You know Vince Vaughn, movie celebrity. But the “Wedding Crashers” star is stepping up his quest to throw the spotlight on others.
Vaughn came to the Television Critics Asociation press tour in Pasadena on Thursday to pitch two of the talk shows he’s producing for DirecTV’s Audience Network: the third season of “Undeniable With Joe Buck” and the series premiere later this year of “Fearless With Tim Ferriss.”
Ferriss is the self-help guru and podcaster behind the best-selling “The 4-Hour Work Week.” Vaughn thinks he’s a natural as a TV talk host.
“I was just a fan of Tim’s and his podcast,” Vaughn told reporters. “He’s very bright and very informed …. I was learning so much from his podcasts and his books. I find these shows to be very inspiring. People who maybe have road blocks and realize other people have maybe achieved things can get some real strategies to overcome” their problems.
In a clip shown before the TCA panel, Ferriss was shown interviewing guests such as pro poker player Phil Hellmuth against a spare, blue-and-white set with a live audience.
“It allowed me to play a lot with audience interaction,” Ferriss said of the set-up, adding that he wanted the focus to be on his guests and the “visual assets we pull up.”
Meanwhile, the new season of “Undeniable” will have longtime sportscaster Buck interviewing some legendary athletes, including Pete Rose, whom Buck says is still gambling even after all his storied problems with betting. The trick to hosting, he said, is to reveal something new about every guest, even the most familiar ones.
“You think you know Tom Brady, because he’s Mr. Perfect with great hair,” Buck said. “Which pisses me off.”