'Link' Seeks Victims, er, Players

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/11/2001 at 11:42 AM EDT

Here's one way to help boost tourism in New York: NBC's "Weakest Link" is holding tryouts in Manhattan this coming weekend, seeking those brave and uninhibited enough to face the its stern hostess Anne ("You ARE the weakest link -- goodbye!") Robinson. The New York Post reports that auditions will be held at NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. "It's an open call -- literally first come, first served," the quiz show's producer, Laura Chambers, told the paper. "We'll see people in groups of about 125. We'll bring them in and give equal weight to a 20-question general knowledge test and a five-to-ten second interview." The interview will be mostly autobiographical. "It's energy and enthusiasm we're looking for," said Chambers, who admitted that the qualities are recognizable "almost as soon as someone walks through the door." She added, "You can be dull and boring, even with a high test score." Dull and boring? In front of Robinson? Actually, said Chambers, the quiz is known as "Anne's Ammunition." As she explained, "It gives Anne something to scold a person with. For instance, if someone says he or she is a member of (genius society) Mensa -- then can't answer a question." And the line forms to the left.