"orter"..." "Oh, yeah, there was a huge orgy." "I love it." "And of course you couldn't show it on CBS, and it never became a story line, thank God, 'cause then how do you cut around that?" "...we get the inside scoop from the talent behind the year's most-watched reality shows." "Welcome to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "I'm Stacey Wilson," "Awards Editor." "And I'm Lacey Rose," "Television Editor." "Let's get started." "What's the craziest moment on one of your current shows that didn't make it to air?" "Oh, yeah, there was a huge orgy." "It was the winter." "It was January, so CBS suddenly was like," ""Guess what." "We're putting 'Big Brother' on not during the summer, but January, February."" "During the writers' strike." "So they rushed the season together, and all I know is someone said," ""Did you watch 'Big Brother" "After Dark' last night?"" "I said, "No." They said," ""You need to watch."" "There was-- it was crazy." "Every-- there was literally a big orgy." "I was like, "What?" "What did you feed them for dinner"" "in the 'Big Brother' house?"" "But they said, "Yeah, it was kind of crazy." "Started in the Jacuzzi with two, and then," so..." "But I didn't go back and watch it." "But now that I'm talking about it, I think I should." "Is it available somewhere?" "I'm sure, with YouTube these days." "But they said of course you couldn't show it on CBS, and it never became a story line, thank God, 'cause then how do you cut around that?" "It's also hard to top, too." "All right, someone top the orgy." "I don't know if we can." "That's a tough one." "Is there a moment in one of your shows you can recall worrying that someone had been pushed too far, a contestant, a participant?" "Mark, does anything come to mind?" "Yes, on "Survivor" a lot." "In the last season, we had three evacuations." "Is that the most you'd ever had up until that point?" "Yes, in one season." "And it's because of the humidity and the cuts, and people get infected mainly." "And also just being so hot and then trying so hard on the challenges." "How worried do you get as a producer" " when those things happen?" " Really worried, but, you know," "Jeff Probst runs the show, and I know if my phone's ringing, it's 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, it's Jeff, it's not a good phone call, not a good phone call." "So he's really telling you what's happening on the ground and keeping you updated." "Yes, and making value judgments." "We have a very good medical team." "I mean, me and Craig obviously worked for a long time on "Survivor" together, you know, and, you know," " touch wood..." " ( knocks ) that we've put together a good team that make good judgments." "And Nigel and Cat, do you have stories from "So You Think" "You Can Dance"" "about contestants who've maybe been pushed to their limit?" "Dancers are a very specific breed." "They're a very unique type of person, and I've seen kids dance on broken ankles and split toes, and they just do it." "And I don't know what it is, and it seems to be very specific to their-- you know, to them being dancers, and they just get on, and they do it." "It almost becomes a religion." "Dance almost becomes a religion." "It takes over your entire life, you know?" "They fall apart afterwards." "Once the adrenaline stops and it dies down, they definitely fall apart, but they pretty much can handle anything, anything you throw at them." "It's different for me a little, because I do a show called "Ultimate Fighter,"" "and it is the most violent show on TV, serious" "And we're not in remote locations, but we're in a gym, and when these guys fight and you see some of the most horrific injuries sometimes." "'Bout a month ago, a kid, he literally fell on his hand, and his bone came right through, and you're a foot away, and so when you see the shock the kid goes through" "And, you know, you have medical attention right there." "Everybody's gotta keep their heads real calm, get the guys in there that know what they're doing." "The doctors gotta enter the Octagon." "You gotta wrap the kid." "You know, you gotta-- you gotta really think in logical steps in how you handle those kind of situations, and you gotta have 'em preplanned, and you gotta do what you do." "But in a situation like that, there's the human side of you that cares for the contestant, but there's also the producer side of you that says that's compelling material, so where have you" "It was a fight, you know." "It was a fistfight, basically." " And you aired that?" " Oh, absolutely." "You gotta." "We've aired ankles that have just snapped in half, and" "More worried about their brain sometimes." "Yeah." "You know, we worried about" "If a dancer falls down, smacks their head, we will replay it three or four times." "( laughter )" "Craig's a really, really good producer and a really good friend of mine, and it's a lot of pressure, because a break like that, someone can die from that, getting hit in the head," "so you gotta know, whenever "Ultimate Fighter"" "is shooting, Craig's on edge and doesn't want that phone call coming in." " I'm there." " It's a nightmare." "I go to every single fight on "Ultimate Fighter."" "But why?" "Is that because...?" "Just because it's a serious business." "It's an absolute serious business." "So as your responsibility..." " You have to be there." " you wanna be on" " Got it." "But any sport now is dangerous." "It's the only one I will go to every single time." "I mean, we did a" "We have to MRI everybody that's a contestant, and one year, we had a kid who had an aneurysm." "And I go-- we sat around and go," ""How do you tell this 22-year-old kid" "'You have a brain aneurysm'?"" "And you really gotta sit him down and say, "Look, kid, you gotta go get that repaired." "Here's a doctor." "Here's--"" "I mean, you just have to just sort of" "Without the show, he may not have found out." "Yeah, he would have never found out, 'cause an MRI is 10,000 bucks." "It's just about being a good leader." "It's like we always treated it like an army, you know, like a military operation." "But when you got hundreds of people in a remote place, all sorts of things can happen, from governmental problems-- like we've had pirates, real pirates, not like ones with patches, like real pirates" "in the South China Sea" "We saw the Tom Hanks movie." "We know what you're talking about." "Done battles in Africa." "Craig, you remember." "I mean, the stuff's gotta be handled, and it's like-- this is not like a joke." "Producing these big shows in remote locations is really serious, lives at stake, so you have the lives to think of the crew." "Then you're doing other shows could involve kids here." "The responsibility of not doing anything icky and trying to do the best checks you can do, things do slip through the cracks obviously, and there's a matter of are you all a bunch of grownups who can deal with legality" "or morality and merge the two and make a very quick decision?" "And that's what the networks and the channels are looking for in show runners, and that's why honestly there are so few of us who are on the big time of can be trusted with big, big," "complicated, expensive" "What's the toughest decision you've had to make in one of those circumstances, where lives were at stake and you're dealing with foreign governments or other risks?" "I've pulled out of a country completely literally hours before." " Where?" " Which one?" " Qatar." " Hmm." "Was there soccer going on then?" "( laughter )" "And that's how big the soccer stadium." "You know, this is kind of next-door to your question." "9/11 happened during season two of "Big Brother."" "It was near the finale, so there were only three houseguests left, and CBS had to deal with how do we not infect the game, but what is our social responsibility?" "So literally those three people in the "Big Brother" house were the last three people on the planet to know what was going on, and it was interesting observing them, because one of them said," ""Have you noticed there's no planes flying around?"" " And so..." " 'Cause you're right there." "the decision that was made was one by one, they would be brought into the diary room, and they would be told two planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the one in the field in Pennsylvania." "Whatever question they asked was answered truthfully 1,000%, and it was very interesting to watch how some people wanted to know everything." "One person had a cousin o worked in the Twin Towers." "She asked," ""Have they found my cousin?" "Another person, who went on to win the game-- and some people think he has no social conscience-- he didn't really want to know." " ( murmuring )" " And he won the game." "He stayed focused on his game and" "Did you and your husband Les exchange notes on what to do in a situation like this?" "I said, "If you don't tell those people," "I'm not going on the air."" "Hmm." "And he was like," ""Everyone just calm down." "Take a beat." "We're not saying we're not gonna tell them." "We have to do what's responsible."" "Everyone was running around like a chicken with their head cut off." "And I said," ""You just need to know they're not told-- this is a live show" "I'm not showing up." "You guys go have your discussions with the E.P.s, the two E.P.s and figure it out, but you know where I stand."" "Talking about the liability that you just mentioned, you know, we had people in upper Egypt, we had people in Morocco, we had people in a lot of Arab countries when this happened, and my partner Elise," "she said, "What I'm gonna do--"" "She was in Morocco, and all yelling "Yankee, go home,"" "and so we got her to Portugal." "I said, "Stay in Portugal, and go to a remote place north of Lisbon, and just wait it out, and then we'll see where this all goes."" "But, you know, yeah, this can happen also with our shows that we have around the globe." "I remember on 9/11, we were just prepping" ""Survivor:" "Arabia."" "I had all my guys in Jordan, all my containers, all my equipment, my tools, everything in the port of Aqaba." "And it happened, and I was reached at my gym in Malibu by King Abdullah." "They can find anybody anytime." "He said, you know," ""You know what's happened." "Please don't pull out." "This is important for the nation."" "And I said, "Your Majesty, this is way above me on something like this."" "I got on the phone with Leslie Moonves and said," ""Obviously, Leslie, we got a big problem here, and we're not gonna get our gear out." "No way they're gonna let the ships out with all that equipment, and I gotta get my crew out somehow, and we have to do an insurance claim there won't be a 'Survivor.'"" "And Leslie said, "Actually, there will be a 'Survivor,' because you are gonna get a skeleton crew on a plane and go and find the location." "America is expecting" "'Survivor' to be on the air." "This country moves forward in situations, and I know you'll solve the problem."" " ( laughter )" " Right." "Right." " I hung the phone up..." " No pressure." "And that's, like," "Leslie right there." "He's completely solution-oriented and didn't want to have a big discussion with me about all my problems." "He said," ""You're a great producer." "You will find the solution." "I have all my confidence in you."" "As a matter of fact..." "Julie's face is enough to know." "Julie, that's your life." "My favorite format, as I've said to Mark before and Craig, is "Survivor."" "It's my favorite, I think." "It's just a beautiful format that exposes people, real people." "And I got to produce and direct the British version of "Survivor,"" "and Mark," "Craig probably as well, knows this island of Pulau Tiga very well." "We were on this island." "It's a volcanic-- a mud volcanic island, and the trees are literally-- the roots don't go down very far." "We had the worst storm," "I think, I've ever seen, and the trees were just falling on the contestants, and we had to make a decision then," ""Are we gonna pull them in, or are we gonna leave them there?"" "And we decided in the end to leave them there, but it was done with a lot of chat with the meteorologists and everything else and the islanders that sort of knew about this." "I don't think people realize in truth-- because there are so many sort of "unreality"" "reality shows now and soft scripting and everything else-- of how true a program like "Survivor" is and what it puts the contestants through and challenges them." "And I think it's a remarkable series." "It's a great show, too." "It's an absolutely great show." "Huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance." "Yeah, everybody knows that." "Well, did you know that playing cards with Kenny Rogers gets old pretty fast?" "♪ You got to know when to hold'em. ♪" "♪ Know when to fold 'em. ♪" "♪ Know when to walk away. ♪" "♪ Know when to run. ♪" "♪ You never count your money, ♪" "♪ when you're sitting at the ta...♪" "What?" "You get it?" "I get the gist, yeah." "GEICO." "Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance." "You struck out in a slow pitch softball game." "What I lack in speed, fitness..." "I make up for in incredible confidence." "(laughs) Did you think you were the best player on the team?" "But you, yeah, I don't know..." "I had been thinking that I was, like, probably the best one." "(laughs)" "I'M CRAVING A TREAT." "BANANA?" "DARLING, WHAT ARE WE?" "BABOONS?" "YOUR DOLE DIPPERS, MADAM." "FROZEN SLICES" "OFREALBANANA" "DIPPED IN RICH DARK CHOCOLATE." "SUPERB!" "DARK CHOCOLATE DOLE DIPPERS." "DIP INTO THE GOOD STUFF." "Welcome back to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "We're talking with the power players behind unscripted TV's best programs." "If you had to choose your most favorite or most meaningful moment from one of your shows, what would it be?" "When I first was hosting "Big Brother,"" "I was also anchoring the news in the morning at CBS, and I got sent to cover the war, so we were with the military." "We all had to run into, like, this bunker." "It was a life-or-death situation, and I remember thinking in that moment," ""Forget 'Big Brother', that silly little reality show." "This is real life." "This is where it's at." "And so many members of the military, they're like, "Can we talk to you about 'Big Brother'?"" "I was like, "Yeah." "Yeah, sure."" "I was like, "Can I hold on to you for one minute?"" "But in that moment, I thought," " who's to judge?" " That's right." "That's their escapism, probably." "Right." "Do others have moments like that?" "Well, I also think that "The Amazing Race"" "is almost like a business card around the world to show that we're actually nice people and we're good people and bring people closer together, and I think-- and as a result, there's a lot of franchise" "going-- right now." "We're doing one in China." "They have between 80 and 100 million viewers." "It's phenomenal where you bring people really together." "I think "The Amazing Race,"" "that brand has been instrumental is being a good partner around the world and bring people together." "I'm really proud of the fact that I think we've got a lot of American fathers now accepting the fact that their sons want to be dancers, and I'm really proud that in a time when the arts are so" "being so dismissed in education, that "So You Think" "You Can Dance"" "has been around for 10 years." "I think all the shows," "I think they offer people an opportunity to springboard to something else, no matter what you do, and I think it actually can change people's lives if people see the opportunity and grab it with both hands and turn it into something" "that's gonna make a difference." "You know, for us, it's there are kids that come from very, very, you know, economically challenged, let's say, families, and they come onto the show, and you only hear these stories" "when you sit and you talk, and you could turn around, and you go," ""Oh, my God." "I'm so lucky." "I can't bear..."" "because you sit there, and they'll turn around" "There was one girl this season, she had never been on an airplane before until we flew her to Vegas." "She'd never been out of the Bronx before, and she'd looked after her handicapped mother, and her father was an alcoholic, and there was like a whole-- there's a whole story, and you suddenly turn around," "and you go, yeah, we are looking for" "America's favorite dancer, and there is gonna be a winner at the end of it, but in actual fact, that girl's life could be completely changed beyond recognition so her wildest dreams could come true if she wants it and" "if she's prepared to work at it." "So, you know, she could come on the show, and she could go on tour with Lady Gaga, or she could go and be in a "Step Up" movie" "She can become Jennifer Lopez." "Yeah." "Yeah, and she could." "And you take somebody from that, and you go," ""Oh, my God." "This is-- this could completely transform their life."" "Carrie Underwood story." " Yeah." " That's right." "Absolutely." "Absolutely." "I'd have to agree with you on that." "I mean, 'cause we pluck people out of obscurity on every single show." "None of our shows are-- you know, they're not cast in any way, and these little reality shows we do like "Street Outlaws,"" "and these guys have nothing." "And when we find 'em and say," ""Hey, do you wanna be on TV?"" "and they eventually become something from being on TV, they make money, they get a family, they get married, and you see 'em evolve and you're on with 'em for 10 seasons," "I mean, it is-- that's probably the give back, I guess, right?" "It's like, if you wouldn't have found 'em, what would they-- their lives completely changed and transformed because we were able to think about it and look at someone and say," ""Hey, you should be on TV,"" "and we made it special for 'em, and we put 'em in a little box, and we made the box real special, and we grew it, and they became something they would have never become" "without our help." ""Shark Tank." Look at the things that are happening on "Shark Tank."" ""Shark Tank,"" "$66 million invested." "10,000 new jobs created." " Wow." " It's crazy." "It's a great show, too." "It's an absolutely great show." "I gotta say hard to not love" ""Survivor" in its twenty-ninth and thirtieth season is going up against" ""American Idol"" "and doubling "American Idol's"" "demos and viewers head-to-head." "Wow." "Hit me with that, why don't you?" "( laughter )" "That was a nice stat that you..." "They should never have fired me." "One of the other pieces that you guys have to deal with is media criticism." "How do you manage that media feedback?" "You have to-- you gotta play the game." "It was like if you were a boxer, don't cry 'cause you got hit in the face." "It's part of the job." "Everyone at this table has to get up in the morning and look at the ratings and what the critics say." "If you can't take it, don't play the game." "Because we're all so happy when people say great things about us and the ratings are great, and so we gotta take its ups and downs." "We've all had ups and downs in our careers, and, you know, the critics have got a job to do, and you know" "But doesn't it drive you wild when the critics say something that is not accurate?" "It's not about an opinion thing." "But like when we had the racism in the "Big Brother" house, they were like, "Oh," "CBS probably planned it this way to create the controversy."" "Really?" "If you saw how many 3:00 A.M. in the morning phone calls that were happening at my house, disrupting people's vacations, weekends, trust me, it wasn't a plant." "It wasn't planned." "We didn't think." "So it drives me crazy when the criticism is so far off base." "That's right." "That's right." "And especially, by the way," "I mean, I would say to you" "I have personally been yelled at by Leslie Moonves, and it's not a great experience, and CBS runs really, really tight." "That we know." "CBS is very corporate, and so in terms of the CBS shows-- you know, all the networks are obviously very-- but CBS is very, very corporate and very cautious." "Wait." "When did Leslie yell at you?" "This could be fun here." " I want to hear." " Are you kidding me?" "You did look like a naughty schoolboy when you said it." " You did." " Really?" "Very-- very rarely, but just for" "He's yelled at me, and I don't work for him." "( laughter )" " He's never" " By the way, but when he yells-- let me just say about my husband, he doesn't realize he's yelling, 'cause I remember the first time" "I saw him do one of these, and it was like," ""Blah, blah, blah, or it's off the table."" "Boom." "And I was like" "I was like hiding." "I was like, "Ohh."" "And he goes, "Where are we going for dinner?"" "I was like," ""Yeah, wherever you want."" "I'll never forget when I sold the show to Leslie." "I'll never forget I was really-- it was a scary moment sitting in the room with him, but he's very relaxed always." "And he got into an argument with one of the agents, and they really went for it, and Leslie got really furious with me, and he did exactly what you said." "He turned to me." "He said," ""Got nothing to do-- nothing to do with you, Bart." "Don't worry about it."" " And then he yelled again." " He just compartmentalizes." " He's completely..." " He's very fair." ""It's not about you."" "It was frustrating on "Idol"" "when we went" "I think it was season seven-- from, like, 35 million to 30 million." "It was like," ""It's the end of 'American Idol.'"" "We're getting 30 million viewers, for God's sake, so that gets frustrating." "But as Mark rightly said, you know, if you come into the business, you accept the rules of the business." "And if your surfboard comes in, wait for the next big wave." "Pick it up, and get out of the way." "And also what's exciting is all of us want the next big hit." "You want to write about the next big hit, and we don't know when it's coming." "There is one coming, and it's exciting." "It's really exciting." "And so it's a life of peaks and valleys." "It's not like flatlands." "And we choose those peaks and valleys, because we're all waiting for that next show, and it could be tomorrow." "Someone could say tomorrow," ""I've got an idea,"" "and you got to be-- either create ideas or be able to listen and when you hear a good idea, recognize it." "You know, and by the way, producers have the toughest job, right?" "They're first in and last out, right?" "That's right." "And it's a long, long way to go, and it's hard to find hits, but it's exciting." "The digital world is exciting now as well." "I think that offers us all really great opportunities." "But look at Mark, perfect example." ""Survivor" was pitched and pitched and pitched, rejected, rejected, rejected by my husband." "Finally, Mark, right, amazing, knows how to sell it." "CBS puts it on during the summer instead of running reruns, not expecting it to become the juggernaut that it still is today." "So it's about execution." "You know, look, you could have "Cheers,"" "one of the biggest, you know-- or "Friends,"" "one of the biggest comedies ever." "What's it about?" "It was the execution." "Bunch of people sitting around a coffee shop?" "Bunch of people sitting around a bar?" "It's about the execution." "Everybody in this room, they know how to execute it." "It's a connection with your audience, too." "I mean, we nev-- no one here around the table goes out to make a bad show." "We don't always have successes, but we don't make a bad show." "You know, we all stand up for our shows, and we all work hard for 'em, and we all know 'em, you know?" "And you don't get through 22 seasons of "Ultimate Fighter"" "or 30 seasons of "Survivor"" "or all these seasons." "Yours is probably one of the hardest shows to produce," " 'cause you're traveling and" " I like it that way." " Yeah." " ( laughter )" "♪" "♪ There's something in me... ♪" "♪" "♪ There's something in me... ♪" "♪" "What makes Lays kitchen different from the rest?" "We pride ourselves on bold authentic flavors, with the finest ingredients." "Our vegetables are farm grown, and prepared with the passion they deserve." "Tangy peppers unite with the sweetness of tomatoes and onions to create our exquisite mesquite barbecue flavor." "The satisfying crunch and rich flavors of Lays Kettle Cooked Chips." "One taste and you're in love." "Welcome back to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "We're revealing the untold tales of unscripted television." "And, Nigel and Cat, do you have stories from "So You Think You" "Can Dance" about contestants who've maybe been pushed to their limit?" "We had a guy a number of years ago." "I mean, the kids get there about 6:00 in the morning." "They don't eat, and they sit there all day until it's their time to audition, and this poor guy built up a lot of wind and gas as he was waiting there." "And the poor kid went onstage, and every time he did a grand battement, a big kick, he farted." "A jeté, he farted." "Dropped into splits, he farted." "It was just-- you just felt-- your heart went out to this guy, you know, just so emb-- he was just so red-faced, and we as a panel just couldn't stop laughing." "So how did you manage this?" "We couldn't show it." "I mean, it was just too-- and thank God he wasn't dancing to "Wind Beneath My Wings."" "( laughter )" "Staying in rhythm... it's how I try to live... how I stay active." "So I need nutrition... that won't weigh me down." "For the nutrition you want without the calories you don't..." "Introducing BOOST 100 Calories." "Each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein." "So it's big in nutrition and small in calories." "I'm not about to swim in the slow lane." "Stay Strong." "Stay Active with BOOST®." "Welcome back to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "We're chatting with six of the biggest influencers in reality TV." "The key to being a really good reality show host is to make it look easy." "What would surprise viewers most about your job?" "It's my prep." "It's my prep that I know" "It's my lines that I know." "I know where I've gotta be." "I know what I've gotta do." "I know absolutely everything, so that when it actually comes to being in the moment, you're not-- you can tune in and tune out of the person in your ear, and you don't even think about it," "and you're just in the moment with the person." "And that's the only way you can do it, 'cause otherwise you miss all the best bits, 'cause you're too busy worried about who's screaming in your ear." "And they're saying they're running out of time, and there's-- and they can barely get their words out, and then someone-- you know, a 14-year-old kid will drop to their knees 'cause they're leaving the show," "and they'll pat them on the head." "And you think to yourself," ""Oh, my God."" "Cat, you're talking about live TV, right?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "With live TV, exactly." "You can't do that." "You have many plates spinning in the air." "It's also your producer on the show as well." "They've also gotta trust you, too, because otherwise they're two seconds behind if they're sitting in a gallery, watching all the screens, and they're trying to tell you a question to ask." "They're behind already, whereas you're in the moment with the person." "Plus Cat will also come into the room with the judges and, you know, say, "Why isn't little Julie Chen in the top 20?" "I've spoken to her, and she's fantastic." "You know," "What's wrong with her?"" "And she'll fight for kids as well." "You can't underestimate the value of great on-air talent, because it's like a three-ring circus, these live shows, crazy, and great talent, who are composed, can listen to what's going on," "and know how to react in the moment, 'cause the camera will catch every inauthenticity." " Everything." " Yeah." "And the audience know immediately, and the minute the host has an inauthentic moment, it's over." "And this is just my own thing, but I won't lie on a camera." "I won't." "I'll find something else to say if I need to, but I'm not gonna lie, because I think that the audience picks" "They won't be able to go," ""Oh, she doesn't believe that,"" "or my nose is growing like Pinocchio, but they'll turn round, and they'll go," ""There's something that's not quite right."" " They'll feel it." " Right." "It's like a weird-- and so I just won't, so I'll say something else, believe you me." "I'll say something else, but I won't say" "And that's what happens with the soft-scripted shows as well, where people go," ""There's something that's not right about this."" "But in those, there's a comedy element." "In the soft-scripted shows," "I think the audience com-- completely understand it's soft scripted and accept it as such." " Do they care?" " No, no, no," "I think they don't care." "I think they suspend disbelief, I think." "I think it affects reality television as a whole." "It does, but I think they don't care." "There's room for everybody." "I don't make that kind of stuff, and I don't think anyone here's really making that sort of stuff, but it works." "I mean," "I don't know how to make that, but there's a lot of people with a lot of ratings." "Well, "Duck Dynasty,"" "for years, was one of the biggest shows on television, and that fits squarely into that." " When you say it hurts you..." " It works." "it hurts the genre, in what way?" "I think that, you know, not so much the "Duck Dynasties,"" " but the" " Yeah." " "Real Housewives"?" "Because when, like, the table got flipped, right..." "Yeah, you think, "Oh, they're just recording something."" "Then you go," ""Oh, have they rehearsed this?" "Is this-- has this been produced now?"" "And I think-- you know," "I was always accused of manipulating figures on "American Idol,"" "and, "It's not real." "The figures are wrong." "The votes are-- you know, you're manipulating."" "Why on Earth would we want to?" "We want America to vote anyway, because it's the success of the Americans voting" " for the person" " So a criminal offense?" "It's a criminal offense." "Plus there were" " We saw "Quiz Show."" " There were a number of-- there were a number of ATT and telescopes in the way anyway." "But the minute you start looking at reality shows and saying, "Is this real?" "Is this really happening?"" "I think it affects us." "Unless that happens to be the genre and that people are suspending disbelief, and they don't care, and they tune in for it anyway." " I agree with that." " I like "Housewives."" "I mean, occasionally" ""Housewives" is fun to watch." "I mean, 'cause they're a little nutty..." " Yeah." " and it's fun to watch." "And they make great contestants on "Apprentice."" " Yeah." " Yeah, yeah. yeah." "Which another great franchise." "When whoever it was popped off her leg, trust me, that was not in the moment." " What's her name?" " I don't know, but..." " She was great." " It was planned." "It's the Los" "Beverly Hills "House"" "No, it's the New York "Housewives."" "I think it's New York, but..." "It's New York" ""Housewives" lady." "She popped her leg off." "Maybe it was suggested to her." "I know her name." "It's on the tip of my tongue." "I love that we've found your hidden viewing pleasure." "I watch everything." "Last season, when the phone was stolen on "Apprentice,"" "it was real." "There was nothing faked with it, and they're still not speaking." "I'm curious." "When were you sort of most frustrated and challenged by trying to manage the talent you work with?" "We can't really manage the houseguests, because you can't dilute or infect the game, but the thing that was hardest for me to watch was when we had overt racism in the house." "And this girl named Aaryn, who when she was first cast, we thought she was going to be" "America's sweetheart, the girl next-door, the gorgeous blonde from Texas, sweet." "But then after a few weeks, that beauty fades when the inside comes out, and the inside is ugly." "I mean, ugly is to the bone." "And when she started saying homophobic things, racist things-- you know, she was making fun of the local nail salon." "( accented )" ""Oh, you pick color." "You pick color."" "And I thought, okay, you know what?" "Maybe I can make that joke, 'cause I'm a member of the tribe, but you are not a member of the tribe." "And that was like the least offensive." "It was just so ugly, and what can you do?" "And I also thought," ""Here's a young girl." "She's gonna come out to the real world, and she's not gonna know what hit her."" "See, the goodness on, like, shows like "Survivor,"" ""American Idol,"" "or "You Think You Can Dance"" "or "Amazing Race,"" "is every season, their cast changes, so you only get them for one season." "I have to live with my ( bleep ) lunatics for as long as the ( bleep ) show lasts." "Thank God they last long." "I'm a very happy man that they do, but, you know, the talent goes through a whole metamorphose of being good people, then being not so good people, then being absolutely the worst human being on the planet," "and then by season seven, they start being a good person again, you know, so you really..." "But when they get to the point when they're the worst people," "I mean, that phase of things," " do you have to step in?" " Oh, absolutely." "And what does that look like?" "Give us an example." "It looks really ugly." "It's a tough situation, because we have to go fly down there and talk to them in a very kind of tough way and say, "This is how this has to go."" "We've had situations where the contestant will confront our camera teams and really in a very aggressive, aggressive way, you know, like," ""I'm gonna kick your ass." "You're a ( bleep ),"" "et cetera, et cetera." "And we had people that were really, really difficult, because in the battle-- and I have to sit down with these guys." "I want names." "Oh, okay." "Go ahead." "There's two guys, two brothers, they were pretty nasty," "I must say, and they were confronting our guys, and it was really obnoxious, and I tell people up front," ""These guys are your friends." "They run with you." "They're not gonna tell you." "They're not gonna help you, but they can run faster than you, you can be sure of that."" "And I always tell 'em, "Please, do not confront our guys, because they're hardworking guys, you know?"" "And they actually don't get the million bucks winning." "They also run around the globe, you know, with a 50-pound camera." "And the hope is when you come out, you know, I always say "Big Brother"" "is like holding your mirror like this, and when you come out and you see who you really are, it's up to you to say, "I don't want to be that person,"" "or, "Well, I'm that person, and I own it, and I deserve all this hate mail I'm getting."" "Some people do change, I think, and other people, they turn away from that mirror that they looked at, and they just ignore it." "It always seems to be when they have a little bit of knowledge and they think they know how the game works, but it's just a little bit of knowledge, and so they think that they can go into something and manipulate" "in exactly the same way that you were saying about your lady." "They think that they know what to present and how to be in a certain way, and they don't know enough." "They know a little bit, and that's actually very dangerous, so they portray what they think you want." "You're always better to go into any reality show just being you." " Mm-hmm." " Just absolutely being you, because at some stage or another, you'll get found out." "Just ( bleep ) swear if you want to ( bleep ) swear." "( laughter )" "I'M CRAVING A TREAT." "BANANA?" "DARLING, WHAT ARE WE?" "BABOONS?" "YOUR DOLE DIPPERS, MADAM." "FROZEN SLICES" "OFREALBANANA" "DIPPED IN RICH DARK CHOCOLATE." "SUPERB!" "DARK CHOCOLATE DOLE DIPPERS." "DIP INTO THE GOOD STUFF." "Shopping online is as easy as it gets." "Wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and piano tuners were just as simple?" "Thanks to Angie's List, now it is." "We're making hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks." "You don't have to be a member to buy their services directly but members save more on special offers." "Angie's List is revolutionizing local service again." "Welcome back to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "We're going behind the scenes with reality TV's biggest shows." "This is a genre that has struggled a little bit of late, and I'm curious sort of why you think it's been so challenging to launch hits in the way that it was easier to do years ago." "In the beginning, nobody ever heard of reality until Mark and myself showed up on the scene, and there was the brave Les, who saw the potential of this and said these are franchises, which was miraculous." "This was 15, 16 years ago, when nobody ever heard of this." "The only show that was on was "Cops,"" "that I produced for nine years." "So what makes it so hard today?" " I don't think it is." " It isn't." "So look at recently." "I did okay with "The Voice."" " Yes, you did." " Yeah." "I remember you guys saying," ""How's that gonna work?" "There's already 'Idol' and 'X Factor.'" "'The Voice' won't work."" "You were wrong." " ( laughter )" " Noted." "And so now there is no "Idol" and "X Factor."" "And then "Shark Tank."" "I mean, look at "Shark Tank."" ""Shark Tank's" a new show." "I've just launched" ""Beyond the Tank,"" "which is a hit show, so it's not that it's hard to launch shows." "Nigel:" "There's been acoupleof largeshows" " that have failed, with" " There always are." " Yeah." " How many total shows?" ""Utopia" was, you know, one major one that everyone thought was gonna be huge." "I suppose "Rising Stars"" "was another." "Yeah, but how 'bout scripted?" "Look at how many pilots get made." "All the time." "How many scripted shows work every year?" "The good shows will always survive." "80% fail." "The good shows will always survive." "I think you're being kind there." "Same thing in cable." "It was the fault of the formats rather than reality shows, as far as I'm concerned." "Any network is gonna have great news, sports, scripted comedy, scripted drama, unscripted competition, unscripted noncompetition." "It's gotta be all of the above to coexist, and, you know, all those things or genres will stay around." "There's the silly question" "I often get asked." ""Is reality gonna go away?"" " It's never going away." " Never." "It's just a matter of, as everyone's saying, if it's good." "I mean, everyone sitting at this table is here at this table 'cause they've contributed really good work..." " Sure." " in the craft." "And as long as it's good work, you have a chance." "And some great shows don't make it, but you can guarantee that crappy shows won't make it." "I think that's fair." "Do you guys agree?" "Do you feel that the genre isn't challenged right now?" "I think that it will always be there." "I think the biggest thing about reality TV-- and it doesn't matter whether you're trying to survive somewhere or you're doing a terrible job or it's "The Voice" or a singing show, whatever it is," "all anybody wants to see is that real human story." "That's all anybody wants to see, and it doesn't matter whether it's on "Big Brother"" "or whatever it is." "When you can connect other human beings sitting in their living room to the human beings that are on the TV screen, that's what they want." "And as long as it's relatable to the people, the content will exist, and it will shine." "How is this true in your shows specifically," ""So You Think You Can Dance,"" "and your shows, Craig?" "Well, on our show, it's always, you know, dance is the narrative that runs through the show, and what people really connect with are the kids who are on there actually." "How it changes their lives." "Yeah, and the big thing is, is that, you know, we say it's America's favorite dancer." "We don't say it's the best dancer, because actually of course they have to be of a certain standard, and of course they have to be good, and of course, you know, they have to be able" "to move on live TV, but it's all about who connects the most with the American public, and that's what gets people off their couches and makes them pick up the phone and vote." "And so there's something that you have with people that win our show, where they have this charisma, this fairy dust, this indefinable something that just draws people to them." "Is there a contestant who comes to mind as someone who's really kind of stood out on your show?" "Season two, there was two guys who came right down to the very end." "There was Travis Wall, and then there was Benji Schwimmer, and Benji Schwimmer actually won, because Benji was the one who is, you know, larger than life, and he had some comedy, and he always threw himself" "into everything, and Travis was actually the better dancer." "But what-- but he was quieter." "But what he did-- and he didn't win the show-- but what he actually did was he turned around and took the platform that he was given, and he elevated himself to a position where he then went off" "and became a choreographer, too, and he went and worked at that, and now he's being nominated for Emmys himself for his choreography work, and so, it's one of those stories that you've seen" "where you've seen the progression of it." "And people know these kids' names, because they've been part of their story, so that's what it is for me." "Yeah." "I mean, when you find a good-- like we found a gal on the Internet." "She had six million" "YouTube hits, and we created a show called, on TLC," ""My Big Fat Fabulous Life."" "Have you seen it" " or heard about it?" " Yeah, of course." "So she was really thin, and in college, she got the disease that made her get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, so she had, like, six million YouTube hits, and we contacted her," "and we did a tape with her, and then we sold it to TLC." "And if we'd have exploited it differently or if we'd have handled the situation differently, that show, to everybody's expecta-- would have gone away, to your point, too." "But we did it in the right way." "She got to explain what happened to her." "You saw the history of her growing up." "We did, like, you know, pictures of her when she was really thin, and then she had this, you know, awful disease hit her and how she's accepting it and how she's doing it." " It's become a huge hit." " Yeah." "Mark:" "What Craig's saying issotrue." "You have to come up with a good core idea for a show." "Your TLC show with the woman who went through that, you know, or, I think "Dirty Jobs,"" "these are shows that people talk about because, "I wouldn't want to do that job."" "Of course, "Big Brother" creates a lot of noise around it." "Everyone loves "Amazing Race,"" ""Survivor."" "You know, "Shark Tank"" "gets a lot of talk because people have their opinions about whether you would invest in that business or not." "These are noisy ideas." "If you don't have a noisy idea, you're unlikely to launch the show." "It's like if you didn't know who won "American Idol"" "that night or who got sent home, you were out of the conversation for many years." "It's true." "But I will say on the other side, we're all talking about you have to have a good show, you have to have a quality show." "Unfortunately in reality, shows that do exploit, that are not well done and-- you know, one that comes to mind might be" ""Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."" "So there was a lot more that happened behind the scenes that led to its demise, but that being said," "I think sometimes there are exploitive shows that can get, like, a lot of noise in the beginning, and then they fizzle out, 'cause at the end of the day, it has to have very good content," "and it can't be exploitive, so it just may be a big pop." "I think what Julie's hit on there as well, you gotta be really, really careful with things around kids." " Yep." " Yeah." " There's no leeway." " Absolutely." "There's no leeway around kids." "And so you look at the things, the Duggar house and Honey Boo Boo, happen to both be on the same channel, both have problems, and both involve kids." "People are not gonna give any chance of leeway or second-guessing around kids." "And so that's why TLC have been through this before, right?" "They just don't need the hassle." "This brings up a controversial moment this year, which is the Duggar family, what they're going through, and what TLC decided to do in pulling the show." "What would you have done in the situation if you were producers on the show, and how do you make decisions like this when these sort of ugly facts come out?" "I don't have any details or any judgments." "I don't know the facts of what actually happened, but from what I read," "I think they made the right move immediately, and I think a decisive move is critical in these situations." "How do the rest of you feel about all of that?" "You have to put yourself in the shoes of the victims and ask the victims, "Do you think you would be comfortable if we continued to let these cameras roll to see how this affected you and how you're seeking help" "and if that could be educational or beneficial to anyone watching?" "Let's make it maybe taking something so ugly and learn from it and grow from it and turn it into something that can help others out there, other victims who are watching." "If you're not comfortable with any of this, we're pulling our cameras out."" "Mm-hmm." "And by the way, maybe becomes the show that everyone's talking about." "We're all talking about Caitlyn Jenner." "If you were helping Caitlyn steer the ship of this crazy ride she's about to take in her docuseries, what advice would you give her about how to sustain the quality of the show, but also this genre" "that's probably about to emerge of, you know, documenting the..." "I think the bottom line with Caitlyn Jenner is that Caitlyn Jenner has to tell the producers at E!" "," ""I am the executive producer." "I have creative control." "If I tell you this can't go in the show, it can't go in, because it's not how I feel." "Don't exploit me." " Do not turn this into--"" " Exactly." "You know, and if Caitlyn, if she had creative control and she feels like what America is seeing is true to her voice, well, then you've just created an incredible situation that is going to enlighten" "and educate so many people on a topic so many of us know so little about." "I'm sure it means a lot to a lot of people, because for instance," "I know in India," "I know several people who have gone through this in India, of all places, other places around the world that are really, really suffering, and I think a situation like this could really put it out there." "It's amazing that she's lived in the Kardashian goldfish bowl, the media goldfish bowl and has-- and the biggest secret is the one that she's been holding inside herself, and I think it's fascinating now" "to see how she handles it in this situation." "She had a lot of years of research, too, knowing how to handle the media." "Yeah, a lot of it's going to be to do with the producers now, not just her, and I think that's important, and we've all got a responsibility with whoever we put on television." "And I don't know how much people realize how many background checks we do on contestants before we put them together." "You know, if you're going to put them in a "Survivor" situation, you want to know beforehand that they're not gonna go crazy." "Once we put people in the same house as each other, you want to know that-- what their background is." "So, you know, a lot of research goes into who we put on television in the first place." "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's gonna be interesting to see" " I mean, L.A. is a very accepting community and very liberal in its views, which is great, and New York, but in the middle of the country, it's gonna be really interesting to see" "how they judge it, 'cause they're gonna judge it." "They're gonna-- 'cause he was the greatest single athlete when he was-- that ever lived, right?" "So to see that hero suddenly change and change the lifestyle, you know, it's gonna be interesting to watch it unfold." "I think it's gonna be fascinating." "It's gonna be a real study in American culture, on how they accept it or not accept it..." "And how long it takes." "You know, I, for one," "I'm gonna watch, because I find it absolutely fascinating." "When Caitlyn enters the Senior Olympics, she's gonna kick ass at the decathlon." "Still got it." "Another gold medal for Caitlyn." "And there'll be a Bruce medal and a Caitlyn medal." "Perfect." "All right, well, so hopefully this one does really well." "That's how E!" "gets into sports." " There you go." "I love it." " And you're onto them." "♪ ♪ ♪" "WITH THE NEW CHASE" "FREEDOM MOBILE APP," "YOU CAN SIMPLY REDEEM," "PAY, AND GO." "THE NEW CHASE" "FREEDOM MOBILE APP." "THE CARD IS FOR THE ESSENTIALS." "THE CASH BACK IS FOR THE FUN." "CHASE." "SO YOU CAN." "Hi my name is Tom." "I'm Raph." "My name is Anne." "I'm one of the real live attorneys you can talk to through LegalZoom." "Don't let unanswered legal questions hold you up, because we're here, we're here, and we've got your back." "LegalZoom." "Legal help is here." "What makes Lays kitchen different from the rest?" "We pride ourselves on bold authentic flavors, with the finest ingredients." "Our vegetables are farm grown, and prepared with the passion they deserve." "Tangy peppers unite with the sweetness of tomatoes and onions to create our exquisite mesquite barbecue flavor." "The satisfying crunch and rich flavors of Lays Kettle Cooked Chips." "One taste and you're in love." "Welcome back to "Close Up" "With The Hollywood Reporter."" "We're getting the inside scoop on reality TV's biggest hits." "We have a couple fun speed-round questions." "Whose life would you like to turn into a docuseries and why?" "I wanted to do the ex-Mayor of New York." " What's his name?" " Rudy Giuliani?" "No, no, no." " Bloomberg." " The other" " Bloomberg." "I think he'd be a spectacular President and a great reality television host." "Stacey:" "Allright." "Mark,how 'boutyou?" "I'd really like to do" "Vladimir Putin's Russia." " Oh, my God." " Oh, yes!" "And I have reached out to him." "I really want to see Russia through his eyes." " You've reached out to Putin?" "Yes." "And heard nothing back," "I assume." " How do you know that?" " ( laughter )" "I was asking, what have you heard back?" "I would think I could probably get through to most people." "So what has the reaction been?" "Now I'm interested." "No comment." "Smart man." "Bartram, do you have one?" "Few people have tried Putin, by the way." " I've tried, too." " ( laughter )" "Who else at this table has tried Putin?" "Now I'm intrigued." "No, it's fascinating, there's no question about it, and I think we have a very different view on Russia, and I'm not always sure if it's right, because I spend a lot of time in Russia," "and it's pretty-- they're a really super people there." "Super-smart people, and love to see" "I'd love us to see through his eyes." "Nothing-- not politics or war, just Russia, the people, the adventure." " Very, very warm people." " Nigel, do you have one?" "Yeah, I was speaking to Putin yesterday, and he said he's gonna give Mark a call tomorrow." "Yeah, my person is Rudolf Nureyev." "From the defection though, he became a huge pop star, one of the early pop stars in England." " That's right." " And then, you know," "America helped him tremendously to get back into Russia to see his dying mother." "And of course he was one of the few people to die of AIDS when he thought he was a god and invulnerable." "So it's an absolutely incredible story." "That is a great story." "And the way he defected in the airport and the way that all went down is unbelievable." " Are you making the movie?" " I'm talking with HBO." "Well, in our next episode, we'll expect a pitch from each of you." " There you go." " ( laughter )" " ( beep )" " We're going behind the scenes" " of TV's" " Sorry." " ( beep )" "We're sitting down with the power pla" " Sorry." "More reality secwets." " "Secwets."" " ( laughter )" " I'm malfunctioning." " ( beep )" "And I'm Lacey Rose, Tel" "I can't." "This girl's on fire." " ( beep )" " Let's jump right in." "We're done with that part, honey."