Ben Silverman Creates the Most Complicated Show in TV History

“It’s part MacGyver, part contemporary morality tale about race and personal discovery, part comedy, and part Cast Away meets Survivor.” —NBC chairman Ben Silverman on the network’s upcoming drama series Robinson Crusoe [HR]

“It took more willpower to lose that weight than to do anything I’ve ever done in my entire life. When I was doing research on weight loss, I remember reading about Tom Hanks in Cast Away, and he said the exact same thing. I was like, ‘The hardest thing he’s ever done in his whole life?’ And afterward, I was like, ‘Yeah, Tom Hanks is right.’ Always trust Tom.” —Emile Hirsch on losing 41 pounds for his role in Into the Wild [USAT]

“I have been cut out of the films and, at that particular point in my career, I was like, ‘But, am I still getting the paycheck?’ They were like, ‘Yeah, but you’re not going to be in the film,’ and I was like, ‘Alright, I can deal with that.’” —Michelle Monaghan on the priorities of a young actor [Coming Soon]

“I saw Ben Stiller walking his dog and I shouted ‘Ben!’ — he just looked at me and I said: ‘It’s me from Extras.’ He didn’t recognise me because he only ever saw me as a Bosnian woman in a witchy wig and a bullet hole in my head.” —Extras star Ashley Jensen who manages to keep a low profile in Hollywood [Metro U.K.]

“I think there were a few moments during the pilot where everyone was in the learning curve and we definitely got a note here or there, like, ”Can we get a t-shirt that makes him look more attractive?”—Josh Gordon, producer of Cavemen, on working with such ugly characters [EW]
—Elizabeth Black