"Survivor: Worlds Apart" (CBS)
Quick Note: We’re going to be bringing you all kinds of “Survivor” fun this season including episode recaps, exit interviews, and Power Rankings with Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
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“Survivor” has seen chefs that cook, doctors that tend to wounds, and lawyers who make appeals to juries. I guess it was only a matter of time until we had a jeweler fashion his own immunity necklace.
Unfortunately for Joe, an immunity idol is only valid if it’s crafted by the official “Survivor” art department and has gone through Jeff Probst’s rigorous 13-step validation process.
I spoke to Joe the crafty craftsman the morning after his elimination and asked him about his art project, his level of “Survivor” fandom, and a possible side business…
Joe Anglim: Gordon, my man!
Gordon Holmes: Oh Joe…
Anglim: (Laughs)
Holmes: I know things seem dark, but I might have a ray of sunshine for you.
Anglim: Talk to me.
Holmes: You clearly have a talent for making fake idols. We should start a side business for you.
Anglim: (Laughs) Hey, if it’s in the cards. I can make idols for people all day. We can do it. Should I just recreate every idol that’s ever been made and put my own little twist on it?
Holmes: That’s a hell of an idea. We need to schedule some brainstorming time.
Anglim: I could use little things from around my house.
Holmes: Shirin and Dan are constantly going at it over who’s the bigger “Survivor” fan. Do they not appreciate what a super fan you are?
Anglim: I think everybody appreciated everybody’s fandom. I’ll say this, I’m a fan. They are super fans. They know who was in what challenge. Who was where, all the tribe names. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, but they’ve got me beat.
Holmes: So, it looked like if Shirin proves her loyalty to Mike, you go home. And if she votes for Jenn, you stay. Based on what we know so far in the game, do you think she made the right call for her game?
Anglim: I do. I think Shirin is starting to wiggle her way in. I think it was a good move. She was on a sinking ship. People are going to start fracturing off. Look at Rodney and Carolyn and Will. They are already in their own little sub-alliance. So it was a good move. It helped her establish some credit. It doesn’t help her to keep me in the game because I’m going to win immunity for myself and she’d go home. Tyler said this at that Tribal and it didn’t make the air, but “If you’ve got the shot, you’ve got to take it.” He was saying they had to get rid of me because they might not get that opportunity again.
Holmes: When Mike asked Shirin who she wanted to target, she said Carolyn. That was the first time we’d heard that name come up since the first Tribal. Does anyone else consider her a threat?
Anglim: She brought up Carolyn’s name several times. I thought it was coming from a personal…angst. But Carolyn was…just kinda quiet. She hung out with everybody. You didn’t know where she was at in terms of strategy.
Holmes: Was it hard for you to make moves when it was so obvious that you were the main target?
Anglim: When I’m talking to people about strategy, I was trying to pitch as many cases as I could. Trying to form anything with these people, but I was just kind of outcasted. Because they knew if I didn’t win I was going to go home. I was trying to sway Tyler and Mama C, I took them on that reward. But, when you’re target number one it’s hard to say anything.
Holmes: I ran that first immunity challenge in Nicaragua and I did the same tree puzzle that you did. It took me about a month to complete it.
Anglim: (Laughs)
Holmes: And I stood there and watched you…I was so mad…I watched you complete that thing in about three seconds. I asked John Kirhoffer, and he said maybe one person on the crew has ever done it quicker than you. Do you think on day three, in that challenge, that you put a target on your back?
Anglim: Gordon, it’s so hard. I would go back and do it again and I’d want to win it. But in terms of gameplay that was the worst possible thing I could have done. I strategically placed myself second behind Vince on the locks. I wanted Jenn to do the puzzle. I didn’t want to play a big factor for that exact reason. It backfired. I knew going into the game I was going to have a target naturally. But I blew myself out of the water on that one.
Holmes: I was surprised to see Jenn want out of the game. Was the Hali vote the turning point for her?
Anglim: Yeah. They had a really good friendship out there. They’re very close. Once Hali was gone, Jenn lost her best friend in the game. She has nobody to talk to except Shirin and Shirin talks about “Survivor” all the time. People are getting annoyed with her. Part of her wants to be at Ponderosa with Hali. But strategically, I think she’s thinking, “I’m going to tell these people that I want out because more often than not we’ve seen those people get brought along. “ So, is it strategy or strategy and feeling? That’s how I was feeling in the moment.
Holmes: I feel like you missed a golden opportunity. If she really wanted to go home, she could’ve unleashed a Brandon Hantz-esque camp destruction meltdown.
Anglim: Hey, I was trying to fuel those fires. “Jenn, are you going to let that chicken go? Don’t do it…”
Holmes: (Laughs)
Anglim: You’d just see her eyes light up. She’s not stupid. I don’t think she really wanted to go. I think there was a part of her that…I don’t know…it’s hard to say. But she could’ve easily thrown the food in the fire.
Holmes: Why was Will so quick to jump from the No Collars?
Anglim: I think Will knew he was going over even before the merge. I don’t want to say it was because he felt he was playing with a younger crowd, I don’t know if he developed a quick relationship with Rodney. As you see with Rodney, his charisma came out. He’s making people laugh. It’s tough to say. I think Will knew he was in the bottom of our alliance and we’re tough competitors.
Holmes: Speaking of Rodney, were there any other good impressions we didn’t see? Because that Mike one was dead on.
Anglim: (Laughs) (In a solid Mike impersonation) Yo Jeff, I don’t know what’s going to happen!
Holmes: (Laughs) So good.
Anglim: We all do it now. It’s a running joke. He’s got it on lock. He does a lot of people in our cast. That’s the other side of this story is that we had a lot of fun out there.
Holmes: How about at the finale we have you and Rodney doing dueling Mikes?
Anglim: Oh yeah. It’s happening. (Laughs) Don’t tell Mike, but he’s probably going to get some voice action from the back rows.
Holmes: Don’t worry, nobody reads this.
Holmes: Word association time. Let’s start with Tyler.
Anglim: Quiet.
Holmes: Mike?
Anglim: Loud.
Holmes: Vince?
Anglim: Intense.
Holmes: Hali?
Anglim: Gorgeous.
Holmes: Jenn?
Anglim: Mmm…goofy.
Holmes: Shirin?
Anglim: Super fan.
Holmes: Dan?
Anglim: Greatest story ever told.
Holmes: Will?
Anglim: Papa bear.
Holmes: Carolyn?
Anglim: Mama C.
Holmes: Sierra?
Anglim: Absolutely.
Holmes: Let’s finish with Rodney.
Anglim: Little (expletive deleted). (Laughs)
Holmes: I didn’t pick you to win because you seemed to have too much going for you. You’re young and fit and good looking and likable and good at challenges and good at outdoor life…
Anglim: Oh…stop.
Holmes: Outside of that first challenge, what could you have done differently?
Anglim: You know, Gordon, it’s tough to say. I guess I could downplay my skills. I should’ve tried to come off as less of a threat. But, it’s hard to do. I’m proud of the game I played. If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t be so aggressive in that first challenge.
Holmes: I do like people who don’t stop swinging. And that’s the impression I got from you.
Anglim: I loved this game. I still do. There’s nothing as a fan that I dislike more than a player who accepts their fate. So, as a fan I wanted to play like my life was on the line everyday. And that’s kind of what ended up happening. It was great.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: joe anglim, survivor, survivor worlds apart
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