'Survivor' Host's Geoethnic Studies, From Soup to Mutts

Asians, he explained, include Chinese and Japanese and Koreans and "they don't necessarily get along," adding, "This is stuff maybe I should know."

Having gone ethnic, "Survivor" will never again be lily white, Probst promised. That Probst is so sweet. And trusting. So naive.

"For me, as a white guy from Wichita who hosts the show I love . . . the minute everything was a go, I felt in my heart we'll never go backwards. We can't. . . .

"It wouldn't surprise me if a few years from now people looked back and said, 'Remember when "Survivor" did that and all the hoopla and now it's more commonplace?' That wouldn't surprise me at all. It would make me real happy."

He sees the stunt casting as nothing but good.

"This is such a positive idea because you're going to see more ethnicities represented, certainly on our show from this point forward. . . . You know, a young Hispanic kid now gets turned on to 'Survivor' because there's somebody he can relate to and it opens up a world to him. Maybe he decides to travel as a result of seeing the show or maybe he sees something . . . in this Hispanic [contestant] that he can connect with and he decides to go do what that guy does.

"The possibilities of what could happen from this, to me, are endless, really."

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has tapped syndicated talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to host the next Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 25.

That popping noise you hear is the sound of film industry snobs jumping through windows.

"Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards," said show producer Laura Ziskin -- which is surprising given that DeGeneres has never been to the Oscars, according to the academy's own news release. Maybe that's because her film credits include playing Prologue Dog on '98's "Dr. Dolittle" and the voice of Dory in '03's "Finding Nemo," a starring role in the '96 film "Mr. Wrong" and the role of herself in '04's "My Short Film," according to the Internet Movie Database.

She has, however, done a brilliant job hosting the Primetime Emmy Awards twice, getting great notices in particular for her sensitive handling of the hosting duties just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. She's also twice hosted the Grammys.