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June 14, 2006
Rita Cosby Live & Direct' for June 14
By Rita Cosby, MSNBC
COSBY: Well, imagine giving up all of your privacy and starring in your own version of the Truman Show. Well, it sounds crazy, but one New Jersey man is now a part of the first interactive internet reality show. Kieran Vogel has agreed to have his life broadcast live on the web 24 hours a day for six straight months. And there is a twist, viewers will dictate everything Vogel will do. And when I say everything, I mean everything. They get to choose what he eats, what he wears and even who he dates and who comes over to the house. The star now of the real life Truman Show, Kieran joins me live for his first national interview since he started the web cam from inside the house. Kieran, first of all, it has been your first day. How has it gone?
KIERAN VOGEL, LIFE BROADCAST ON THE INTERNET: Well, you know, it's been very interesting. I had some meals chosen for me. I had some visitors from the company come over. So I think it's been a good experience so far, positive.
COSBY: What was the first thing, because we were just listing all the different things people can ask you to do, and that's how you live your life for the next six months. What was the first request you got when the day started?
VOGEL: The very first, well, the first thing that I did is I actually had to turnover all the things that identified me as an independent individual, like my cell phone, my keys, my wallet. They all had to be turned over. And I believe the first thing I think was voting on what I was to eat. There has been a lot of things that I've done today, so I don't recall all of them. They voted that I had to try wigs on today.
COSBY: How did you look? Were you a brunette, or a blond or what was it?
VOGEL: No, no such luck. I had a green hair. There was one that actually made me look bald and I refused to look at that one. I'm sure I looked like a little anorexic vulture, I couldn't do it.
COSBY: Give us a tour of the place. I understand you have cameras all over. You are sitting in your living room, now . Give us a little tour of the living room, show us where some of the cameras are and also there is a flat screen right there, you can actually communicate with viewers.
VOGEL: Absolutely. This whole room right now has cameras like, they're practically cameras all the way around. There is a camera up here. There is a camera over there. There is really not a lot of places where I can go in this house where I'm not going to be recorded. There is a plasma screen over there where I can communicate with people. There's more cameras over here. This is the kitchen where I attempt to prepare meals. I had an attempt today to actually prepare a cake. And I think I did better than a lot of people thought I was going to. I had help from my friend Zach. People tried it, they actually said it was tasty.
COSBY: What about the bathroom?
VOGEL: What?
COSBY: Cameras in the bathrooms? Cameras everywhere?
VOGEL: No, there's no cameras in the bathroom. I barely want to see myself in the bathroom. Nobody else wants, so, no. It's nothing is going to be you know, there's nothing here that's like X-rated or adult. It's like a PG show, well PG-13 show.
COSBY: Speaking of ladies, go ahead, you can finish your tour.
VOGEL: I no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, I apologize. I was just showing, I'm very happy with this. You know, I play a kazoo, I actually collect kazoos, I have over like 120 kazoos, but these are some of the ones I have in here.
COSBY: So maybe one of the requests is going to be to have you play one.
VOGEL: Absolutely. I have actually played the kazoo a couple times for some different people and for some of the people on camera.
COSBY: Now I've got to ask you Kieran, as you see all these things, why are you doing this?
VOGEL: Well, I'm doing this because basically, I keep telling everyone that basically, you are the sum total of your decisions. And the sum total of my decisions up to this point have been a big zero. I've essentially gotten no where in my life. So, the ability to let go and have an audience control me for six months and make all my decisions and redirect my life is wonderful. It's fabulous. I'm taking a back seat to my own life. I don't have to really do anything. I can remove myself from the equation. It's a good thing. If you don't mind, I'm actually, I'm getting very comfortable in the house, so I'm forgetting, so I have to give myself little notes here and there. Like, they voted that I could only drink iced tea today. So I have to remind myself, so I don't go in the fridge and grab like, you know, another kind of soft drink. And of course the diner is the only place really that I feel comfortable. I go to diners all the time to write and to doodle. So they made a diner here to make me feel comfortable at home.
COSBY: Well Kieran, will you do us a favor? We will check back in with you, I'm sure, in a couple of days and we'll have to put in some votes ourselves, either for the kazoo
VOGEL: Yes, vote for me playing the kazoo, and vote for black clothing please, because I don't normally look like a piece of confetti. This was the first vote, to have me look like a candy wrapper.
COSBY: You got it, confetti-free votes. Kieran, thanks so much. Good luck in the house. And coming up, would Kieran win this contest. Coming up, it's the battle to be America's hottest bachelor. Find out if a Broke Back Mountain cowboy and American Idol, or some guy you've never heard of will come out on top. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSBY: So just what are you looking for in a man? Is it brains or brawn? Is he a celebrity or just an average Joe. You need some ideas, you need to look no further than "People" magazine's Hottest Bachelor issue. Tonight we have a sneak peek at some of the hottest hunks around, other than the guys who work on my staff. The magazine's senior editor tells me how they decide who's hot and who's not?
JULIE DAM, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: We have everybody across the country scouring for attractive, available men. It's, you know, with the celebrities, we look at people who are in the public eye at the moment who have made a splash recently. An we also look for real people to fill out the bachelors.
COSBY: And do you get thousands?
DAM: Definitely thousands of people, some people send them in, some people send in their friends and of course we find these guys.
COSBY: Taylor Hicks, "American Idol" winner, how did he get picked?
DAM: He's sort of the man of the moment, 40 million people couldn't be wrong. They elected him "American Idol" and he's single and fun, and you will not believe his fan base. He's the only contestant this season who had to have a body guard because his fans were so avid.
COSBY: Speaking of people who would like to be a bodyguard, Ace Young and Ryan Secrest. They both made it too. "American Idol" is hot.
DAM: Ace, everybody was, he was the good-looking guy on the show an everybody was disappointed when he got kick off. He sings, he's cute, he's tall, what more can you ask for?
COSBY: You got Matthew McConaughey, you got Jake Gyllenhall. You also have Jamie Foxx. What make these guys make the list versus some of the others?
DAM: Matthew is our reigning sexiest man alive. Now that he's back on the market after his split from Penelope Cruz, he was a no-brainer for the list. Jamie Foxx, he's got "Miami Vice" coming out. He sings, he's an actor, he has a daughter, also an easy call. Jake Gyllenhaal, he's a great actor, he wants to have kids, he's eligible, total catch.
COSBY: Speaking of catches, there's two guys who are now on the market, Kenny Chesney also Nick Lachay. does it make it more appealing because of such high-profile splits?
DAM: I think there's a little bit of every woman who wants somebody to-this is a guy who needs to be taken care of after he had his heart broken.
COSBY: For some reason, I think there's a lot of volunteers. Thank you very much. We can't wait to see the full edition coming out in a few days.
So does America's hottest bachelor really have to be a celebrity. You're about to meet an average Joe who "People" magazine says is anything but average. He joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSBY: In their upcoming issue, some of "People" magazine's hottest bachelors aren't necessarily famous faces. One of them is Scott Sullivan, he joins me LIVE AND DIRECT. Your this amazing story. You were noticed for your work with Hurricane Katrina. How do you feel now to be one of America's hottest bachelors?
SCOTT SULLIVAN, PEOPLE'S HOTTEST BACHELORS: I was extraordinarily excited when people called me and I was honored to be part of the fraternity. I was very grateful that they picked me for, not only being a bachelor, but also for the cause that we're actually representing.
COSBY: What did they say to you and was it a call?
SULLIVAN: It was a phone call. I was really shocked and surprised when they called. They were like, hey, you've been chosen. And I was shocked because I'm not an a-list actor or rock star. They said we're looking for an ordinary guy that did extraordinary things during Katrina. You're the guy we picked and I was shocked and surprised and amazed and very happy.
COSBY: Why do you think they picked you? There were a lot of heroes of Hurricane Katrina. What do you think it was about you?
SULLIVAN: We have stayed in the cause for a long time. We have helped tens of thousands of people since the hurricane happened. We have fed and clothed and continue to help people in the city of Las Vegas. It has been an ongoing effort. I think a lot of people started the effort and they've kind of backed out of it. We're trying to prepare for this hurricane season and let people know they can still come and join the corps, they can go to our Web site at jointhecorps.org and participate and help us get ready for the hurricane season and let people know that it's not over in South Louisiana and we still need a lot of help.
COSBY: What do you think of "People" magazine honoring some of the rescuers? Do you think this is a good tribute? And also as you said this is a good reminder as we head into hurricane season?
SULLIVAN: A little bit of both. From what I understand they picked a Navy Seal person and they also picked another person from the National Guard and so they picked some really good heroes and there were a lot of great people that responded to Katrina. A lot of people did a lot of great things. I'm just happy to represent the Corps and happy to represent the state of Louisiana and what it can mean for moving forward and getting people involved for this season and getting people ready to go for what's coming for the Gulf Coast. Let people know, hey, get ready, it's still coming.
COSBY: I think it's wonderful that "People" magazine picked you and some of the other guys involved. Hats off to the efforts you do.
SULLIVAN: Thank you.
COSBY: How overwhelming is it for you now you're instant celebrity?
SULLIVAN: It's going to be very interesting. I told my mom I would do everything to keep her proud in the process. It's going to be a very interesting process in the next couple of weeks. I encourage everybody to go out and get a copy. I have not even seen it myself. I'm going to try to get down there myself to see what it looks like and what's written. It's an honor to be in the top 50, it's a great crowd to be in with Matthew McConaughey and some of these guys, very talented people.
COSBY: Speaking of hunks that you're talking about. What do you think its going to do for your love life and are the phone calls already coming in?
SULLIVAN: The phone calls haven't started but hopefully tonight we'll get some hits on the Web site so I think after this evening it's going to start.
COSBY: I bet. We'll try to siphon them through for you.
SULLIVAN: That would be great.
COSBY: Keep up the great work for all the folks down there in the Gulf region. Thanks so much.
That does it for me on LIVE AND DIRECT tonight. I'm Rita Cosby. THE SITUATION with another hot hunk, Tucker Carlson, starts right now. Tucker?
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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