We Love TV!
This is just an unofficial fan page, we have no connection
to any shows or networks.
Please click here to vote for our site!
By
Suzanne
 
Interview with Bear Grylls and Holly
Wofford of "The Island" on
NBC 5/29/15
NBC UNIVERSAL
Moderator: Neda Naderi
May 29, 2015 1:30 pm CT
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by.
Welcome to The Island Bear Grylls and Holly Wofford press
and media conference call. During the presentation all
participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards we’ll
conduct a question-and-answer session. At that time if you
have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on
your telephone.
If at any time during the conference you need to reach an
operator, please press star 0. As a reminder this call is
being recorded Friday, May 29th, 2015. I would now like to
turn the call over to Neda Naderi. Please go ahead, ma’am.
Neda Naderi: Hi, everyone and thank you for joining today’s
conference call for NBC’s new adventure reality series The
Island with Host and Executive Producer Bear Grylls and
Executive Producer Holly Wofford.
The second episode of The Island airs next Monday at 10:00
pm. Without further ado I open it up to questions and
welcome Bear Grylls and Holly Wofford.
Bear Grylls: Thanks, guys, hey, nice to be with you, thanks
for your time. I’ll try and answer as many things as we can
get through but thanks for joining us.
Operator: Okay, and ladies and gentlemen...
Neda Naderi: Thanks you so much.
Operator: ...ladies and gentlemen if you’d like to register
a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your
telephone. You will hear a three-tone prompt to acknowledge
your request. If your question has been answered and you
would like to withdraw your registration, please press the 1
followed by the 3.
If you are using a speakerphone, please lift your handset
before entering your request. Once again to register a
question press 1-4 and our first question comes from the
line of Sarah Bellman of WhoSay. Please proceed with your
question.
Sarah Bellman: Hello, how are you guys?
Holly Wofford: Good, thanks.
Bear Grylls: Yes, all good.
Sarah Bellman: I was just wondering what is the biggest
piece of advice you would give someone who’s taking on this
challenge?
Bear Grylls: Well, we kind of intentionally wanted to pick
everyday people, you know, real cross-section of society for
this experiment, you know, this very wasn’t us sending out
to do a reality show, you know, with reality type people.
You know, we really wanted to do a study of what’s happened
to modern day man. We’ll still got that edge so, you know,
bear in mind we had really regular people. We gave them, you
know, bare minimum amount of training, you know, literally
about a day and a half, two days and then they’re on to it.
And probably the most important advice I gave to them was at
the end of their training which was really about the
psychology of it and said listen, you know, this will be a
brutal, brutal, you know, experience you’re about to go
through.
You know, you’re going somewhere, you know, where there’s,
you know, bare minimum of everything. You’re going to be
dehydrated, you’re going to be starving, you know, some of
these guys didn’t eat for days and days and days and days
and days on end.
You know, that’s sleeping rough on the floor. You got
snakes, you got, you know, sandflies, you know, it’s going
to be a really brutal, you know, time this but just remember
the pain won’t last forever and this is your chance to
distinguish yourself and show the world what you’re made of
and that you can put up with this and you’re made of sterner
stuff and you don’t, you know, crumble when the pressure
goes on.
And I think what I’ve noticed is that so many people can
talk a good story, you know, and one thing I said to them I
said, you know, the words don’t matter. You know, this is
about your actions, your actions are what define you.
And look after each other and be kind and be resourceful and
be determined and, you know, be that quiet, humble team
player who just kind of works harder than anyone else and
those are the thing that really are going to matter during
this experience for you.
And you know, I said to them I said you’ll remember these
words at difficult times and they’re true, you know, and
what was interesting is as I’m watching this whole
experience, this whole month unfold and as Holly and me and
the team sat and watched footage coming in every day, you
realize some of the guys who, you know, talked of great
stories just couldn’t necessarily follow-through with that.
And other people who started-off really nervous and unsure
about their place not only in the world but also on this
island started to grow and I think this is why it’s such a
compelling show is that you really this is as raw and as
real and as visceral and as moving as you can get because
it’s just straight, these guys going through an incredible
experience and trying to kind of look after each other and
hang on in there themselves so really proud of how they did.
Sarah Bellman: Awesome and I guess overall was luxury was
the hardest for them to give up?
Bear Grylls: Well, everyone obviously has different stuff
but it’s amazing what hunger does to people and I think if
you’ve never been without food for 12 days straight, it’s
hard to kind of describe what it does to you but, you know,
again you see this very powerfully close-up with these
people is this obsession comes with eating.
And it’s almost like they don’t mind what the taste is, what
it is, they just want that feeling of something in their
belly and it’s why a lot of the, you know, concentration
camp survivors, you know, in the last World War talked about
this is, you know, they’d often just eat mud and grit and
gravel because it was wanting that feeling of just something
in the belly.
And these guys really, you know, go through it and you know,
I said to them you got to embrace failure because you’re
going to fail and fail and fail at fishing, at catching
crocs, at doing all of this stuff until eventually you get
it and you know, and I won’t say whether they did get it but
it was a really moving kind of journey as these guys had to
figure out how to be resourceful and use what is there in
clever and genius ways to try and satisfy this hunger.
But it was a very powerful thing, you know, that need for
food between the men.
Sarah Bellman: Great, thank you so much.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Suzanne
Lanoue of The TV MegaSite. Please proceed with your question.
Suzanne Lanoue: Good morning. It seems like so many reality
shows are, you know, they call them reality shows but
they’re not really reality but it seems like yours is really
trying to be real. Do you think that there’s a need for that
in the audience, people really want to see real reality?
Bear Grylls: Well, you’re right and I know there is a need
for that and it was a big step for NBC, you know, to say
hold on, you’re going to do a show where there are no camera
crews and you’re just putting everyday people with some
GoPros and some cameras and trusting them to film stuff and
we’re putting however much money on the line to make this
happen.
We won’t get the footage, you know, but they kind of
understood and they said well this is what we should be
doing. We should be doing cutting-edge stuff that takes it
forward and really does a show that is 100% as it is and
they really backed us and encouraged us to do it but you’re
right, people find it hard.
They almost go yes, yes, yes, I get it but where does the
catering come from or yes, yes I get it but how do you
resupply the crews and it’s like no, no, it is literally
what it is. Its 14 men left on an island with nothing with
zero contact with the outside world for that month and it’s
almost sort of hard to understand in its simplicity.
But it really was that and sometimes, you know, that’s why
the stories are so powerful because it is so straight-up and
people sort of almost forget about this is a TV thing, you
know, become so sort of raw for these men, just the process
of trying to survive that, you know, they sort of forget
about the cameras.
And I think that’s what yourself lose in these reality
shows, it’s all about the cameras whereas for these guys it
is all about, you know, staying alive and the fact that
there are no rules for these people.
You know, are you going to go on your own or are you going
to work together as a team. What happens if you hate each
other? Are you going to sleep there, are you going to fish
there, are you going to do this, you know, there are no
rules. You got to kind of figure it out as you go and I
think Americans are not used to this thing of no prizes, no
eliminations, you know.
Suzanne Lanoue: I hope you start a trend, that would be
great.
Holly Wofford: Yes, and further to that, the one thing that
I would add to that is the fact that, you know, I like to
say that this is the most real survival show in the history
of televisions. These men didn’t even know where they were
going until we handed them their tickets.
They had no idea. They had the full run of the island. There
was no other person, no production person, no nothing, no
medical on the island. It was 14 men on an island surviving
for a month, go.
Suzanne Lanoue: Wow, and what was the decision to make it
all men and not have some women in there or make it
difficult?
Bear Grylls: Well, Holly, happily jump in.
Holly Wofford: Go ahead, yes, sure.
Bear Grylls: Well it started off because we wanted, you
know, I get so many people always saying to me, you know,
what’s happened to modern man nowadays, you know, they’re so
emasculated and they’re, you know, their greatest survival
ability is now Google and their smartphone and, you know,
we’ve lost that ability to, you know, what makes a man
nowadays. It’s confusing.
And so when we originally, you know, did this, that’s what
we tried to set out to answer. We said well let’s take a
totally cross-section of society and see if they do still
have that when you strip them of all of the, you know,
conveniences of modern living.
We’ve done a version of this in the U.K. and, you know, lots
of people said after the success of that first season, we
would love to see what would happen with women as well and
it was really exciting to be able to do a second season and
then do a women’s one as well.
That was incredibly moving actually, very different, very
surprising, not what I expected to happen on that island
with the women but very inspiring and, you know, the goal is
if this one goes well and people really kind of get into it
in a way we’ve seen it build in all the other countries
we’ve aired around the world, you know, it would be great to
do a women’s version as well for sure.
Suzanne Lanoue: So do you think it would be difficult if you
tried to make it mixed men and women?
Bear Grylls: Yes, well that’s maybe Season 6, you know, we
got to get to that stage but it’s interesting, you know, it
took a while in the U.K. for people to really understand
this show and, you know, but by the time we found ourselves
sort of three episodes in, some of these people realized my
God this really is what it says it is.
It really is that raw and real and it’s sort of built quite
a cult following quite fast in the U.K. and, you know, ended
incredibly popular and, you know, we got a (bafter) last
week which was exciting for it so but sometimes new things
take a while for people to kind of almost to believe.
So I’m excited especially for this week because we’re kind
of established it last week, this is what we’re doing and it
really starts to ramp-up in quite a dramatic way from here
on in.
Suzanne Lanoue: That’s quite a commentary on our lives but
that people don’t understand that real is real when you
think about it.
Bear Grylls: Yes, well sometimes the simplest things can be
kind of hard to understand like that, you know, and I was
with it as well when we initially set this thing up is like
can we really pull this off, you know?
Suzanne Lanoue: All right, well thanks a lot, I appreciate
it.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of
(Stephanie Pichet) of (mangolamediatv.com). Please proceed.
Stephanie Pichet: Hi, Holly and Bear. I was very excited
to watch the first episode and so and understand it is real
so my question’s for you Holly, what type of safety nets did
you have in place just in case because it is so real?
Holly Wofford: Yes, I mean, looked at the dangers, the
dangers are out there. They absolutely are and, you know, we
had to be smart about how we protected the men but I say
protected the men and I mean that from a distance. As I
mentioned there were no other people on the island. The men
had the run of the island.
However, the safety net was that as you saw in the first
episode the men did have a walkie-talkie that they could
reach us at in the event of an extreme emergency and then we
had a safety crew and a medical crew, they were a couple of
miles away but they could reach the island within a matter
of minutes.
Stephanie Pichet: Uh huh, okay, and Bear I grew up going
camping with my family and so that was the thing and my
father taught us a lot and, you know, he would call it
walking around sense.
When you guys were casting, did you find that people have
had walking around sense or can, you know, figure things out
are the best ones for this type of show and then what skills
do you think we need to have just as people in today’s
modern society should we ever get landed on an island where
there’s nothing for us to survive with?
Bear Grylls: Well, your dad is right, you know, it is a key
trait that walking around sense of that just awareness of
what’s going on around you but I think people lose that and
I think one of the reasons is that life is just so fast and
it’s so busy and we kind of stand on our track and that is
it, you know, we kind of just focus on that and we lose that
awareness of what’s going on around us.
But, you know, again with casting we didn’t want to get
people who had these sort of skills. We just really wanted
the person that you would recognize from next door so when
you see it on the TV you go oh do you know what? I know
someone who’s just like Michael or I met someone the other
day who’s like, you know, Trey or whoever it is so no, they
didn’t have all this awareness.
It was part of what we tried to, you know, me and the
survivor team tried to teach them in that sort of brief bit
of training they had beforehand but I think when it comes to
actually the traits they needed, I think what I’ve noticed
is that there is such a strong link between the island and
life, you know?
And the qualities that really mattered on the island might
not be qualities that you initially think would really be
important, you know, and you said what makes a great
survivor? You wouldn’t necessarily say things like humility
or kindness, you know?
But when you’re that beaten-up and you’re that starving and
you’re that thirsty and you haven’t slept for however long
and it’s pissing the rain day after day, you know, the
person who can work harder than the person that’s going to
carry all that firewood and just quietly sort of help people
and be a good guy really matters and it’s the same in life,
you know?
I think nobody’s interested in the bravado, you know, from
the person next door. You want a person who’s going to
really care for you and, you know, be a good guy to be with
in the battles of life so, you know, it’s wise such a path
will link between everyday life and the island.
It’s just the island strips are very bare and blows all the
fluff of life away so people can come and see it as it is
but I think it’s why it resonates with people because you
relate to it even though you might not necessarily have ever
gone through that sort of experience yourself, you know?
Stephanie Pichet: Thank you. I’m really enjoying it, can’t
wait to see more.
Bear Grylls: Thank you.
Holly Wofford: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Cody
Schultz of Hidden Remote. Please proceed.
Cody Schultz: Hi guys, thanks again so much for speaking
with us today. My first question is for Holly. As Bear
mentioned, there are no camera crews on location with the
participants and our question is from the production side,
what has been the most difficult aspect working on the
series?
Holly Wofford: Well, the 14 men shot the series themselves.
Everything was shot by the 14 men and I think frankly
maintaining the cameras, lugging the cameras around and
thinking about shooting what they’re doing under the
circumstances when they’re starving and when they’re, you
know, absolutely thirsty, dying of thirst.
I think those are the biggest challenges on the surface as
far as a production is concerned. You know, it’s a network
television show. We had expectations for these men.
Each man did receive a small amount of camera training so
they weren’t sent out there blindly but yes, I think, you
know, getting their bearings, being able to shoot when
feeling so exhausted and being able to deliver a, you know,
a network quality product was quite challenging for them.
I think frankly their biggest challenges were survival,
though, you know, outside of production. It’s mentally how
do you keep yourself in the game when you are absolutely
miserable and you know it’s only going to get worse before
it gets better.
And I think it’s the mental struggle and the mental
transformations and the mental successes that they came back
with that I’m most proud of. I have to say though, you know,
what they gave to us, what they delivered to us as far as
media and what they shot is just so impressive.
These guys, you know, they took it seriously. They put their
heart and soul into turning this into a successful series.
Of course when they went out there they weren’t thinking I
hope this is a successful series, you know, they went out
with a goal of being able to stick it out, being able to be
successful at the survival game while they’re out there and
documenting that along the way.
And they, you know, they did that so exceptionally well and
I’m so, so proud of them for what they’ve brought back.
Cody Schultz: Okay great, and then my second question is
redo, guys. What was your favorite moment from this season
of like when a contestant maybe had a breakthrough or just
any moment that stands out?
Bear Grylls: You go, Holly.
Holly Wofford: Sure. I have to say if you stick around and
watch the series, you will see that every man that makes it
to the end is a changed man. It is absolutely remarkable.
It’s inspiring and for me this was a personal - it was a
personal championship - I mean, it was an amazing experience
to see these guys that we cast, these regular men, these
non-survivalists who had very little to no skills in the
wild, some had never even been camping.
And they come out the other end not just being able to
survive on an island but changed from, you know, their
outward appearance but inside, their hearts, their minds,
they will never be the same again and it’s absolutely
remarkable.
Bear Grylls: Yes, I’d really echo that that, you know, Holly
it’s interesting because Shara my wife, you know, she so
used to lots of our shows coming out that she, you know, she
sometimes watches them but when it comes to the island, it’s
the first TV show I’ve ever done where she goes and I was
away when she watched, you know, she’s now watching Episode
3-4-5 of the U.S. version, she’s going I haven’t cried for a
long time in front of a TV set.
You know, and it’s so great to hear, you know, and you’re
right Holly, that beach at the end when they all came back,
I mean, you know, these guys had a light in their eyes that
money can’t buy, you know, it really is this hard-earned
glint in their eye that they won through heart, sweat,
endeavor, brotherhood, you know, and they’ve earned it the
hard way.
And it was, Holly’s right, it was very, very moving and
inspiring and, you know, that’s why we’re so proud of this.
Holly Wofford: Yes, and you’re exactly right Bear. I think,
you know, it’s not just survival, this show. It’s human
transformation and there are a lot of moments that are very
touching and real. It’s not just hardcore survival. Yes, it
is hardcore survival but it’s very there are a lot of
touching moments throughout this series.
Cody Schultz: (Unintelligible) and we can see what’s ahead
so thank you guys so much.
Holly Wofford: Sure thing.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as another reminder to
register a question, press 1-4 on your telephone keypad and
our next question comes from the line of Rebecca Murray of
ShowbizJunkies.com. Please proceed.
Rebecca Murray: Good afternoon. I was wondering were there
people who emerged as leaders that you did not anticipate
were going to be the leaders of the group?
Bear Grylls: Holly, do you want to...
Holly Wofford: Sure, yes. Absolutely. There were, you know,
we cast a group of 14 regular guys and you never know who’s
going to end-up standing-out as a leader, who’s going to
step forward, what approach are they going to take to
leadership? Is it a loud boisterous one or is it, you know,
a quiet approach?
And I have to say that the men that I would have guessed
would have emerged as the leaders and carried the show in
that way absolutely did not and the men that were more quiet
and perhaps more observant in the beginning truly emerged as
leaders.
That said, this experience for the men it was a group
effort. It took every man to get every other man to the end,
you know, as Bear said, sorry to quote you Bear and I don’t
want to misstate you but he’s like no man is an island and
that’s true, you know, it take a team.
And it really it took this team and it took a lot of
positive attitudes and kindness to get through this
experience. Yes, there were moments that were heated, you
know, a group of strangers, they aren’t always going to get
along but they certainly did find a way to succeed as a team
and as a group as a whole.
And Bear I thought you said something really interesting to
the men at the end about like everyday heroes. Do you
remember what you said to them? It was you said that, you
know, you can never predict who the hero’s going to be.
Again, I’m just sort of restating what you said generally
but you can never predict who the hero’s going to be and
you’re absolutely right.
Bear Grylls: Well, you can in the movies because they all
look, you know, square-jawed and big muscles and all of that
but, you know, this really was the ultimate sort of quest to
find, you know, find those heroes and what I’ve learned in
many things, you know, from expeditions in the military and
the island shows that heroes come in many forms and they’re
often well-disguised.
But when you really put the squeeze on, you know, like the
island does where it’s the ultimate pressure cooker, you
know, you begin to see what people are made of and those
heroes do definitely emerge but, you know, first of all
there was a lot of pain and I think that’s why it’s such
compelling TV, you know, because the pain is very full-on
for these guys.
And I often talk about the phases of forming a team which is
the forming, the storming, and then the performing. You
know, first of all you form them, then it’s a storming, you
know, where it’s crazy where you’ve got all these people in
different backgrounds, different jobs, different, you know,
attitudes and prejudices and opinions and because there’s no
rule of law on the island, some people might not want a
leader so there’s all a storming phase.
And then eventually out of desperation you figure it out and
finally you get to, you know, hopefully you get to a phase
where it works but yes, no, as you said it’s an inspiring
process you see come to life.
Rebecca Murray: Well, it really is fascinating, thank you.
Holly Wofford: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of (Courtney
Fulori) of (Oh So Great). Please proceed.
Courtney Fulori: Good morning, thanks for talking with us.
Holly Wofford: Good morning.
Bear Grylls: Hi.
Courtney Fulori: The show has been described by some as a
combination of Naked and Afraid with Survivor. What do you
think it is about the show that differentiates it from those
two and to bring viewers in?
Bear Grylls: Holly, why don’t you go?
Holly Wofford: Sure. The thing about The Island is this is
the most real survivor survival television show in the
history of TV. It truly is. As I said earlier, these men
didn’t even know where they were going until we handed them
their tickets. They were literally dropped on an island,
expected to film themselves and were given no resources
beyond three machetes, three knives and enough water for one
day.
The only other supplies they had were camera equipment
obviously and a medical pack so, you know, they had no
knowledge of the island when they arrived and were expected
to find a way to survive amongst themselves and it was no
easy task that’s for sure. The other thing is, you know,
there’s no grand prize here. There are no challenges. There
are no rewards.
They didn’t get food along the way provided by production.
They didn’t, you know, there wasn’t the game element - there
isn’t the game element - in The Island. There are no
eliminations, you know, voting-out eliminations and the fact
that they aren’t playing for any sort of prize. The only
prize truthfully is pride.
They’re not playing for a monetary prize so it’s, you know,
its hard core. There are no format elements in this series,
you know, if you look at Naked and Afraid, you know they’re
going to be dropped off and they move from one location to
the next and then they have to, you know, get to their
pick-up location.
Survivor has the games and the elimination at the end. The
Island is truly a docu-series of 14 men documenting their
experience surviving on an island and it’s real, it’s raw
and it’s extraordinary.
Bear Grylls: And what’s cool is that it didn’t need a prize.
It didn’t need money or anything, you know, to motivate
these guys. These guys worked beyond the normal, you know,
and the reason they did it is that they wanted to discover
something about themselves.
And they wanted to show to their loved ones whether it was
their mom, their dad, their spouse, their kids, they wanted
to prove their mettle and they hadn’t necessarily we’ve had
a chance in life to prove that mettle and it’s incredibly
inspiring seeing how motivating it is for people. You don’t
need prizes or games for people to go to hell and back.
And, you know, if you think of those other shows you talked
about, you know, these guys are experts on nature play,
their survivor list and they’ve got camera crews supporting
them, you know, and the same with Survivor, there’s camera
crews, you know, everywhere, you know, what is so original
is doing this in a way where you’ve got zero contact.
And, you know, most people say oh there’s no contact but I
bet there is. I mean, it’s literally zero contact and I
think that’s what’s so original here and it’s what results
in some pretty shocking moments to be honest.
I mean, there were definitely times Holly and me were seeing
stuff coming back and going wow, you know, you just have to
come and sit down and take a moment, you know, but it was
always going to be like that, you know, you’ve put them on
an island with no rules, you got to expect a bit of that.
Courtney Fulori: And Bear is it pretty much impossible to
be a vegetarian and be on one of these shows?
Bear Grylls: Well, you’re going to go pretty hungry, you
know, but the thing is there are no rules and this is what’s
so appealing, you know, because you could easily have a
vegetarian or a vegan on there and, you know, and that’s why
it’s such a great reflection of life. There are no rules.
There’s nobody saying you can do it. Why couldn’t they?
They could do it but they’re just going to go through even
more starvation than the others, you know, and there are a
lot of times where they had to make some pretty moral
judgments, you know, on certain things and, you know, it’s
moving seeing how people approach that when you take people
outside of this rule of law, you know?
So it would be possible but it would be even tougher I
think, you know, especially when you’re having to work so
hard. The main thing is about thirst, you know, there’s no
water there, you know, to get water they’re having to trek
miles at a time and having to carry the water back.
And they’re having to then filter it and then collect
firewood to get a fire to boil it, you know, this is sort of
hours and hours of work to get sips of water so, you know,
you can see what sort of hunger and everything they’re going
through when it’s such hard work just to get the basics of
just water in your mouth.
Courtney Fulori: Great, well thank you both and appreciate
it.
Holly Wofford: Thank you.
Operator: And our final question comes from the line of
(Emily Platt) of American University’s The Eagle. Please
proceed.
Emily Platt: Hi, I’m just wondering how you choose the
island (unintelligible) that the contestants are dropped?
Bear Grylls: Well, in short we try to find the toughest
island out there, you know, so I think people have an image
of desert islands as being lovely places with nice palm
trees and, you know, nice climate and, you know, nice
swimming and all of that, you know, this really could have
been called Hell Island because it’s a place that’s just
full of snakes, crocodiles.
It’s like a natural fortress patrolled by sharks, brutal
heat and humidity, sandflies that sometimes, you know,
you’ll see these men they’re literally it’s like they’re
just devoured by these things, you know, so we’re looking
for an island that has a lot of those elements.
At the same time we’re having to look for an island that has
enough natural resources and indigenous animals that can
sustain life but barely and that was the kind of brief, you
know, find a really mega unforgiving island that can sustain
life just.
Emily Platt: All right, and were you given a choice of
islands by NBC or was it a list that you created on your
own?
Bear Grylls: Yes, we, you know, Holly led a scouting team
and we had people out all over the, you know, all over the
world looking for the right sort of places and then we put
a, you know, selection of those in front of NBC and put our
stamp our case for each one and eventually pick the right
one.
You know, but again at the end of the day the great thing is
it’s not about the island, you know, you could do it
anywhere. It’s about these guys’ personal journey and their
transformation and the cost of the transformation and the
cost, you know, I’ve said on this is about 1000 barrels of
sweat but it’s an incredible price to pay and it’s an
incredible prize at the end.
It might not be a sort of prize you’re used to on American
TV but it’s a prize that is almost beyond value for these
guys that endured but not all of them made it.
Emily Platt: All right, thank you.
Bear Grylls: Hey just before everyone jumps on the phone, a
thing I’d just say is Holly has been amazing. She’s kind of
led this team. She’s been the unsung hero behind the scenes
and there’s only one girl who worked hard than those men on
the island and that’s Holly and I think both of us couldn’t
relax until finally we’d gotten them off.
And when they were finally off the island, it was a huge
sense of relief because, you know, when you unleash people
with no training or minimum training on an island like that
with that many nasties, there is so much that can go wrong
and, you know, I’m used to shows like Running Wild where I
can really guide these people by the hand through the
wilderness.
And in many ways the hardest thing for me on this one was
sitting on my hands and watching it unfold so Holly you did
an amazing job, you know, managing all of that from the
production side, the safety side and, yes, I can’t sing your
praises enough to all of those journalists because you
deserve it.
Holly Wofford: Well, thank you Bear, that’s really nice. I
mean, the show is my baby. There’s no doubt about it. It’s
been a very personal show that I’m extremely proud of and so
grateful to have been a part of and most of all I’m just
extremely and exceptionally proud of the men out there, you
know, the men and the journeys that they went through and
the struggles that they overcame.
Each man arrived at the island with a very personal reason
for coming and I think that they all leave as changed men
and many thanks to you Bear for allowing that to happen. You
know, this is your show and without you none of us would be
here.
Bear Grylls: Yes, so it’s been a great journey. I hope you
guys enjoy the rest of the episodes. Brace yourself. It
ramps up and yes, here’s to hopefully doing well.
Operator: We will now turn the call back to Neda.
Neda Naderi: Thank you everyone.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the
conference call for today. We thank you for your
participation and ask that you please disconnect your line.
END

THE ISLAND
Air Date: Mondays on NBC (10-11 p.m.
ET); Premiere: May 25
In the hourlong “The Island,” the internationally
acclaimed adventurer and survivalist Bear
Grylls gives the modern American man the ultimate
challenge. Can a man of today's world survive on a deserted
island without the luxuries — or even the basics — of
contemporary everyday life?
"The Island," based on the hit Shine TV-produced Channel 4
U.K. series of the same name, doesn't include any of the
usual reality show trappings. There are no prizes. No
eliminations. No winner. No camera teams. The entire series
is filmed by the men themselves. The six episodes will
leave 14 American men isolated on a deserted island with
only the clothes on their backs, minimal survival tools,
committed to filming every moment themselves.
These 21st-century American men, who are accustomed to a
roof over their head, restaurants and the benefits of
technology, are stripped of all modern conveniences and
catapulted back to their roots. They must hunt for food,
source water, erect shelter, build community and try to
survive using only their strength, determination and
know-how. All of the men, including a stay-at-home dad,
trauma surgeon, firefighter and criminal defense attorney,
have something to prove to themselves and each other. This
experiment takes them to the very edge of human endurance.
They will test their physical, mental and emotional limits
and fight for their very existence.
“The Island” is produced by Endemol Shine North America and
Bear Grylls Ventures. Bear
Grylls, Eden Gaha, Michael Brooks,
Holly Wofford and Delbert Shoopman serve as executive
producers.
Bear Grylls
Host, "The Island"
World-renowned adventurer Bear Grylls
hosts NBC’s adventure reality series, “The Island,” where he
gives modern American man the ultimate challenge of
survival.
Grylls has become known worldwide as
one of the most-recognized faces of survival and outdoor
adventure. His journey to this acclaim started on a small
island off the UK coast, where his late father taught him to
climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts,
Grylls went on to spend three years
as a soldier in the British Special Forces, with the almost
legendary SAS . It was here that he perfected many of the
survival skills that his fans all over the world enjoy, as
he pits himself against the worst of Mother Nature. Despite
a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa -- where he broke
his back in three places and endured months in military
rehabilitation, Grylls went on to
become one of the youngest climbers ever to reach the summit
of Mount Everest.
He then went on to star in seven seasons of the Discovery
Channel’s Emmy Award-nominated “Man vs. Wild” which has
become one of the most-watched shows on the planet, reaching
an estimated 1.2 billion viewers. Off-screen,
Grylls has led record-breaking
expeditions from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn has
raised many millions of dollars for children's charities
around the world. In recognition for his expertise and
service, Grylls was appointed as the
youngest-ever Chief Scout to 30 million Scouts worldwide and
was awarded an honorary commission as a Commander in the
Royal Navy and as a Colonel in the notoriously tough Royal
Marines Commandos. He has authored 15 books, including his
autobiography “Mud, Sweat & Tears,” which became a #1
international bestseller. He is married with 3 young boys
and together they live on a small, remote Welsh island off
the UK coast.
Back to the Main Articles
Page
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
We need more episode guide recap writers, article
writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so
please email us
if you can help out! More volunteers always
needed! Thanks!
Page updated 6/2/15
    
|