“Truth” is not a word many would expect to be associated with reality television.

That oft-maligned genre essentially took root in 1992 with the premiere of MTV’s landmark series The Real World, and in the years since has become a mainstay of American broadcast and cable TV. Relatively inexpensive to produce (compared to scripted dramas or sitcoms) and—for some—infinitely more compelling and habit-forming than traditional serial programming, reality television has captured the hearts and minds of viewers in most every target demographic. Yet despite its moniker, most folks—including even a wide swath of the most loyal reality TV followers—would be hard pressed to vouch for the validity of what is currently found on so-called reality shows.

Truth, however, is a word reality television star Ruby Gettinger comes back to time and time again. It’s a concept she feels very strongly about and one she says is integral to her continued involvement in the increasingly popular cable series that bears her name.

“If I ever thought for a minute [the producers of my show] were portraying me in the wrong way or not telling my truth, then I’d definitely have a big problem,” says Gettinger. She adds resolutely, “If that was the case, I’d make them show me every single episode [far in advance] for my approval. So far, that’s not been the case.”

According to Gettinger, her search for the truth of what lies behind her own self-destructive demons (which, in this case, developed into a life-threatening eating disorder) is all that matters, and the fact that it’s being played out in public for the world to follow is far from a hindrance to her quest. If anything, that spotlight has aided and buoyed her along the way.

The effervescent and good-natured Savannah native first came to national prominence in 2008 with the launch of her eponymous, 30-minute series, Ruby, on the Style Network. Obese since childhood, Gettinger (who declines to reveal her exact age) had long ago made a halting peace with her situation: essentially accepting her lot and the limitations that came along with it, while steadfastly refusing to let them prevent her from living life to the best of her abilities. However, several years after hitting an all-time high of 716 pounds, she reached an epiphany that ultimately led to the creation of the show that chronicles her attempts to shed the excess weight.

Like what you’re reading? Read the full article in the October/November issue of South magazine.

Fresh out of the shower, Paula Deen walks into the kitchen of her Wilmington Island home. Her wet hair is tucked under a black, rhinestone-studded baseball cap emblazoned with the popular Sweet Potato Queens movement logo. She wears glasses, a baggy turquoise shirt and black leggings. Her face is devoid of makeup—and she’s late.

“I’m so sorry, but I just had to have a shower,” she apologizes.

No problem. Deen coughs a little. She’s just getting over a case of pneumonia, and her voice is still a little raspy.

We sit down at a table in her kitchen, the same one featured on her TV show, full of antiques and beautiful cabinetry. Now the symbol of Southern cooking, Deen is gearing up for her busy season: full of tapings, travel and her trademark twang. Deen invited South into her home for a chat about where she’s going and where she’s been.

South magazine: You have a pretty big fall ahead of you: a new seafood line has launched, a new furniture line is coming out. I’ve even heard about a talk show and a movie. What’s going on with that?

Paula Deen: Yep, I’m on a retainer with Warner Brothers, and we are working on a talk show. But I told them that I don’t want a talk show like you see today. I really want something different … I want us to tread very carefully and get a good grip on what we want this talk show to be. You know, fools rush in. We originally wanted to do it in September of ’09, but it looks like it will be 2010.

SM: And the movie?

PD: They’re writing my life story right now, which sounds real weird. They’re figuring out what they’re going to do with it. It definitely wouldn’t be a big screen movie, you know. But that’s going to be an exciting venture.

But boy, that seafood line has been a lot of work, though.

SM: Why is that?

PD: Well, because at the end of the day, all I have is my name. I have a wonderful relationship with the people in America because they trust me. And I don’t want to do anything to break that trust.

SM: Is that a little stressful at times?

PD: It can be because your expectations are high that you put on yourself. I learned a long time ago that you can’t please everybody. I used to try, but I can’t, no matter how hard I try. But if you can please 95 percent of the people, I don’t know of a politician that wouldn’t snap those numbers up quicker than Moody’s goose.

SM: Do you ever take a look at what you’ve accomplished and say, “Wow. How did I get this far?”

PD: You know, I try. But my mind can’t wrap around it. To me, I’m that same person that I was so long ago, and it doesn’t register. I have no idea how deep my fan base goes, and so I just don’t worry about it. But I can’t comprehend it. And I’m always surprised when I go out and people scream, “Paula Deen!” and I’m on the other side of the country and I think, “How do they know me?”

SM: But that must be kind of cool, though.

PD: It’s very cool. In fact, I can travel like this—with my hair up in a hat and no makeup—and I can walk through anywhere, and as long as I don’t open my mouth or laugh, people never know I’m there. Not true when Michael is with me. I told him, I said, “Honey, you are like me walking around with a turd on my forehead: Everyone’s going to notice!”

Like what you’re reading? Read the full article in the October/November issue of South magazine.

Images by Attic Fire Photography

1. Under Southern Skies was the first movie filmed in Savannah. It was shot in 1915.
2. Ten Academy Awards have gone to movies filmed in Savannah.
3. Johnny Mercer was nominated for 19 Academy Awards and won four.
4. Five prop benches were made for the movie Forrest Gump.
5. The first movie with sound filmed in Savannah was The View from Pompey’s Head, in 1955.
6. Movie crews have made 86 films in Savannah.
7. Downtown Savannah is home to more than 135 movie locations; Chatham County boasts more than 420.
8. Tom Hanks is only the second actor to win back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Male Actor. He won honors for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. (Spencer Tracy was the first actor to achieve this feat.)
9. Skidaway Island State Park represented Africa in the highest-rated television miniseries, Roots.
10. Steven Spielberg was the original director for The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, starring Richard Pryor, James Earl Jones and Billy D. Williams, but he pulled out after Jaws went over its shooting schedule by 100 days. The comedic sports film was shot in Savannah.
11. The library in the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home is now named The Bruckheimer Library in honor of novelist Linda Bruckheimer and her megaproducer husband, Jerry Bruckheimer.
12. The history museum inside the Savannah Visitors Center houses one of Johnny Mercer’s Academy Awards and one of his Grammy Awards, plus one of the Forrest Gump benches.
13. Savannah’s own “Hollywood Ron” was with Cate Blanchett when she received a call from director Peter Jackson, offering her the role of the elven queen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
14. The movie Gone with the Wind takes place in Savannah, Atlanta and Charleston, but not one frame of film was shot in these Southern cities.
15. The Tybee lighthouse was used in Men in Black II. The lighthouse also appeared in the film The General’s Daughter, but filmmakers digitally moved it to The Crab Shack.
16. The No. 1 movie filmed in Savannah, Forrest Gump, earned $677,387,716 in worldwide box office revenue.
17. The Armstrong House, located at the top of Forsyth Park, has been featured in Cape Fear, Orphan Train and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
18. All of the storyboards for Spider-Man were drawn in Sam Raimi’s rented house on Monterey Square while he was directing The Gift.
19. Savannah’s tourism went from 3.5 million in 1994—the year the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the movie Forrest Gump came out—to 5 million in 1995.
20. The Exorcist was the last film shown at the Lucas Theatre before it closed in 1976.
21. The “Bird Girl” statue was the second image that photographer Jack Leigh submitted to Random House for the cover of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
22. In the Demi Moore film Now and Then, Savannah portrayed the Indiana town of Shelby.
23. Police stopped Bruce Willis for speeding on White Bluff Road, but the officer was reportedly too nervous to write the ticket, so he let the superstar go.
24. In the movie Glory, the 100 block of West Jones Street represented Boston’s Beacon Hill.
25. Julia Roberts’ overtime pay to shoot the bar scene at Six Pence Pub in Something to Talk About was $132,000.

See 70 movie locations on a tour through Savannah’s movie history with Hollywood Ron and Savannah Movie Tours. Call 912.234.3440 or visit www.savannahmovietours.net to book.