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‘Survivor: One World’ Post-Mortem: What Have We Learned?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

MTV News teams up with former ‘Survivor’ player Rob Cesternino to cover Kim’s win, Colton’s controversy, the future of the game and more. By Josh Wigler Kim Spradlin Photo: CBS on Sunday, concluding with the rightful victory of bridal-shop owner Kim Spradlin . After running multiple alliances and winning four immunity challenges (among other accomplishments), Kim’s status as one of the all-time greatest “Survivor” winners can’t be denied. But even though the best player won the game, does that mean “One World” was one of the better seasons in “Survivor” history? Not necessarily — certainly not if you’re asking season villain Colton Cumbie, who declared during the live “Survivor” reunion that “One World” got boring once he was medically evacuated from the game. Did Kim deserve to win? Should she play again? Was Colton’s assessment of a lackluster “Survivor” season on point? We tackled all of these questions and more in our final “One World” post-game with two-time contestant Rob Cesternino . Thanks for joining us all season long, Rob! MTV : Kim Spradlin, your girl and mine, took home the win on Sunday night. I don’t think anybody was surprised to see that happen, but I’m definitely happy with the outcome. I’m assuming you’re pleased as well? Rob Cesternino : I was very happy to see Kim win the game. I think she gave one of the most dominating performances ever by a “Survivor” player, and I think Kim is, from a historical “Survivor” perspective, the only true alpha female to have won the game. That’s impressive. MTV : You wouldn’t put [‘Fans vs. Favorites’ winner] Parvati Shallow in that category? Cesternino : Parvati is a bit of a different animal in that she used her sexuality to her advantage. I’m certainly not complaining about that — every “Survivor” player is different. But Kim didn’t seduce Troyzan , or any of the guys, to get what she wanted and to get to the end. She used the same tactics that Boston Rob might use, or what any of the traditional male powerhouses would do to win the game. I think that was very interesting about Kim’s performance. Midway through the finale, when Kim got rid of Alicia and then decided to not bring Christina to the final three, I was yelling at the TV, “Kim, what are you doing? These people are so much easier to beat!” But then mid-sentence I realized, “You know what? It doesn’t matter what she does. She’s winning no matter what!” I think Kim felt like, “Why overthink this? I’m winning if I go with Chelsea and Sabrina. I’m winning if I go with Alicia and Christina. Why have a card that people can play against me — that I betrayed my true friends in the game?” Kim came to this realization about three episodes ago, I think. Her win was a fait accompli . Any other outcome would have been greatly unsatisfying. MTV : Let’s look back a bit. I don’t imagine there’s a lot that Colton ever said that you or I would agree with, with the possible exception of one comment he made at the finale: The season got boring once he left. Do you think that’s fair? Was “One World” without Colton a bit of a bore? Cesternino : I think it was. Colton, for all of the horrible things he was saying (which gave us plenty to talk about), was the pre-Kim mastermind of this season. He was the one sending the guys to tribal council. He was the one pulling all of the strings and going back to work with the women. So at least he was adding something to this season. When you lost him, a lot of people were just sheep to Kim for the rest of the season. That can be boring to watch. MTV : Did you buy Colton’s apology at the finale? Cesternino : I follow Colton on Twitter , and I don’t think he’s changed at all from being on “Survivor.” I think if he truly changed, I think you would have seen a much different person [at the finale] than the person who was on “Survivor.” I mean, all Survivors say right after the show, “Oh my god, ‘Survivor’ changed me so much.” I don’t buy it. I don’t think that “Survivor” really changes people. I think that true life-altering events change people, or time changes people. In the six months or whatever since they filmed this, I don’t think Colton or any of the players in the game have truly changed. MTV : Do you think we’ll see him play again? Cesternino : I thought Jeff Probst had said that Colton would never play again, but I’ve also read recently that he’s softening that stance . I do think that Colton will play again, but probably not for a while. With these larger-than-life returning players, their best friend is time. Had Russell Hantz gone back on the show now as opposed to a season after “Heroes vs. Villains,” I think he would have fared better in the game. Time is the friend of the high-profile “Survivor” player, because the more people who come onto the show, they don’t really remember what [previous players] did. The best thing that happened to Russell was Colton. The best thing that will happen to Colton is Jimmy Hamburger or whoever the next “Survivor” villain is. That will make people forget about Colton. MTV : Looking ahead to next season, Probst revealed that the twist for “Survivor Philippines” is that three formerly med-evaced players are coming back to the game. What do you think about that? Cesternino : I think more so than those people returning to the game, I like the idea where they’re going with [three] tribes of six people. When you look back at the past three or four seasons, people have made alliances of five on basically the first day of the game, and those five people have tended to be the final five, or at least five of the final six. The game is becoming a little too predictable, so it’s time to shake things up a little bit so that on the first day you can’t say “This is the five, we’re going to be the final five.” These players will have to adjust their plans and work with people on the other tribes to get to the end of the game. MTV : I love the three-tribe format, which they’ve only done on “All-Stars.” Then again, you might have a different opinion… Cesternino : Well, I’m personally biased against the three-tribe system, since it didn’t work out so well for me on “All-Stars.” [ Laughs ] I do think it probably lends to a better overall game, but you can lose some good people early on if the right two or three people get together and call the shots on a six-person group. MTV : Going back to the topic of returning players, the identities of these three former contestants are still under wraps. But I’m sure we’ll see another “All-Stars” variation at some point in the future. Kim has certainly proven herself as an All-Star. When I spoke with Kim , she said she’d be up for returning. I know she told you the same thing in your interview with her. How do you think she’d do if she went back another time? Cesternino : I think Kim would do very well on an “All-Stars” season. Here’s the thing about Survivors: they don’t necessarily target winners. They target who gets the most publicity and the most press. Russell isn’t targeted because he’s a two-time finalist; he’s targeted because he gets the most air time. One of the biggest things that helped Sandra, who is a two-time winner, is that nobody thinks to get rid of her because she won; they’d get rid of Sandra if she dominated the air time, which never really happened. I bet she would do very well again. For Kim, it’s the same situation. Survivors resent the people who get the most publicity and air time, and that’s not necessarily Kim. I think she’d do well in an “All-Stars” season, because people wouldn’t view her as that kind of a threat. MTV : Let’s wrap this up by looking at the season overall. What should the “Survivor” powers that be learn from “One World”? What lessons should they take away from this year? Cesternino : That’s a great question. [ Pauses ] I think what the “Survivor” powers that be need to learn the most is to really take a look at the people they’re putting on the show, and making sure that everybody going out there is armed with at least the basic knowledge of how the game works. We’re going into “Survivor 25.” Every contestant needs at least a crash course in how alliances work, what to do if you’re not in the bottom of the alliance. I wish we had more people who really knew how to play the game before going out there, and not people learning on the fly. You wouldn’t throw people on “Jeopardy” or “Wheel of Fortune” if they don’t know the rules of the game. Why are we putting people on “Survivor” who don’t know the rules of the game thirteen years after it’s been on the air? Previously On MTV News’ “Survivor” coverage:

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‘Survivor: One World’: How The Women Won

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘The guys — they had no unity,’ fourth-place finisher Christina Cha tells MTV News of scoring show’s first ever all-girl finale. By Josh Wigler Kim Spradlin Photo: MTV News Kim Spradlin isn’t the only “Survivor: One World” winner . OK, technically she is — that cool $1 million is firmly in her bank account — but the season’s four finalists can also take comfort in knowing that they made “Survivor” history together: For the first time in 24 seasons, there was not a single man left standing among the final five contestants. The feat is all the more impressive considering where the women began. At the outset of “One World,” the two tribes were separated on gender lines , with the men of Manono showcasing their clear physical advantage with two early immunity wins. It certainly didn’t help that the women of Salani were turning on each other , with in-fighting dominating much of their air time in the season’s earliest episodes. Eventually, the women pulled themselves together to stage one of the most impressive comebacks in “Survivor” history, knocking five men out in a row and cutting out the final male — the unforgettable Tarzan — one vote later. So after such a rocky start, how did Salani find the strength to rally together and get rid of the men? “I think it’s because we had a rocky start, I believe that’s why we ended up with five women at the end,” Kim told MTV News at the “One World” finale on Sunday night. “We had to learn to trust each other. We really had to get each other’s backs and become a group.” “There was a day when we all just stood around. We held each other’s hands. We were like, ‘You know what? We can do this,’ ” third-place finisher Chelsea Meissner said. “I think it was that first challenge we won against the guys, where they were really ahead of us and we came out of nowhere and won it. We all hugged and it was that moment where we realized, ‘We can do this. We can so do this.’ ” Christina Cha, who finished the season in fourth place, credited the women’s success to the men’s willingness to cannibalize each other. “That was what I noticed about the guys — they had no unity,” she said. “The guys weren’t united from day one.” Another factor, according to runner-up Sabrina Thompson: The men simply were not needed. “You don’t need a man in this game to come get [you] fire, to do this or do that,” she said. “Once we started winning challenges, we knew we could do this.” In a season dominated by precisely one person, one would think that the plan to get rid of all of the men stemmed from winner Kim. But one of her fellow finalists remembers things differently. “You know what? I’m going to take credit for this one Kim, OK?” fifth-place finisher Alicia Rosa weighed in, recalling the fall of the men with the same firecracker glee that made her such a memorable competitor all year long. “I [outlined] who the five girls were, from the beginning, and that we were going to wipe [the men] off the island. That, to me, was my biggest dream come true, to do that. I always said that on the island: ‘We have to do this. We have to do this. Do not play with those men. It is not going to happen! ‘” Not to say that the self-proclaimed mastermind of the men’s demise isn’t without some regrets. “I will say I wish Matt had used a little bit more of his Southern charm. Maybe he would’ve lasted a little bit longer,” Alicia laughed. “He was really nice to look at!” Previously On MTV News’ “Survivor” coverage :

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Some Anne Hathaway Still in Her Bikini of the Day

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

I posted some pics of Anne Hathaway in her bikini looking like a holocaust survivor….because she had to drop 25 pounds to play some poor as fuck woman who dies in Les Miserables….and getting skinny as fuck is all in the name of making millions of dollars a year to remember a couple of lines and live a spoiled life of luxury….something more girls should be offered….because it will lower the fat chick ratio and despite fat chicks being good at sucking dick thanks to their strong mouths from competitive eating against themselves as their sport of choice cuz it helps them deal with their problems….they are still disgusting to look at….while skinny chicks look so luxurious and lean…who need to be idols to our obese, lazy, youth that think being fat and proud is having a positive body image…even if it actually means death. TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICS FOLLOW THIS LINK

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Some Anne Hathaway Still in Her Bikini of the Day

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‘Survivor One World’ Winner: ‘I Got Lucky’

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘I feel like people are giving me too much credit,’ Kim Spradlin tells MTV News about winning the latest season of ‘Survivor.’ By Josh Wigler Kim Spradlin Photo: MTV News NEW YORK — Thirty-nine days, 18 people, one Survivor … and it’s exactly who it should have been all along. Surprising nobody but relieving everybody, 29-year-old bridal shop owner Kim Spradlin won the million-dollar prize on “Survivor One World” on Sunday, and she deserves every penny. Blue-eyed Kim wasn’t just the best-liked person out on the beach, she was the strategic mastermind who engineered the complete collapse of the game’s men, a physical powerhouse with four immunity victories to her name, and a savvy enough player to sniff out a hidden immunity idol she never even had to use. Watching the season, it didn’t take an eagle-eyed “Survivor” fan to know that Kim had all the makings of a fantastic winner. But try telling that to Kim herself. Speaking with MTV News at the “Survivor One World” finale, the pride of Salani revealed that going into the evening, she honestly didn’t think she had a chance at taking home the grand prize. “Honestly, it was just starting to feel too obvious,” Spradlin said of watching herself on television this season. “I thought there’s no way [I’m winning]. Something’s up. Something’s wrong. When you’re out there on the island, you get really paranoid, and you carry that back into your life. So I feel like I came back concerned that I wasn’t getting [the win].” But it was a different story out on the island. Kim weaved her way through numerous alliances to secure a top spot at the end of the game, leaving more than a few bitter jurors behind in her wake. Though she initially feared their wrath going into the final tribal council, she ultimately walked away from that experience feeling encouraged. “At the very end of the final tribal council was the first time where I really thought I could win this,” she said. “Up until then, I hadn’t heard the jury speak. I had no idea how mad they were going to be. And [throughout the season], they looked really mad. I didn’t think I had that great of a chance until I heard them talk.” In the end, Kim credits her win to two things. “I really wanted to keep my options open. I said that a lot on the show. If something went wrong here — if Chelsea was med-evaced one day — I’d have other options. I never wanted to put all of my eggs in one basket,” she said. “But at the same time, I wanted to be this great presence that people trusted, that felt calming, that people liked having around. I wanted people to think that I was on their side, so that they’d keep me around for them.” Her strategy worked, and now, Kim’s already being talked about as one of the all-time great “Survivor” winners. Indeed, during a commercial break at the live finale, original “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch piped up from the back of the Ed Sullivan Theater to describe Kim as one of the best players to ever play the game. That’s pretty high praise within the “Survivor” community, to say the least. “Honestly, I’m shocked,” she said of people’s reactions to her game play. “I feel like people are giving me too much credit sometimes. It just came naturally to me. And I got lucky — I think that’s a big part of this game. I’ve heard people refer to the butterfly effect out there: If someone stumbles upon a little thing, everything could end up totally differently. I think that’s very true.” Luck is a factor, true, but there’s no doubting that Kim’s inherent understanding of the game of “Survivor” fueled her victory as well. Now, with whispers of all-star seasons coming up in the future — the next season, set in the Philippines, is already slated to bring three former players back into the mix — fans are already ready to see Kim return to the beach and walk all over her competition again. The question is: Is Kim up for another round of “Survivor” action? “How do you say no to playing ‘Survivor’?” she said with a grin, before adding, “But I’m glad I’m not leaving tomorrow!” Previously in MTV News’ “Survivor” coverage:

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Survivor Winner Crowned, New Season Announced

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin2| Leave a comment

It was ladies night on Survivor: One World yesterday, as five women battled for the $1 million grand prize on the season 24 finale. But – no offense to Chelsea, Sabrina, Alicia or Christina – these final few episodes have really been all about Kim Spradlin, who dominated as few before her have, earning the votes of the contest-filled jury AND the $100,000 reward as the Fan Favorite. The only question isn’t whether Kim deserved to win it all, but where she now ranks among all-time Survivor greats such as Boston Rob ( Survivor: Redemption Island ), Brian Heidik ( Survivor: Thailand ) and Tom Westman ( Survivor: Palau )? Jeff Probst, meanwhile, announced that season 25 would take Survivor to the Philippines, where three previous contestants who left their editions early due to injury will return. Watch a preview for what’s to come and then read an extended Survivor finale review at TV Fanatic: Survivor: Philippines Trailer

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Survivor Winner Crowned, New Season Announced

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‘Survivor One World’ Finale: Predicting The Winner

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Former ‘Survivor’ contestant Rob Cesternino weighs in on the final five contestants vying for the title of Sole Survivor. By Josh Wigler Kim Spradlin on “Survivor: One World” Photo: CBS A foulmouthed special-ed teacher, a medical-sales-repping Southern belle, an indecisive career consultant from Hollywood, a sneaky bridal shop owner and a high school teacher from Brooklyn: These are the women competing for the million-dollar prize on Sunday night’s (May 13) “Survivor: One World” season finale. In a season dominated by just one contestant — 29-year-old Kim Spradlin, who has won numerous immunity challenges and forged multiple alliances to get to the endgame — predicting the “One World” winner isn’t quite as challenging as it’s been in “Survivor” seasons of yore. But this is “Survivor” we’re talking about, and twists are the name of the game. There’s no shortage of curveballs that could be thrown at the final five contestants in tonight’s race for the Sole Survivor title. As we’ve done all season long, MTV News joined forces with two-time “Survivor” contestant and regular commentator Rob Cesternino once again for his final “One World” predictions. Most Likely to Win: Kim Spradlin ” Since the departure of Colton , ‘Survivor: One World’ has been the season of Kim,” Cesternino said. “She’s been in control of every single thing that’s happened the whole way. She’s had her finger on the pulse of the game. She played an amazing game and I think it would be almost criminal if she did not win — barring a total collapse during the finale.” Least Likely to Win: Christina Cha “Christina at no point in the game has been in a favorable position,” Rob reasoned. “It seems unlikely to think that she’ll run off with two consecutive immunity challenges here at the end, when she’s never even been in the mix to win one immunity challenge. She doesn’t have the respect of the jury, considering some of those people were terrified by the possibility of going home before Christina. She hasn’t done anything to get there.” Dark-Horse Pick: Sabrina Thompson “I think she is very savvy,” the former player said. “I also think she’s well-liked by the jury. I think she could be an alternative to Kim in the finals, where she’s able to sit there and say, ‘Look, I didn’t lie to you, and I didn’t backstab you. That was all Kim. All of that bad stuff? Kim. I was here the whole way, and I was tough.’ Sabrina is someone who could at least get a couple of votes in the finals. Maybe, if the jury goes anti-Kim, she could potentially squeak out a victory.” Worst-Case Scenario: Bitter Jury Syndrome “I think it would be a shame if Kim makes it all the way to the finals and ends up losing the jury vote just as a way of getting back at her for voting out all of the men in the game,” Rob said. “It’s happened before on ‘Survivor,’ where the jury is bitter. I don’t think Kim’s social game has been lacking. It would be good to see someone who plays the best game get rewarded by the jury. Otherwise, as Russell Hantz has said before, the game would be flawed.” Biggest Possible Surprise: Kim Goes at Four “The most surprising thing that could happen at the end of the season, for me, would be that one of these players smartens up and realizes that Kim has had the immunity idol and can’t play it once she hits the final four. If she doesn’t win that immunity challenge, the smartest thing that any of them can do is to take her out,” Cesternino said. “If I’m Chelsea, and if I’m Sabrina, I don’t know how I’ve gone this far without ever trying to take out Kim. It kills me to see these players roll over and die and give this game to Kim as they’ve done all season. If they turned on her at the final four, I would be very surprised.” Get more of Rob’s thoughts on “Survivor” by following him on Twitter . Previously on MTV News’ “Survivor” coverage:

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Kate Upton Survivor Bikini Picture

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

I don’t know if anyone else has been watching this season of Survivor , apparently I don’t have anything better to do on a wednesday, but I recognize this shirtless guy as one of the contestants who just got voted off. I kinda felt bad for the guy, nobody would listen to his plans and he ended up getting the boot, but that was until I found this picture of him getting al up close and personal with busty supermodel Kate Upton … You win guy.

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‘Survivor: One World’ Is Kim’s Game To Lose

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Troyzan goes and Kim falters in the latest episode, and MTV News is back with former player Rob Cesternino to recap it all. By Josh Wigler Kim Spradlin during the immunity challenge on “Survivor: One World” Photo: CBS Few people would have predicted Greg “Tarzan” Smith to be the last man standing on “Survivor: One World,” but that’s exactly what’s happened now that his similarly named competitor Troyzan is no longer in the game. After an astonishing drop in likability paired with an equally stunning win last week, Troyzan redeemed himself (to a degree) on a personal level in the latest episode, at the expense of his life in the game. Now, six women remain: wishy-washy Christina, foul-mouthed Alicia, dim-witted Kat, savvy Sabrina, the seemingly unbeatable Kim and her partner-in-crime Chelsea — with only Tarzan representing the men of “One World,” poop pants and all. As the season moves toward the end game, it’s bridal shop owner Kim who remains the player to beat. Not only the dominant strategist in her alliance, Kim also proved herself a serious challenge threat this week by winning both reward and immunity with little to no competition. Still, not even Kim is infallible: She made a controversial choice to share her reward with her clear-cut ally Chelsea, leaving another member of her alliance, Kat, feeling insecure about her place in the grand scheme of things. Will Kim’s biggest blunder to date come back to bite her down the line, or is it much ado about nothing? MTV News once again paired up with two-time “Survivor” contestant Rob Cesternino to cover the latest episode of “One World,” including the fall of Troyzan and Kim’s continued warpath. MTV : We were hard on Troyzan last week, understandably so. This week, even though he was voted off, I feel a lot better about the guy. He did what he could to survive without being overly obnoxious. What was your take on Troy this week? Rob Cesternino : He sort of went through the five stages of grief over the last two weeks. Last week was anger and denial. This week, he moved onto bargaining and acceptance. He had a really good week this week. I really wanted to believe — and maybe I’m like Kat, and I just want to believe — but I hoped that Troyzan would pull it off this week. But I kept doing the math in my head: He still needs one more vote. Who’s going to vote with him? The math just didn’t work out that way. MTV : Part of me thought that maybe, finally, Christina’s time was up. Somehow, she gets to survive another day. Cesternino : I don’t understand why people keep trying to take her out, though. Even for Troyzan, if he could have swung the vote against Christina, it wouldn’t have been a power move. It wouldn’t have changed anything. MTV : Well, in fairness, it would’ve changed a lot for Troyzan. Cesternino : Sure, for Troyzan, it’s important. But it’s basically just cutting the tail off the snake [for anybody else]. Nothing really fundamentally changes if she’s voted off. She’s not a part of anybody’s alliance, so getting rid of her wouldn’t have been a power move for anybody else in this game. I think she’s next though, and that’s good for Kim — it keeps up the status quo, and gives her another week before she has to start making hard decisions. It’s not looking good for Christina at all. MTV : Why Christina over Tarzan? He’s the last man on the beach, which makes him an easy vote. Cesternino : I don’t think they have a very strong preference either way between those two. They’re both pretty expendable to the overall plan. I actually think Tarzan has now become someone who could win the game, if you have a bitter jury of men saying, “Well, at least he has a penis!” MTV : Fair point! [Laughs] Sticking with Christina for a minute, I can’t believe Sabrina just flat-out told Christina that she was getting votes that night. Cesternino : It was so bizarre, Sabrina telling her, “We’re putting votes on Troyzan, and we’re also putting votes on you. Hope you’re on board with this plan!” And Christina was pretty much on board. And then she goes, “You know, I don’t know if I can trust the girls 100 percent.” Well, they just said they’re putting two votes on you! I don’t know what kind of wakeup call she really needs in this game, because, come on! MTV : You and I have been on the Kimsanity train for a while now, but she screwed up this week, picking Chelsea over Kat to come with her at the reward challenge. Cesternino : She really did make a big blunder. It reminded me of “Survivor: Nicaragua,” when Sash did the same thing with Fabio; he didn’t let Fabio see his mom. He got a very similar reaction. Also, for future reference, anytime they show you two people [striking a deal] before a reward challenge, you know that one of those two people is going to win, and they’re not going to do what they just said they’d do. It’s “Survivor” foreshadowing. MTV : How bad was Kim’s blunder? What kind of damage is that going to do down the line? Cesternino : On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no big deal and 10 being Erik Reichenbach giving his immunity necklace away on “Fans vs. Favorites,” I’d give it about a 3. It’s not a big deal. Kat’s a little upset, but what’s Kat going to do? MTV : Kat was clearly very upset, though. Now she has those Russell seeds in there; she wants to be a power player. Cesternino : I think this whole episode was about perception and reality. For Kat, when she was confronted with what reality is and how different it is from what her perception of the game is — how people really see her — she really did need to wake up and smell the coffee. I don’t know which show Kat thinks she’s on, where she’s been the dominant player all season long, but I would like to watch that show. MTV : That show exists in the same universe where Kat has never failed at anything in her life. Cesternino : Right! [Laughs] This is so hard for her. She’s never failed at anything. It’s unfathomable! MTV : Troyzan tried to make it look like Kim, Chelsea and Alicia were the top dogs based on the results of the reward challenge. Do you think that’s the actual final three? Cesternino : With final threes instead of final twos now in place on “Survivor,” I think that everybody left really thinks that they’re in the final three with Kim. It’s like what Boston Rob was able to do a couple of seasons ago on “Redemption Island.” Alicia thinks she’s in the finals with Kim and Chelsea, Sabrina thinks she’s in the finals with Kim and Chelsea, and Kat thinks she’s in there too. We may not see how things really shake out until the final five, because you have all these people who think they’ll be in that third spot. Plus, somebody’s still working with Tarzan. Somebody’s telling him what he wants to hear to keep him from voting with Troyzan. And nobody tells Christina anything; she’ll vote however they want her to. But what’s going to happen is, these people on the bottom are going to scratch and claw their way for the top three. No one’s going to get together and take out Kim, saying, “We can be the new top three. Forget Kim and Chelsea.” If Alicia and Christina could just stop bickering with each other, they could do something. Troyzan laid it out so obviously: With seven people left in the game, it could very easily be Kat, Christina, Alicia and Tarzan as the final four of the game — but that’s not going to happen. MTV : Certainly not with Troyzan gone. Will you miss having him on the show? Cesternino : It’s sad to see him go, because it felt like he was the only one left who could give Kim a run for her money. It’s really just Kim and a bunch of also-rans now. We’ll see if a bitter jury just doesn’t give Kim her money. MTV : I would like to believe you’re right, because I want to see Kim win the game. But there’s an argument to be made for Chelsea, too. She’s playing a solid game: She’s vocal, she’s strong in challenges. I think Chelsea could beat Kim. Cesternino : Absolutely. Just like last season, where Coach dominated the game, brought his alliance to the finals, told everybody what they wanted to hear to get to that point, and the jury gave the money to Coach’s loyal sidekick who was more blunt, honest and won challenges. It could easily go down the same way. I think Kim is savvier about the game than Coach is, but you have a voting block on the jury of five guys who want to blame somebody for what happened to them. Will they blame Kim and not give her the win because they look at her as the person who engineered the idea to get the men out of the game? We’ll see. MTV : Kim said that winning the reward challenge was the worst thing to happen to her in the game so far. I have a feeling she’ll have worse days coming up. Cesternino : Wah, wah, wah. [Laughs] If your worst day on “Survivor,” you win a reward challenge and an immunity challenge, then you’re doing pretty damn good out there. Let’s start a new hashtag: #winnerproblems. Get more of Rob’s thoughts on “Survivor” by following him on Twitter . Previously on MTV’s “Survivor” coverage …

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Titanic and 9 Other Movies Some Folks Don’t Know Are Based on Real Events

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

James Cameron ’s Titanic is a stunningly realistic portrayal of a sinking ship , but apparently it just got more real for at least a handful of people. According to some tweets that are making the rounds, some younger Americans had no idea until now that the “unsinkable” cruise liner existed and did in fact hit an iceberg and sink in the Atlantic 100 years ago. What? They didn’t watch Downton Abbey and put two and two together either? (Note: Just like the deceased would-be heirs of Downton, Jack and Rose are fictional. Though something tells us many of the Titanic’s passengers probably had acting abilities comparable to Billy Zane’s.) Instead of ridiculing these youths for being ignorant of a fairly remarkable historic event and complaining about Idiocracy becoming more factual each day, let’s turn this into a teaching moment. Here are nine other films that depict a very real thing that happened in human history: Pearl Harbor In case the reference didn’t register at the time, there was a real Day of Infamy behind those insipid comments on Twitter a year ago about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami being payback for Pearl Harbor. Those jerks weren’t talking about the Ben Affleck movie, but a real military strike that happened. The movie that tells the sobering story of the naval base attack in 1941, in which 2,402 Americans were killed, was directed by Michael Bay (which seems like a joke but is true). Apollo 13 The three-man crew on the Apollo 13 mission really did spend four bleak days in their spacecraft after an oxygen tank exploded on the service module. What had been planned as the third manned moon landing instead became a harrowing effort to make it back to Earth safely. The drama captivated the nation on television in 1970, a time before the Internet. The Perfect Storm Before George Clooney and his perfectly disheveled beard hairs set sail in 2000, the dangerous storm that swept away the Andrea Gail fishing vessel really occurred, serving as the basis for the ill-fated film of the same name. Some of the facts in the movie have been disputed, but the 1991 nor’easter/hurricane did in fact collide in what many referred to as “the perfect storm.” The Killing Fields The mass killings by the Khmer Rouge in the mid- to late 1970s might be difficult for even Cambodian youths to fathom, but the story of journalists Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg was very real. The two were covering the fall of the capital to the regime, and at the time, many journalists managed to flee. Pran was stranded but ended up escaping the death camps. He coined the phrase “killing fields,” the mass grave sites of which there are a mind-boggling 20,000. Alive A chartered flight really did crash in the Andes in 1972, and survivors stayed alive by eating the flesh of dead passengers. Sixteen of them were rescued two months later when Uruguayans Nando Parrado (played in the film by Ethan Hawke) and Roberto Canessa climbed through the mountains for 10 days to seek help. All the President’s Men Wondering where the “-gate” suffix originated? Decades before Weinergate, a little scandal called Watergate happened, and journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were there to reveal the truth behind the wrongdoing and President Nixon’s involvement in it. The film is an adaptation of the reporters’ book, which was based on their investigative reporting in an era before “truthiness.” Silkwood Another pop culture reference is about to make sense to many: A “Silkwood shower” isn’t just something germophobes want to take after they get off the subway. It’s a term derived from a scene in which plutonium plant worker Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) is, horrifically, contaminated with radiation. Silkwood really did die mysteriously as she planned to reveal wrongdoing at the plant in the mid-’70s. GoodFellas Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, GoodFellas recounts the dirty deeds of Henry Hill and Co. Hill, who became an FBI informant, was a member of the Lucchese crime family and was involved in the also-real Lufthansa heist, among other crimes. Hill’s still out there somewhere, being forced to eat “egg noodles and ketchup” instead of spaghetti with marinara. United 93 After terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, passengers and crew learned of the strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Those aboard refused to let the plane hit its intended target, likely a government building in Washington, D.C., and planned to storm the cockpit. Some liberties were taken regarding whether they successfully entered the cockpit, but unless you believe conspiracy theorists, the plane did crash in a field in Pennsylvania.

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Titanic and 9 Other Movies Some Folks Don’t Know Are Based on Real Events

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What Ryan Seacrest’s ‘Today’ Reveal Means For Tomorrow

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘American Idol’ host is setting himself up for a long career and (eventually) the ‘Today’ anchor job with new NBC gig. By John Mitchell Ryan Seacrest Photo: Getty Images This morning on “Today,” Ryan Seacrest confirmed a few rumors and shot down a few others. The “American Idol” and “E! News” host and reality-TV mogul announced that he was officially joining the NBC team, beginning with its prime-time coverage of the London Olympics this summer, and that he would continue on as host of “Idol” while scaling back his on-air work at E! “I’ve worked with the E! network for years, and NBC Universal and E! are in the same family. The plan is for me to join the NBC family and continue to have a role on the E! network,” Seacrest told “Today” anchor Matt Lauer. “The first assignment for me will be with the prime-time team at the Olympics on NBC.” After establishing what he would be doing, Seacrest and Lauer continued through an awkward conversation about what he would not be doing, at least not just yet: gunning to take over Lauer’s anchor job on “Today” when his contract expires later this year. “I see you doing this as long as you want to,” Seacrest said to Lauer when pressed about his rumored negotiations with “Today” producers. “So the question is: How long will you be on the ‘Today’ show?” “We have talked about this, joked about this,” Lauer continued. “There is no tension here.” With Lauer’s future with “Today” still in question, Seacrest’s arrival at NBC brings with it some major implications. Here are the top three: Seacrest Is Being Primed to Replace Lauer During their back-and-forth over whether he’d been approached to replace Lauer, Seacrest played coy, joking that his conversations with “Today” producers “were mostly about filling in to do weather.” He never explicitly denied that he was in talks to host, making the subtext of the conversation pretty clear: the anchor job at “Today” remains Lauer’s as long as he wants it, but Seacrest is largely being brought onboard to wait in the wings and learn the ropes. Lauer is reportedly deep in tough negotiations with “Today” and NBC to remain on the program, and the consensus opinion seems to be that the network is looking to do whatever it takes, including meeting his reported $25 million salary demand, to keep him for the near future. That’s a lot of money, but the “Today” show is a cash cow — generating $450 million in ad revenue in 2010, according to New York magazine — and the net sees Lauer as integral to keeping “Today” on top. Lauer provides the stability that is key to success in morning news and is a master at mixing the serious and the silly, which is important when your job is to both report on the war in Afghanistan and later interview a “Toddlers & Tiaras” pageant mother. Seacrest already has the lighthearted side of things down, but he needs to bulk up his bona fides as a credible journalist. Don’t be surprised if, following his coverage of the Olympics, the various NBC News properties (“Today” included) take him on as a correspondent to cover some serious stuff. They are going to groom him to be a TV news Renaissance man, just like Matt Lauer. Seacrest Poses More of a Threat to the “Today” Ladies Seacrest’s appearance on “Today” pretty much changed the question from “will he” to ” when will he” join the “Today” team and in what capacity. But if they are grooming him to replace Lauer eventually, it will disrupt the chain of succession at “Today.” When Katie Couric left the show, Lauer stepped into the alpha anchor chair, after years of paying his dues as newsreader and co-anchor. Anne Curry would rightfully assume that position if Lauer left, but many have commented that she has had a “rocky transition to her new role” as co-anchor since Meredith Vieira’s departure. Seacrest’s hiring makes it seem like NBC execs are stacking the deck — and not in Savannah Guthrie’s or Curry’s favor. If the “Idol” host leapfrogs Curry somewhere down the road for the lead anchor chair, it will also keep Guthrie from ascending through the ranks the way her colleagues have before her. “Today” won’t demote Curry in any way — and, to be fair, she hasn’t been all that bad — but the lukewarm reception she’s received makes it unlikely she’ll ever be made lead anchor either. Guthrie, however, has more to worry about. She often steps in when Curry or Lauer are out, and if Seacrest is being groomed for Lauer’s spot, producers may opt to have him step up where she normally would. Seacrest Isn’t Going Anywhere Anytime Soon With his plans to continue on as host of “American Idol” and keep his thriving reality-show empire alive on E!, Seacrest will become an even more powerful media figure after he joins NBC. He has his fingers in just about every genre of television except serious news, and that’s essentially what NBC is offering him. In so doing, it also secures his place in the most stable arena in the media canon. The popularity of reality TV ebbs and flows — remember that “Survivor” and “American Idol” were once the top shows on television and now regularly attract only half the audience they did at their peak — so staking your career to it is kind of like building a house on sand. Seacrest has become a mogul by seizing on zeitgeist — “Idol,” the “Kardashian” franchise he built as a producer, his red-carpet work with E! — but he’s also a 37-year-old man who knows the things that have brought him so much success will eventually fade away. But the news never goes out of style. By getting in good with NBC, Seacrest also secures himself the long-term broadcast career he may have otherwise missed out on had he hedged his bets entirely on “Idol” and his reality-TV empire. For a little perspective, the “Today” show has been on the air since 1952 and is the fourth-longest-running television series ever, behind only “Meet the Press,” “The CBS Evening News” and “Hallmark Hall of Fame.” “American Idol” is puttering along with series-low ratings in its 11th season. So what Ryan Seacrest was really announcing this morning on “Today” was his next chapter. Sure, the timeframes haven’t been set and the ink isn’t entirely dry, but his decision to join NBC as an on-air player marks the transition to a new career. It may resemble the old one, but make no mistake: We are being primed for Ryan Seacrest: News Man. What do you think of Seacrest’s announcement? Let us know in the comments!

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