Word: fleiss
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Just when you thought reality TV couldn't sink any lower, on May 17 the WB will launch a show that takes a diabolical spin on American Idol. Created by Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor), Superstar USA duplicates Idol's format, down to the three-judge panel--this one includes rapper Tone-Loc, has-been pop star Vitamin C and snappish TV producer Chris Briggs--but judges kick the able singers off while promoting the earnestly talentless, off-key William Hung types. None of the contestants are clued in to the hoax until the end. "What's extraordinary...
...mastery of the art of filming mating rituals of the young. At one end of the beach was The Real Cancun, produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray, who created the Ur-reality TV show The Real World for MTV. On the other, a few miles away, Mike Fleiss, the man who brought us The Bachelor, was making The Quest. Both movies had similar casting strategies, focusing on the teen-comedy trope of an eager male virgin, but Bunim-Murray had an edge: female identical twins. It was not a fair fight...
After both groups pulled out all the stops to finish their movie first, Fleiss blinked, postponing The Quest indefinitely. Although he declined to comment, Universal Studios claims the movie, about six guys trying to get their dorky friend initiated into sex, is timeless and doesn't need to be rushed for a near spring-break release. Bunim and Murray, who dragged editors and equipment down to Mexico so they could release The Real Cancun this Friday, a week ahead of schedule, have no such pretensions. They, after all, have a movie with twins...
...what it gets free on television. "We pitched this to the usual suspects a year and a half ago," says Murray, who, despite having a relationship with MTV since 1992, was turned down by MTV Films before the idea was picked up by New Line. "Mike Fleiss helped us because it made New Line realize it had something. We're thankful to Mike for coming along, and now we're thankful to him for going away...
...Fleiss and Universal are waiting to see how well The Real Cancun does, which will undoubtedly affect any decision as to when or if The Quest will be released. Equally eager to see The Real Cancun are the cast members, who took their roles not only for the free margaritas and $1,000 but also in hopes of snaring acting jobs. Twin Roxanne looks forward to being famous, even if it's for her wet-T-shirt antics. "I'd rather be known for this instead of being smart or something," she says. "There's a million people...