JB-  You're doing the whole reality TV thing now on the WB.

Hal-  Right.  Yeah, well I got asked to do a bunch of them but this one actually had the potential for sort of a moral growth on the part of the people involved.  So that's the main reason I took it.  And it seemed like a lot of fun too.  This one's very specific - it's rich kids having to really take a look at how they view other people and having poor kids recognizing that some of the ideas that they have about people with money aren't necessarily right and might be one of the things keeping them from having money.  One of the things that keeps most of us poor is our idea that somehow wealth is linked to evil and bad behaviour.  And if you believe that then every time you get money you're going to kick your own ass.  And you're going to lose it and toss it out. 

JB- Right.  So let's set it up properly- you're talking about "Survival Of the Richest" and it's going to be airing on the WB.

Hal- Yes it is, on March 31.

JB-  So what we're seeing (on the show) is wealthy people contributing to society… it's almost kind of like a flip, like a role reversal.

Hal-  Absolutely.  Basically they're paired with kids who don't have any money and in many ways it's really about seeing if they can ever learn to give a shit, you know.  If they can actually wake up to their own prejudice and recognize that it serves no purpose.  Or if they're just going to be stuck going in circles with their beliefs and miss out on an entire group of people because they have this idea of people should or are going to be.

JB-  These are people they would never consider…

Hal-  Yeah, if they did meet them they would probably treat them like shit.  Well, not probably - more than definitely.  And then can we get them to recognize that for real?  And really get a grip on who they are as a person and their place in the world because a lot of them… there's a potential for these people in the same situation to be very sad to not have any soul, to actually feel alone and left out and all that stuff.  But they never come face to face with it because they never push against their comfort.  They never reach a level of physical discomfort or mental or social discomfort that allows them to take a good look at themselves. 

JB-  How old are all these people on the show?

Hal-  They're in their 20s.  Anywhere from early to late 20s.  But they're either all the children of poverty or the children of privilege.

JB-  So it's not like they've earned the money they have, it's just handed down.

Hal-  Not at all, actually.  They're, quite frankly, inheritance kids.  The poor kids have been busting their ass for as long as they can remember and never can get ahead. 

JB-  Did they have a really tough time adjusting?

Hal-  Certainly.  Yeah.  You can see the immediate assumptions about what it means to be rich and what it means to be poor.  I think that's one of the bigger issues facing us in the country right now.  The divide is getting wider and wider and the idea that it's OK is getting stronger and stronger with certain people.  You know, if you had any brains you'd have money.  That's it, that's the end of it.  A lot of people think that way.

JB-  So what surprised you during the show?

Hal-  Truth be told, how attached I got to the cast members.  There were times when we were talking about the ways that some of them were eliminated and they would have to leave I'd find myself genuinely emotional about it.  It became a big deal and I was really surprised at that, but I really care about these kids.  And I actually want them to turn out better.  I actually want them to see what they're missing.

JB-  So who is one person we should be watching for on the show?  Or rooting for..

Hal- Gosh.  I mean, it's fairly obvious right away.  People will immediately start seeing the delineation of personality and control right away.  There are parts of it that are, quite frankly, shocking in the beginning and you go, "There's no way I'm ever going to like this person.  There's no way."  There's a girl, Liz, on the show who kind of starts out wanting to be the next Paris Hilton and there were a couple of moments where she just shifts over the course of it.

JB- I know there was one time in your career you wanted to be the next Paris Hilton, wasn't it?

Hal-  In the next Paris Hilton, yeah.

JB-  Oh right, that's it.  Have you met Paris?

Hal- Yes I have a couple times.

JB-  How did that go?

Hal-  It was awkward and strange.  It was a little like being at the zoo.  It's like you see a giraffe and it's kind of a beautiful creature but if it gets spooked will it bang it's head up against the outside of my truck?

JB-  Is she exactly how we see her on TV?

Hal-  No.  She's a little sadder.  Every time I've seen her there's something genuinely melancholy about her.  And that face she kind of puts on, you know smarmy and don't-give-a-f*** is really a shield.

JB-  Maybe she would have been someone good to be on that show.

Hal-  Yeah.  That's kind of what The Simple Life (is) about a little bit, but it never gave her the genuine opportunity to care.