AxB Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I'd never heard of it. Did they not make their own programmes before now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 They've been doing original programming for over a decade. It's just that hardly anyone watched it and nobody paid attention. They also syndicated a few UK shows, like Top of the Lake and Live from Abbey Road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Right. If you're going with black athletes, it's hard to think of anyone past or present other than maybe Magic. However, Magic had to have his cue cards for his TV show written phonetically, so that didn't turn out well. Actually, I think present day Magic is an apt comparison. He's a very successful businessman and is beloved in LA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Right. If you're going with black athletes, it's hard to think of anyone past or present other than maybe Magic. However, Magic had to have his cue cards for his TV show written phonetically, so that didn't turn out well. Actually, I think present day Magic is an apt comparison. He's a very successful businessman and is beloved in LA. Magic is probably closest, but he still lacks the movie and television stuff. There is also the gap between football and basketball to consider. OJ was unbelievably famous. I can't even think of someone who had so many different aspects of their fame. He was a huge superstar in sports, was in multiple successful movies, and was a socialite. Jordan is more famous, not by much by the way, but he's essentially just an athlete. OJ kind of appealed to everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 OJ was also a "non threatening" black guy in the 70s, almost the anti-Jim Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I have to agree with the people saying Cuba isn't good in American Crime Story, though. OJ Simpson: OK, yeah, he's quirky and weird and not exactly a mastermind criminal, but he does have sense of passion and doom and menace about him. (Well, obviously.) Physically or personality-wise, Cuba just can't pull it off. He's more the nice, endearing guy you'd like to be buddies with. Not the guy you're afraid of. I don't know how old you are. But you are forgetting OJ's public persona prior to being accused of the murders. He was thought as one of the nicest guys around. There is an urban legend he was turned down to play the Terminator because he was too nice. Cuba is about as good a choice as you are going to find. This is a valid point. Admittedly, I'm not old enough to remember him ever being "the nice guy." But, still. I think Cuba has been miscast in this. Shouldn't the producers have considered "context" though? Doesn't there have to be a sense of menace underneath the good guy act? I don't think Cuba has that. Maybe it would help if he were a bit taller or bigger or looked more like him, but he doesn't. I don't know why you want OJ to be menacing, that was never part of his persona. The thing about OJ is that he was the last person anyone would ever expect to murder someone. You know how politicians and celebrities get into some racial problem and say, "I have plenty of black friends?" OJ was America's black friend. He was the one black guy that no one in the country found threatening. Cuba Gooding Jr.'s portrayal of him is too menacing for what he actually was. He was probably putting on an act, but that was an act he put on for 30 years at that point. He wasn't the person that Cuba Gooding Jr. is playing on the show, Cuba Gooding isn't nice enough. Suburban America: The one place on earth that keeps finding all these genuinely innocent black men SO, SO SCARY AND THREATENING AND DESERVING TO BE KILLED BY COPS! And the one black dude that was, you know, actually, batshit and a murderer? Oh, he's the best friend we can totally trust. The irony, though. Someone call Alanis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 When Forest Whittaker won his Oscar, I read something where a journalist was saying it wouldn't be the career boost for him that it was for Denzel, because Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to make white people feel good about themselves. I never got the feeling that Jim Brown was a scary guy, but then by the time I knew what American Football was, he was already retired. But then Brown's movie career was being a hero in Blaxploitation films, and OJ only made big budget mass market movies. Towering Inferno and that. He doesn't die. The black guy always dies was a movie cliche already by then, wasn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Jim Brown's first movie was the Dirty Dozen. In fact, he retired while on-set, iirc. Also, the theme from Slaughter (with Stella stevens and rip torn) had a renaissance when QT used it in Basterds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 In fairness, Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that he caused) without once looking back. To be a successful star in Hollywood, you need the ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that you caused) without once looking back. Sunglasses too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 In fairness, Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that he caused) without once looking back. To be a successful star in Hollywood, you need the ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that you caused) without once looking back. Sunglasses too. Forest also lacks the generation of women who want to sleep with him that Denzel has. The ability to simultaneously appeal to men and women is probably the best attribute an actor/actress can have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I'm only about 4 episodes in, but Love on Netflix is pretty fucking hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 In fairness, Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that he caused) without once looking back. To be a successful star in Hollywood, you need the ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that you caused) without once looking back. Sunglasses too. Just in case anyone didn't see it before: Who was the first to use that shot, anyway? The earliest I remember seeing it was Desperado, but if Robert Rodriguez invented it, I'm sure he'd boast about it more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 In fairness, Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that he caused) without once looking back. To be a successful star in Hollywood, you need the ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that you caused) without once looking back. Sunglasses too. Just in case anyone didn't see it before: Who was the first to use that shot, anyway? The earliest I remember seeing it was Desperado, but if Robert Rodriguez invented it, I'm sure he'd boast about it more. That was a staple of 80's action movies. It happened plenty of times in Arnold and Norris movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H. Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I remember plenty of movies where Arnold walked away from explosions but not so much in slo-mo. He would just be walking away and then BOOM! and Arnold keeps on walking looking for more shit ot kill James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 It pops up in the strangest places. I remember that one example happened during the Michael-Mann-sized tommy gun shootout near the end of Dick Tracy of all damn things, when a car blows up right behind Warren Beatty and he just no-sells it and keeps shooting at William Forsythe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteCarl Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Modern day version of OJ = Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Modern day version of OJ = Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?? That is probably the best comparison. There are plenty of people who don't care about The Rock, but is there anyone who actively dislikes him publicly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Modern day version of OJ = Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?? No, because The Rock openly embraces the African-American side of his family heritage, even going as far to celebrate his father by wearing a Rocky Johnson T-Shirt on an episode of Ballers. OJ has not been a Black man since he won the Heisman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 In fairness, Forest doesn't have Denzel's ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that he caused) without once looking back. To be a successful star in Hollywood, you need the ability to slowly, casually walk away from big explosions (that you caused) without once looking back. Sunglasses too. Just in case anyone didn't see it before: Who was the first to use that shot, anyway? The earliest I remember seeing it was Desperado, but if Robert Rodriguez invented it, I'm sure he'd boast about it more. As soon as I clicked on "post" I found myself hoping someone would post that video. The song is annoyingly catchy, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Modern day version of OJ = Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?? I feel scared for Rock's ex-wife's now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Modern day version of OJ = Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?? I feel scared for Rock's ex-wife's now. Don't be. She's Cuban. Shit will go down if something happens to her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 It pops up in the strangest places. I remember that one example happened during the Michael-Mann-sized tommy gun shootout near the end of Dick Tracy of all damn things, when a car blows up right behind Warren Beatty and he just no-sells it and keeps shooting at William Forsythe.I love the scene in "The Other Guys" where they make fun of these types of scenes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 The season premiere of Togetherness continued to show why it's one of the best shows on TV. Right from the get go my stomach started churning until the funny swerve, only to get gut punched about midway through. This is going to be one rough season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victator Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Apparently OJ thinks Cuba Gooding is too small to play him properly. Also it sorta bugs me when people act like there was not just cause for his acquittal. I can't see a scenario where the evidence tampering would not have gotten him an appeal. Its like people want to sweep the corruption and incompetence under the rug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I tend to agree with Vincent Bugliosi's argument that the prosecution fucked up big time. OJ's whole thing was "I never wore those ugly ass shoes in my life." Then later a picture of him wearing those exact shoes a year earlier emerged and Marcia Clark was all "Oh, if we'd only had the picture, we'd have nailed him!" So, um, why didn't you? Shouldn't that be the prosecutor's job to find that stuff? The evidence tampering stuff...eh, I was never quite convinced. Not saying the LAPD wouldn't frame someone (of course they would), but I'm not sure they'd pick on a guy with the power and money he did to hire the best defense ever. You just know those cops in Making a Murderer wouldn't have pulled that shit if Avery had millions of dollars and connections. It's asking for trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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