Fri, July 21, 2006
One show to go for Strombo?

By BILL BRIOUX, TORONTO SUN




PASADENA, Calif. -- George Stroumboulopoulos addressed Canada's most
burning question: Where was the nose ring?

"You would think Justin Timberlake just exposed my breasts,"
Stroumboulopoulos said.

The Canadian host of ABC's The One: Making Of A Music Star was a late
arrival at Wednesday night's Disney/ABC All Star press tour party.
That must be why he was able to zip down the red carpet far faster
than the likes of Eva Longoria, Calista Flockhart, Patrick Dempsey or
the other ABC stars.

When he finally made the scene, having dashed directly from the set of
his fast-bombing show (where the first of 11 finalists were
eliminated), "Strombo" -- as he is known among the Canuck critics --
addressed the mystery of the ring.

"Holy Christ, I'm going to be 34 next month," he told a handful of
Canadian TV critics who were waiting for him at the party. Not wanting
to freak out America, he told ABC he was going to lose the ring before
they snatched it from him.
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"But I'm not taking my earrings out and I'm still wearing all black,
and that's the deal," he said.

Even without the ring he was instantly recognizable in his
ever-present black T. Any American scribes who had even heard of the
show -- which went unpromoted by ABC during their two-day press tour
-- were probably looking for George Stephanoloulos. At least one
American scribe mistakenly identified ABC's This Week host as The
One's new dude.

Stoumboulopoulos' life lately has been like some weird
Peter-Fonda-meets-Ryan-Seacrest acid trip.

Two weeks ago, he was done for the season on The Hour, his Newsworld
magazine series that is moving to late nights on CBC next October.
Anxious to be Out Of Town Brown, he hopped on one of his three
motorcycles, packed a couple of changes of clothes and headed on a
solo, Toronto-to-L.A., cross-continent chopper trek.

He got as far as Chicago's infamous Joliet Prison -- the joint where
Prison Break was shot but, more importantly to Strombo, where Elwood
met Jake at the gates in the Blues Brothers -- when his cell phone
rang. Screw it, he said, ignoring the call.

Some 200 kms later, at a gas station, he answered it by accident. It
was his manager putting a conference call through from the producers
of The One. They wanted to meet with him, immediately. They had a
little star-search show for him to host in 10 days.

Strombo stashed his bike, hopped a plane out of Chicago and had a
15-minute meeting with the producers. After getting a green light from
CBC to moonlight down south -- and getting assurances that his bike
would be shipped to L.A. -- the deal was done.

Shooting the series on the same Hollywood lot where I Love Lucy was
once filmed is all part of Stroumboulopoulos' dizzy, real-life
fantasy. He described shooting The One to shooting the MuchMusic Video
Awards "every day," paying homage to his old Queen Street West roots.
"The MMVAs are the best award show, bar none, in Canada."

Strombo said he'd made enough trips to L.A. before that producers here
had some idea of who he was and what he could do. His background as a
sports radio host, MuchMusic VJ and CBC news punk was tailor-made for
handling The One. "They were looking for people who were essentially
trained by MuchMusic and CBC," he said.

All that is the good news. The bad news: The One was DOA in America,
one of the lowest-rated network premieres ever.

Up against Canadian Idol and Rock Star: Supernova -- two similar and
already established shows -- it got creamed in Canada. There is some
speculation that it won't last past next week -- putting CBC's plans
to spin off a Canadian version in jeopardy.

Strombo can't, won't and simply doesn't have time to worry about that
now. He still doesn't even know where his motorcycle is. If The One
goes two and out, he can hopefully hop back on his bike and still make
that lost weekend in Vegas.

All he knows is that he is having fun, the cheques are clearing and he
has the blessing of Peter Mansbridge -- whose CBC National newscast
was bumped an hour for The One's debut.

"I actually called him," Stroumboulopoulos said. "He was laughing. He
kinda got the irony. He was totally supportive."

But, no, he was not going to put on the nose ring.

--- In georgestroumboulopoulosrox@yahoogroups.com, "richtylerkelly"
<kjjell@...> wrote:
>
>
> Canada's Stroumboulopoulos to helm U.S. reality-T.V. singing contest
>
> Cassandra Szklarski, Canadian Press
> Published: Monday, July 10, 2006
>
>
> TORONTO (CP) - CBC-TV's pierced, punk-rock talk-show host has been
> tabbed to helm an American singing series.
>
> George Stroumboulopoulos is bringing his black shirts south of the
> border to host the U.S. version of The One: Making a Music Star, CBC
> spokeswoman Danielle Fielder said Monday.
>
> "It's great for us, because we get to have a Canuck down there
> representing on (U.S. network) ABC," Fielder boasted.
>
> "He'll be down in L.A. for the rest of the summer doing the show and
> then the show wraps at the end of the summer, he comes back and then
> starts (CBC talk show) The Hour."
>
> The eight-week U.S. series, produced by Endemol USA, will be simulcast
> on CBC-TV starting July 18, she said.
>
> In the show, 11 musicians live together while competing for a chance
> at a recording contract. Cameras follow the young hopefuls as they
> brag, bicker and backstab, all the while being coached and trained by
> recording industry professionals.
>
> "You'll see all the fights and romances and all the stuff behind the
> scenes," Fielder promised.
>
> Every Tuesday, contestants will perform in front of a panel of judges
> and a live studio audience. Viewers at home get to support their
> favourites by phoning in or text messaging their vote a la American
> Idol, said Fielder.
>
> On Wednesdays, one of the contestants gets booted off the show.
>
> "It's kind of a melding of formats," Fielder explained of the series,
> already a hit in 23 countries.
>
> "It's not just about singing, it's about knowing all the ins and outs
> of the recording industry - (the coaches) groom them, they do vocal
> training."
>
> CBC caused waves earlier this year when it said it would bump its
> flagship newscast, The National, in Ontario and Quebec to accommodate
> the simulcast.
>
> Network execs said they were trying to establish an audience for the
> show in advance of the Canadian version, expected to be launched in
> the fall.
>
> No host has been announced yet for the Canadian version of the show,
> said Fielder.
>
> In a blatant ratings challenge to rival CTV, CBC-TV has put the
> singing contest on the same nights as the hugely popular Canadian
> Idol, hosted by the squeaky clean-cut Ben Mulroney.
>
> The 33-year-old Stroumboulopoulos, known for his straight talk and
> black wardrobe, will remain on CBC's late-night lineup once the U.S.
> show ends. The Hour is moving from CBC Newsworld to the main network
> and will follow The National from Sunday to Thursday starting Oct. 2.
>
> The music series is just one of several reality-based programs the CBC
> is offering out of its newly created "factual entertainment division"
> in an apparent bit to bring younger viewers to the beleaguered network.
>
> Other programs include quiz show Test the Nation: National IQ Test,
> and The Dragon's Den, an Apprentice-style competition in which
> entrepreneurs pitch their scheme to potential investors.
>