Million Dollar Password executive producer on Dante’s stage presence
Were there any contestants that were any better or worse than you imagined coming in? Any surprises?
VR: Absolutely. That‘s one of the challenges of this show. You want to make sure that both the celebrities and the contestants can play this game well and at a level where it’s going to be watchable. There were a couple of contestants we didn’t think were quite sharp enough and they wound up just taking off. There’s one guy, Dante, who plays opposite Rosie O’Donnell. We liked him in the run-throughs. He played quite well but we were afraid he was going to get a little too nervous because he wasn’t used to being on television. But when he got up there – something about his connection with Rosie – he was just fascinating to watch. It’s pretty terrific; he’s a real character. Some people freeze up on television, but we got lucky with most of our contestants, who sort of took the ball and ran. And that’s a function of Regis’ hosting ability and the celebrities that they’re partnered with. Because it is really about that connection they feel and that comfort level and I was really surprised; Dante, in particular.
VR: Absolutely. That‘s one of the challenges of this show. You want to make sure that both the celebrities and the contestants can play this game well and at a level where it’s going to be watchable. There were a couple of contestants we didn’t think were quite sharp enough and they wound up just taking off. There’s one guy, Dante, who plays opposite Rosie O’Donnell. We liked him in the run-throughs. He played quite well but we were afraid he was going to get a little too nervous because he wasn’t used to being on television. But when he got up there – something about his connection with Rosie – he was just fascinating to watch. It’s pretty terrific; he’s a real character. Some people freeze up on television, but we got lucky with most of our contestants, who sort of took the ball and ran. And that’s a function of Regis’ hosting ability and the celebrities that they’re partnered with. Because it is really about that connection they feel and that comfort level and I was really surprised; Dante, in particular.
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