SURVIVOR: CHINA

various websites | 21 August, 2007 | Cuz It Aint Their Money

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

The reality show that started it all continues to raise the bar with its
exotic locations and high-risk challenges with
SURVIVOR: CHINA.
The new competition unleashes an eclectic group of castaways on the ancient south central province of Jiang Xi,
where they are prepared for adventure, danger and surprises in the hopes of winning
$1 million and becoming the ultimate Survivor.
Who will Outwit, Outplay and Outlast?

[sweet_diane]

"James won the $100,000. The producer, Mark Burnett who was listening to her sad story during the show, decided to giver her $50,000 to help her get back on her feet."

Thanks..I was hoping James would win the $100,000. Who is the 'she' you are referring to that got $50,000?

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

Is "all stars II" going to be the next Survivor?

Well, yes AND no.
Survivor: Micronesia is listed as "The Favorites vrs The Fans". Meaning that one tribe will consist of "the Favorites" (it's debatable who's favorites) while the other tribe will consist of "The Fans" (supposedly, fans that have watched every episode of every show, but I'll bet that most of them will be recruited from local LA bars.)

Anyway, the spoiler sites have the following as being "front runners" for being on A.S.S. 2

Listing complements of FReeper I Drive Too Fast in post 575 above.

Pavarti (cook islands)
Eliza (vanuatu)
Ami (vanuatu)
Johnny Fairplay (pirate islands)
Jonathan (cook islands)
Yau-man (fiji)
James (china)
Amanda (china)
and MAYBE (if there's 9 per tribe this time)
Ozzy (cook islands)

The only problem I see with this list is Johnny Fairplay Jackass. If memory serves me, the filming for this season of Survivor occurred just after he had his run in with Danny Bonaducii (sp?) and busted his mouth all up. I'm not sure the producers would want Johnny Jackass on the show, looking as ugly as he obviously would have been.
Then again, he looks pretty ugly even on a good day!

[SuzanneC]

Thanks for the update. Cudos (sp?) to Mark Burnett for wanting to help Denise. However, I’d have no problem with a decision to not give her the money after this lie. I doubt that he would reneg. It would be terrible publicity for the show. So....she gets to lie AND keep the money. Wouldn’t want to be her right now.

[Right Cal Gal]

I second the thanks from above for all you do for us during the Survivor season, cuz - oh my heck, it just wouldn’t be the same show for me anymore without you.

As to the biggest d**k in Survivor history, I’ve heard that Probst has said he’d NEVER work with Johnny “A$$hat” Fairplay again. Since there’s supposedly 20 of them, maybe he gets his skanky butt booted early. I wonder where the powers that be at Survivor went to take a poll that Fairplay comes out a “favorite.”

I’m glad to see StepheME! isn’t on the list, and happy to see Jonathan. As to those who might ask where Terry is, the rumor is that he wanted a high appearance fee and Burnette refused or some such.

There are spoilers up over at the Survivor Sucks board for the “half-ASS” season (as it’s being lovingly called).

[I Drive Too Fast]

Thanks for everything you do with this thread.

I have read (pertaining to the number of all stars) from 8 up to 21. There is probably a lot of misinformation out there. I guess we will probably know for certain some time in January. I looked at survivorsucks, suvivorfever, and realitytv and buddytv and found quite a variety of who they think is going to be on the show. I can't remeber which website, but one had the names of the "fan favorites" on it.

[I Drive Too Fast]

Denise did the right thing.

Denise released a statement late yesterday: "I would like to apologize to Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, CBS, Nancy Lane, the Town of Douglas and my friends and family. It was not my intention to mislead anyone. I take full responsibility for my actions and hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I do not feel comfortable about accepting the $50,000. I would instead ask that it be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Please accept my apology. I would also like to thank all the people who have supported me through this experience."

[I Drive Too Fast]

Read my reply #606. She did the right thing.

[I Drive Too Fast]

Busted. She did the right thing

I heard that the school district received a lot of angry emails, etc.

[Right Cal Gal]

I’ll bet they did. Plus phone calls, etc.
I wonder if Burnett told her to donate the money. I know that the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the official “Survivor” charity, but it hasn’t been mentioned on the show for awhile. Of course, Probst mentions it at the end of the Reunion Show (”stuff on eBay! Buy used buffs for charity!”), but one would think that wouldn’t be the first charity Denise thought of.

I wonder if she thought the voting for what I’ve come to call the “Rupert Bonham Consolation Bonus Prize” was still going on at the time. Quick! Everyone! Rush to your text message!”

I hate to say this - I didn’t like James at all by the time he got voted off. Hell, aside from Frosti, I dont’ know that I liked ANY of them.

[SuzanneC]

“It was not my intention to mislead anyone.”

I’m glad she apologized, but isn’t that the definition of a lie.....to mislead....? She was caught and had no choice. I’m glad she donated the money.

[JillValentine]

Brian Heidik (the used car salesman & winner of Survivor 5) also wanted a big appearance fee just to appear on the first All-Stars. The producers declined and he was not cast.

LOL @ “half-ASS.” Sooo funny.

[I Drive Too Fast]

Looks like we can add Cirie Fields - Panama to the list also and they confirm that Ozzy is one of the 10. 10 fans vs 10 favorites. This link to who is on the next version contains the list of the 20 survivors to appear. They filmed it from Oct. 29th to Dec. 6th. So Amanda & James also knew who was in the final 2 or 3 on this version also. This link is a spoiler site with nothing major to spoil yet.

[Right Cal Gal]

Johnny A$$hat got dumped by Bonaduce in the beginning of October, I think, so I guess it’s possible that he’s on. But he was on a pre-Allstars version (Pearl Islands), so I can’t think why he would have been included on this one.

Maybe the “favorites” were “nudged” to make his life a living hell. I’d like to see Amie and Ozzy tell him where to get off. Actually I’d like to see Amie hold his deformed little head underwater to scout for fish.

With the sole exception of Foulplay, I actually liked all of these contestants in their regular seasons, for the most part. At the very least, I wouldn’t mind seeing any of 9 of them in the final 3 or the winner.

Speaking of Scout, thank heaven her stupid, bigoted mug wasn’t asked back (if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, check out her incoherent and idiotic ramblings at the Survivor Strikes Back blog at cbs.com. She still hasn’t a clue how to win this game.

[I Drive Too Fast]

On that link I give, the first page is okay to read. The second page stop reading when you get to the picture of Joel "Truck" Anderson aka this season's Rupert lookalike.

The next post after that mentions 2 speculations / minor spoilers if true.

[JillValentine]

Some of the most racist people around are liberal white homosexuals who think the gay card trumps the race card. For those who don't know, Scout (a 60-year-old lesbian, BTW), among other things, has said that blacks can't swim well because of their ankle bone structure, and has repeatedly referred to Asians as "yellow people." She's also called Dreamz a "disgrace to his race" and Earl a "credit to his race." How condescending! Nobody calls a nice white guy like, say, Ethan a "credit to his race." Nobody calls a nasty white guy like, say, Jonny Fairplay a "disgrace to his race." We've been talking about Fairplay right here and nobody's made it into a racial thing. Just goes to show that liberals are more racist than conservatives.

[Right Cal Gal]

I especially liked her idiotic posting this season where she made a snide comment about the “matching” immunity challenge that P.G. won. The one where they had to stick a knife into blocks in the order given to them by Jeff (”rat”, “dog”, “snake”). Resident bigot Scout said “wow - a Chinese person wins immunity for matching blocks with Chinese characters,” intimating somehow that the game was “fixed” for P.G. Except for one thing - the blocks had PICTURES of the animals, with the word written in English above - no Chinese characters anywhere.

CBS should tell this racist b***h to stay off the blog.

[csvset]

Cuz, I found this story about Yul Kwon .

'Survivor' champ may not make it in S.F.

When he was a contestant on the reality show "Survivor," Yul Kwon cruised through the rain forests of the Cook Islands with ease. In fact, as the CBS show's motto says, he was able to "Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast" the other contestants to win the $1 million grand prize.

But navigating the jungle of San Francisco politics is proving to be a tougher challenge.

Kwon, who was voted "favorite 'Survivor' winner" by Entertainment Weekly readers, wanted to open a yogurt store in North Beach with a couple of friends. But last week they ran afoul of the neighborhood's strict "formula retail" ordinance, which is designed to protect the neighborhood's unique character. The point of the law is to keep large retail chains - Starbucks is the evil empire most often cited - out of the traditional North Beach neighborhood. The question is what defines a "chain."

"It doesn't matter if he's the Shah of Iran or the winner of 'Survivor,' " said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose district includes North Beach. "The law's the law's the law."

Mark Young, one of Kwon's partners, says that when they applied for a permit there were only four Red Mango dealerships in the United States. That was acceptable, because the formula retail ordinance, passed by voters in November of 2006, says the franchise must have fewer than 11 in the country or it is considered a chain.

Kwon's group was granted a building permit, began to pay rent on a site at 527 Columbus Ave., and started renovations.

However, Marsha Garland, founder and executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce, was suspicious.

"There's a place for everything," Garland said. "For example, I like Pottery Barn. I'm glad there's one in the Marina. But I wouldn't want one in North Beach. We don't want chains in North Beach."

Garland found that Red Mango had continued to add franchises in the time since Kwon's group was granted a building permit. So by now - and even Young admits this - there are more than 11 locations across the country. Case closed, said the North Beach watchdogs.

"They got a permit and started building and then somebody came and pulled the permit," said Ken Brownell of Blatteis & Schnur real estate, who handled the rental for Kwon's group. "They're shocked and I'm shocked."

Without a permit, Kwon is stuck on Exile Island. His group can't do any more building and the storefront sits empty, although rent is still due.

"Is this going to be tougher than 'Survivor'?" asked Young. "Yul's just going to bleed out all that 'Survivor' money."

Frankly, this is no time to step into deep yogurt. Just last week Kwon was mentioned as a possible candidate for Tom Lantos' seat in the 12th Congressional District. Kwon, a registered Democrat, would be running against former state Sen. Jackie Speier, a formidable opponent.

But it isn't as if Kwon doesn't have attributes, including name recognition. He's a Bay Area guy who grew up in Concord, attended Northgate High School in Walnut Creek (where he was class valedictorian) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford, then went to Yale Law School.

As for "Survivor," for a short period there between September and December 2006, Kwon was bit of a reality TV sensation. He played a crafty game, pulling off strategic moves that left his opponents guessing, but also managed to come across as a nice guy.

Besides that, he's a bit of a hunk. He was named one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men" of 2006.

In addition, after he won the million dollars, he announced that he was giving $50,000 to the Asian American Donor Program to encourage Asian Americans to donate bone marrow. It seems his childhood friend and college roommate died of leukemia and there was no bone marrow available to treat him.

So, for those "Survivor" fans, I think we can say that Kwon is no Jonny Fairplay. (Jon "Fairplay" Dalton, a contestant on an earlier show, earned his sarcastic nickname for pretending that his grandmother had died to elicit sympathy.)

However, I wouldn't expect much sympathy from the North Beach residents. As Caffe Roma's Tony Azzollini says, the last thing they want is to have the place taken over by chain stores, bars and restaurants.

"We're trying to preserve a really special neighborhood," Azzollini said. "There's already a yogurt place coming in, and it's run by a family business."

Admirable. But Kwon and his buddies aren't exactly straight off Wall Street. Young is a Cal guy, a graduate of the Haas School of Business, and Kwon came back home from Yale to live in San Mateo.

That's fine, say the movers and shakers in North Beach. But the issue isn't Kwon's character, it's his yogurt.

"You may be good-looking and a 'Survivor' winner," said Peskin, "but surviving the chain store wars is a little different."

Is Red Mango a franchise? If so, says police commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, a North Beach defender, they will be bobsledding down Columbus Avenue before it opens in his neighborhood.

"If it is a chain," Alioto Veronese said, "this is one episode of 'Survivor' he will not win."

C.W. Nevius' column appears Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. His podcast, "News Wrap," can be found at SFGate.com. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.