...but not in the way I'd hoped...When I posted my challenge that I would find the cast of S3, I did not know what kind of response I would get from people... fortunately, I recieved lots of help, and many people were rooting for me... (thanks )
Several people affiliated with this board e-mailed me information regarding the possible location and timing of the interview process... I also recieved information from at least one person who made the round of 800, but did not make the final cut.
One informative person accurately described all of the information included in the contestant packet (a copy of which is now available at www.survivornews.net), giving me the information about the timing of the interviews...
So, I started with a list of possible hotels in hand, and information regarding the location of previous Survivor interviews, as well as information about some of the interviewers (casting agency, psychologist, and other info that was passed along to me), and set out on a mission to find the cast of S3.
And then I hit a roadblock... they weren't anywhere that they were supposed to be, so I was back to square one, and I had to send out a round of e-mails, requesting any possible info that might help...
And one scored a hit...
The good news is that I found the location of the S3 interviews... the bad news is that they were over (for all intents and purposes) by the time that I got there. The interviews were held in a hotel, and I was able to observe crew members (specifically interviewing personel and camera crew) striking the equipment after one of the interview sessions.
So... what does this mean:
Well, some would view it as a failure... I was unable to return with even a picture of the cast (who all flew home today, some of them knowing that they would be flown to Africa in a couple of weeks to participate in S3, others knowing that they will not have the opportunity to win the million dollars.)
Personally, I view it as a success... when casting comes around for S4, I know how to find the hotel... even if they use a different one... there was one specific piece of information that will allow me to do a better job next time... if I'd had it early enough, I would have been able to find them this time!
I will not post any additional information about how close I got, or what strategies I employed to get as close as I did...
However, here is a real spoiler:
Apparently, MB was not happy with his group of finalists!!! For some unexplained reason, half way through the interviews, an ad ran during late-night on Los Angeles' CBS affiliate announcing that he was still looking for cast members for S3... auditions for college-aged (21-25ish) students were held yesterday... So... perhaps his casting people screwed up and didn't get any young blood... maybe there were no intriguing college students that sent in tapes... or maybe the college students that had been selected for the finals failed the psychiatric evaluation...
For whatever reason, MB did not have a college aged contestant that he liked... So he held auditions for one in Los Angeles, only... Therefore, I predict that there will be someone from the Los Angeles area that is between the ages of 21 and 25 in the next cast of Survivor.
Anyway, I'd ask anyone that I discussed this mission with to keep it quiet... the less info about how I made it as close as I did, the better chance I have of getting even closer the next time...
Agent Double-Oh Sleeeve signing out until next time...