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Survivor Host Jeff Probst Talks About Survivor: Palau
Media Teleconference Transcript
2.10.05
Colleen
Sullivan: We've got Jeff Probst with us. Host of Survivor
Palau. This time around there are 20 Survivors, they are
all going to start on one beach. Jeff will talk more
about that but as we like to say, "they are lost for
real". Question:
We have a local person, Jeff Wilson. What is he like on
the show? Does he have any advantages seeing as how he's a
personal trainer? JP:
Jeff is a very physically fit guy you see that in the first few
minutes of the show,
he's in great shape. Seems to be a guy who not only is
in great shape but has a good
understanding of why he's in great shape and how the body
works, nutrition. We gave him a hard time when we were
casting the show because he shaves his entire body. We
look for buttons to push for people. We kept saying "you'll
never hack it, you'll never make it. You'll want to
quit". We kept talking about him after he left the
room. He's very engaging. Fun to be around.
Physically, when you're physically fit there's always the
question...will it work for you or will it work against you.
If you last very long in Survivor this season...the
Survivors will find out this is the most physical and original
challenges we've had in quite a while. The first time
we've aired the show out and go for it. They figured
that out pretty early on. In those first few
days, the question is: will they keep strong people or try to gut their own tribe?
The message they find out is if you want to vote out your
strong simply because they are strong odds are you'll be back at Tribal
Council more often than not and sooner or later it will be your
turn. If the strong guys can last a little while I think
it will work to their advantage this time. I think the
tribes will realize "we need strength". They
need to get rid of people who can beat you but you need to
keep them long enough so that you don't beat yourself.
That's always the question. If you get rid of two or
three strong
people, your status rises in the tribe dramatically but the
status as a tribe diminishes. You continue to lose
and lose. You might outlast that strong guy but you're
not going to be there in the end. Question:
Why
does Jeff shave his body? JP:
We asked and he said "I do it for athletics".
"What sport?" He'd say "I started with my ankles
for riding bikes". He shaves his entire body.
There are other reasons. I told him "the only
reason I would shave my entire body is if my woman wanted me
to". He admitted, "well yeah it has to do with
women, they like it". We kept trying to get him to
justify himself. He came clean, said he likes it, does
it everyday in the shower. How do you do that and not
risk fatal injury. Question:
You said this series is more physical this time, can you give
any examples of challenges? Jeff
Probst: We're in the most beautiful water in terms of
visibility. Underwater is more difficult but visibility
is good. We decided to pull out a lot of challenges we've been sitting
on. When you put challenges underwater it adds a
physical component. It's not easy. You see that. The first 3-4
episodes have some of the most physical challenges ever in
terms of endurance, needing to be physically fit. We
have a real nice cat fight later on in one of the challenges.
There's going to be some fun stuff. Question:
Talk about the set up where they are being dumped on the beach? JP:
The
idea was, starting with the All Stars we gave them basically
nothing because they were getting so cocky we needed to bring
them back down to size and let them know we're pulling the
strings. Once we realized
they can survive 72 hrs without water we never give fire
again. I saw fire because it gives you water in most
cases, you have to boil it. We've done
the physical part where we give them nothing. What we haven't
done is giving them no information. Almost always we
give them some, here's the lay of the land, here's tribe A and tribe B,
map of the water. This time I literally show up and say,
"there's your beach, have a good time". What we
want to do in each season is find one way to tweak the show
that keeps them off balance. Not major restructuring,
just tilt them a little bit. By not giving them any
information... "Are we one
tribe?" You could be, you could be 3 tribes, men vs
women, tall vs short, old vs young. Nobody knows. They get on the
beach the first day and they don't know. They
wonder...do we start making alliances now? Or will that
bite me in the ass. Do we build fire, do we build a
shelter. Are we staying here. There's no name on the
flag, it just says Survivor Palau. There's no clue that
there's even one tribe established. It doesn't sound like a whole lot but
it pays off in the first few days then it pays off on day 23
or day 33. Now what you put in their head is that it's a
slightly different game. You can assume there's gonna be a merge, go
for it, then you're a fool. That's what we try to
accomplish with that. Question:
What about this report that there are people who don't make it
to the first challenge and they are eliminated? JP:
That is true. There are two people will not make it to the 1st
challenge. It's a brutal, brutal beginning to this
season. The most brutal of social encounters. Same
feeling as when you're not picked on a school yard or
basketball game. Or when you're the first guy laid
off... this
is at it's core, Survivor is a social game. That is put
to the test right away. Two people, in essence,
never really get a chance to even play this game and yet they go
through all the work to get there. That's not the only people
that are gone. At the end of the 1st episode a total of 3 people
are gone. Now we have 20 people... it's the most we've
ever had...people would say why 20... it gives us more
options... we can get rid of 3 people right off the bat.
We still have 17. You can no longer, if you're a
Survivor, assume that there's gonna be a Tribal
Council every 3 days or one person will go home at every
Tribal Council. The numbers are out of whack now, we're
still out here 39 days so something is going to have to
change. Question:
The local contestant from here, Caryn Groedel, what can you
say about her? JP:
One of 3 attorneys. Kinda funny, they are so very
different. Caryn is a civil rights
attorney. Very well spoken, has a sharp mouth. She's not
lippy, she is more than well spoken, very eloquent in making
her point, will not hold back, not passive... tries to get
along but will tell if you're rubbing her the wrong way.
The interesting thing about Caryn is not that she's an
attorney, that she's a Mom. She's a mom, 3 kids.
The people who are parents in general are
better equipped to deal with social situations. They've
been through kids who have differences of opinions or are
fighting. Little
squabbles about who gets the water.. "oh I'll go get
it". Older people are less likely to flip out.
In evaluating Caryn, I would look at not that she's an
attorney although her skills as an arguer are good, but that she's a mom. Question:
Touching on social interaction... are you and Julie Berry
still together. We've seen Rob and Amber.
What happens out there with sexual tension? JP:
Different for everybody. No similarities to Rob and
Amber and me and Julie. Me and Julie happened after the
show. Rob and Amber...if you look at the setting, it's romantic in spite
of being gross, smelly. With Rob it was going for
broke...I'm running this game and I'm gonna do with the
hottest woman under my arm. All about Rob
taking Amber to the end. Letting her be the good cop and
him being the bad cop. It was a courtship. I've
gotten to know Mariano and Amber pretty, good. He fell
in love with her out there. Most people who play Survivor aren't looking
for love, they want the million dollars. You can give
the taxman his cut and you still have a lot of money.
That's why I would never trust someone that was hitting on me
and flirting with me in a game for a million
dollars. Question:
And about you
and Julie? JP: Going great, set a new standard in terms of what I
want from a relationship. I hope this is the last time I ever
consider it. I'm very happy, we have a great time
together. She's a sharp woman. She went through a lot
early on and it gave her a lot of wisdom. Question:
Hint of something more serious? A wedding perhaps? JP:
No not really. I'm just being honest. You
never know where things are going to lead but I definitely am
in love. I'm not just dating Julie, it's the person I'm
with and I hope it lasts forever. Question:
Ian... a giant among Survivor players. That height, does
it help or hurt? JP:
Ian is 6'8". It's the tallest Survivor cast we've ever
had. Ian in terms of putting him on the show, he was on
the show in my mind when he walked in the door in my mind. A super likeable
guy. Exudes genuine-ness that he's happy to be alive, wants to play
and have fun. Really a likeable guy, very humble, a
kid...makes him appealing because If he lasts long enough he'll probably make mistakes
because of judgment. Just like I was talking about with
Caryn. When I look at young people I'm thinking:
Are they confident enough to make it. They don't have the
life experience. You see it with Eliza, Jenna, go down
the list of young people. Ian was instantly
likeable. He's very good in the water, he works with
dolphins a lot. We knew this would be a water
season. That was very appealing to us. The height came up on day one somebody made a comment "wow
you're gonna have an advantage in this game".
If Ian reaches for something high he has an advantage.
Crawling low... he doesn't. Any physical
attribute
works for or against you. Depends on the challenge.
It's not a big factor. Rest assured...if there's a
challenge involving height somebody will be complaining
that Ian is still in the game. And then if Ian has to
loop his legs through a jungle gym he'll be saying it's not
fair, my legs are longer. Question:
In American Idol the most fun is watching ones who can't
sing...at the beginning. You guys must reject dozens and
dozens of people. Any chance we'll see anything
like that with Survivor? JP:
I doubt it no I don't know why we'd ever do it or how.
It's an interesting thing to go through and meet someone who
is absolutely fascinating who you'd love to talk to for an
hour longer but who you know will never be on the
show. Oftentimes physically they can't make it or they
don't understand the show enough to have a chance. If
you're not socially aware, you're dead. We
can't waste spots on people... we don't put people on the show
knowing they are gonna fail. We put people on the show
that we know, they are argumentative, they are going to be
hated. They get it, can figure it out. Question:
In previous season's there's been the big lie, the fall in the
fire. What's the big thing we'll all be talking about this season? JP:
I can't give you specifics but there are more "firsts" this season than we've
ever
had. More things happen for the first time this
season than have ever happened before. That's what struck me as
the season went on and on. I'd think "wow that's never
happened before". Some of them are twists, some are things
that happened organically in reality, some are the results of
challenges. There are more things that you've never seen
before this season. Question:
The fact that you are dating someone that was on the
show. Will that have an effect on how women will treat
you during the show? Women contestants? JP: It
would be a waste of time if it did. The perception
of me and Julie and any impact on the show is one you can't
help but speculate about. I'm a professional when I'm
working. I take my job seriously. I approach every challenge and every
tribal with a specific goal or two or three in mind about what I want to get.
If my wife was over there playing this game I'd hammer her any
opportunity she gave me. Julie was smarter than a lot of
people in that she didn't say a lot. That's always the
best strategy. My job is to get you to say
something. It's rare that anyone wastes their time
spending much time on me. Question:
Did she get to go to Palau? JP:
No. Julie did not get to go to Palau but could go to other
locations. Mark says if you ever want to bring
someone out to the location it will be ok. In terms of
conflict.. I don't see any. Question:
Angie's tattoos...are you inspired to get one? JP:
Angie's
tattoos are really thoughtful in terms of their
placement. It's not like she just tattooed her
body. She has a specific design as to where she puts
them. She's an
interesting women in terms of the tattoos. People look
for any reason to separate you from the group, especially on
Survivor but in life in general.
People are looking for a reason to exclude you or include
you. Angie knows coming into this game she's a bit of an
oddball in terms of fitting in. Her real tough
challenge... "give me a chance don't just look at my
body". You'd think that now in this game, people would look past
that stuff, just like race and sexuality... it does matter,
it's a factor... it may have a small part but it plays.
Question: You've got 3 trial lawyers in this
group...an
all time high. What about that profession fits
this game? Or gives them an advantage in this game? JP:
I don't think it gives them an advantage. I can't figure
out what an advantage in this game would be. It makes
them a more interesting candidate. Because of their
profession, lawyers in general are skilled orators.
Good with the word, know how to make an argument and to make a
counter argument. Always good in the room,
engaging. You say black, they argue white. Cops
are sometimes interesting... people in the medical world,
people who engage with society daily are more socially skilled than
those who don't. I'm surprised that we have attorneys on the show... you're
asking for it. For them to say... uh uh uh I think
that's a rule violation. I don't take shit from anybody,
zip it I don't want to hear it. Question:
You're always walking the line of trying to make
Survivor the same but fresh...the core stays the same.
What's been the philosophy this time. JP:
I have sitting on my desk right now S11. Scraps of paper
...things that haven't been used yet. Variations on
tie-breakers. 5-6-7 of us have our own
ideas. We go through 60-70 ideas to find one that will
work. It's usually a small little twist.
You're looking for consequence. This season, going in early
there was an idea I kept suggesting about choice. How
can we make this season have a theme of choice. It's not
a big deal, you may not pick up on it. It filtered in,
we made it an element of challenges or situations or
decisions, Every time we could, let
them make a choice. It has an impact. It's going
to be a WWII theme, try and force them to make choices, tell them nothing
at the beginning. Question: If
this game is more physical, isn't that a disadvantage for
older contestants? JP:
Could be. Getting rid of physical people first could
hurt you. Getting rid of weakest who may be the best
thinker, sharpest shelter builder or the best fire maker,
peacemaker...you're also going to hurt yourself.
It's this management, approach it like a team, not a sporting
event but a team. Your leader, you have to look
and say, we need to be balanced, fun people, people who can
carry us physically. People who won't give in but are
malleable. If you go in and get rid of all the
weak it will bite you in the ass in the end. Question:
After episode one are the contestants still under the belief
that more than one person could be eliminated in future
episodes? JP: I don't
know, we certainly don't tell them that's not the case.
I don't know what they were thinking but that was our goal,
that they could look at it and think: we could lose two more
people tomorrow and then nobody for 3 days. Question:
What can you tell us about Jolanda Jones? Jolanda:
The whole package, physical, guessing she's 6 foot world class
athlete, recent. She's in phenomenal shape. Works for indigent clients,
helps those who need help, compassionate side, physically
imposing. Strong arguer. Huge point of view and can't stop telling you
how it is and how it should be. Her
background...dramatic and tragic background in her family, suicide,
death. She smiles, she's got this million dollar smile,
she disarms
you. It's true...how aware you are of how others perceive
you. Jolanda has to be not too strong. She has an arsenal
of tools, weapons. Good player? We'll see but on
paper... compare this group to Vanuatu...Vanuatu was the most
normal people. No standout characters but incredible
final Tribal. Palau is completely different, not a group at
all, this is 20 individuals.
Marquesas was fun people, Thailand was mean-spirited.
This is individual, Palau...all unique players.. You're gonna know 7-8
people by name by the end of first episode. Jolanda in terms
of being a good player? Beats the hell out of me but she has
good skills if she knew how to use them right and should be a good player. Question:
You ranked first 9 Survivor seasons for Entertainment
Weekly. How does this fit in that list? Is it going to
be the best yet? JP:
I've never said that don't throw that at me. Throw that
at Mark or the promos. I'm always honest. I didn't
factor it in. I did that interview a few weeks ago.
I
didn't factor 10 in. It's hard to tell until you see the
season play out, I have to separate myself a little. All
Stars out there, I'd said it sucks, hated it. But it was
fun to watch. I couldn't tell you on 10, what I can tell
you is that it's... a lot of things happen for the first
time. A lot of events in terms of...compared to Vanuatu, it's not that it's more
interesting, a lot more happens, a lot of stuff happens whether at
camp, challenges, or tribal. Constantly interesting
nuances happening. Question:
How big an impact is the WWII theme? Does that have
anything to do with the opening up of challenges that you
mentioned earlier? JP:
It's a big theme. You can't go to Palau and not see remnants
of WWII, they are everywhere. 400 ft ships 30 ft down.
Zero planes crashed into beaches where we have challenges. One I snorkeled often was right off our
challenge beaches. You see the cockpit, the wing,
you see the mountain and it's clear the pilot hit the
mountain. For me it was a bit uncomfortable. I did a few wreck dives but stopped, didn't like
the feeling it gave me. It didn't play into the
mood of the game. If you served in WWII it might make
you think about that but it's not like we're presenting. Question:
It wasn't a sobering impact on the Survivors? JP:
No. It's a perspective. One thing that Survivor
does is that it does alter your perspective a little
bit. You kind of forget how much you love your family,
how important your friends are. When you go away for 40
days it may not seem like much when you're watching at
home. It's a long time with no interaction, no word, no
email, no letter, no phone call. This backdrop
gave you more perspective that I want to win but it's just a
game. We were sensitive to that, super sensitive to
not exploit it. We were aware that we are in a war in America. Question:
You didn't turn the game into combat missions? JP:
No we didn't make challenges that were about war. The
analogies aren't drawn. But Survivor is a game and
there are elements that are similar. Tribal Council is
loaded with WWII references. We didn't shy away
from it but I don't think you'll feel that in any way we
exploited it. Question:
Given Mark Burnett's military background... JP:
I'm sure that on a good day Burnett could have suggested an
underground submarine battle. There's a whole team of
people that work on it. But no we were super sensitive
to that. Question:
How involved are you in the casting process? JP:
The way it works...people send in tapes. We get 30-40
thousand, we have a huge casting team. Lynn
interviews 1000 of them, 50-75 then go to L.A. that's when the
producers get involved. That's the first time we, the
producers meet them in person. Lynn knows what we need
and want. She's very good. We sit in a room
sequestered. They sit in their room until we call for
them. They go through medical testing,
interrogation. It's fun, a devilishly good time.
They want something and you're standing in their way.
It's a fun interviewing process. I'm just waiting for
payback. it's due. My day will come when I'm in the hot
seat.
Question: Rob and Amber The Amazing
Race... JP:
I'd like to do The Amazing Race. I'm excited to watch
the show. I haven't watch a lot of The Amazing Race
because of my schedule. Rob is a blast to be
around. Entertaining. Rob is not worried
about how it will look or how it seems. Is it weird to
ask Amber to marry him... weird to do two Survivors and now
The Amazing Race? He doesn't care. Question:
How do they do? JP:
They definately have a chance at winning. Rob won't tell me
anything. They work well together. Ying/yang
thing. They are very different. Amber's attitude
is to do it the way you're supposed to. Rob's attitude:
there's a better way, a short cut. That could work out
well if they know when to go Amber and when to go Rob. I'll
watch.
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