The Survivor 50 Challenge: No Wilderness, No Starvation, Just Prizes!

Have you ever wanted to participate in “Survivor”, without sleeping in the wilderness . . . struggling through borderline starvation . . . and having BEEF with EVERYONE? Well now, we can. Sort of. Next month, “Survivor” will launch a nationwide contest, where they’re hiding “Immunity Idols” in each of the 50 states . . . and challenging us to find them . . . with clues to guide us. It’s called the “Survivor 50 Challenge.” That’s 50 for 50 states . . . AND the upcoming 50th season of the show, which premieres on February 25th. The promotion will begin on January 31st . . . that’s when the clues will begin appearing online . . .and it’ll run through February 25th. There will be 51 prizes . . . one for finding each state’s hidden Immunity Idol, and one for the winner of a VIRTUAL contest. That’s apparently looking for something online, but there aren’t many details on that. You do NOT have to be the first to find the Idol. Everyone who does . . . and takes a photo with it to prove it . . . will be entered in a drawing to determine that state’s winner. The winners of each state will get a free trip to L.A. to some kind of “Survivor” event. The GRAND PRIZE hasn’t been announced. (For more, here’s a hype video, and there’s more at Survivor50Challenge.com, including the rules. If you’re interested, you can go to the site and put your email in to receive updates.)

Business Insider says the Academy Awards are moving to YouTube beginning in 2029. The show will no longer be broadcast on ABC.

Director James Cameron became a hero on the set of his 1989 film, “The Abyss” . . . by performing CPR on a rat. In the movie, there’s a scene that involves immersing a real-life rat in oxygenated water. Five rats were used in the filming, but one of them almost drowned. He performed CPR on it, and then kept it as a pet named Beanie. the film is actually outlawed in the U.K. because of ‘animal cruelty.'” It’s true, “The Abyss” was recently removed from Disney+ in the U.K. because of the rat scene.

WFLD says a “Family Guy” pop-up bar will open in Chicago in January. A local pub, named Bucket Listers, is going to transform into The Drunken Clam from the show. Guests can enjoy themed drinks, photo ops, trivia, and karaoke nights.

Business Insider says the Academy Awards are moving to YouTube beginning in 2029. The show will no longer be broadcast on ABC.

People magazine says Keith Urban recently visited Nashvile’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. Urban led a sing-along, answered fan questions, and donated guitars to the hospital’s music therapy program.

Morgan Wallen tells Billboard magazine that he still tries to hold on to as much normalcy as possible despite fame. “Everything has gotten so, so huge… I still try to hold on to as much normalcy as possible and I love driving, so I try to drive as much as I can by myself.”

Justin Moore tells CountryNow.com that family and parenting take precedence over music awards. “God is #1 for me, #2 is my family. It’s more important to me to be a good parent and a good husband than it is to be George Strait… I want my kids, 20 years from now, to go, ‘Dad was here. He was here and he made us the priority.’”

Thomas Rhett was doing an interview for a recent edition of People magazine when he said his children help influence his artistic choices. “It’s this funny balance of how much am I trying to impress my kids compared to how much am I trying to make sure that my fans actually like this song… my kids do like this.”

Hudson Westbrook tells CMT that he misses normalcy now that he is famous. “It was fun at first, I was like this is awesome, I am going everywhere, And then after a while I miss my family… having free time… and seeing my grandma, my mom and going to football games.”

Country Music Nation says Riley Green is stepping into a new role offstage. He says, “I’ll just guess I’m allowed to say that I have done some acting, and it’s a show, and it’s going to be airing sometime fairly soon. It was a little tough because of the travel, because I was still playing shows every weekend and flying out and flying back and flying out. So that was the tough part about it. But as far as actually on-set acting and kind of being there and getting into that headspace, I felt like it came sort of natural to me.”

The NY Post says Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s $175 million Beverly Hills mansion now has a UFO-like structure. The futuristic addition, thought to be a sauna, resembles a space capsule. The luxury pod was designed as a replica of NASA’s Apollo 11 capsule.

TMZ says the Rosemont, Illinois Police have closed their investigation into Tara Reid’s drugging allegations due to a lack of evidence. Doctors did not conduct chemical tests when Reid was hospitalized. This prevented a clear assessment of what was in her system. Reid claimed her drink was spiked at a Chicago area hotel bar. The police released a statement saying, “We are not saying that [Tara’s] claims are false, however at this time we do not have evidence to support it and there is nothing further on our end to investigate. Should additional evidence of a crime be brought forward, we will reopen the case and investigate accordingly.”

The Star says Amy Schumer and Nikki Glaser are allegedly in a secret feud because Schumer “got weird.” A source tells the magazine, “Amy and Nikki used to be attached at the hip, but you don’t really see them together anymore. All of a sudden, Amy became very woke in the sense that you can’t say anything in front of her without her getting offended. They just don’t like each other’s stuff anymore. They stopped being close because Amy got weird.”

People magazine says Ben Affleck is going to spend Christmas with Jennifer Garner, not Jennifer Lopez. A source says, “Just like they celebrated Thanksgiving together, Ben is invited to celebrate Christmas with Jen and the kids too. They just have this nice routine now that works for everyone. He spends a lot of time at Jen’s house and is constantly around for his kids. It makes everyone happy. Jen’s still dating John. Jen makes it very special. She’s such a great chef. She loves having her whole family together too. Ben’s always welcome at her house.”

The National Enquirer says Charlie Sheen is allegedly in financial trouble and now only has $3 million left. His ex-wife Brooke Mueller recently sued him for $15 million in back child support. A source reveals, “Charlie keeps saying the whole thing is going to wipe him out if he has to pay it. He’s burned through so much of his money. His net worth is only a fraction of what people think it is, so he’s terrified this lawsuit will expose just how little he has left.”

Radar Online says Katy Perry credits Justin Trudeau with being her ray of sunshine after career troubles and her split from Orlando Bloom. An insider shares, “They’re still in the honeymoon phase, and Katy is the first to admit that she’s addicted to new beginnings. But there’s no denying that he’s given her a huge boost. All the things that were dragging her down just don’t seem to matter to her since he came into her life. He’s being incredibly attentive and doing everything to help Katy turn the page on the difficult last few years. Katy’s tight-knit circle of friends and collaborators see the change Justin has managed to create in her life in a very short span of time. Katy was in a pretty dark place and didn’t see a way out of it, and Justin has become this ray of sunshine in her life. It’s obvious that Justin is doing her a world of good. She’s in such a great mood and seems to be walking on air. She’s still got plenty of stress in her life, but it’s not bothering her the way it was. She’s not a clingy person, and she can walk away if her needs aren’t being met. But right now Justin seems to be doing everything right.”

TV Shows Ace says Michael Bublé will not return to The Voice because of backlash and missing his family. An insider shares, “Michael [Buble] has already said that he’s done with the show after this season. It will be a big loss since he’s beloved there. Michael loves the show, he loves the crew, and it seems like he loves his job. He said the fans’ negative comments have taken a toll on him and he needs to step away and take some time for himself and his family.”