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If I could watch television 24 hours a day, I'd give it serious thought. TV is on a creative streak that I've never seen in my lifetime. Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Justified, Homeland, Suits, Sons of Anarchy, Revenge, Eastbound & Down and on and on. There's a surplus of the deep & heavy to the fun & entertaining (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is a national treasure). Channels that years ago were licensing also-rans like AMC, USA, FX and others are now putting out huge amounts of awesomeness.
I just happened to come across two early contenders for this season. Both from same network, ABC. For all the talk about cable channels (and many deserve the praise all the way up and down the guide), the network that brought us LOST has two promising new series debuting this fall and winter. LAST RESORT and RED WIDOW. A friend at ABC (who knows I'm a TV fiend) graciously hooked me up with the pilots, both of which I just finished.
500 feet beneath the ocean's surface, the U.S. ballistic missile submarine Colorado receives their orders. Over a radio channel, designed only to be used if their homeland has been wiped out, they're told to fire nuclear weapons at Pakistan.
Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) demands confirmation of the orders only to be unceremoniously relieved of duty by the White House. XO Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) finds himself suddenly in charge of the submarine and facing the same difficult decision. When he also refuses to fire without confirmation of the orders, the Colorado is targeted, fired upon, and hit. The submarine and its crew find themselves crippled on the ocean floor, declared rogue enemies of their own country. Now, with nowhere left to turn, Chaplin and Kendal take the sub on the run and bring the men and women of the Colorado to an exotic island. Here they will find refuge, romance and a chance at a new life, even as they try to clear their names and get home.
Loved it. Andre Braugher is a rock star in the first episode. Hoping for big things from this one. A little war, conspiracy, cover-up and more.
When Marta Walraven's (Radha Mitchell) husband is brutally murdered, her first instinct is to protect her three young children. Her husband's business partners - Irwin Petrova (Wil Traval), Marta's scheming and untrustworthy brother, and Mike Tomlin (Lee Tergesen) -- were involved in an illegal drug business deal with rival gangsters, and Marta's husband paid the ultimate price. She already knows the violent world of organized crime; her father, Andrei Petrova (Rade Sherbedzija), and loyal bodyguard Luther (Luke Goss) are gangsters too. She and her sister Kat (Jaime Ray Newman) had always wished for a safer life without bloodshed and fear. For a while Marta lived happily as a stay at home housewife in San Marta's cooperation, FBI Agent James Ramos (Mido Hamada) now promises justice.
Marta discovers a tenacity she never knew she had, and takes on the gangsters and the FBI to unveil the truth about her husband's death. As she digs into this dark underworld, she'll test her own strength, relying on her resourcefulness, determination and family ties like never before. To get out of this mob, she needs to beat the bad guys at their own deadly game.
Based on the Dutch series Penoza...
I'll watch anything about the mob at least once. "Mob" and "Mafia" are my saved Tivo keyword searches. Dug it, great set-up. Radha Mitchell is going to turn into a shrewd bad-ass, I can feel it.
Now, I can never tell why a show makes it or not. Plenty of awesome shows don't make it past the first season. But these play to my tastes and I'm rooting for them.
Stack Revenge and Scandal with these two and ABC is the big net to watch.
If you read this blog or follow me on Twitter you know I'm a big Jay-Z fan. His talent, music, swagger, outlook on life and art and most of all his story. Jay grew up in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York. A former drug dealer, he hustled his way to global stardom via hard work and genius level talent for lyrics and flow.
In 2008, Jay-Z was set to headline The Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. This is one of the biggest rock festivals the world has to offer each year. I say rock because no Hip Hop artist had ever headlined it.
Immediately, there was controversy. Ticket sales were rumored to have started off slowly and fingers pointed to Jay-Z. Noel Gallagher of Oasis was quoted as saying:
"I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curve ball in on a Sunday night you go 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."
The press stirred it up. Everyone weighed in. Should Jay-Z bow out? Should he play? Does Hip Hop belong at Glastonbury?
At the time Jay-Z was already a star in the United States and beginning to be global, but not yet. Glastonbury has audiences from all over the world. The crowd fly flags representing just about every country you can think of.
Was it too risky for him to try and fail?
Entrepreneurs and artists create and risk. That's what they do. And with creation comes success or failure. Sometimes they deliver and sometimes not.
There was no way Jay-Z was bowing out. In fact, I doubt he was worried about failing. There is no more confident artist out there. His skills are undeniable and he's grown into one of the best live performers around. Especially since he added a live band.
"I'm like fuck critics, you can kiss my whole asshole. If you don't like my lyrics, you can press fast forward" - Jay-Z, 99 Problems
So on June 27, 2008 Jay-Z told critics to kiss his ass. In front of 150,000 fans he was about to take the stage. But first, he played this video intro for the crowd:
And then he took the stage. In pure clever and "giving it right back" Hip Hop tradition he opened with his rendtion of OASIS' "Wonderwall" where the lyrics "I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now" took on a whole new "f*ck you" sort of meaning.
"You not feelin' me? Fine, it cost you nothing. Pay me no mind." - Jay-Z, Heart Of The City
The crowd went nuts. "Jay-Z. Jay-Z. Jay-Z". Nodding his head in agreement like a conquering Emperor.
And just as quickly as the video ended Jay-Z demands into the mic: "I just got one thing to say" and blasts into "99 Problems". That song, which ironically enough, was produced by Rick Rubin who has worked with some of the best rock bands around like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Cult. Not to mention Jay-Z's idols The Beastie Boys. To add insult to injury, half way through the song, his band includes the guitar riff from AC/DC's "Back in Black". As you'll see below before and after this song, Jay won over the crowd. An amazing moment for a musician facing that kind of public adversity. My friend, DJ Neil Armstrong, was the touring DJ at this show and he said it was a pretty incredible moment. He felt the crowd turn and the energy for the rest of the night was insane. Watch the performance below.
And that night, Jay-Z became a global superstar. The British press, notorious for take downs, was also impressed. The Guardian wrote here: "Glastonbury headliner turns tables on Noel Gallagher after Oasis frontman had lambasted choice of US rapper as top act".
"I'm not looking at you dudes, I'm looking past you" - Jay-Z, Heart of The City
And he did.
Jay-Z's recent commercial with Budweiser also expresses how he looks at art. All art is more similar than not in where it comes from. To him "everything is a remix". "We're all trading off each other's culture" he narrates. This spot is exactly what he was saying at Glastonbury.
My last two jobs were fun and tough.
At Sling Media the entire media ecosystem wanted to kill us. We thought we were right, they were wrong but we didn't hate them, we wanted to win them over or just move past them. But without changing our mission. It was a kiss and slap philososphy. We did it our way.
At MySpace we faced internal and external challenges and a brand and product that was on the outs. Everyone had an opinion. The death watch was on. We still believed we could turn it around. We tried, we created, we risked. But we failed. That's ok. That's how it is sometimes. But you can't sit back and not try. There's no fun in jumping off a bench. Even the creative and right lose.
At both companies I constantly re-told the story of Jay-Z at Glastonbury. Where he looked haters in the eye and slayed them with his product: his music. He won.
Jay-Z risked, confronted, delivered and grew. He's a model for entrepreneurs and artists everywhere and my favorite story.
"I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man." - Jay-Z, Diamonds From Sierra Leone
-JH
p.s. I encourage you to search YouTube and news sites for the coverage and video of Jay-Z at Glastonbury. There are interviews, full performances and pundit coverage. And read his book DECODED. It's awesome.
Some deranged individual walked into a Colorado movie theater showing The Dark Knight Rises and murdered and wounded innocent people. Press reports have the death toll at 13 and over 70 injured. The tragedy is unspeakable and all of us are grief stricken for the victims and their loved ones. We're also scratching our heads at another event that defies all that's right in the world.
After the shock, what happens in these events is sadly inevitable. Leaders step up and politicize it. False reports of political associations. Discussions mount on whether Hollywood instigates this kind of violence. Who knew about this maniac and when? News reports that frighten us.
Though I do hope that this brings up yet another conversation on assault weapons. Do you really need an assault rifle to hunt with?
What happened to crazy?
Hear me now.
Sometimes crazy is just crazy. Evil is just evil.
As one of my favorite societal truthtellers Chris Rock once said:
"Everybody wants to know what the kids was listening to. What kind of music was they listening to? Or what kind of movies was they watching? Who gives a fuck what they was watching? Whatever happened to crazy?"
This guy wired his apartment to blow and it would have taken out his entire neighborhood. There is no explanation but crazy. Those people exist in the world. They are not the majority. They are few and there's no shot we're going to change the way we live because of crazies.
Here were hundreds of people staying up late to see the most anticipated movie of the summer. To have fun, to experience wonder. To see something they likely followed since childhood. A superhero re-made by the finest Hollywood has to offer. Christopher Nolan is pure and simple, a genius. One of the greatest filmmakers of our lifetime. Christian Bale, since he was a child prodigy, an amazing acting talent.
And now, some nut tried to stop all that.
Well, don't let him.
I ask of you, get up, rise, go see "The Dark Knight Rises" this weekend. I've been trying for two weeks to get tickets on Fandango and every show, every theater is sold out. Not a Batman fan? Not your thing? Then see any movie.
Me and Movies
2012 has not been my year. On a personal front, I've been figuratively "punched in the face" a few times with health issues plaguing me and loved ones. One bad thing happening after another. I wouldn't walk under any scaffolding with me right now. Sometimes you just hit a bad streak.
Going to the movies has always brought me great joy. I can have the worst day and yet when I walk into a theater and those lights go down and the picture starts, for few hours I drift off into another world. Completely displacing any bad thoughts and problems with fantasy, emotion, fun and laughter.
Movies have often healed me.
MySpace, Saving Private Ryan, Goodfellas and Avatar
A few years ago I was President and Chief Product Officer of MySpace. I joined at a time of complete turmoil. The business, product and audience were plummeting. Someone asked me what it was like during that period and I could only answer in movie terms. It was like the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan" mashed up with "Groundhog Day". Every single day.
Weeks into my job I got a call from Jim Gianopulos, Co-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment, which like MySpace at the time, is owned by News Corp. He invited me over to the studio lot for lunch. For 90 minutes I raddled off questions about movies at an alarming rate and Jim rolled with it. Specifically, I couldn't shut up about Avatar. It was still 7 months away from being released but I had heard so much about it and wanted to know more.
Later that day I got a call from his office: "Jim has set up a screening of Avatar for you tomorrow, bring whomever you like."
Wow! With all that was going at MySpace I was thrilled. I took as many of the staff as I could and we made our way over to the studio.
I still remember what it was like. We walked down a dark stairway and hall into the basement of one of the buildngs which eventually led to a small, private screening room. The walk reminded me of the one in Goodfellas when Henry Hill takes his date, Karen, through the back entrance of the Copacabana.
As we piled into our seats Jon Landau, the producer of the movie, welcomes us and begins to run through 45 minutes of footage. I remember the first 3D scene of the fictional planet "Pandora". I just yelled out loud, "No F*cking Way". Jon showed us other scenes with raw special effects and tons of other cool stuff. For a fan, it was an unforgettable experience. And for those 45 minutes and much of the rest of the day. I forgot about the stresses.
On that day, a movie healed me.
My Eye Sight and Prometheus
Recently, I had a 3 month bout with double vision brought on by diabetes complications. I'm all right now. But for those 90 days I could barely see. That meant almost no movies or television, two of my greatest passions. But on June 8, 2012 I woke up and it was almost all gone. I could see again. What did I do? What was my first instinct? I called up one of my closest friends and movie-going buddies and went to the opening of Prometheus. I loved that movie. What it said. The questions it asked. The world it created. How it looked. Amazing.
On that day, a movie healed me.
Mom, Me and Ted
When I returned home late that night I got the worst news of my life. My mother called and told me she had lung cancer. I was in shock. From elation to sadness within minutes. Weeks later I'm with her in Los Angeles as she undergoes treatment. Anyone that has gone through this knows you have good days and bad days. Not just the patient, but the family. On one of those bad days I needed a break. I went down to Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade with two friends and saw Ted. For 106 minutes, I forgot the sadness. I laughed so hard I missed a ton of the lines and had to see it a second time. After that, I felt great for hours and begged my mom to see it, which she did and loved.
On that day, a movie healed me.
And my mother, with all she's going through, still pushes herself to see around two movies per week. Clearly, that's where I got it from.
Take Back Your Weekend
Warner Bros is in a tough position. They have pulled ads, press events and no public box office comments for the time being. It's a tough call for a studio that's grieving for the victims and in a no-win situation. Especially in this environment of finger pointing. But The Dark Night Rises is still in theaters as are many other wonderful films. Thousands of creative people worked to bring you this magic. Don't miss it or any movie you want to see.
A monster was on the prowl and tried to take happiness from us. That's not going to happen.
Movies deliver a sense of wonder. Go have some fun, forget about your problems. Honor those innocent souls that wanted nothing more but to fall into an entertaining fantasy world for a few hours.
If only for today, let the movies heal you.
You Have My Persmission To Republish Without Edit - @JasonHirschhorn
