?SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ? "While everyone in the shelter is weeping and huddling against each other, I am stripping off my clothes, not just for fun, but to keep them dry, heading into the monsoon rainstorm, and being violently ill," he recalls in an exclusive interview with Parade. "And I kind of had this epiphany: If I am willing to do this for reality television, why can I not pursue the thing that I truly believe in and care about? And then, when I got back, I was dedicated to writing a novel."That novel is Escape!, releasing Jan. 27. The culmination of a decade of work, it tells the story of Kent Duvall, a washed-up reality story looking for a chance to capture his former glory. And he gets that chance on a new jungle survival show (something not unfamiliar to Fishbach nor his fans) alongside a myriad of other typical casting choices seen across the wide world of reality TV. But Fishbach wisely widens the lens to focus on a variety of characters, both in front of and behind the camera. The latter includes producer Beck Bermann, who manipulates both the contestants and other members of production, seeing them as mere characters in her own hopeful story of redemption.Before the release of Escape!, Fishbach talks with Parade about the vociferous research he conducted for his novel, why the timing couldn't be more perfect for a book about reality TV, and how yours truly surprisingly inspired one of the characters teeming this island's shores.
The pipeline from reality TV star to writer is not exactly a direct one. So what inspired you to pursue writing Escape!?Well, I've always wanted to be a writer, Mike. But I never had the courage to write fiction. I've written everything else. I wrote advertising copy, I wrote speeches, but fiction always seemed like this holy thing that I never had the courage to pursue. And then I was in Cambodia, and in the middle of this torrential downpour — which I've been calling a monsoon, but I'm told technically, it's "monsoon season"; the rain itself is not the monsoon, but this torrential monsoon season. And, as many people know, I had severe gastrointestinal stress. So while everyone in the shelter is weeping and huddling against each other, I am stripping off my clothes, not just for fun, but to keep them dry, heading into the monsoon rainstorm, and being violently ill. And I kind of had this epiphany: If I am willing to do this for reality television, why can I not pursue the thing that I truly believe in and care about? And then, when I got back, I was dedicated to writing a novel.I imagine a lot of the inspiration for your novel was pulled from your direct experience on the show. But you've also talked in other interviews about having worked in a reality producers trade group in the Nonfiction Producers Association. Talk to me more about that, because I imagine that especially informed your writing from the production perspective.Yeah, I mean, I worked at MTV, where I worked on the network side. So I certainly saw from that perspective, like how we scheduled shows, how we worked with shows. And then I worked with reality TV producers. A lot of that was collating the trends and the in-depth production best practices. And then also, I was writing up story Bibles for TV shows; there's one in this book. Basically, what happens is the production company will write in advance what is going to happen on the show. Which I just love, because, you know, a reality show is theoretically unscripted. But [it 's necessary] in order to kind of pitch to the networks. So I've been on that side too. What is meant to happen, or the drama that could happen on these shows, they will literally write up episode by episode. "This character is going to do this, this character is going to do that." And so I just love that there's this inherent tension between this very structured vision that the production company has, and that's what the network has bought this vision, and what's happening in front of them with the real people. What's so interesting about Escape! is that you're covering perspectives both in front of and behind the camera, in this "upstairs/downstairs" type of plot. It doesn't feel like we get that in its entirety outside of a show like UnREAL.You know, it's funny. I started writing this book before I even knew about UnREAL. I mean, that's how long ago I started writing it. And I was like, "I've got this great story! It's never been told before." Then people are like, "Have you seen UnREAL?" And I was like, "I don't want to hear about this! I don't want to know." But fortunately, now most people have forgotten about UnREAL or look back fondly on it, and are like, "Yeah, I'd love another UnREAL" But what I actually think UnREAL did not do particularly well. I mean, it was exceptional [in] showing the way production works. I think it was a little too malevolent. I tried to capture more of the producers' humanity in this. But I don't think they got the contestant story, so they had the upstairs, but I don't know if they had the downstairs as well. And so I was trying to capture some of the depth of the contestants themselves, which I feel like I am uniquely qualified to do — uniquely with all the thousands of other contestants. [Laughs.]But that was something that I think is really funny and interesting. The reality show is this sort of inherently kind of frivolous, disposable thing that, culturally, we sort of laugh at. It's our guilty pleasure, but for the contestants, they're having this crazy, profound, deep human experience. And I like the tension between that silly, ridiculous product and the profound experience. It's like I'm having a life epiphany while violently sick. And then it's like, "#severegastrointestinaldistress"! [Laughs.]I imagine there's also an element of having that epiphany and wondering in the moment, "How is this going to be presented to millions of people who are watching me?"Yeah, and honestly, of course, when you're out there, you're constantly worried, "What's my edit like?" Especially when you're a returning player. Because I do think with the new players, there's a little bit of like, "Wow, I'm on reality TV!" I mean, that was my experience. Like, "I'm stepping into this huge game. I can do any do anything I want. This is crazy! If I go over here, suddenly that's a part of the story." There's this crazy sense of freedom about it. And I do think when you're a returning player, you're much more aware of, "What is my story going to be? How will this be portrayed?" And it's interesting too, just having observed producers and worked with producers, what amazing storytellers they are. They really are turning real messy human lives into well-structured, three-act stories. And I think that's just so interesting.Obviously, you have your own perspective from your reality TV journey. But I know you conducted many interviews with people in reality TV for research as well. What was that like?I didn't want this to be a tell-all about Survivor. I didn't want this to be perceived as like, "This is Stephen sticking it to Survivor!" So I really wanted this to be about reality television more broadly. And so I did talk to contestants from a lot of other shows. I talked to a lot of producers, too. On shows like Naked and Afraid, I talked to one of their EPs. I talked to other jungle production shows. The show on my book is a little more bare bones than Survivor; it's a smaller crew. And I wanted to kind of capture that too, this sort of little group that's huddled there against the sort of huge jungle surrounding them. I mean, Survivor, they build their own city, right? They're a whole production edifice. ButI think what's interesting to me is this little group of people is really quite at the mercy of the huge jungle around them, and, like, still trying to craft this story. But I did try to get a lot of the little details and little stories and little anecdotes I heard from some of those people into the book. So that it feels like, at least to me, I see the texture of all these different true reality stories in this fictional book.You utilize multiple POV characters in Escape!. But one of your most prominent, Kent, is a former reality TV star who's joined a show in the hopes of trying to recapture the high from his fifteen minutes of fame. And I imagine it was important to represent that perspective of, "I just did this thing that has forever changed my life. How do I chase that high?"Yeah, I mean, you nail it. You've done this thing, and it's probably going to be the most interesting, exciting thing you ever do. And it's something that also people are going to be talking about with you forever. People still ask me questions about decisions I made in Tocantins. That was a month of my life 20 years ago, and it was a choice I made when I was tired and malnourished and had a zillion other things going on. And I made this choice, and there's still Reddit threats about it. Of course, you're so grateful for that as a person, but it also makes other aspects of your life hard to measure up. And you want to kind of reclaim that greatness so desperately. And I think you see a lot of contestants who have trouble getting away from it, who just want to relive it again and again and again, and they're too aware of how real life can never measure up to that. And so that was my character, Kent, I wanted him to kind of embody that. Especially as the sort of alpha male in his first season, now in his 40s, and kind of still trying to hold onto this sort of antiquated idea of what it even means to be an alpha male.
The cover art for 'Escape!'Courtesy of Stephen
Related: Meet the Full Cast of 'Survivor 50' — And Check Out Their First Cast Photos!
Hence then, the article about from survivor player to novelist stephen fishbach on the on island epiphany that led to his reality tv book escape exclusive was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( From 'Survivor' Player to Novelist: Stephen Fishbach on the On-Island Epiphany That Led to His Reality TV Book 'Escape!' (Exclusive) )
Also on site :