Spoilers Interview with Dave.

[calhoun]

I have been a Dave fan (and still am), but I have to admit this Salon interview has been my least favorite interview to date. I think he comes off as a lot more pompous than in past episodes. For example:

1. He calls Keith smart for after kicking off Zack "stepping aside and letting him (Dave) take charge", implying that Dave was the one who best knew what he was doing. From the editing this seems untrue (e.g., Keith staged the Beau-Casino night coup).

2. He says his proudest moment at Paradise Hotel was a question that he wrote for himself in Pandora's box that said, "How do you feel being the only Jew when surrounded by such anti-Semitism, bigotry and homophobia." He then brags about what a great and reasonable answer he gave to the question that he wrote. Dave claims in the interview that there was a lot of that that "we just didn't see," and even if that is true, I find this method of confronting such attitudes as pretty self-serving and disrespectful of those (presumably his allies and friends) who did not display those attitudes, as he claimed that he was "surrounded" by anti-semitism.

3. He starts the interview by saying that he refuses to bash any of the originals, but then proceeds to bash them, using techniques like, "I would never do this, but my friends said that in response to Toni's calling me 'David' I should have called her 'Anthony', or in response to 'Yahtzee,' I should have said, 'Nazi'. He also cut pretty hard on their general intelligence level (which substantively I agree with) From what I saw of the show, Dave has every right to do some original bashing, and should feel free to do so, but he should not take a holier-than-thou stance and claim he's not going to do it and then proceed to bash them through loopholes throughout an interview.

4. He implies that Toni, through her ads with Marie-Claire, is trying to capitalize on her reality tv appearances and that this is sort of sad (which is true), but he somehow fails to recognize that he too is trying to capitalize on his reality tv fame by throwing viewing parties and accepting interviews with anyone who will talk to him
A
nyway, that is my take. I am still a fan of Dave, but not his best performance in my book.

[Zuzu's Daddy]

Some major points that we've all figured out from other spoilers are

Something we haven't heard too much about Dave and Charla is

A question Dave wrote for himself to answer is pandora box but got editd out was

Of course dave knows and we all know the fox producers were making it up all along. The article gets at some of Dave's feelings early on in the show when he thought he was being edited to look like a fool but I can not convey those accurately in a spoiler... you'll have to click through the ads and read the article.

[croftchrism]

Everyone on the show is so larger than life.
It’s hard to find people to do reality shows, and it's more hard to find smart people to do reality shows...

Smart people?

A: Yeah. What sane, smart person -- I mean, "Survivor," you know the prize, it's a million bucks. I did this show without knowing what the prize was. For me, the prize was making a great impression on the country, as best I could, but I didn't know. That's why four or five episodes into it, when I had a feeling I was being edited as the laughing stock, it was really hard. I was really depressed.

How did you know they were editing you that way?

I knew from seeing a woman with a sign in the audience that said "I love your man-boobs." From that, I knew Fox probably gave them the signs, and chose which signs they'd show. And then the contestants both dissed me and made references to man-boobs. I thought, if they both feel comfortable dissing me, obviously I've been skewed extremely negatively. I was really depressed that night.

You're in marketing, you're into being in the public eye, at least in theory. How do you feel about it now?

Yeah, I was. I still am, overall it was a great experience. It's so funny, because I watch with probably as much anticipation as everyone else. Even though I know what happens, more important to me now is, how they reveal.

Yeah, and if they cut to you as you're picking something out of your teeth, and it makes you look depressed.

Right! It's unbelievable how the reaction shots can leave lasting impressions in people's heads.

But you can tell that they're taken out of sequence sometimes.

Well, you can. But most viewers cannot. Are you kidding me? Most viewers...

They say, "My god, he's crushed!" And meanwhile you had gas or something. So last week’s episode [when teammates Keith and Tara seemed to turn on him, and he became the focus of the entire show’s ire] did you think, oh man, they're making me look like a jackass?
That was tough, because I was watching with a group of about 200 people in Boston at a bar. I mean, look, I'm back home. I have my sense of integrity back. But towards the end there, I was just so enveloped in the game. I could see in the last episode how much it really got to me, and how I wasn't so sure of myself anymore.

Anyway, now I've completely forgiven you for what my brother said - and I still haven't read the article - you called me "moderately intelligent," I believe.

Well, I have to confess, there was something else...

Below average looks, and moderate intelligence?

Well, no. I said you were moderately intelligent, and moderately unattractive. Boy, this is instant karma, right here. But keep in mind, being moderately unattractive in the context of the exceptionally good-looking human beings they chose for the show...
Perhaps, but the "moderately intelligent" in the context of the human beings they chose is completely ludicrous.

It's all relative. I referred to everyone else as morons, so... Well, I'm a jackass. What can I say?

Ha! It's fine.

But you know, the point where you were added to the cast, it was like, "Who is this guy, and what did they mean by throwing him into the mix, because he clearly has nothing in common with these people." I mean, how did you feel about your looks in that situation?
People said I came across as insecure, but in the context of being with models and knowing that I'm on TV, it was easy to be insecure.

Of course.
I read the message boards, and it says, "Dave is so ugly, Dave is so ugly, Dave is so ugly," and being back, I walk around and look around and think, "No, I'm not!" I'm normal-looking, maybe. I have a bigger nose than most people, but, you know, who cares? It was funny how the others were allowed to assert their attractiveness, but I was never allowed to assert my intelligence. I mean, heaven forbid I should say I'm a pretty smart guy.

They freaked out on you for doing that, but hearing Zack go on about how smart he was truly was great television, too. Anyway, you definitely colored outside the lines of the typical reality show goon, which was fun to watch.

Well, check it out tonight. Even if you never saw the show before, tonight's episode is worth watching.

Good plug, but you're preaching to the converted. So you're having a party for tonight's show?

Yeah, at a bar in New York City. And it's my birthday!

[Zuzu's Daddy]

Dang, while I was being subtle with the spoiler quote stuff the article has been posted twice...I'm too slow

[oneTVslave]

Thanks for transcribing, everyone! It is very much appreciated!

[krazidezi]

Dang, while I was being subtle with the spoiler quote stuff the article has been posted twice...I'm too slow

haha, no ur not, everyone is just so trigger happy when it comes to posting info on this show (including me)...


MAN, if charla turns on dave, my opinion of her will really go down... those two were my fav couple, and i kept givin charla the benefit of the doubt when she kept dissing dave...if she turns on him as the interview suggests, it'll b really dissapointing...

who else agrees?

[croftchrism]

haha, no ur not, everyone is just so trigger happy when it comes to posting info on this show (including me)...


MAN, if charla turns on dave, my opinion of her will really go down... those two were my fav couple, and i kept givin charla the benefit of the doubt when she kept dissing dave...if she turns on him as the interview suggests, it'll b really dissapointing...

who else agrees?

It really would suck if she turns on him, but I am not yet convienced that she would.... I guess I will have to wait until tonight!!!! What am I going to have to look forward to once this show is over?!

[totoro]

from http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi...671.art&page=1

Beyond Peanuts and Popcorn: An Interview with Paradise Hotel's Dave Kerpen
by Peggy Keller -- 10/01/2003


Dave Kerpen started as an overweight college kid who sold peanuts at basketball games. He changed a lot since then and most recently ended up as one of the stars of Fox’s Paradise Hotel. Peggy had a chance to talk to Dave about what went on in Paradise, including his thoughts on the editing, the “originals,” and more!



Once upon a time in Boston, a struggling college kid, who was overweight and needed to make money to put himself through school, became bigger than himself by being the biggest selling vendor at Celtic basketball games. Some people thought he was obnoxious, some thought he was entertaining, but one thing was clear: everyone noticed him.

And then Dave Kerpen got fired because the coach of the Celtics thought he was distracting people from watching the ball game. So he moved on, went to work honing his marketing skills at Disney, and eventually was able to strike out on his own as a marketing consultant. You know the best salespeople have thick skin. They can take the slammed doors, the hang-ups, the "absolutely not – now get out of here before I call the police" rejections. Dave was like that before he even tried to sell beer and popcorn at sporting venues. He admits to having the kind of personality that you either get or you don't. Love him or hate him, he is memorable.

All this practice getting rejected must helped him when he made it onto Fox's summer reality show, Paradise Hotel. Dave was not the best looking candidate, at least not compared to the bicep-flexing, model type men who were on already on the show to begin with. But he is definitely the only guest on the show who has come through looking like they have a personality and knowing that Paradise Hotel was not just a television show but a game.

He told me today that he went into Paradise prepared for the public backlash of being a reality television show contestant. He understood the public's desire to knock the hell out of anyone on TV. He did not, however, expect to be the brunt of frequent humiliation and harassment from the guests themselves.

I asked Dave about his experience in Paradise.

RealityNewsOnline: Did your background as the love him or hate him vendor help you when the originals came back and decided to attack you?

Dave: I have always had a strong personality – even before the experience as the vendor, that was just a way to make money to put myself through college and I am trying to put it behind me. I know that going on reality TV you have to expect that kind of demeaning behavior from the general public and although I did not expect it from the guests, you could have predicted they would act that way when the originals were brought back after seeing everything they saw on television.

RNO: Rumor has it that the producers encouraged them to act up. Is this true?

Dave: No, the producers did not encourage it at all. They did not expect it to get that out of hand.

RNO: Are some of the originals on testosterone or steroids? Amy? Toni?

Dave: I have no comment with regard to what drugs they may or may not have been on.

RNO: What made them behave the way they did? They were ruthless.

Dave: I think it was a case of mob mentality. None of them are mean-spirited in general, they just got caught up with the whole thing.

RNO: What did Scott do while the originals were there? We don't see much of him. He did not defend you like guest Amanda did, nor did he seem to join in the bashing.

Dave: Scott played it cool – had Scott been there when Andon confronted him, I know for a fact that Scott would have had my back and defended me. He would have stood up for me.

RNO: Do you think the fact that he is older had anything to do with why he stayed out of the fight?

Dave: His age yes, and he is more mature than some of the others.

RNO: Alex seemed to be fairly docile yet we see him getting involved in the situation by messing with your ears. Was Alex that angry at you?

Dave: I think Alex got caught up in the mob mentality thing and he wanted to humiliate me.

RNO: Was the behavior of the original guests fairly portrayed? How much of it was editing?

Dave: There were moments that were more civil than they showed and there were moments that were much, much worse that were edited to look not so bad. The Andon situation was much worse than what they actually showed. There was a definite threat there.

RNO: A physical threat?

Dave: Yes, a physical threat. But it was not edited to look that way.

RNO: Amy threatened people with death many times, but when Zack did it they told him he could not come back on the show. Why didn't they boot Amy as per their own rules?

Dave: You'll have to ask the producers that.


RNO: Are you in love with Charla?

Dave: I am not nor ever have been in love with Charla, although I will admit that I had a crush on her.

RNO: Do you continue to talk to anyone on the show?

Dave: I cannot say yet who I am in touch with still until after the finale airs.

RNO: So what is the grand prize? Is it the hotel?

Dave: No, the Hotel is worth forty-million dollars. It is not the hotel

RNO: A time share in the hotel?

Dave: No, I cannot say what the prize is. I can't tell anyone what they gave away, not even my family.

RNO: Can you confirm that it is a jury vote?

Dave: Yes, it is a jury vote. I wish I would have thought that it could have possibly been a jury vote. I thought that Big Brother and Survivor have jury votes and this probably wouldn't have one.

RNO: Why did Keith think you betrayed him? Why could he not see that this was part of the game?

Dave: He did see it as part of the game. Keith never thought I would betray him, he knew I wanted Charla to get the power. I did not want to power because at that point I had already voted so many people off. But I wanted Charla to have the power and Keith outsmarted me. He managed to be the one to get that power. He played the game well. But he never once thought I would really betray him. I did not have to say anything to Holly and Scott. They probably would have voted for me had I kept my mouth shut, so that was part was my fault. But Keith knew I would never have betrayed him.

RNO: So it sounds like Keith chose you to go with him to the final four.

Dave: No, I cannot say that. I can't tell you who is in the final four.

RNO: Are you aware that because Fox edited you the way they did, that it actually helped the way the public sees you?

Dave: Yes I am very aware that I was edited poorly in the beginning and then when the originals came back I was edited better and then last week I was edited poorly again, so go figure.

RNO: By bearing the brunt of the originals’ wrath, you have become the underdog.

Dave: Yes and it was the hardest thing to live through at the time but it actually turned out OK because of the outpouring of support I have been receiving since the show aired.

RNO: How has Paradise changed you?

Dave: I have a lot more confidence now. The feedback I have gotten is incredible. One of my friends the other day said I even look taller now. That is what it did to me. I have always had confidence in some things, but never in anything that involved the opposite sex, but now that has changed.

RNO: You know, you were characterized as the guy who "did not look like a model," to put it nicely. A lot of people just thought you were this goofy guy, but it's different now. You have a beautiful personality and I hope a lot of people come away with the lasting impression that they should not judge someone based solely on looks.

Dave: Thanks for saying that.

RNO: How did you lose the 69 pounds?

Dave: Exercise and portion control.

RNO: How do you feel about the show in general? About what the show was meant to be and the way some groups have protested and gotten sponsors to pull their advertising for it?

Dave: I wish Fox would have marketed it differently and the producers would have focused on other things. I wish Fox had not promoted it as a sex fest because it turned out not to be a sex fest. And I wish the groups that boycotted it would have looked closer at it and taken a second look. Fox and the producers promoted it as a sex fest, the protesters boycotted it as a sex fest, but it was not a sex fest. I think it was a fascinating study into human behavior and what happens and what choices one makes when you are isolated

RNO: Like Amy making the choice that Zack is a suitable mate. Amy is really not that stupid is she?

Dave: I think Amy and Zack are a perfect match

RNO: I hope they don't have any kids.

Dave will speak with us again after the show's finale to tell us what he cannot tell us now, and we can find out more about his new book and fan club!

Peggy Keller is Mother and Behavior Therapist to her two autistic sons and teenage daughter. Click here to e-mail her.

[luna_chicago]

The Salon article was a fun read. Thanks everyone!! I'm so excited about tonight but my damn best friend wants to hang out so I have to tape it and watch it later tonight.

*mumbling* darn interpersonal exchanges win out over staring at the television again - drat!

[RubenFan#205]

Something we haven't heard too much about Dave and Charla is

I am not surprise one bit if Charla did that.. all I can say is.. I told you so.!