Producer to let Survivor die?
By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto Sun
HOLLYWOOD -- Will Survivor: All Stars be the last Survivor?
Executive producer Mark Burnett shocked critics yesterday at the network press tour by hinting that it could be All Stars and out for the Survivor franchise.
Survivor: All Stars launches Feb. 1, immediately following the Super Bowl on CBS. After that, another edition of the hit reality series "has not been ordered or discussed," insists Burnett.
This is the latest that CBS has waited to extend the series, said the producer. He suggested that the world's a more dangerous place and location scouting is getting tougher and tougher. He hinted that All Stars might be the cue to go out on top, both for him and the network.
Plus, he's beat. Survivor is a monster to produce. Burnett has projects at virtually every network. He no longer needs the money or the hassle. "Leslie would be very happy if I never left the editing bay," he said, referring to Leslie Moonves, the CEO of CBS.
The musings seemed to take Moonves completely by surprise.
"He's been hanging around Donald Trump too long," he joked immediately following the session. Burnett's latest hit, The Apprentice, teams him with Trump at rival NBC.
Moonves said yesterday that Burnett did offer The Apprentice to CBS but it was done more out of courtesy. Trump had a previous commitment to NBC and apparently is no fan of Moonves. "We knew it was a done deal at the other network," said the CBS boss.
Burnett also revealed that he and Moonves have not spoken since the Apprentice session last week where Trump called Moonves "the most overrated person in television."
When Burnett edged past Moonves at the end of yesterday's packed Survivor session, the CBS chief tried to make light of the situation, shouting out, "Please do Survivor 9."
Burnett did not shake hands with Moonves and seemed anxious to hurry past.
Moonves suggested that casting for Survivor 9 is already under way and that Burnett is just being coy to hype the series. He offered to take bets with reporters that the series will be back. "The key thing Mark Burnett said in that session was, 'I'm a Drama Queen,'" he said. (Burnett was responding to a question during the session about a clip showing armed troops escorting the 18 All-Star survivors to the Pearl Islands.)
CBS is desperately trying to woo Ray Romano to come back for one last season of Everybody Loves Raymond. There's no way the network would just drop the No. 1 reality show from their schedule without a fight.
On the other hand, Burnett has never cut a deal for more than one Survivor at a time with CBS and could walk away from the franchise.
As Moonves said yesterday, if you want loyalty in Hollywood, "buy a dog."
