soon found this isn`t your typical interview. "It was chaos," said Jajuan Legate. Legate, a hairstylist, did haircuts and makeup for other applicants while waiting on her interview. "I don`t understand the process. It was just 20, 30 people around a table yelling, screaming, and shouting at each other," said Bryant. Casting Director Hollis Tak says those interviews are the applicants` chances to make themselves known. "I`m looking for those people that really pop. That put forth their opinions and have good energy and really stand out. We preface every table by saying this is your chance to stand out," Tak said. But somewhere in there, stand the 16 people lucky enough to work for Donald Trump. "You just keep taking away, until we get the person we think is the best. And it`s our opinion, and Mark Burnett and Donald Trump, and it just goes up the line," said casting director Kristina McGann. And maybe someone from Little Rock could be hearing the words, "You`re Hired," instead of "You`re Fired." Casting directors say they made a few callbacks Saturday evening from candidates they liked. Their final cuts will be made in early May, the show begins taping later that month.