Trippin' all over the world

Cameron Diaz won't say where she is. MTV executives are equally as tight-lipped about the location of the film star. All that is certain is she is talking, via satellite, with television critics at the Hilton Universal. She's in a warm climate in a rain forest to produce an episode of her reality television series, "Trippin'."

No, the name has nothing to do with taking drugs. In the 10-week series, Diaz leads groups of celebrities from the music, sports and acting worlds on trips to remote locations around the globe.

The idea of the show is to provide a look at ways to preserve these exotic locations from the onslaught of civilization.

"Trippin'" debuted Monday.

"We really can't disclose that until we've wrapped the shoot," says Brian Graden, president of Entertainment for MTV Music Group, of questions as to where in the world is Cameron Diaz.

Why all the secrecy? Well, it seems the only thing celebrities fear more than the bugs, reptiles and creatures that populate the rain forest are swarms of paparazzi.

Diaz, who has become one of Hollywood's top stars through such movies as the two "Charlie's Angels" films, "Any Given Sunday" and "The Mask," also is an executive producer of the show. That means she has to be concerned with what happens on both sides of the camera.

Before Diaz can talk more about the show, she screams. It is a slightly delayed scream caused by the time lag for the satellite link.

The actress flashes a huge smile and with a nervous laugh says, "Sorry. I just had a bug land on my leg, and I completely freaked out."

That doesn't bode well for a show that will have Diaz crossing the glaciers outside Patagonia, sandboarding in Chile's Atacama Desert, riding an elephant in the grasslands of Nepal, competing in an archery contest in Bhutan and relaxing in the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park.

Educating entertainment

Diaz is facing each challenge for a good cause. Lois Curren, executive vice president of MTV Series Entertainment, explains that the goal of the series is to "inform and educate viewers to reinvest in our world by providing them with resources to take action to improve their environment locally or in the regions explored in the show."

Education sometimes comes with a price. The trips to remote locations often are more like a celebrity version of "Survivor" than a holiday vacation for the actors.

Diaz laughs again as she talks about her "shiny skin" and "ocean hair." Her less-than-glamorous look is the byproduct of a day of filming that included repelling down a 75-foot waterfall and some bodysurfing in the ocean.

She's never alone on these treks. Travel buddies for Diaz include Drew Barrymore, DMX, Rebecca Romijn, Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, Eva Mendez, Farnsworth Bentley, pro-BMX biker Mat Hoffman, Redman, Kid Rock, Jessica Alba and Kelly Slater.

"I wanted to try and get a good, diverse group of people that would hit certain demographics so that we had a voice for all the audiences that watch MTV," Diaz says.

The 32-year-old San Diego native says the show is all "about the message." She wants to produce a television program that is entertaining enough to draw an audience while at the same time is educational enough to inform them of the ecological problems in the world.

"The message is that we only have one planet and we are all related. Our population has grown so rapidly. So has technology," Diaz says. "We've become a global community. Everything that we do affects one another all over the world."

"And we, human beings, need the planet. There is no other Earth. There is no place else that we can go. If we want to have a better quality of life for a longer period of time, we need to start looking at our natural resources and understanding that."

'Lots of bugs'

Then she screams again. Diaz ducks below the camera. She pops back into view and is smiling that same nervous grin she was before she yelled.

"There's a lot of bugs. They latch onto your legs. They are about this big," Diaz says holding her index finger and thumb about 5 inches apart.

Diaz knew this show was not going to be about room service and pampered care. She expected all of the physical discomforts and has accepted the challenge.

There is one challenge she has not accepted completely.

"I hate bugs," Diaz says.

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