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Author
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Topic: Dave Chappelle...Did he nail the Hollywood Suits?
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javier
Member
Member # 347
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posted
what does the time magazine article say? all i've read online is about his disappearance to a south african mental institution, the pressures of following a very succesful 2 seasons and price of fame (people yelling lil' jon-isms and "i'm rick james, bitch" everywhere he went), and his problems with partying and drugs (he's a known weedhead... he wrote and starred in "half baked"!).
i like dave and hope to see the show again. it was one of the funniest shows on tv the past 2 years. but i think his passion lies in stand up (been doing it since he was 14) and the show was messing that up for him.
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Evan Esparza
IE # 214
Member # 3171
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posted
Weed never made anyone go crazy or hit rock bottom...
"Ever sucked d*** for weed?" - Bob Saget
Anyways, it's true that he was overcome with instant fame. He use to be so low key and simple that it added to his charm. Now he is a superstar with a ton of pressure on his back.
When he now does stand up, people will heckle him to say 'rick james, bitch!' and ruin his own stand up show!
Very sad story, indeed.
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Greg B
IE # 118
Member # 886
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posted
There's no way Bob Saget ever said those lines and be the head of two of the world's most popular family shows.... shame on you ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Dave did mention in his article how the suits don't listen and have surveys etc.
We've all heard that crap before. Suits living by surveys instead of by their gut creative knowledge.
When you're creative you KNOW what the reaction will be. Every have the inkling to draw a funny picture of a friend of yours? He's either gonna laugh or get back at you with one of his own or some other practical joke.
You know what's funny because as a creative you're MORE than the average bear.
What Chappelle is beefing about is that the suits are trying to use him and his personna to make fun of 'their' targets, not his. I have no idea if he signed over the rights or not but I hope not.
How many times have you guys who worked at the major studios walked in doing your job which you're a specialist at and someone who has no clue stuck their two cents in? Later when all came out it was found out you had the right idea anyway?
It happens to all creatives as long as they work in an environment where non-creatives have a say so.
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Dan P.
IE # 248
Member # 893
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posted
http://www.time.com/time/
The article is on the front page as of now, so check it out. An obviously overwhelmed Chappelle sets the record straight, dispelling all those nasty rumors that have been going around these last few weeks.
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Russian Judge
IE # 174
Member # 3004
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posted
I honestly think this would be more appropriate as a Side Topic, but while I'm here...
Fred Allen was right; TV is a treadmill to oblivion. It tends to grab young comics who are still trying to establish their stage and professional identities, then throws them into sitcoms and shows that stereotype them.
Need I mention Freddy Prinze, Jimmy "J.J." Walker and Margaret Cho? No need for such mention when I can think of less melodramatic destructions of careers. Gabe Kaplan essentially lost his sense of funny when he became the straight man for John Travolta. Flip Wilson tried to take breaks between seasons of his variety show (supposedly driving cross country) but the pressure, and his family problems, wiped out his funny as well. While Paul Rodriguez survived the disaster of "A.K.A. Pablo" and done dramatic TV, he's not doing comedy on English-speaking TV any more.
I think it's being thrust onto the national stage so early that devastated these guys. Red Skelton went through intense personal tragedy, including his wife dying, but kept doing year after year of TV as long as anyone wanted to see him. He had enough years of performing in other venues, out of the pressure to succeed that TV puts on people, to get his head squarely on his shoulders. A guy like Chappelle didn't have enough time.
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See the new, updated TOON Magazine Online
at http://www.toonmag.com
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Greg B
IE # 118
Member # 886
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posted
Russian Judge, well said on many points.
Chappelle is smart enough to know when to pull in his reigns. It can only be a good step forward.
After some time he'll definitely come up with something new and better. When quality is your primary concern you can't go wrong.
I thought about side topics but often people here will complain about a feature or a tv show where the suits and pressure and etc. come into play.
Here's an article on just those issues that mirror what many say here.
One of the funniest comics I've ever seen on the stage is Jay Leno. Yet on tv he's nowhere near as funny to me. Yet on that stage he RULES. Comics are like that. When I'm on the stage or in the street I will put people on the floor in stitches. In Brooklyn and the Bronx you try to be funny you have no choice. Be funny or die.
Creative people can learn a lesson that Chappelle is teaching us. I hope he moves into animation. It might suit him just fine.
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SquarejawHero
IE # 188
Member # 2601
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posted
From the article -
quote:
Success brought new tensions. Chappelle thought he was not fairly compensated for the enormous popularity of the show on DVD — which Comedy Central has said it addressed with last summer's contract, which paid Chappelle up to $50 million for two more seasons of new episodes, plus a percentage of DVD revenue.
I don't know Dave Chapelle. But no wonder he ran away, possibly feeling trapped into something he's no happy with. No matter how much you're being paid, if your confidence is undermined it doesn't matter - you can still feel like crap.
The above kind of summerises some of the thinking that concerns me when it comes to "big showbiz" suits. Fair enough, it's a huge amount of money - more than I'll ever see (but you never know) - but working for your compensation for money which by rights should already be yours anyway?
Don't they realise how that sounds?
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Bowendesign.com
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Fooksie
IE # 239
Member # 331
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posted
Well, big fan of Chappelle, but did he not sign a contract?
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" Every move a picture! "
Buddy Love
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The Mod
Administrator
Member # 854
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posted
This thread has been moved to the Side Topics forum. Thanks for keeping with the rules of the forum Greg.
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