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UPDATE: At Twitter, Kevin Pollak replies:
Really, I’ve enjoyed your insights/musings for quite a while, but your angle on my recent work/luck has me questioning yours.
Kevin Pollak is a respected actor-comedian with memorable turns in such movies as The Usual Suspects, A Few God Men and Miami Rhapsody. But in just the past year he signed on to host not one but two TV game shows which then became mired in controversy. The most recent is Fox’s Million Dollar Money Drop which aired during the most recent Christmas week and erupted in an on-air gaffe that cost one couple $800,000. But a year ago Pollak surprised many when he agreed to host Fox’s Our Little Genius. True, it had all the makings of a sure thing: big-name producer – Mark Burnett; killer time slot – airing behind TV’s top show American Idol; and adorable kid prodigies showing off their knowledge for cash prizes. But then, only 5 days before Our Little Genius was to premiere last January 5th, Fox abruptly pulled the show at the request of Burnett over suspicions of contestant tampering. Controversy ensued, and the 8 produced episodes never saw the light of day (though Burnett paid the winners their prizes).
Fast forward to this November: Pollak signed on for a second turn as a game show host on Fox’s Million Dollar Money Drop. This one seemed foolproof: it was based on a British format that had run without a hitch, there were no kids involved, and the show was 
scheduled to air during the quiet Christmas week when fewer people were watching. But sure enough, controversy ensued. On the very first episode of the 6-episode limited series, a couple were shown losing $800,000 after their answer to a contest question was deemed wrong. (Q: Which of these 3 products hit stores first? A: Post-it Notes. B: Apple’s Macintosh computer. C: Sony’s Walkman. The couple answered Post-It Notes.) But it was quickly proved right online, forcing the show’s producers to admit a research error and to invite the couple back for another try at the big money. Then came Pollak with some ill-guided disparaging comments about the two contestants.
So Pollak has now done two stints as a TV game show host, both of them mired in controversy. Was it just a string of bad luck? Or a sign that he should stay in movies?
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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so what are the “disparaging” comments pollack made?
Kevin Pollack only does movies! Okay, so he’s hosting a poor man’s version of the one time Fox “hit”, “Greed.” But KP doesn’t do tv! He’s a movie star!
As long as KP gets paid, it’s a success in his mind!!
Kevin Pollack is a movie star! He wouldn’t be caught dead hosting a poor man’s version of “Greed”! KP only does movies… he wouldn’t do a prime time tv show if it was offered to him!
I love it when people repost something in the comments box because they’re terrified that their original comment didn’t go through. You must really dislike the guy — I WILL NOT BE DISSUADED FROM TRASHING KEVIN POLLAK!
didn’t he also host celebrity poker showdown?????
Only for one season and he was awful, didn’t understand the game all that well and had that snarky sense of humor that works for some things but didn’t work with his co-host/color commentator Phil Gordon. He was replaced by Dave Foley who was a perfect fit for Gordon because he at least knew a little about Poker.
Once is sad, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern.
Let’s see what he’s up to next.
That’s a shame. He was freaking hilarious at Thrilling Adventure Hour this month, and any celeb that signs up to do that (for charity) seems pretty legit in my book.
Yes, his comments about the couple were ill-advised. I’ve lost all respect for him because of it. He seems like an asshole. I thought he was good in A few good men.
why were they ill advised? He said that they would have lost anyway because they got the next wrong. It makes perfect sense as to what he is saying, but as soon as I read it the thought of people misunderstanding his comment came to mind. I’m not saying that I am his biggest fan, but to call the man an “Asshole” because of that is a little ridiculous. They are nervous for no reason other than trying to drum up publicity to get interviews. It is a win-win for the couple. Even if they lose the game if they can get enough sympathy it will result in a payday. I think he was on the mark with what he said. They have every right to make some cash, but he has every right to be critical of a couple of bitchy contestants on a show he hosts. I’m just saying that his opinion is not invalidated simply because you don’t understand what he was saying.
You’d be bitchy too if someone elses poor research cost you on an 800,000 dollar question. The reason he was wrong with his comments is because of the way the show works. First, ignoring the different mental states of having either kept your 800,000 dollars on the last question, or losing it, the show is set up to where you can put different amounts of money on different answers. So, instead of having, i think it was 80,000 to split up after that question, they would have had 10 times that amount, plus be in a better mental state. I’m not saying they would have gotten the next question right, or put any money on the right answer, but i am saying there are too many variables to say what kevin pollack said. I don’t know why he tried to defend the mistake the show made, just own up to it, it was that simple.
The mental state of a person can change how they’d answer a question, that is what I was getting at.
never seen either show. :\
It doesn’t help the article when you say, “Then came Pollack with some ill-guided disparaging comments about the two contestants.” Without ever posting what the comments were.
Actually, the British version ran into a similar gaffe not once but twice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Million_Pound_Drop_Live#Controversy
They solved the situation in the same fashion that the American version has. I think this is being blown out of proportion.
He’s an arrogant obnoxious jerk. He has such a superiority complex but the truth is he’s a character actor and nothing more. And he can only play one character: himself. He had a sitcom that died it was awful and he only has himself to blame for that disaster. His recent comments about the unlucky couple show once again how much of a jerk he is. They should take the $800,000 from his salary and give it to that couple. This show will be gone soon and one can only hope that Pollak fades back into relative obscurity.
I would say this is a brilliant post and the producers should bless you with credits. Nothing sells like controversy – and I would say that this post will get more views than the show itself received for the first episodes – which should drive up some ratings anyhow — because quite honestly, without the clips of this controversy, and seeing it for ourselves, everyone missed it…. now people will tune in waiting/hoping for the next controversy. maybe.
do we really need to choose between kevin pollack on game show or in movies? Can’t we have neither?
There is something wrong in the format somewhere, a similar thing happend in the UK version of the show, with a questison about Doctor Who.
Sounds like he could always host X Factor
Game shows are crass, but he’s no Pat Sajak either.
This so-called controversy has been blown ridiculously out of proportion.
Even if the couple in the “controversial” episode had been given credit for the question, they still would’ve lost all the money anyway. The premise and rules of the show set up an all-or-nothing final step. And they lost the final step.
It’s a good move for the show to re-invite the couple back on, but, to elevate this story to this level is just absurd. Slow news week eh?
“It’s a good move for the show to re-invite the couple back on…”
I’d say it’s an even better move to simply GIVE them the $800K. They apparently did get the question right, so why should THEY have to re-play to re-obtain it? There is some flawed logic here on behalf of the producers.
Because they missed the final question. They would have lost anyway, which is exactly what Pollack said.
They were visibly upset at losing the $800,000.00. To the point that the girlfriend/had to console the guy. I would say that their losing that money upset them so badly they missed the last question because of the results of the previous question. All around it was a bad thing. You can’t say what would have happened if they hadn’t lost when they should have won.
I don’t blame Kevin Pollack for his statement, I just think that no one understands the emotional stress someone goes through when they lose something so big, when they thought they were right. I wouldn’t have been able to think straight after that. That’s why I think they should be given the money or at least some sort of compensation.
It seems that Kevin Pollack is snake bit as a host but that isn’t his fault. I like his hosting on the Million Dollar Money Drop.
As for the controversy, there seems to be more smoke than fire. The error was the fault of the 3M Company who goofed up their own history and as Pollack stated in his tweet the couple got the next question wrong and lost what they had left so even if they got the post-it note question right they still lose the game in the end.
It if were me as host I probably would’ve just stayed out of the firestorm.
while the couple did blow the final “all or nothing” question – would they have given a different answer if they’d had the $800K still on the table? Cause and Effect.
Exactly! it all changes with 800k in play. As for Pollack, as a host it is always best to side with the contestants. He looks smug as it is. With his comments he comes off as an asshole. He’s just the host, why would he comment anyway? This is a producer’s issue.
Correct, Frank Tien, had the couple won the Post-It Question and had the $800k in their bank, their actions on the future questions could have and most likely would have been different. We’ll never really know but for Pollak to make his unwarranted and asinine comments was totally uncessasry and only made him look like a total ass.
His best thing nowadays is his web-talkshow.
To assign a “curse” to a performer/host based on two clear cases of production-related problems is asinine.
I depend upon this site to keep me up-to-date and ahead of the curve, not to sling tabloid-style nonsense. Andreeva’s strangely cruel and oddly personal spin ton this story is really offensive and cheapens Deadline.
Please, cut this shit out.
Can’t we try to elevate the art/business of entertainment by providing accurate and balanced reporting and opinion rather than this sort of low-rent yellow journalism?
Watching a Darnell show is like eating at Denny’s. 9 times out of 10 it sucks, and there’s usually a crazy has been in the corner making too much noise whilst braiding napkin ropes…
Wait Kevin Pollak is a movie star??? Was I napping when that happened? How long was I out for?
This is a surprisingly stupid article, not to mention a cheap shot, from a good writer who usually gets her facts right. Pollak said nothing “disparaging” about the contestants. He correctly pointed out that they proceeded to lose their entire stake on the very next question. As for being a “jinx,” neither of these game shows was built or promoted around Pollak– who did a fine job hosting. Besides acting, game shows and standup, Pollak also produces and hosts one of the most successful independent productions online, The Kevin Pollak Chat Show. This kind of crap is beneath Nellie Andreeva, even on a slow, rainy news day!
Pollack’s comments read as if he was making them out of his ass. Dude came off like a Grade A Douche.
Ever hear his impression of Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise? Hilarious!