What seperates me
from most, is that miscommunication drives me INSANE.
I hate being taken the wrong way - or having the
message received not be the one I intended. So
I try so goddamn hard to be open and to the
point. And when I get something like this written
to me...
...nice
"backstreet boys looks". I guess. Though I don't
like how you portray the
gay character,
but I am sensitive to that since one of my very
best frineds is gay.
...I just
wanna put my hand through a wall. Shall I repeat
this:
From Entry
135:
I first need
to make a big ass disclaimer on this character.
Spencer is NOT a stereotype. He is his own
character with a true foundation. He's not lisps
and limp wrists. This was something I labored over
in rehearsing him. You cannot overdo this 'cause it
cheapens the whole show if he's done over the top.
So please rest assured, that even though the video
for this entry is "over the top", the character is
not. I did the video in that fashion to make
fun of ME, and how incredibly different I look.
Realize what you're seeing is the most audacious
minute I could piece together.
Let's for a moment
assume she decided to skip that paragraph. And let's
also assume that Spencer WAS more stereotypically gay,
as many young gay men "act" these days. How on EARTH
is that offensive. Why must people assume that an
actor is portraying an entire race/gender or sexual
preference when he does ONE character. I am well aware
that all gay men don't act this way, but some do. The
kicker is I realize people ignorantly do this, so I
purposefully didn't do Spencer in the way she thought.
He's played as a very happy, sincere 19 year old who
does happen to be gay. He gives off much more of a
"little boy" in his sheepishness as opposed to
homosexuality. But heaven forbid you do ANYTHING that
"looks" gay, you're automatically being
insensitive.
What kills me, is
in the SAME email she talks about Jack from Will
and Grace, and the "JACK 2000" bit he did (which
I'll get to in a moment). Is somehow his portrayal of
a gay men "ok" because she doesn't know the actor's
true sexuality? If she knew that Sean Hayes was
straight would that be offensive? It certainly should,
since his portrayal is CERTAINLY over-the-top and
stereotypical. But it's OK to have Jack's character be
so "GAY" since Will is a more subdued gay man and it
shows the writers are being PC. Fuckin stupid
people.
And what really
gets me is the "my friend is gay, so I'm more
sensitive to this...". Get over yourself already. I'm
sure your gay friends (which I did meet if you
remember), would attest to the fact that many gay men,
especially YOUNG gay men, tend to overact in
public. It's a common insecurity in gay men starting
to finally accept who they are after hiding it for so
long. But as an actor who is straight, I can't portray
this? I can't empathize with them and do a truly
sensitive gay man? This attitude floors
me...
And is somehow my
portrayal of "G" alright, because I have darker skin?
Because I can actually rap? Because I have rhythm? Why
won't all of my black friends feel I'm generalizing
young black men? Or Dewey for christ's sake. Now
there's a group of people who should be pissed. He is
by ALL MEANS stereotypical and predictable.
He throws a few curveballs at the end of the show, but
it's certainly SPICOLLI with a little
Keanu.
You know, my anger
may harken back to some early slams on Billy Joel's
song: "Goodnight Saigon". Critics would bash him since
he didn't go to Vietnam, but wrote a song about it in
first person. Yeah, heaven forbid he's creative and
shows some empathy. As if only Vietnam VETS can sing a
song about their experience. Fuckin' critics. It's
always the talentless who find fault in the talented.
Oooh...that's a good line. It's always the talentless
who find fault in the talented. :-)
Man, I need to get
over this before I make it - LOL. But
"real" critics I'm sure won't bother me (or
someone who's actually seen the show). I know this
person. I considered this person a friend, and enjoyed
the time I spent with her - so it carries a bit
more weight. But overall, it's just a prevelant
attitude that she's representing that irks me.
Especially when she hasn't seen the show! Those clips
are were clearly explained to be
NOT INDICATIVE OF THE FULL SHOW.
FUCK, FUCKITY, FUCK FUCK FUCK. AHHHHHHHHHH!
Alright, moving on.
"Jack 2000". This
episode of Will and Grace premiered last fall and man
everyone was emailing me saying I was getting ripped
off. A fellow comedian I knew said that writers often
times go out and see talent and incorporate it into
their tv shows. Well I had played about 20 shows up to
that point, so it was definitely a possibility. I was
more flattered than anything else, but also concerned
that it would make ME look like the unoriginal
one. When the 4 screen movie Time Code came out
I got the same thing.
Well I
was finally able to catch a re-run of the
episode and promptly taped it, edited it
into a little 45 second piece (that's all
there was really) and have it
here
for you to judge for yourself. After all
the build-up I must say it's a bit of a
letdown. If this was taken from my act,
they certainly didn't try too hard. I
mean...one TV? LOL. But thinking about
it...it really could've been spawned from
seeing my show. The fact that he's playing
in a tiny little night club leads me to
believe whoever wrote the piece could
EASILY have seen it and it stuck with him.
It's flattering if
anything. And also...it's not live. People talking
with themselves, or singing with themselves has always
been. What makes 4tvs stand out is that it's performed
live...and for a substabtial amount of time. 15-20
minute sets. No edits. And that's something I don't
see anyone ever trying. Everyone told me I had to be
so careful because people would steal the idea and try
to perform it themselves. Man, more power to you
fellow entertainers out there. If you think it's worth
it to try to copy something so difficult to pull
off...and then NOT be unique, go ahead. But what's the
point? You think I'd be pushing 4tvs so hard had
someone else been doing the same act all along?
HELL NO. It's only value is that it's never been
done.
Ahh, a nice little
rant. Feel free to throw your 2 cents in on the topic.
If I get enough response I'll throw it on this entry
page for you to check out.
