One on One with Jon Kelley
Friday, August 15 2008 | Comments (0)
Jon Kelley has signed on to host The Moley
Grail.
The Mole fans might like to know that there is a good chance the show will find its way on ABC next season. And if Jon Kelley has anything to say about it, it will. Jon took a few minutes to fill RealityBug.com in on the details from last season and what we might expect moving forward.
“I’m signed on to jump on board the potential/next quest for ‘The Moley Grail.’ My hope is ABC brings it back because I can say without hesitation it's one of the coolest, most unique and dynamic gigs I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of,” he said in an e-mail interview with RealityBug.com.
“One season merely whetted my appetite.... it's a unique show -- as our EP (executive producer) Scott Stone likes to say, ‘It definitely gets in your veins.’ It's smart, challenging, mysterious, intriguing … a rare show – especially in the world of reality.”
Jon said the efforts of those have went above and beyond expectations, not to mention the craze of fans that have supported the show.
“We had a monster crew, they gave a monster effort and our fans are crazy passionate and that's a flattering thing,” Jon wrote. “I love our fan’s commitment and belief in our show.”
They have had various “Save the Mole” campaigns across the country, fan mail, and the YouTube campaign that has fans producing their own “Save the Mole” videos. Although they haven’t found a winner of their promotion (first video to get 500,000 hits wins) he said they have had a long list of videos submitted. “I do sincerely thank all the fans who entered the contest AND all the fans who've watched this season... AND taken part in the various petition signings.”
RealityBug.com asked Jon if he had any idea who The Mole was at any time during the game and quite frankly it sounds as if he didn’t until halfway through the season.
Jon said his experience on the show was phenomenal.
“They don't tell me who The Mole is, so, just like the players, I got to play along and try to figure it out every step of the way,” he explained. “And just like the players and fans, I butchered my first couple of guesses. By around the midway point, I started to get a pretty solid beat on who it might be.”
He reminded us that he did get to see the game from a different perspective than viewers had, so he did have a huge advantage. “With all the time spent up close and personal, if I hadn't figured out who it was by the finale, I would have kind of felt like a dope. A bigger dope than I already am.” (He said it – not us. Hey Jon, you made it this far, we think you’re pretty smart.)
Was he surprised that the Mole was Craig?
“Look, even though I said I figured I had figured it out by the last episode, I truly wouldn't have been completely shocked if I would have been wrong,” he said. “That's the beauty of this game. It keeps you guessing and off balance. I was more surprised at how close the final 3 were to be executed so many times along the way.”
Jon revealed that, yes, he did bungee jump off the bridge and had hoped to do more while wearing a helmet-cam and doing a “host’s point of view” segment, but the producers weren’t buying it.
"I think I finally wore them down by the time we got to the 100-foot bridge in Argentina,” he said. “I convinced one of them to finally let me go. It was after all the players ... our EP Clay Newbill stood there, taunting me just like I did the players. It was very funny. I loved the 100-foot leap... but as the players proved, the toughest part was just standing on that damn tiny plank for minutes on end – complete mind trip."
The entire trip was a phenomenal experience, he said. And added that the fans did get to see almost all the coolest and best of moments that happened. He pointed out the highlights that were most memorable; one being the “drive-by fruiting” Clay gave Paul and another one he actually missed. It was one night, when it was down to the final four; Nicole, Paul, Mark and Craig went out dancing after dinner and drinks. Apparently, Mark and Craig were cutting the rug with “their best lambada – you know, the ‘dance of love’. Together. A ‘man-tango,’ if you will,” Jon wrote.
In regards to Alex and Nicole crushing on one another, there may have been some truth to it, although he said he didn’t see Nicole and Alex – or anybody for that matter, making out at the finale after party.
“But I did leave before it ended.”
We’ll stay tuned here at RealityBug.com, Jon, and hope to see you next season on “The Moley Grail.”
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