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Interview with Gina
« on: May 3rd, 2002, 7:42am » |
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Survival of the Fittest
An exclusive Ocala Style feature interview with Gainesville resident and Survivor contestant Gina Crews
By Dean Blinkhorn
[email protected]
When Moby Dick author Herman Melville landed on the remote island of Nuku Hiva in 1842, he witnessed a flawed Pacific paradise of tropical mysteries, lush landscapes, and cannibalistic natives. He recorded the events of this tiny island in Typee, his best-selling novel of the time. More than 160 years later, the contestants for the top-rated Survivor series on CBS would land on the very beaches Melville himself walked. Included in this group was Gina Crews, a nature center guide and former high school teacher from Gainesville, Florida.
After a whirlwind week of media events following her dismissal from the show, I caught up with Gina for this exclusive feature interview for Ocala Style. Despite not winning the $1 million dollar top prize, the down-to-earth 29-year-old graduate of the University of Florida answered each of the questions directly and honestly, much in the same way she approached Survivor: Marquesas.
As we sat in the bleachers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, she was poised, relaxed, and still very tanned from the 39-day taping as a member of the Maraamu tribe.
So how did a Gainesville girl get on Survivor?
[Laughs.] I have no idea. I asked the producers after I got on the show and they said they know within the first 15 seconds of watching the audition video. I tried three times before, without even as much as a call back, and then I got in on the fourth.
Did you do a different audition tape each time?
Yeah, the first one I just sat down and talked about myself, but I told pretty much the same information. The next one I tried to be funny. Since it was going to be in Africa, I made this big, 10-foot snake and I had this stuffed lion and I jumped on it and said, "I’m not afraid of anything!" Then I plunged into the water trying to wrestle the fake snake and I’ve got this mud all over my face. It was hilarious. This year, I just put on my Watermelon Queen crown [Gina was the National Watermelon Queen in 1997] and just started talking.
Was it your idea to go on Survivor?
When I first saw it I thought, This is the coolest show, and I just knew it was something I wanted to do. I just knew it would be an awesome adventure if I got the opportunity.
They must do background checks.
Before they send you to Los Angeles, you have to sign something giving them the right to look at your credit, everything. You pretty much give them your life once you get to Los Angeles.
Do you think they already knew Rob was a snake? [Laughs.]
They do. They cast people in certain roles. I was the All-American type. Sarah was the sexy girl. They’re casting these different personalities and if you fit one of those I think it makes it easier for you to get on the show. All I wanted was to make the first interview -- I was never expecting to be told that I actually made the show.
Now, you’re not allowed to tell your friends and family about the outcome of the show. But they knew you were going, right?
Just my family. I had been telling my friends for months about doing an Outward Bound program that started around the same time as the Survivor taping. I was talking about this long before I applied to the show, so when I was gone that’s what everybody else thought I was doing. The only problem was when my friends started asking questions afterward about where the program took me.
You didn’t send fake postcards that were all postmarked "Marquesas" did you?
[Laughs.] No, no, no, not at all. Once I left we left for LA they told us to make our final calls, that it would be the last time we would talk to them until December 21.
When did you actually leave?
November 7th.
The CBS Survivor website is really cool -- it has a lot of information on the Marquesas, including some interesting Survival Tips (see sidebar). How much of that did they prepare you for before you went over there?
They didn’t even tell us where we were going. The only thing [Executive Producer] Mark Burnett said when I was selected was, "Be prepared for a tropical climate." But on the internet there are a lot of Survivor sites and many of them were leaking the location, saying it was going to be the Marquesas. Then, three weeks before I was to leave, CBS sent a book list that included Herman Melville’s Typee. In the book, he lands in the Marquesas, so I thought that’s where we’d be going. Mark wanted us to get into that setting because the book explains the island and its customs.
And the whole part about cannibalism didn’t throw you off?
Not at all! [She laughs.] I knew that couldn’t do that to us.
Did the other Survivor contestants read the book?
I think about half of us did. I read the whole thing and thought it was great!
Does strategy start immediately? Even when you’re on the boat headed to the island?
It started when we were in LA for the first interview. People are sizing you up right away. Sarah and Rob saw each other at the hotel and communicated, not talking, but they had already formed an alliance. That’s when the game actually started.
It seems like there’s more strategy on this episode.
The first thing Mark told us was not to expect anything. He said, "Don’t expect there to be a merge, or two teams, or anything because I know how to be play this game better than any of you." So when we heard that, I think a lot the other members thought, Why bother making a team now? I know that’s what hurt my team. Because they were always thinking of another angle.
On many of the Survivor fan sites, you and Hunter were predicted to go far into the game, certainly past the merging of the two tribes. But on the last two installments there has been an early pattern: a hard-working tribe and a lazy one.
Sure. When I first saw my tribe I thought we were going to kick their butt. We had the young, strong people but when we started paddling the boat in, I realized we had some real idiots on my team.
Like who?
Well, first of all Sean was scared to death of the water, but then I realized that Hunter knew so much more than the others did. From Day 1 Rob and Sean had a problem with that, and it wasn’t so much a leadership issue, it was just Hunter’s knowledge.
Hunter, of course, was voted off before you. He seemed especially vulnerable because he was forced into a leadership role early on.
It was a stupid move, though, because we were still a team at that point. Is it worth it to vote someone off to feel safe when you’re probably going to lose all the tribal challenges?
It’s like they were playing an individual game from the very beginning.
That’s the way it was. For us it was like a team of three, with the other five just doing their own thing. The game actually begins when you have to go to tribal council and vote somebody off. The other tribe didn’t have to go until Day 15.
They were much more of a team -- at first. But as soon as they had to go, the bickering started for them, too.
You’re right.
What’s a typical day like in the Marquesas?
As soon as the sun was up, we were up. It was probably around 4:30 or 5:00am, but I don’t know for sure since none of us had a watch. We usually went to bed about an hour after sunset since there wasn’t really anything to do except sit by the fire.
Watching the show, it seemed like you and Hunter were the early risers; the others were content to sleep in and let you do the work.
We knew that there would be a time when we could kick back, but that was after building a shelter, starting a fire, and gathering some food. We thought that we could work hard the first six or eight days, and then we could get lots of rest. The others didn’t seem to realize that.
How intrusive are the cameras?
As soon as we got on the boat, we got used to them because they’re right in your face. On the island, the cameras only followed us around when you went off with another person from the tribe. Then, they were right there in case something interesting was being said. If Hunter and I were going off to get water by ourselves, they would send somebody with us, especially when it was obvious that we were on our own within the tribe.
Yeah, it seems that if you had been able to win the last team immunity challenge, you would have probably survived well past the merge. Do you think that you might have been voted off just one week too early?
Sure, I think about that. I really believe that if they had merged one week earlier I would have made it all the way to the final four. I wanted to compete in the individual immunities more than anything else, and I knew I would have stepped up to the challenge. I do think about how close I was to the million dollars, but I was there for the experience and the adventure, so I was happy.
When you’re watching the show now and you hear some of Rob’s comments about the other members, what do you think? He didn’t exactly hold back.
At the time we didn’t know he was making all those rude comments about John and Robert. But we knew that Rob was up to something -- you’d have to be stupid to think anything else.
When Rob left the show he said, "I was trying to be funny and joke around. I hope we can all be friends." How can that be possible?
Definitely.
But you’re aware when you’re being interviewed on the show that they can use any part of what you say, right?
Sure, like in the first episode when I said I was already in love with Hunter. They asked me what I thought about each of my tribemates, so I just went down the line: Rob, Sean, Sarah, and when they got to Patricia, I said, "I love her; she’s the best." Next was Hunter and I just said the same thing. But I knew when I said it that they were going to use it on the show.
So when they talked to you, you were just trying to be yourself. For others, like Rob, they were providing sound bites.
He wanted to be funny, and he made the show. People enjoyed watching him -- he made a jerk of himself -- but it made for good TV. Of course, he knew it.
Well, there’s still Sean…
Yeah, that’s right. [Laughs.]
What was your strategy?
I wanted to be real, and sometimes the questions got really deep, especially at tribal council. It got to the point where people weren’t being honest with themselves. This was reality TV, and I’m me, so I was just going to play me.
Was that your plan all along?
No. When I left, I told my mom, "I’m going to lie. I’m going to play this stupid, country girl." But I never had the opportunity to do that because some had to step up and actually do the work. I wasn’t going to show my strengths -- that was my gameplan -- but when I got out there, somebody had to something or we were all going to starve.
What was Hunter’s strategy?
The same -- that’s why we bonded right away. We were both just on a great adventure. We still talk every day.
You know there’s a lot of romantic speculation about you two…
Just friends. Just friends. [Laughs.]
Are the Survivor contestants making plans to see each other now that the show is almost over?
I know everybody’s seen at least two or three people outside the game already. I plan to see Paschal and Kathy in a couple of weeks.
What about Peter? He was the first to leave, so the viewers don’t really know him at all.
He freaked out on us. Sarah would have been the first voted off, but Peter woke up on the day of the tribal council telling everyone a different story. Of course Rob has a big mouth so he immediately went to Hunter and told him what Peter said. That’s why we voted him off, because he was creating so much negativity so early in the game. I really believe Sarah would have been the first to go if he hadn’t done that.
In hindsight, do you think things would have been better for you if Sarah had been voted off right away?
Rob probably would have worked harder. With Sarah gone, Rob would have been a different person. But it probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome; we might have won a few more challenges, though. I just got stuck on the wrong team. [Laughs.]
What’s it like watching the show now, as it unfolds, with friends and family?
I enjoy it, but I don’t let them talk while it’s on. I never said a word about the outcome; my own family didn’t know the night I was going to be voted off.
Does CBS keep you there after your last tribal council?
Yeah, we all come home together.
But you didn’t say a word.
No, because I wanted them to experience it just as I had. When we lost, I wanted to them to think, What’s going to happen at tribal council?
Was it hard to keep it secret for so long?
No, it was fun. Everyone respected the fact that I couldn’t say anything, that I had signed a contract.
Gainesville’s a pretty small town. Even this morning when we were doing the photo shoot, people recognized you as Gina, the Survivor contestant. Is that pretty typical?
It’s been nice. Nobody’s been really freaky or anything. I do get some really nice mail, especially kids telling me that I was their favorite Survivor. Some want a signed picture or an autograph -- it’s been really sweet. But I got noticed more when I went to Sarasota with some friends. I was bombarded in every single store with people wanting autographs and pictures. It was strange because I was so out of my element. But I love talking to people about Survivor; I can share the experience.
Of course you know a fan set up www.ginacrews.com as a "tribute" to you. Is that pretty weird?
Yeah, but it makes me feel really good that somebody would do that. I’m sure I’ll get in touch with him soon to say thanks.
I noticed that there were a lot of kids on your recent on-line CBS chat. Your perspective on the show is a little different than, say Rob’s -- do you feel like you’re more of a role model in that situation?
It makes me feel good. I taught high school, so I wanted to be role model then, so that was with me when I was on the show. I knew at some point in the game I might have to lie -- like playing poker -- but I never wanted to be mean about it. I would rather lose the million dollars than to have everyone dislike me.
You’ve just come off a pretty intense media blitz this last week: CBS This Morning, The Howard Stern Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Entertainment Tonight. Which one was the easiest show to do?
Rosie. As soon as I sat down, she hugged me and said, "You were my favorite." She was so nice and it was so comfortable.
On all of the shows, you were very candid and honest.
I was always wondering what they were going to ask, especially about Sean and Rob, but I knew I had to be brutally honest. In the game, I hated Sean and Rob; I felt they were stupid in the way they played it.
What kind of endorsement deals are you getting?
I was asked to be a spokesperson for Planet Rascals, a company that makes stuffed toys based on real-life animals. When somebody buys one, they "adopt" the actual animal, with part of the proceeds going back to the zoo and conservation funds. I’m so excited about it! I also have a promotional appearance scheduled for Sierra Mist [a soft drink company that also sponsors Survivor: Marquesas] in Cleveland. I’m pretty busy right up until the time I have to leave for the final episode.
Were you paid by CBS while you’re away on the show?
Yes, but we don’t know how much yet. The longer you stay, the more you get.
I know you can’t tell us, but do you know who won?
We know who the final two are because we’re all very close. But nobody knows who won -- we have our ideas -- but the show has proved to expect the unexpected. So keep watching because it gets even better -- I can guarantee that.
Dean Blinkhorn is the Editor of Ocala Style.
http://ocalastyle.com/0502_stories/0502survivor.html
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