Hollywood Showdown

Hollywood Showdown is an American game show that aired on both PAX (now Ion Television) and Game Show Network from January to November 2000, then returned solely on GSN in early 2001 and ran until April 2002. Reruns aired on GSN again from September 2004 to April 2005 plus June 2006 and June 2007 on TV Guide Network. Todd Newton served as host, with Randy West announcing.

Produced by Sande Stewart, the game was similar to Jackpot!, whose creator/producer Bob Stewart is Sande's father.

Format

Seven contestants competed against each other over the course of five episodes. At any given time, one contestant was in control of the game, while the other six stood in the gallery, each holding an envelope. Five of the envelopes held cards with dollar amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000, while the last had the "Box Office" card.

The contestant in control selected one gallery member, who opened his/her envelope and revealed its contents. The two contestants then squared off in a question round. Newton read a series of questions with three answer choices, and the contestants buzzed in to answer. If correct, he or she scored one point, otherwise, the opponent chose from the remaining two choices. The first person to answer three questions correctly took control of the game.

If the gallery member's card showed a dollar amount, it was added to the Box Office jackpot, which began at $10,000 after being collected. If the gallery member had the "Box Office" card, the winner of that question round played for the jackpot.

Box Office

The object of the Box Office round was to answer five questions correctly. Before each question, the contestant was presented with two category choices. The first four correct answers were worth $500 each, and the fifth won the Box Office.

At any time, a contestant could quit and take what they had won up to that point. However, an incorrect answer lost whatever winnings they had earned. If a contestant did not win the Box Office either by missing a question or choosing to stop, he or she played another game, with the Box Office continuing to grow from its previous value. When a contestant won the Box Office, he/she retired from the show, and a new contestant took his/her place among the remaining contestants. The Box Office reset to $10,000 every time it was won.

Friday Payoff

All weeks were self-contained, meaning that a game in progress on Friday could not continue into the following Monday. When time ran out, all remaining players in the gallery opened their envelopes, and the player with the Box Office card competed in the final question round for that week. The winner of that round could either take $1,000 or return next week to play again for a brand-new $10,000 Box Office.

Box Office Bonanza

A special week of episodes aired during the show's first season in 2000, during which the "Box Office" card was replaced by the "Blockbuster" card. If chosen, the Box Office jackpot doubled (but returned to its pre-doubled total if the subsequent Box Office round was not won). On Wednesday of that week, a record $33,260 jackpot was won. The Friday payoff rules remained, except that the winner took home $2,000.

Indonesian Version

A short-lived Indonesian version of Hollywood Showdown called Showbiz produced by Becker Entertainment and was hosted by Harsya Subandrio, aired on RCTI in 2003.

Online version

While the show was airing first-run episodes, Boxerjam.com featured an online version of Hollywood Showdown^[1]

Extended Links

• Hollywood Showdown (2000-2002) at the Internet Movie Database