At what point will
someone take over? When will someone at least be the
point guard so I don't have to play all 5
positions, coach and run the scoreboard? Just once in
my life I want to feel a sense of support and strength
around me - so I can focus on the art. Hell the art
AND all the technical aspects. But have I had to
"scheme" so long now, I won't even know how to let go?
Christ, I'll worry about that when I ever have an
opportunity to let go. 'Cause right now it's
clear that I'm the only one who sees this situation
clearly and understands how fragile everything is.
Granted, I'm in this situation because of people
helping me with introductions and whatnot, but I never
get that sense that it's actually being "handled". You
know? Like, if I took a breath, that it wouldn't all
disappear. And it was with that understanding that 2
days ago I just said "fuck it" and called Comedy
Central myself.
I was laying in
bed when it just kinda hit me: 4tvs Productions is the
production company for this show, period. Once it's
picked up, etc... that can all change - but since I'm
doing every aspect of it - and really Josh trying to
get the budget from Comedy Central for me is really
acting as a manager, I am producing it. Not
Weller/Grossman, not 3 Arts; 4tvs Productions. And
4tvs Productions needs to know when the hell we can
use the Comedy Central space. So the head of 4tvs
Productions put a call into Gary Mann at Comedy
Central asking about that. I emailed Josh (manager)
that I put that call in and realized that I now have 2
people that are far too busy to return my call. LMAO.
It then occured to me that the way to get things done
in this town? Is collect VIPs. Have outstanding calls
to everyone you can think of at every level at a
company and at some point the law of averages will
work out and someone will have to call you back.
And understand,
this is not to get your foot in the door folks - I've
already been promised the show! The door was opened -
I walked the fuck in! Only to find 100 doors. It's
bizarre. And the guy behind door #37 has the key to
door #59 and so on, and so on, and so on... it's
nauseating.
So on a whim the
next day I called Josh for the 4th time to see if
he got my email nearly 3 weeks ago. And this
time? He answered. Said he saw that I put a call
into Gary Mann, that he spoke with Jim and that they
are looking at this pilot as an audition for them, so
there's not gonna be a budget for it. So this is
pilot-lite. Another hurdle, another stone. Fine. I
understand that they're lowering the bar for this - as
they just want to get a taste and that's honestly fine
by me. Because that's been my M.O. my entire life. I
knock it so far beyond what they were expecting that
they have no other choice but to pick it up. The show
I want to do may be one of the most ambitious
concepts to pull off on television and I'm gonna do it
by myself with my own money. Something Josh said in
the first meeting I should never do. I'm sure I would
be advised that the folks at Comedy Central just want
an "idea" of what the show is gonna be like. Right.
Are you high? To get to that level? Have that
audience? Have that opportunity? JOURNEY VIDEOS
have more hours of work in them than what I would
probably be advised to put together here, so how the
hell do I not go all out? Anyway - the point is -
I don't give a fuck about the lack of a budget.
I will mortgage my house, my future, my everything to
make this blow them away because that's what I do. And
simply put, I don't have a lot more time. I am
not 2000 Adam.
The call ended
with Josh saying he'd call Gary Mann and call me back
in 2 minutes. That was yesterday and now it's the
weekend. LOL. You're killin' me brother. I'm not gonna
bemoan the game anymore. It is the game. I am in that
game. I either play it and win it, or leave. You are
treated like this for a reason, it is calculated, and
it does mean something. Charlotte called you back
immediately. Which situation would you rather be in
Adam? Doesn't make it any less fucked up.
So the conspiracy
theorist in me thinks Josh put the call into Gary so
information flows through him and not directly to me.
And as a manager, that's a smart move. When he saw I
called him, that probably raised his urgency level to
a 1.08 and he figured he should jump in. At this
point? I just don't give a fuck. Get me on the phone
with someone already. Let me go down there and check
out the space. Let me talk to the people who will be
running it so we can nail down the technical aspects
of the show. And for the love of fuck give me a date
for the live shoot. Oh and did you
GET THE ONE SHEET?!?!!? LOL. Could
there have BEEN a more appropriate name for that entry
last MONTH!?!!? "One-Sheet to the wind".
Goddamn.
Of course after
sitting on this for a day I've now realized that the
date is gonna come when I probably least expect
it. It's gonna be dependent on all of these
executives' schedules and I will need to be ready on
short notice. My problem is however? I have to now
sink my own money into this without a definite yes. I
mean, let me think about this. Do I have a clear yes?
Josh has had contact with them at least twice now, and
they've continued to say they want me to do this - so
what reason would it fall out now? If it hasn't fallen
out with the Weller-Grossman debacle, why would it
now? They're committing no budget, just an hour out of
their day and the time at the space. Annnnnnnd they
know 3 Arts is involved. So wow, I guess this is
actually a bigger moment than I thought. This is
gonna happen.
Man, you know
what's gonna happen? Everyone is gonna keep quiet
until Comedy Central jumps on this show. And then the
floodgates are gonna come crashin' down.
Weller-Grossman will jump back in, 3 Arts will want
ownership - and I will have been the one who fronted
all the money, and produced every second of the show.
Then it will get messy. And if Comedy Central doesn't
want the show... I lose it all. I don't have an
agent, a manager, a show, a career... nothing. 'Cause
no one will commit to me until someone commits to me.
You need a deal to get a deal. You need experience to
get experience. This fuckin' game is the
worst.
Anyway, I've
immediately started thinking about the apparatus for
the TVs as it's where the expense is gonna come in for
sure. I found the perfect thing - ready made...
$1700 a piece. LMAO. And I need 2. So I'm gonna have
to design and build something and am once again
worrying about portability and using that part of my
brain I haven't used in a decade. What would 4tvs be
in 2010 instead of 2000? It's a fun thing to tackle.
Ironically, guess where I went last night?
If that's at all
familiar to you - you are a die-hard fan and I love
you dearly. To most however, you may need to be
refreshed on Entry #26...
This
was my path to bring in my 4tvs set-up in
March 2000 when I played several gigs at
the infamous Barney's Beanery in
Hollywood. It was insanely difficult back
then and as I stepped back into this
establishment nearly a decade later,
I couldn't believe I even attempted
it. So of course I grabbed my pocket cam
to re-enact the walk through from all
those entries ago. Looking now, damn -
I really nailed that video from
memory didn't I?!?! I think I'll always
get chills revisiting the early "Journey"
sites now. Every frame of the early videos
feel like antiques to me now. I cannot
believe I'm thinking about the 4tvs set-up
again all these years later.
So hopefully
I hear something next week on the timeline. But
I'll be honest - I'm just gonna do this shit now.
Set-up shooting dates and just have things in the can.
I know this is going to happen, and I will not do this
show half-assed. This is a very special moment in The
Journey...
...just not sure
if it's corky special or fat albert
special.
Adam
PS - that can't
make sense to any of you. Remember how the word
"special" would swirl around in the 80s whenever they
played a cartoon in primetime or something?
I remember it always coming on before fat albert
and gettign hella-excited because I loved Fat Albert.
So... yeah - that's what I meant. :-)
