Tulsa couple featured on HGTV's 'House Hunters'
BY RITA SHERROW World Television Writer
Monday, January 21, 2013
1/21/13 at 6:53 AM
Tulsa's Brandon and Anna Gentry are like a lot of couples. Last summer, they went looking for a newer home that fit their budget in a neighborhood with sidewalks, parks and pools - a place where they could start a family.
Unlike most, they had their search for the perfect home chosen for an episode of HGTV's real estate series, "House Hunters," airing Monday.
"We started looking at houses in May of 2012," said Anna Gentry, 29, a registered nurse at Tulsa's St. John Medical Center. "I went to the HGTV website shortly after we started our home search and filled out an online application, never thinking anything would come of it. A few weeks later, I had an email back from a casting agent."
Following several phone interviews, she and her husband and their real estate agent Natalie Coe were asked to send in audition videos. They were notified they had been selected for the show on July 2 and taped their episodes July 21-24, she said in an email interview.
Over two months, Anna and husband, Brandon, 36, a human resources director for Tulsa's QuickCert, and 918HomeTeam real estate agent Coe toured 20 to 30 houses before narrowing the search down to two in Broken Arrow and one in Jenks. The taping was done at those three houses plus the couple's old home in Tulsa.
"We also filmed bowling with friends at Broken Arrow Lanes, putt-putt at All Sports Complex in Tulsa and having coffee downtown at the Mayo," said Gentry, who said the experience as "surreal."
"We all felt like we needed to pinch ourselves because we couldn't believe we were actually going to be featured on HGTV. We are just a normal couple who lives in Tulsa!"
Watching a TV show, which she has for about 10 years, and being on a TV show were two different things, she said.
"It was surprising. It is a lot more work than what it appears when you watch the show. We had to be wired with microphones under our clothing and lighting had to be reset each time we moved into another room. So there is a lot of standing around and waiting between takes."
The toughest part, she said, was being wired with sensitive microphones that picked up every sound - like a lawn mower starting up or an air conditioner unit kicking on - causing everything to have to be re-taped in the "intense heat" last July. Waiting for lighting to be reset in every room was also time-consuming, she explained.
The most fun was getting to know the producer and the show's crew and working on camera with their real estate agent.
"Everyone was so fun to work with," she said. "Feeling like a celebrity with cameras following you for four days.
''When we would film in public places, people would always stop and ask, 'What are you filming?' Also, this is the first home Brandon and I purchased together so it is great that we have that journey captured on camera.
"... All and all, it was a blast," said Gentry who, along with her husband, have invited family and friends to a watch party Monday at their favorite pizza place, Savastono's in Bixby.
HOUSE HUNTERS
When: 9 p.m. Monday
Where: HGTV, cable 31
Original Print Headline: Tulsa couple featured on 'House Hunters' show
Rita Sherrow 918-581-8360
rita.sherrow@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Anna Gentry (right) points out an arch she likes to her husband, Brandon, and their real estate agent, Natalie Coe, in Monday's episode of "House Hunters," airing at 9 p.m. on HGTV, cable 31. HGTV
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