From Slovenia to South Africa, Millionaire mania goes global
Focus
Okay, hot stuff. You've been watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and feeling mighty confident about those early-round questions, right? Then give this one a go: What is holubtsi? Is it A) the code name of Russia's most famous spy; B) a popular Ukrainian dish; C) a Moscow dance craze or D) Vaclav Havel's cat?
True, that may not seem like a typical can't-miss question, but it's close to what you would hear if you were watching O Schastlivchik! (O Lucky Man!) in Russia, one of 24 countries that broadcasts its own version of Millionaire. Another 55 countries have licensed or optioned the British-born show, putting it on a path toward total global TV domination. "In all countries it's been as successful as it has been here [in England, where the show regularly attracts 19 million viewers]," says Ruth Settle of the London-based Celador Productions, which licenses Millionaire internationally.
Although many hosts sport Regis's now-famous dark-suit, dark-shirt style, they are, in fact, not faux Philbins. The look "is something that [British host] Chris Tarrant adopted and that Regis Philbin has copied," says Settle.
Comparing the difficulty of the various shows' questions is "virtually impossible because they're all so culturally specific," says Settle. A Boer War question might win big bucks for an American, she notes, but might be worth a paltry 4,000 rand ($563) in South Africa because "it's their history. It's fairly elementary stuff for them."
Contestants' attitudes vary from country to country too. Unlike the more daring Yanks, for example, when the risk-averse Brits "get to 125,000 pounds, they don't gamble," she says. "That's why we haven't had a millionaire here yet."
Oh, and holubtsti? It's a Ukrainian dish similar to stuffed cabbage. And yes, that's our final answer.
United Kingdom
Chris Tarrant
Top Prize: 1 Million Pounds
Australia
Eddy McGuire
Top Prize: 1 Million Australian Dollars
Belgium
Walter Grootaers
Top Prize: 20 Million Belgium Francs
South Africa
Jeremy Maggs
Top Prize: 1 Million South African Rand
Denmark
Peter Kaer
Top Prize: 1 Million Danish Kroner
Netherlands
Robert ten Brink
Top Prize: 11 Million Dutch Guilders
Spain
Carlos Sobera
Top Prize: 50 Millian Spanish Pesetas
Greece
Spyros Papadopoulous
Top Prize: 50 Millian Greek Drachmas
From Blue to Hard News
Having swapped her NYPD Blue badge for a press pass, Andrea Thompson (formerly Det. Jane Kirkendall) reported for duty—without backup from Dennis Franz—at Albuquerque TV station KRQE on May 29. The actress turned newscaster took on her first assignment, interviewing victims of the Los Alamos wildfires, with natural aplomb, reports Douglas Crawford, one of her crew members. "She mastered it very quickly," he says. "She's obviously very used to being around cameras." Before beginning her new on-air job, Thompson, 40, turned in one last law-enforcement performance: She recently filmed an educational video for the Brooklyn district attorney's office that recounts her real-life 1998 nightmare as the victim of a stalker.
Psst: The Rubies Aren't Real
Yeah, yeah, we know: They're famous. Judy Garland clicked her heels in them. They're shiny and, yes, ruby-hued. But c'mon...$666,000 for a pair of pumps? The high price was right for well-heeled David Elkouby, who plans to display the shoes in a museum of Hollywood memorabilia. He snapped up the size-6B slippers (one of a reported seven pairs made for The Wizard of Oz) during an auction May 24 in New York City. Although auction house Christie's East had estimated the slippers' selling price at $800,000, spokesperson Margaret Barrett insists the winning bid didn't disappoint, noting that "six figures for a pair of shoes is a pretty awesome price."
When Videos Vanish
Thieves, in general, don't go out of their way to steal that which is readily available—for free—to millions of people. Apparently this logic was lost on the sticky-fingered bandits who recently snatched 9,600 copies of a video featuring four past episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond—a show that airs weekly, gratis, on network TV.
This much is known: The tapes, which were about to be shipped to Emmy voters for their nomination consideration, were swiped—along with the truck transporting them—sometime in the wee hours of May 25 from a parking lot in Camarillo, Calif. What is still anyone's guess is whether somebody out there loves Raymond enough to want 38,400 episodes of the show or whether the culprit was simply out to thwart the sitcom's Emmy aspirations or just to steal the truck. "We haven't a clue who did this," admits Jim Aguirre of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.
Raymond executive producer Phil Rosenthal thinks he does. Although he first suspected Frasier star and arch-Emmy enemy Kelsey Grammer, "on further inspection, it looks like Ally McBeal may have been at the wheel," cracks Rosenthal. Although new copies of the tapes will reach voters a bit late, Rosenthal admits that their tortuous tale makes them "a little more special now." As for series star Ray Romano, he offers Scoop this tongue-in-cheek take: "I heard the cops got a note from the thief that demanded $100,000—or he'll start delivering the tapes." And for anyone planning to sell the tapes online, Rosenthal has this warning: "If I go on eBay and I see 9,600 Raymond tapes and a truck, I'm going to put it together!"
Lennon's Gift Sold for a Song
John Lennon may have had just this sort of thing in mind when he sang "imagine no possessions."
Back in 1979, the former Beatle and his wife, Yoko Ono, gave a 1929 Baldwin grand piano to Manhattan art consultant Sam Green to thank Green for his help in their purchase of various art treasures. The Lennons also included a small brass plaque, engraved "For Sam, Love From Yoko and John, 1979," above the piano's keyboard.
Years passed, and in 1988 Green gave—or lent—the piano to the New York Academy of Art for use on special occasions. More years passed, and the piano wound up in the school's basement. In 1998 the school sold it, reportedly for a few thousand dollars. Imagine Green's surprise. He claims the instrument was worth $1.6 million, because that's the price another Lennon piano, the one on which Lennon actually composed "Imagine," is expected to fetch at auction this summer.
Now Green has filed suit to get back his piano or the $1.6 million he believes it's worth. School officials contend the piano was a gift. Until they settle, there'll be no living life in peace.
POP QUIZ
with Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards traded his ER scrubs for a racing uniform at the Indianapolis 500, where he drove the Oldsmobile Aurora pace car, in part to promote his favorite charity, Cure Autism Now. No speedway novice—TV's Dr. Mark Greene has attended racing school and driven in a celebrity contest—Edwards, 37, after listening carefully to advice from past champ Parnelli Jones ("Don't hit the wall"), invited Scoop to sit in the passenger seat and conduct an interview while taking practice laps around the Indy track two days before the actual race.
So how fast will we be going?
You never look at the speedometer. It's instinct. But I think on the front stretch we'll get up to something like 115 or 120.
What is it with you and cars?
It's a thrilling sport to watch, just visually. What I really like is how the team works, seeing the dynamic between the engineers and the drivers and the way they have to figure out a car for a specific track and for the weather. There's a real group collaboration.
Do you like to go fast?
I do—but I'm never going to be a driver. I'm a fan, and this is as close as I'll ever get, and it's plenty close and I'm loving it!
How about off the track?
There are too many variables. There are no controls. At least on a racetrack, you're all going in one direction. But to drive on a street fast is not fun. It's really stupid, obviously. I'm raising kids.
Does your wife get nervous when she drives with you?
No. How can she be nervous when she's telling me where to go? She's in control.
What do you drive now?
I've been driving BMWs for a while. It's a great car, and it's safe. What I'm doing mostly is hauling kids around.
(Edwards accelerates.) Oh my God! Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
(Laughing) Why would I get a speeding ticket? No, I really haven't.
What are we doing now?
About 115 miles an hour.
So will you be back for the Formula One race in September?
I've actually got an even better thing happening then—the birth of my third child. So I'll be watching the race from my living room.
A boy or a girl?
We do know—and I'm not telling.
Are you a good mechanic?
No, I am not a gearhead.
What is the right engine oil for hot summer weather?
All I know (laughing) is that WD-40 is what you want to use for squeaks.
ON THE BLOCK
LODGING JOHN MALKOVICH
In the film Being John Malkovich, strangers could reside inside the actor's brain. Now they can stay in his hotel, The Big Sleep, in Cardiff, Wales. Malkovich and five other investors transformed an old British Gas building into a hostelry that co-owner Lulu Anderson describes as "trendy, fashionable and quite funky." The decor sounds quirky—it's all Formica, fleece and fake fur. But the room rates sound downright Days Inn. A single costs $67 a weekend night. Malkovich, who officially opened the hotel April 26 by having breakfast in bed—in striped pajamas in the lobby—also owns restaurants in Paris and Lisbon.
- Contributors:
- Michelle Tauber,
- Liza Hamm,
- Ron Arias,
- Lucia Greene,
- Sarah Hemmingway,
- Jennifer Longley,
- Sue Miller,
- Zelie Pollan,
- Vicki Sheff-Cahan,
- Bob Stewart,
- Ellen Tumposky.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
