Written By Rick Ellis, Friday, August 30th, 2002

Q: But that really doesn't answer the question about this particular incident. How much of a heads-up did Amy get, and is this a common occurrence on the show?

A: It's hard for me to talk about this directly without getting into specifics about my job. Um...let me answer this in a hypothetical sense.

Arnold (Shapiro, producer of Big Brother 3) is a big believer in tightly controlling the flow of info into the house. Those banner flights drove him crazy last year. But it's impossible to operate the show completely in a vacuum. And in fact, it hurts the show if the houseguests don't have some sort of feedback mechanism. But for production reasons, you don't want the flow to be unedited. So those diary room talks are vitally important.

Obviously, they're important for production reasons--it's the best way to get unfiltered comments from the houseguests.

But it's even a more important tool to be used to nudge the direction of the show. For fairness reasons, you don't want to have someone say to a houseguest, "Hey, this person just said this about you," or "These two people said they're out to get you." There are ways, however, of getting the same effects in a marginally fair manner.

Take, for instance, the hypothetical question of whether or not Eric should have been the one voted back into the house. If you believe that his return would ruin the balance of the show, you don't say, "Are you sure you would want Eric back in the house?" That's crossing the line. But you can ask "What do you think will happen if Eric returns?" And if you have to ask that twenty different ways until it begins to sink in, then that's what you do.

Q: So is that what happened in the Amy case?

A: Um...like I said. I can't talk about it specifically, but I think it's fair to suspect that's what happened.

Q: Let me ask about another incident that fans of the show seem to talk about quite a bit. Can you talk a bit about the decision-making process for deciding what gets blocked from the live web feeds? Some people complain that it often seems random and erratic.

A: Certainly, some things should be taken off-line everytime. Personal attacks on people outside of the game. Comments which could lead to litigation--whether its libelous or just misguided. And for the most part, we don't want them talking about the process of the show. Although that's a line that seems to be tougher to draw. And we're all human. If someone starts saying something mean about a person associated with the show, you know, "Arnold sucks," that sort of thing...we're going to an outside shot. Not just for Arnold's sake, and because he's the boss, but for strictly human reasons. We don't have to take that crap just because a houseguest was cranky.

Q: Can you talk about Josh's claim that he was "talked" out of leaving the Big Brother house early? Supposedly, he was told that if he didn't get with the program, he was going to lose out on the chance to be on the final jury, do press interviews, etc.

A: Josh is such a dumb f^&%. Let's just say that while no one wants a houseguest strolling out early and whining to the press, much of what he said to the other houseguests was wrong, or taken out of context.

Q: So you're saying that Josh was lying?

A: I'm saying that sometime houseguests do some serious manipulation of their own, and this might be one of those times. Honestly, I'm shocked that people picked up on it, because to me there are a lot more compelling questions.

Q: Like what?

A: The whole issue of Julie Chen. She's a fine person, but I've never though she was a good fit for the show. I understand that CBS thinks she needs to be here. And she does fine most weeks. But she doesn't really take to the show, and she's a bit too elegant for the job. There are better options. Unfortunately, given the support she has on the network level, she's probably not going anywhere.

Q: Okay...I've got to ask. Who?

A: Now I can see I'm getting into trouble. To be fair, everyone has their own theories on why things should be changed, and how. There are some of us who think the show would be an "Idol-sized" blockbuster if we would open up the show more, in somewhat the same way they do overseas. More people in and out of the house, more interaction with the outside. Personally, I thought that the two guys from Amazing Race 2 would have been perfect co-hosts. But everyone else thought I was nuts.

Q: One last question...Any other surprises in store for later in the season?

A: Well, if I told you, they wouldn't be a surprise. Besides, if details on a particular stunt get out in the public, I guarantee it won't take place. Let's just say that fans should expect an unusual twist as the show begins to wrap up.