Pimpin' Ain't Easy

A-Train - 10:43 a.m.

The Jay, you and your bro bring up some good points again. Throw me in with the optimists that are waiting for Hollywood to purge itself of the meaningless crap and contrived personalities through which we now have to suffer. However, I think of myself as somewhat more of a realist than an optimist. And, as a realist, I gotta think that it’s gonna take quite a while for things to clean themselves out. Hollywood moves in cycles, but the cycles take a long time to come around. It’s gonna take a while before everything comes full circle. We’re bringing up a whole generation of kids on corporation created stars whose only semblances of personality are created in a think-tank.

MH1’s point of actors lacking creativity is totally correct. However, I think they need to start looking at the totality of their careers with a little more creativity, which is possible even for them. All too often, actors think only about the short term. How much money they’re making and in what direction their career is heading. Yes, career direction is short term. Allow me to explain. If you’re an actor, and you’re only concerned with career direction, you’re missing the big picture. The big picture is the total opus of work that makes up your filmography when all is said and done. The greats have an opus that reaches far and wide into various genres and styles.

Look at my boy De Niro. He’s done it all. From drama, to comedy, to horror; the man has range, and it’s undeniable. In addition, he picks good roles and good scripts regardless of the genre. Want a younger example? Check out Edward Norton. His resume goes all over the place. Even if you think some of his movies sucked and even if you think he sucked in some of his movies, I dare you, I double dare you; I defy you to question the balls that this guy has in making his movie choices. If he’s going for a role, he’s got a piece of work that can show why he’s the best for the part. His opus is filling out nicely, and in twenty years he’s still gonna be doing it better and cleaner than the other guys. This is what an actor needs to focus on when choosing scripts. One movie ain’t gonna make or break anything, but an actor’s career is gonna be summed up by the whole list of movies he or she has chosen.

And for one more record, the golden rule in law school is to not read Bill Simmons from ESPN’s Page 2 during class. There is a 100% chance that something contained in one of his articles will strike you as funny. If you can’t stifle the laugh, you’re going to have some serious explaining to do. No, this didn’t actually happen to me, but the thought did cross my mind, and it scared me.

But, in reading your and MH1’s post, I came across an interesting proposal. It revolves around the ever increasing price of a night at the movies. Perhaps the problem is that when carving up the Hollywood pie, each piece is the same size. I’m of the mind that many independent filmmakers would be willing to forego some of the monetary gross of the film in exchange for a greater exposure. Imagine if theaters adjusted prices for films in order to max out capacity. Opening night might run you around $20. However, on the flip side, prices would come down as the movies aged. In addition, the lesser known, lesser advertised flicks would be a veritable bargain. Budding filmmakers would be able to get their visions shown to a vast new audience. Perhaps then people will have seen all of the current year’s best movie nominees rather than the most recent generic knock-off. It would be an interesting way for the industry itself to shift the way people spend their entertainment dollars.

Maybe a solution would be to require a certain amount of “pro-bono” work for actors. Lawyers are expected to donate of their time and skill to the less fortunate. The Screen Actors’ Guild could start mandating that for every few studio flicks you do, you’re required to donate your time and expertise to writers, producers and directors that haven’t yet gotten the breaks that you have. Maybe then some of the quieter, yet still wholly original and new, voices would be able to find their ways to bigger stages. Big name Hollywood actors love to donate to charity (perhaps to get their names in the press, but I’m not gonna judge here), but perhaps they’d be more enthusiastic to help out their chosen industry. This idea could also conceivably up the quality of so called “indie” films. With the prospect of a big name player choosing to do your film, you’re gonna have to come with your absolute A game. Nothing less.

As the well known modern philosopher Homer Simpson said (and you quoted so aptly): “Everything works in theory.”

In the end, everyone is a salesperson. Actors sell themselves, be it their ability, their image, or their name. Agents sell their actors. Writers sell their ideas. And directors sell their visions. Hollywood is just one big brothel where everyone pimps themselves out to the best of their abilities. But, this is life. Everyone is selling something. When you hit on a girl, you’re selling yourself. When you take tests or write papers in school, you’re selling your mind. Life is all about who can outpimp everyone else. You don’t have to like it, but it’s the way it is. People have said that you shouldn’t hate the player, but you can hate the game. Personally, I think you can go ahead and hate the players, the game, the refs, the league, the fans, whatever. Hate everyone if you want. Just understand that this is the way the game goes and you either play, or you get left behind in the dust. Up your pimpin’ skills and quit bitchin’.

Blog’s to you,

A-Train