Rob Mariano
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Rob Mariano was chosen as host of the new reality show Tontine for his attitude.

But this could be taking it too far.

The former Survivor and The Amazing Race star actually got into a fight with a contestant trying out for the program. Here's the clip:

Reality TV Magazine recently caught up with the one and only Rob Mariano, host of the upcoming show Tontine. Here are excerpts from the interview:

Reality TV Magazine:  What exactly will you be doing in your role as host?  Will you be more like Phil Keoghan or Jeff Probst?
Boston Rob: A similar role, I play a similar role to that.  I will travel with the contestants.  They're going to all seven continents for over a hundred days.  I pretty much try to keep some order to the chaos, you know how these things get.  I think the cool thing about me being a host is because I've competed before, I kind of know the ins and the outs and the tricks that the contestants try to play on the host, you know, trying to get away with every little thing, and they're not going to get much past me, that's for sure.

Reality TV Magazine:  Are you going to be kind of like Jeff Probst is at times in pointing out stuff that happened and maybe even altering the outcome of the game?
Boston Rob: You know, there's definitely, without giving away too much, there is going to be physical and mental challenges.  There's going to be obviously a travel element.  And without a doubt, there's going to be a strategic element.  So you know, we try not to interfere too much, and even Jeff doesn't, but there are some questions that are probing that you have to ask, and when the times right for that, I'll do my job, and I'll do it well.

Reality TV Magazine:  Do you see the hosting as being something with a potential career path for you?  Would you host Survivor or Amazing Race down the road?
Boston Rob:  It's been truly amazing, just everything that I've gotten to do and what this has turned into.  If you look at the history of reality television contestants, I don't think any of them have been as successful as Amber and I in terms of turning this into something.

I could have never planned seven years ago when I went on Survivor for the first time that I would still be working in TV.  Obviously, being asked to host a job on a new TV show on a major network is a pretty big deal, so I hope it does lead to big things.

Reality TV Magazine:  So should Jeff Probst be looking over his shoulder?
Boston Rob:  No, Jeff's a good friend of mine.  I don't think he has anything to worry about.

Reality TV Magazine:  What type of contestants are you looking to cast on Tontine?
Boston Rob:  First and foremost, I think that the people that come out need to be themselves.  And I've said this in other interviews, it's just a well-known fact in reality TV, you may be able to fake who you are for an interview or even for a couple interviews, but over the course of the game, over a hundred days, your true self is going to come out, so being who you are is the most important thing.

Obviously, we're looking for Type A personality, outgoing, you know, big personality type people, people who have a sense of adventure, and the ability to think outside the box, and probably most importantly that realize that this is a game, and that will do whatever it takes to win.  You know, we're looking for the best of the best for this show.

Reality TV Magazine:  On a lot of recent reality shows, the casts have consisted predominantly of twenty something actors/waiters and actresses/waitresses.  One thing, I was kind of impressed with is that y'all are hitting cities all over the U.S.  Can we expect to have a lot of diversity in the cast?
Boston Rob:  We're going to eight cities in eight weeks.  Everywhere from like Dallas and New York and Boston and LA, the big cities, but we're also hitting St. Louis, Nashville, Minneapolis, so we are looking for a cross section of America.  The more competitive people, that's what's going to win out, the competitive people.

Tontine is a show that is essentially derived out of combining everything that people love about their favorite reality shows.  There's a Survivor element.  There's an Amazing Race element.  You know, all the big ones, we've brought them together and created a sort of super reality show.  The most important thing I haven't mentioned is first prize for this show is ten million dollars.  It's the largest single prize ever offered in the history of television, and I'm not talking about one person might win ten million dollars or has the opportunity.  One person is going to win ten million dollars.

To read the entire article, click here.

Reality TV World recently sat down with Rob Mariano to discuss his upcoming show, Tontine. Here are a few highlights from the interview...

Reality TV World: Hi Rob, good to talk to you again, so where are you calling from today? Are you living back in Pensacola again?
Rob: I'm actually in Florida today. I was in Pittsburgh three days ago [and] Vegas last week. And I'll be in Dallas on Wednesday. (laughing) We're still kind of running around quite a bit... but I am actually in Florida [today].

Reality TV World: You've already pretty much been teasing this new show since the moment Amber and yourself were eliminated from The Amazing Race: All-Stars back in March, so why are you still being so mysterious about who is producing the show and what network it's going to air on?
Rob: The people that are producing it just asked me not to release it yet. As far as the network goes, I actually don't know why they asked me to, but I imagine it's because of... you know how it is with the competition with these shows these days -- one network will take another network's idea and if they can produce it in a shorter amount of time, next thing you know they have it on the air before the original network.

What I can tell you is that the people that are producing are by far and away the best in the business as far as producers go. And the network is indeed a major network. It's not a cable network, it's one of the major networks. I'm just respecting their wishes. They asked to remain anonymous up until this point.

Reality TV World: Are you part of the show's producing team?
Rob: I am not one of the producers. I was [just] hired to be the host of the show.

Reality TV World: Are there signed deals in place or you still negotiating with the network and producers?
Rob: It's signed and done. It's a done deal. It will be on the air in April. It is indeed a signed deal. They're starting casting for it next week, June 30 [and] they're going to cast until the end of August. We're going to - I believe - eight cities. We're starting in Dallas, then going to Nashville; New York City; Boston; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Los Angeles; and San Diego. And then it will go to production the early part of September [with] post-production [to follow] after [that]. [The actual filming] will last 100 days, so September, October, November, [and] part of December. It will be on the air in the spring.

Reality TV World: When do you expect to announce the show's production team and broadcast network?
Rob: It's not really up to me... (laughing) you know what I mean? It's my job, I [just] work for them so whatever they want, that's what I'll do. I imagine they're probably doing this just to be secretive about the locations and everything because you know how all of these shows get spoiled these days. [But] that's just my imagination talking there.

Reality TV World: Ten Million dollars is a lot of money and far more than any other reality show has ever offered... how will it be paid to the winner - is it a real $10 million lump sum or is it something like the lottery-like "over 40 years" annuity payment schedule that NBC's For Love or Money used for its prizes?
Rob: I don't know for sure, but I do know that one person is going to win the entire $10 million. There's not going to be any money for second place, it's winner take all. One person will win $10 million. It's not like one of these things where you have the opportunity, like "you can win $10 million" -- someone is going to win $10 million, there's no catch there. It really is the biggest prize ever offered in television history... the day of the $1 million prize is over after this thing comes up!

Reality TV World: So it's a legit $10 million? There are no catches, you don't have to wait 40 years to collect it? It's not like Fox's Unan1mous, which started with a $1.5 million prize but featured a constant prize countdown that ended up resulting in the winner eventually receiving less than $400,000?
Rob: Again, I'll tell you, it's a major network doing the show. It's a very [reputable] production company. Somebody's going to win $10 million.

Reality TV World: No catches?
Rob: No catches.

Click here to continue reading this interview.

Although it doesn't appear to have a broadcast network yet, Rob Mariano has pulled the wraps off the new reality project he first began teasing in March.

According to Reality TV World, Mariano has announced he will serve as the host of Tontine, a new reality competition show that will award one contestant with "the biggest cash prize in the history of reality television - $10 million."

The oddly named show will follow 15 contestants, each of which is given "a special key" that unlocks a portion of the $10 million grand prize. Over the course of 100 days, the cast will be put through a series of mental and physical challenges with the possession of the keys constantly up for grabs. The series will conclude when only one contestant remains with all 15 keys in his or her possession, allowing him/her to unlock the $10 million prize.

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you certain things about it," Mariano said. "It's a competition reality show that will last over 100 days on all seven continents of the world. [It's going to be] bigger than Survivor, bigger than The Amazing Race."

The show's format is based on its namesake - "tontine" - an annuity scheme in which a group of individuals share a common fund, with the money being awarded to the person who survives the longest, or in this case makes it to the end of the competition.

Here is a photo of Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich at the Modern Bride's "25 Trendsetters of 2007" Awards Dinner on May 9 at the New York Palace Hotel in New York City:

Reality television made Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich household names.

Now, the couple who met on Survivor, teamed up on the Amazing Race - and had their 2005 wedding filmed for a two-hour CBS special - are planning the most spectacular reality TV series of all time.

At least according to Mariano.

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you certain things about it," he said Thursday night during the Courier Times-sponsored Reality Television Night at the Trenton Thunder. "It will definitely revolutionize reality TV as we know it."

Speaking exclusively to the Courier Times, Mariano said the new show, which he will host, will be "bigger than Survivor, bigger than Amazing Race.

"It's a competition reality show that will last over 100 days on all seven continents of the world," he added. "First prize is over $10 million."

Mariano said a nationwide American Idol-type search for contestants will begin in June, and the series will premiere next spring.

Judging by the reaction of fans at Thursday's Thunder game, Rob and Amber are as popular as ever, despite their early exit from this year's Amazing Race: All-Stars. The reigning first couple of reality television posed for photos and signed autographs on the concourse level of Waterfront Stadium for 90 minutes during the game.