Here is a link to an interview with Vermin from some newspaper in Pittsburg...Vermin was there to promote S3 auditions.I'll post the link and the text....there are at least two things of interest in there...
http://www.triblive.com/entertainment/entertainment_story.html?rkey=112664+sid=85e071512ec68c3dcf90920a7cf84169+cat=entertainment-tvradio-news+template=entertainment.html
And now the full text...
Kyla Feliz-Williams, 7, of Upper St. Clair grimaces at her mother Tuesday as former 'Survivor: The Australian Outback' contestant Jeff Varner signs an autograph for her. (Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review photo)
They've hissed Jerri Manthey. They've cheered Amber Brkich. Or sneered at her for being Jerri's puppet.
Tuesday, producers of "Survivor" gave local fans the chance to tell them how much better they would do things. How they would avoid the mistakes of Beaver County's Brkich, one of six finalists competing for the $1 million prize. How their day jobs as cop or chemist, student or secretary, was simply a dress rehearsal for a starring role in "Survivor III."
Drawn by the popularity of "Survivor: The Australian Outback," and the prospect of meeting a Survivor - namely hunky Jeff Varner, Web-site producer - area hopefuls visited car dealerships in five locations in Pittsburgh yesterday. Each had three minutes to talk about themselves in front of a video camera.
Varner's first stop was at Cochran Pontiac in Robinson Township.
In case you've been camping out with Amelia Earhart for the past year and a half, the "Survivor" series is part eco-challenge, part soap opera. Divided into two tribes, 16 strangers compete against each other in contests of brain and brawn, called immunity challenges. The losing tribe must vote a member out. The last survivor wins the $1 million prize.
One of those hoping to be a future "Survivor" cast member was Carlos Schrader. The City of Pittsburgh policeman and S.W.A.T. team member says he thinks he has what it takes to survive with 15 strangers for weeks on end.
"My kids have been busting my chops about this," he says. "They're saying `You can do it, Dad.'"
Nobody stepped forward to dispute this point. Schrader, who skydives, kayaks and teaches boxing, looks like he could bench press Wilkinsburg.
"I enjoy the show. I can play the game. I get lied to every day: `I didn't run that red light.' `I didn't steal that money.'"
"I put on some weight just in case I get picked," he says. "I'm just pre-strategizing."
Jennifer Weinberg, 30, of Shadyside used her lunch hour to chat with Varner and pose for a picture or two.
"I was very depressed when you got kicked off," she told him.
"A lot of people tell me that," Varner replied. "I don't know why."
Jeff Varner visits Cochran Pontiac in Robinson on Tuesday to offer his insights on auditions for 'Survivor III.' (Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review photo)
Because Varner expected the worst, he says the Outback ordeal wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.
"I expected it to be a nightmare," he says. "I expected it to be difficult."
Don't make him dis the rival tribe that voted him off. Oh, what the heck. "Ogakor was boring. Kucha did well," he says, because "we had a work ethic. We worked hard. Everybody had their job to do. We worked hard to improve the camp every day. Everybody tried to fish."
Despite a case of strep throat, Varner says the toughest part was leaving the game. "They put you on a truck," he says. "They had about 50 of these feeder sandwiches and I ate 30. Then, when we got back to the (lodge), I had a pizza, two cheeseburgers and a bowl of grits. Then I realized I was sick, and I didn't eat for two days."
Those who were voted out were not allowed to hang around, he told fans. So he went to China.
"We had to get out. They wanted us to get out and travel before the next person that was voted off came off the game. They wanted to have everything in their power. Which failed. Because we all know what happened."
His advice for the next batch of would-be "Survivors": "Just to constantly be on their toes for things going on around them. Have their eyes and ears open at all times and act like they don't. I mean, it sounds awful to say, but it's important. There comes a point where you're going to have to lie."
Karen Williams of Upper St. Clair tried a little strategy of her own on Varner. She gave him a copy of Entertainment Weekly to autograph. One of the more recent issues, it didn't have his picture among the six remaining finalists.
"Where do I sign?" he said.
"Sign on the face of the winner," she said.
Varner only grinned.
Pittsburgh is one of 16 cities where producers conducted interviews. The producers will choose 50 possible contestants from each of the 16 cities. That number will be winnowed down to 48 semi-finalists who will be flown to Los Angeles in May or June to meet with "Survivor" producers.
One more thing: Applicants should not assume that CBS will bypass Pittsburgh just because they've already used someone from this area. Varner says he and Kelly Wiglesworth from the first "Survivor" are from the same small town in North Carolina.
William Loeffler can be reached at (412) 320-7986 or wloeffler@tribweb.com.
'Survivor' scoops
Keith Famie might be the chef, but ex-"Survivor" Jeff Varner has the best dish. Here's what he had to spill on his fellow Outback inmates.
Kel Gleason: Army intelligence officer, voted out Week 2. Gleason has since said his military code of honor forbade him to tell lies like the others. "I respect it, but Kel was the second to be voted off," Jeff says.
Kimmi Kappenberg: Vegetarian and dirt-bather. Voted out in Week 5, but not before she let it slip to the rival Ogakor Tribe that Jeff already had a vote against him in a previous tribal council. Two weeks later, they exploited that chink in Jeff's armor and voted him out. Despite the "very large mouth" that got him booted, Jeff says he and Kimmi are friends today. "Very much so," he says. "I cussed her out on the airplane and got it out of my system."
Michael Skupin: Software executive and pig-killer, evacuated in Week 6 after severely burning hands in a campfire accident. "It was really awful. He was always into something that was off the wall. When they said `It's Michael,' I thought, `What's that idiot done now?' Then I saw what happened to him."
Alicia Calaway: Personal trainer and intimidator in a silver bikini. Voted off Week 8. "Alicia's very tough. She does not have patience or time with BS." Of all the "Survivor II" contestants, Jeff remains the closest with Alicia.
Jerri Manthey: Room-emptying actress wanna-be. Booted Week 9. In subsequent interviews, Jerri insisted she was made the villain by producers. "She's coming out to say she was edited evil," Jeff says. "That's a load of bull. She came off that way because America hates her."
Amber Brkich: Beaver County native and Jerri sidekick. Hanging in there, but imperiled by her closeness with Jerri. Don't count her out, Jeff says. "There's a follower in every group. You don't know what Amber will do in the coming weeks. She may kick into another gear. She's a silent threat, let's just say that."
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