MARK BURNETT INTERVIEW
Posted on | November 27, 2007 | No Comments
ANOTHER CONTENDER
An Interview with Mark Burnett
By AJ Vittone
It’s Friday morning, 11:00 AM to be exact. I’m standing outside of the Los Angeles Room located inside The Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Mark Burnett (The reigning King of Reality Television) strolls bye wearing his traditional navy blue blazer with a pin striped collared shirt underneath, denim blue jeans and shiny brown wing tipped dress shoes. Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time to start the audition process for what will be, the second season of the boxing reality series, “The Contender” or “The Contender… Part Deux”, for all you (Topper Harley) fans out there.
As I stood outside the Los Angeles Room, I couldn’t help, but to think about, what Sylvester Stallone had said, during the pre fight press conference for the season finale of The Contender’s inaugural season. I recall Stallone joking to the audience that the second season of The Contender will more than likely end up on The Cartoon Network. I have to admit, at the time, many of us sitting inside Caesar’s Palace during that press conference were wondering if in fact Stallone was right. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was some validity in that statement. After all, the talk of NBC’s decision to not renew The Contender for a second season, was permeating throughout the city of Las Vegas and dominating the conversation from one craps table to another. It was almost as if the uncertainty of The Contender’s future, at times, far outweighed the hype surrounding the reality program’s first title fight. It was frightening. It was bizarre. As a matter of fact, some people were even wondering if they would ever see The Contender reality series again. It was as if NBC’s decision not to renew for another season had marked the end. The end of Boxing’s run on reality television.
“Au contraire, mon fr?re” (for all you Bart Simpson fans out there.)
The Contender is back….. And many argue, it’s better than ever!
O.K., I know that sounds like a cheesy add for an upcoming mattress sale or something…. But it’s true. And here’s why.
“The Contender” has the potential to prosper, flourish and grow in this realm we call television and it’s all due to the reality program’s new home.
In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, The Contender’s sophomore season will debut in late April on “the mother” of all sports networks, ESPN.
“We had a lot of other options”, according to Mark Burnett. “But we felt that ESPN was the best choice, by far. It’s the right choice. It’s a great move for us and I’m really happy about it.”
Boxing fans and sports fans in general are also happy about the move and for good reason. After all, it was NBC that decided to place “The Contender” on Sunday nights .. Knowing that it would have to compete against episodes of FOX’s “American Idol”, at times …. Yes, I know, “Yikes!” I remember when Sly Stallone was asked to comment on that very strategy following The Contender finale in May, he merely rolled his eyes, shrugged his shoulders and responded with, “Yeah…. That was interesting.”
Advantage – Cartoon Network.
I just have this funny feeling that the Cartoon Network would not have executed such an exercise in futility… I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong.
Mark Burnett, who laughed when I brought up Stallone’s Cartoon Network reference, told me that ESPN has been on “the radar” since The Contender’s inception.
“Obviously we’ve always thought about ESPN, ESPN is the king in sports, the world wide leader, there’s nothing like it.” claimed Burnett, “I actually worked on the first X-Games, so I had a lot of relationships with folks at ESPN and we began to talk a lot about the possibilities and the rest is history. They’re a partner in the business, we are together on this, they’re a television network but they’re our partner. It’s a total team effort.”
The move to ESPN, a network which actually airs the sport of Boxing, isn’t the only change you’ll find this season. I’m very proud to say that it looks as if those challenges (you know, the ones where the fighters would toss tires into the back of a Toyota Pick Up Truck) will be no longer. Yes, it appears those goofy and silly challenges are gone forever. Thank Goodness for small favors.
“I think we will focus much less on the challenges this season.” exclaimed Burnett, “We’re gonna have more boxing, extend the fights more and absolutely maintain the family story lines. It’s very important to me that we maintain that “Adrian” element (Adrian of course, the love interest in the Rocky films) … That way, we get to know the fighters and begin caring about them.”
I have to admit, for many (most of whom were not Boxing fans) it was the family interaction that hooked them on the first season of The Contender on NBC….. Certainly not the corny challenges, which made many of us nauseous.
Let’s face it, the families and especially the cute kids were always considered the show’s “selling points.” Heck, when I ask most people what they remember from the first season of “The Contender”, they tell me it’s Peter Manfredo Jr.’s daughter Alexis saying, “Daddy, you go boom boom” prior to his first fight with Alfonso Gomez.
Yes, I know, they’re so cute at that age.
And let’s not forget about that “Adrian factor” also known as the ever popular “human interest” element, in which the wives and girlfriends are shown either crying or cheering (or both) for their husbands and boyfriends during each and every episode. That is what attracted the NBC viewers. The suspense, the drama, the joy, the heart break…. It’s just like a night at the movies (only without the tall guy sitting in front of you, the noisy couple sitting behind you and the guy who didn’t bathe and merely splashed himself with hi-karate sitting three seats over.) I’m sorry, but I had to go there. Anyway….. Getting back to the drama….. This is the part of the show that Mark Burnett loves to emphasize the most when speaking of the reality series and when doing so, he can’t resist making comparisons to Sly Stallone’s blockbuster film from 1976 .
“I think the first Rocky film is the model. By the time he fought which was near the end of the film, You really cared about Rocky as a person. That is why one half of the hour will concentrate on family and the other half will be boxing because I believe that if the viewers don’t care about the fighters in the ring, then it’s not as good of a show. I really feel that The Contender is the closest thing to a motion picture anyone has ever seen in reality television.”
Burnett forgot to mention that The Contender is also the closest thing to Reality Television that anyone has ever seen in Reality Television!
I’m sorry to disappoint you….. But, MTV’s “The Real World” IS NOT, and I repeat, IS NOT reality television. Not even close. Especially the cast from Las Vegas! What the hell was going on with…… Ahhh, never mind, we’ll save that for another time.
Back to The Contender.
When I asked Burnett what made the first season of The Contender, he told me it was when Alfonso Gomez called out Peter Manfredo Jr. in the very first episode.
“I remember that day so well”, Burnett said. “I called Jeffrey Katzenberger up and said you will not believe what just happened… Gomez picked his first opponent.”
Katzenberger inquired, “Who is he fighting?”
“Peter Manfredo Jr.”. Burnett replied.
“No way”, Katzenberger cried.
Burnett responded, “It’s a bummer, Gomez is such a great character…. We’re gonna lose one of the shows best characters tomorrow night.”
Burnett was wrong. Dead wrong. As a result, the shows plot thickened….. And then, thickened some more…. And more….. And more..
Oh, the suspense.
Oh, the drama.
It’s no wonder why Burnett calls The Contender his favorite reality show.
“This is the most fun for me. I absolutely love working on this show. No program of mine, is as rewarding, as this one.” Burnett proclaims.
I have to admit, Omarosa vs. Donald Trump on the first season of NBC’s “The Apprentice” (Also a Mark Burnett Production) was no Gomez vs. Manfredo Jr., that’s for sure!
Now, if Omarosa had punched The Donald directly in the face during that program…. Well,…. Then I’d be forced to choose Omarosa vs. Trump over Gomez vs. Manfredo Jr.. Sorry Alfonso. Sorry Peter.
As Burnett and I continued to reminisce about season numero uno, I decided to ask the Reality TV Guru about all of this passion and enthusiasm he displays regarding the sport of Boxing. Why does Mark Burnett love the sweet science so much? Inquiring minds would like to know.
“Boxing is great. Think about it… You look at the fighter’s records (on paper) and you think there is no way that his can be a good fight….And that’s what makes Boxing great. The truth is, it’s all about that one night in the ring….. It’s such an adrenaline rush”, proclaimed Burnett.
“Boxing, when I was a kid… And you’re talking about the 60’s and 70’s, It was the most important thing in the world! And it can be again… It really can. You see, not enough of the general public knows any boxer’s names… But the good thing is, a lot of them know The Contender guy’s names.”
And it’s true. So very true. Think about it, with all the alphabet soup sanctioning bodies and all the cereal box “World Title” belts that are given out…. No one has any idea as to who is the champion anymore! It’s ridiculous. All the confusion. All the chaos. And think about it, this is where The Contender shines. This is where the show has a significant advantage in the world of boxing. Due to the program’s tournament style format (which is quite popular) and the way in which it’s been marketed and advertised, it appears everyone knows “The Contender” fighters and no one seems to know any of the existing world champions in boxing. Ask the average person to name 5 fighters (and I mean 5 fighters in general…. any weight class)…. Go ahead. I dare you. Their responses (especially if you consider yourself a boxing fan) will frighten you. Now ask those same people to name 5 fighters on “The Contender.” I can guarantee that you’ll get a better response from the second question. No doubt about it…. And why? Because “The Contender” is slowly but surely making the sport of Boxing…. Dare I say this…. Easy to follow! Heaven forbid that Boxing is considered to be easy to follow, organized or even “fan friendly”, for that matter. My goodness, that would actually make sense. That would actually make the sport more enjoyable to watch. That would actually make the sport more popular. Oh dear, they’ve gone and created a monster here! What have they done? Shame on them.
The truth is, thanks to reality television, the sport of Boxing has the ability to grow once again in this country, and if The Contender 2 has some success on ESPN the sport could possibly inch its way (albeit at a snail’s pace) back into the mainstream, into pop culture and into the homes of every American…. Just like the good old days… The days when Boxing actually meant something. The days when Boxing wasn’t buried on the sports pages… Typically finding itself underneath the local horseshoes competition on page D-13. And that’s on a slow day in sports!
The bottom line is, Boxing will never grow unless someone decides to make it popular again and that’s all a guy like Mark Burnett is trying to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. After all, he’s just a fan.
“We just want to bring the excitement back to Boxing”, cried Burnett. “We want to make it the topic of conversation again…. Just like it was when I was a kid.”
Maybe someday it will be. Who knows?
But for now, we must wait to see what Mr. Burnett has on tap for season number two. Will it be better than season one? Will the fights themselves be better than the fights in season one? Will Tommy Gallagher take the guys out suit shopping again? I just had to throw that one in there… Couldn’t resist.
These questions will all be answered soon on ESPN. There is one question however, that has been on everyone’s mind regarding season two,… And that $64,000 question would have to be…. “What weight class or classes will be featured in the sophomore season?” Heck, I’ve heard everything from cruiser weight to light heavyweight to welterweight and so on and so on. Here’s what Burnett told me….. And I must warn you.. Don’t except a concrete answer… After all, the audition process had just begun at the time this story went to print.
“We’re open minded about the weight classes”, Burnett said. “We’ve been talking about welterweights and even middleweights again, perhaps it will be a combination of both… Or a combination of another two or three classes. We’re simply looking for the best crop of fighters we can find.”
And to that I say. Good luck and may the force be with you.
As I just mentioned, the audition process is underway for “The Contender Part Deux”, only this time it brings me great joy to announce that Uncle Zeek from the near bye Getty gas station will NOT be allowed to audition. Once again, Thank Goodness for small favors. This time around, you MUST have prior fighting experience in order to fill out an application…. And when I say “fighting”, I don’t mean throwing hay makers outside of Hal’s Saloon at that guy who looked at your girlfriend when she made her way from the ladies room to the dart board area. I’m speaking of prior “Boxing” experience. No offense to the Uncle Zeeks of the world, But I’d much rather gouge my eyes out with metal spikes then watch clowns who couldn’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag, make a mockery of the sweet science. Trust me, I’ve seen enough of that garbage.
As I walked inside the Los Angeles Room at The Wilshire Grand Hotel, which is where the first leg of auditions were being held, I saw fighters. REAL fighers. Some young. Some old. Some were over 250 lbs. Some were under 150 lbs. But they were fighters… And I couldn’t help but think of how much smoother the audition process should now run, as a result of this. It must have seemed like night and day compared to last year.. When of course members of the local barbershop quartet fled to the several audition sites, in the hopes of fighting their way to a million dollars.
It must have been a blast weeding out those melvins!
I’m just glad I didn’t have to do it.
When I sat down inside the now infamous “L.A. Room”, I recognized a familiar face from the New England Boxing scene, who quickly turned to me and uttered the following, “I hope they actually pick bigger guys for the show so I can make it” said undefeated cruiser weight Matt Godfrey.
“What are the chances, the same Hotel I’m staying at to watch my friend Peter Manfredo Jr. fight on Saturday night, is holding try-outs for the next season of The Contender.. It’s turned out to be a blessing in disguise.” says Godfrey.
Matt Godfrey was one of about 50 pugs who spent most of Friday morning and afternoon for that matter, sitting patiently inside a conference room waiting for their names to be called. Each Boxer was responsible for filling out a piece of paper resembling that of a job application. In addition to writing your name, address, telephone number and weight… The application also asked questions such as, “What was your greatest highlight in Boxing?” and “What do you hope to accomplish in Boxing?”
Nothing too difficult. It was pretty straight forward.
The interview portion came next. In which of a lot of the same questions were asked… With a few more token questions thrown into the mix. And then it was time for that age old saying… “Don’t contact us, we’ll contact you.”
Fighters will now be waiting by their cell phones hoping and praying for that call from Mark Burnett Productions inviting them to Boxing’s version of the Sweet Sixteen.
Then it’s off to ESPN to compete for….. Umm, well…. Their Dream Job!
Yes, I know… That was the name of another reality show.
I just couldn’t resist.
Please forgive me..
I have too much free time.
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AJ Vittone
Sports Host/Anchor/Reporter
Official Web Site: www.vittonezone.com
Business Web Site: www.vpmediaonline.com