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This is why I so love Hollywood... For days now, Craig Plestis, who is NBC Entertainment's EVP of Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, has been calling everybody in his industry trying to chase down the hot rumor that he's about to be fired. "The best part is that he's been walking around the office blaming his underlings for spreading the rumor that he's getting shitcanned. When the person who started it his boss Ben Silverman," my insider tells me. The way I hear it is that, right after MipCom, Silverman started telling reality TV types that "there'll be changes" and "people will be relieved" -- thereby sparking the rumor that Plestis will be history sometime before Christmas. That's in turn creating hope that Plestis will be replaced by one or both of his well-liked and talented deputies -- Libby Jaynes-Hansen who has worked on both Last Comic Standing and The Biggest Loser (NBC's biggest reality franchise which Silverman personally brought in), and Jayson Dinsmore who's the exec on Deal Or No Deal (and internally credited with transforming that show into an NBC hit). The problem is that, beyond America's Got Talent, no recent NBC reality shows have tended to stick. Plestis "hasn't done anything at all in the three years he's been there," one of my sources confides. "If Ben fires him, it's the first management move he's done that's right."
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that sound you hear off in the distance is everyone who’s ever had the misfortune to work with him on a show putting the champagne on ice.
dreams do come true…. please Ben don’t let us down with this one. Even though it’s not from the alternative dept blame Kath and Kim on him in addition to his piss poor people skills and overall lack of respect for everybody in this town…
Maybe Ben Silverman should be “retired”. A rotten fish stinks from the head down.
Wedding crashers. ‘Nuff said.
Please not Jayson or Libby- they are both incredibly moronic. If they had any sense, have Jamila Hunter take over, the girl has brains and isn’t so emotional like the other two.
World class D-Bag. No talent, finger-pointing, screaming psycho who ruins every production that he has ever been involved with. The fact that people like him are decision makers drive talented people out of the medium. Please Ben, say it is so.
Couldn’t agree more, Bore Witness. Not sure if anyone in-house is the right choice, but certainly better than Plestis.
I was to work for Plestis at NBC and he is one of if not the top reality mind in the business. He is tough, demanding, and is not afraid of a fight, but the nbc reality track record of last three years has yielded better reality success than any other network. Deal or No Deal. Americas Got Talent. The rebirth of The Biggest Loser and Last Comic. Compared to the track records at CBS and ABC the guy is a hero. This feels like someone has an ax to grind as Silverman and Zucker must know they have one of the biggest rising stars in the industry.
Please say its true and TWO WORDS: JAMILA HUNTER!!!
So much for being the 3rd most powerful person in reality per THR’s recent list. Jayson would be a great choice and anyone who has had the pleasure of working with him would certainly agree.
Totally agree Beyond Reality, the department is very weak. Libby and Jayson would not be the right decisions to help the department move forward, while they are both smart, my experiences is that they let their personal life get to involved with their work. Either way getting Plestis out is a good move.
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bit of quasi-humanity. Oh the schadenfreude! Oh, wait. Plestis doesn’t know what that means. Everyone take a break while he runs to a dictionary and looks it up. Craig, FYI, a dictionary is a really, really big book.
Promote the guy who was responsible for Heroes. reality is DEAD> The studios just think they canbreak the union by moving towards it exclusively. Do any of you watch the Networks anymore anyway.
Execs working in reality can be rising stars? Give me a break! It’s the lowest of the low brow material…
When reality is dead and gone (hopefully sooner rather than later), these execs will have no true story development skills to get “real” jobs.
Craig is a class act…knows the industry, understands its trends and, contrary to what some people have posted here, a pleasure to work with. I’ve always appreciated his creative input and dialogue
I used to work for Plestis. I know how much of a devil man he is and how he uses others to gain ground. Countless times he turned down a great idea, to see it blossom on another net. And countless times he shat out horrible shows…to see them sink in the ratings. Meanwhile, he takes cred for a show he technically didn’t develop, (ahem…Apprentice). That would be Jamila Hunter – who btw would be outstanding in Craig’s place.
Please Ben, give Craig a taste of his own medicine. This is the same man who treated you like shit while you were at Revielle.
FYI, FOX’s Mike Darnell is the top reality executive in the business. His shows and specials have gotten so much joke time on The Simpsons and Family Guy that it is impossible to dismiss him in any discussion.
Dear “unlikelytohappen”
I can only laugh as you wrote, “Craig is a class act.”
You’ve got to be joking. He is unliked by 98% of the industry – and there’s reason for it. I’ve see it first hand. I was in a meeting at Dick Clark Productions once when his office called. You should have seen it – everyone in the room rolled their eyes. And don’t get me started on how he manipulates people. He’s one of the most egotistical men with no talent I’ve ever known.
“Class act” my ass. Whatever he gets – it’s deserved.
Craig Plestis has no talent it,s about time somebody notese
Craig sounds like a snake. Probably was a nice guy before he got into this business. Now he’s reading this for sure, trust me, they all do, and he is saying what have I become? Is it all worth it? Goodbye Craig. Goodbye.
Thank you Nikki for stating what I always thought to be true… CP’s no talent hack….
Reality is almost dead?! Is Rock and Roll dead? There wouldn’t be entire networks devoted to reality if it was on the brink of flat lining. You’re obviously just an angry out of work screenwriter.
As for Craig, he’s a wart on the nose of the network and his total lack of creative vision won’t be missed. Maybe he’d be better at Planet Green.
Jamila and Dinsmore are far and a way better execs. I welcome their thoughtful notes any day!
They should have The Donald call Craig to fire him. How awesome would THAT be!!!!!
The problem is that there are no good reality execs out there to replace Craig. Who are the next great Mike Darnell’s and Andrea Wong’s??
Oh Trix, yes, reality programming is here to stay but I don’t think you have to be an ‘angry out of work screenwriter’ in order to bemoan the loss of so many hours of prime time to dreck such as The Biggest Loser and The Apprentice. I do enjoy The Amazing Race on occasion although the new cycle has the most unappealing group of contestants I’ve seen and I find that I’m actively avoiding it.
Jayson is definitely not ready for the job and just as clueless. Nice guy but does he have it? No. Why does NBC Uni take their assistants who were answering phones for a few years, gives them a fancy office and calls them “executives”. Jayson will probably be walked out with his boss who he apparently kisses up to all day long. Worked with all of them and they are a bunch of morons who are not very respected in this town. Finally someone is waking up and seeing what is going on. Ben here is a great way to cut costs – get rid of that department!
Jamila Hunter? Another one who is sub par when it comes to talent. Remove that whole department, maybe NBC’s ratings will finally go somewhere. Meredith Ahr is another one. Gets overwhelmed at the simplest tasks, it is not even funny.
Dinsmore and Hunter are not talented either….NBC Uni or Ben I should say should go out and recruit REAL execs who understand what is going on and much more well rounded than these 2. Well rounded in the sense that they have seen how great shows in Europe are compared to here.
Craig Plestis is an arrogant imbecile whose “creative vision” consists of “What’s everyone else doing? Let’s copy that, but make it crappier.” And his underlings Libby Hansen and Jayson Dinsmore are not qualified to run anything. Hansen is a nasty ditz with zero talent. (She also shares Craig’s inexplicable arrogance.) Dinsmore is the kid who used to get pants-ed in the locker room — a hapless twerp. The department is a disaster. It’s a nightmare to work for the three stooges. Good riddance to bad rubbish!
Let’s take a look at the history. Before the reign of “Yuk-Yuk” (you know what I’m talking about). Jeff Gaspin ran the department and was a strong, no-nonsense exec who was tough, but he didn’t open his mouth unless he had something meaningful to say. He was smart, he moved up.
Craig was an executive inside the NBC family who caught the upper levels executive’s attention because of the very good job he was doing in the Promotion department. He was savvy enough to leverage that into a high profile job running Alternative. Good for him. And, he has been politically talented enough to keep his job for many years. Props for that. Is he the most creatively inclined exec, no. Can he get things done effectively within the hugely corporate and political machine of NBC, yes. So while he may not be the most liked executive because his social skills could be better and he is not truly qualified on the creative side, his department has done more reality development and new series for prime time than any other broadcast network (including Mike Darnell/Fox). And for a business focused on results and less on how many body lie along the side of the road; that is doing your job. Not how I’d do it, but to each their own. Comacho is a very effective agent. Total wank, but effective.
So one is perfect and Craig has done many things wrong. But he does many things politically that are smart and have yielded much success for him. Of course his creative failings were/are bound to eventually catch up with him and he won’t have that job anymore.
But wait, we know the next chapter in this story…he will turn up somewhere else (probably a cable network) and you will be selling to him again, so don’t think if he loses this gig he will slink away into obscurity.
Be careful what you wish for…”better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t”
Craig is incredibly passionate and hard worker…more than I can say about others at nbc.
Jamilla is so hot. I love her.
Good riddance – its about time.
….another thing, it seems most of these comments missed who is actually out of line here. What’s up with Ben saying “there’s gonna be big changes”? Dude if your gonna can someone, don’t be an ass and take a power trip to see how you can abuse that power to make someone who is already insecure feel bad about themselves. Be man enough to do it with one shot behind the ear – not like some high school girl passing notes during recess.
Jamila should be promoted on the new media side, not demoted to running reality, she’s too smart for that and it would be a waste of her talents.
Agreed, the department is a disaster, I’ve worked with all of them. Jayson may of had the potential but it always seems he gets a little to “personal” with the production staff on all of his shows. To name Libby is an absolute joke, she is exactly how ‘karma is a bitch’ put it-superficial. It is time to take a step back Ben and really re-evaluate this department.
Craig is an ego-maniac and an asshole. Producing a show with him is a completely unpleasant experience. He is an uncreative follower that has nothing to add to a production other than stress. He is the worst executive I’ve ever worked with. Maybe NBC will send him back to the promo department.
Craig,
Is a true no talent, Having worked with him on a bunch of shows. He is abusive and does not have an original idea. He steals from his staff and takes credit.
Between him and Ghen Maynherd, this is what is wrong with Hollywood.
Egos no talent. I have no problem respecting an ego with talent. Craig for none of this and should be fired.
I work at NBC and Libby Hansen is loving this. And already having private conversations with Ben.
She is nothing but a no talent opportunist, She was fired by Andrea Wong for lying more than once.
She married well, Now she thinks she is a big wig.
NBC would be served better by a Meredith Ahr who has no agenda and happens to be smart and have the respect of her peers.
True about Meredith Ahr. She’s definitely not ready – but she has a lot of potential. As long as she can keep personal feelings out of the office, she’ll be an All-Star. Give her 10 years.
As for Craig “yuk-yuk” Plestis:
Over the years, I’ve dealt with a great number of network executives, producers and agents in the reality arena. He is without a doubt the single most egotistical hack with minimal talent who will do anything to make himself look better than he truly is. I have experienced Craig taking credit on things that succeeded, while blaming others on things that failed. He will not hesitate to step on your back if given the chance to climb. It’s a shame people like Craig work in this town, but they’re out there.
To those of you who have had a “good experience” with him: I’ve seen CP do this on many occasions. He will be extremely easy to work for and kiss your ass – ONLY when he has a hidden agenda. That’s his game. If he knows you’re good friends with Gaspin, or you have worked closely with Darnell, he will be very nice to work for. If you’re green and don’t bring as much to the table, he’ll take any and every opportunity to rub your face in the mud.
He is the reason why I strive to be a better person in this industry. I’d rather be loyal and fail…then to cheat and succeed.
Just look at a list of some of his shows:
Age of Love (and Science of Love at the same time) – failure
America’s Got Talent (the unoriginal, poor man’s Idol)
America’s Toughest Jobs – failure
Amnesia – failure
Apprentice – Martha Stewart – failure
Celebrity Circus – failure
Celebrity Cooking Showdown – whopping failure
Clash of the Choirs – failure
For Love or Money – failure
Grease – You’re the one that I want – failure
I want to be a Hilton – failure
Identity – failure
Meet Mister Mom – failure
My Dad is better than your dad – failure
Next Action Star – failure
Phenomenon – failure
Thank God You’re Here – failure
The Singing Bee – failure
Tommy Lee Goes to College – failure
Victoria Beckham – Coming to America – failure
Wedding Crashers – failure
Who wants to marry my dad – failure
1 vs. 100 – failure
This just backs up the common theme to all these comments – unoriginal hack who wouldn’t know a good idea if it bit him.
Add to that his unfounded arrogance and his machiavellian qualities and you know why everyone thinks he a douchebag who deserves to be canned.
My only hope is that Silverman does it before his own sorry ass is booted out the door along with Teri Weinberg and the dismal failures that are the other development execs under them. NBC needs a firehose enema to really get cleaned out right. Don’t even think about promoting someone already there.
GOT IT! Found out the missing piece today. The reason Ben is messing with Craig is because he CAN’T fire him. Zucker and Graboff won’t sign off on any him making any staff changes. Why? Because when you are going to fire someone and replace them with a new exec, the new exec is gonna want to put together the team and make that call. So the twist is its BEN who is out any day. But what does he care, he’s bought so many of his own shows his coffers are overfilling. With 50 mil in the bank, who cares about tanking the network. Kath and Kim is a complete failure. So why did he already order the back nine? Hmmm…maybe because its a Reveille show. Cheers Liz!
CRAIG PLESTIS WAS HIRED BY ZUCKER.
AND TREATED EVERYONE LIKE A MUCKER.
HE SHOWS WERE ALL CRAPPY.
BIG BEN IS NOT HAPPY.
ADIOS YOU NO-TALENT FUCKER.
Tim Kring for NBC chief
The guy is a rude jerk…..Karma, beotch!!!!