50 shades of celebrity

[Jabba 18389]

Just quick thoughts here. Take it where you will.

Do you have to be a major @$$hole to make it in the celebrity world?

 

Celebrity is a cut throat business and people have to protect their own brand. I've seen incredible rants, breakdowns, breakups, fights, ego fests...and other unique behaviour.

 

I was visiting a discussion site about John Fogerty (CCR Lead Guitar & Singer). Mixed results. Overall, he got points for being the icon he is despite the bad taste he leaves on a personal level.

 

The wisest opinion I took away was here:

I think Fogerty is a true American musical icon as a writer and performer. To paraphrase Skully's observation, most of his hits sound as though they existed forever, that you knew them before you ever heard them. That Voice. He's also a very accomplished player within his genres, and frankly, given his skill and guitar collection, I'd be changing guitars frequently if I had the talent and the access. After all, the right tool for the job.

 

Personality-wise, one doesn't ascend the heights of showbiz without channeling one's inner @$$hole (or having a designated @$$hole to do your dirty work for you). Nature of the biz. What some see as ambition others see as character defect. Comes with the turf, especially when you've got real, unique skills.

 

I think this is true of other celebs - Johnny Carson was a MAJOR crude @$$HOLE...nobody really liked the powerful little prick.

 

What do you think?

Do you think you have to be a psychopath or have a major personality defect to make it big?

[roamingguy 300292]

I personally think it depends on each individual person/celebrity etc. Just look recently at John Malkovich

saving a man's life in Toronto

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/06/08/toronto-malkovich-emergency.html

Here is a link about celebrities helping children

http://www.parade.com/celebrity/slideshows/news/celebs-helping-kids.html#?slideindex=11

This was a quickie two minute post, but there are likely just as many celebrities, be they musicians, actors athletes or whatever doing good as there are those doing bad

People are all for like of a better phrase, human, and humans can be good, bad or ugly or somewhere in between

And remember, ambition can exist in all professions, not just the entertainment world, and if there was no one ambitious no one would try to achieve and better him/herself. If no one tried to better him/herself this world would stagnate so to speak pretty fast. You also don't necessarily need to trample on anyone else to be ambitious

RG

[Jabba 18389]

I personally think it depends on each individual person/celebrity etc. Just look recently at John Malkovich

saving a man's life in Toronto

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/06/08/toronto-malkovich-emergency.html

 

Gotta admit, I don't know why I like Malkovich the way I do. He's a bald, non descript, bland, sleeper celeb. You chose your avatar wisely. Takes a selfless individual to step up to the plate to save a life. He showed true appreciation of real.

 

By the same token, take a look at the most embarrassing interview with Jian ghomeshi interview with Mr. Billy Bob @$$shole Thornton.

[Guest realnicehat]

Fogerty isn't a music legend because he's an asshole, he's a music legend who also happens to be an asshole. I would agree that a willingness to step on some toes while you climb the ladder may help but you need to have the talent to get you there.

 

I think the bigger issue today is society's idolization of celebrity. For some reason people want to know every little detail about their favourite singers, actors, royals etc. so the media in turn dishes everything that they can get.

 

Personally, I don't care what Fogerty is like off stage, his music rocks. I don't care if Tom Cruise is bat-shit crazy, if John Travolta wears a hair piece and likes dudes, or if Christian Bale loses his shit on the lighting guy as long as they make decent movies. Johnny Carson may have been the biggest dick to ever set foot in Hollywood but for an hour each night he was consistently fantastic for years.

 

I'm sure there are many well balanced, happy, caring celebrities that we just don't hear about. Why? Because that doesn't sell. Where would TMZ be if everyone was perfect. Can you imagine having a camera in your face every time you fucked up?

[roamingguy 300292]

Gotta admit, I don't know why I like Malkovich the way I do. He's a bald, non descript, bland, sleeper celeb. You chose your avatar wisely. Takes a selfless individual to step up to the plate to save a life. He showed true appreciation of real.

 

By the same token, take a look at the most embarrassing interview with Jian ghomeshi interview with Mr. Billy Bob @$$shole Thornton.

 

Hey, who you calling bald non descript, bland (tongue in cheek here btw) LOL...My avatar was picked only after more than a few ladies said I look like John Malkovich, or he looks like me. I don't actually see it myself

I think in the tally sheet of life for everyone you pick who is an a$$hole I could find someone who is a great man or woman.

Professions have no bearing, my guess, Johnny Carson who you cite, would have been an a$$hole whether as a celebrity or if he just was the owner of a hardware store

A rambling from a sleeper cerbite LOL

RG

[Jabba 18389]

Hey, who you calling bald non descript, bland (tongue in cheek here btw) LOL...My avatar was picked only after more than a few ladies said I look like John Malkovich, or he looks like me. I don't actually see it myself

I think in the tally sheet of life for everyone you pick who is an a$$hole I could find someone who is a great man or woman.

Professions have no bearing, my guess, Johnny Carson who you cite, would have been an a$$hole whether as a celebrity or if he just was the owner of a hardware store

A rambling from a sleeper cerbite LOL

RG

 

I read my post & thought "hey, this could be totally taken in the wrong way...". So, just to clarify - I'm not a celebrity.

I meant it in the best possible way.

Ya, you're right...a$$holes aren't hard to find. I was just pondering if there was a special type of personality prone to the celebrity lifestyle.

[Guest realnicehat]

take a look at the most embarrassing interview with Jian ghomeshi interview with Mr. Billy Bob @$$shole Thornton.

 

I remember this interview. It was done the day after he played here in Kingston, opening for Willie Nelson. He received a pretty lukewarm response and as the show went on he didn't seem thrilled to be here.

 

It was us that he described the next day as "mashed potatoes without the gravy". I won't defend him, he was clearly being a total asshole. But honestly, I have been exactly that guy he was being during the interview.

 

There have been times that I have felt slighted, insulted or disappointed so I have simply pouted and refused to participate. It usually results in me apologizing the next day for being such a dick.

 

Sadly, I have also seen this behavior in a lot of my friends but we don't have it on tape to throw in each others faces. We have to resort to "Hey, remember last year at the cottage when you were being an asshole"........

[MightyPen 67414]

Do you have to be a major @$$hole to make in the celebrity world?

 

Absolutely not. Two examples that come immediately to mind, from two of my all-time favourite tv shows:

 

1. Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle, etc.)

Everyone on Firefly talked about Nathan's profession abilities mixed with good humour and his leading role in creating a supportive, family-like atmosphere on set. The guy just seems as genuine and giving and committed to his work AND the people around him. I'm a great admirer.

 

2. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Once again, the guy put in the grind of acting work for 20 years before attaining the summit of television acting fame, and the cast and crew all cite him as a guiding, steadying, giving influence on the set with absolutely no sense of ego or an image to protect. Once again, I'm taking notes from this guy.

 

I think that fame gives lots of power and wealth to those who have achieved it, and that lets them express who they truly are once no restraint is required of them. And "stars" are prone to enormously inflated egos, just from the dynamics of their central, prominent position; so if they have an inner demon, it's awfully easy for it to come out.

 

You'll find all kinds of people in the famous circuit, and some of them will be atrocious human beings who can act on every whim. Business is the same; enormous wealth can flood into the hands of people who have one narrow set of skills, but that doesn't guarantee any others or any special self-awareness as human beings. So it goes.

[Guest ***nsut***jr]

Personally I think that celebrities are just normal people with the means to live more fucked up lives and with the public eye watching them.

 

I'll use Tiger Woods as an example. I could give a shit what he does off the golf course. When he is on the course its his playground and the rules of the sport govern conduct and everyone needs to act within those bounds. In terms of talent and practiced skills he was light years ahead of everyone and will make the game entertaining and exciting whenever he plays.

I'll even buy some of his shirts if they have been marked down 70 or 80 percent.

[Brad 49548]

Like others said, you can find good and bad in all walks of life. I think it's just when celebrities go crazy or act like jerks it stands out more. Since everyone pays attention when that happens it no doubt begins to seem more common.

 

I defy you to watch Jennifer Lawrence geeking out at meeting Jeff Bridges and not restore your faith that celebrities can be cool/humble:

 

[Mikeyboy 27113]

By the same token, take a look at the most embarrassing interview with Jian ghomeshi interview with Mr. Billy Bob @$$shole Thornton.

 

I have to defend Billy Bob a bit on this one. He is clearly an @sshole, which is well known, but I contend that Jian was the bigger @sshole that day. Watch that interview again with one thing in mind. Jian was told one thing before the interview: Billy bob is here to talk about his music and his band, not his acting career. Any attempt to redirect the interview to his acting career will immediately terminate the interview. Now watch the very long introduction Jian (who's legendary ego does not like being told what to do) about Billy bobs acting career. Then Jian got to sit back and let Billy bobs natural tenancy toward being an @sshole take over as he played the victim. I believe that everyone's beloved Jian was the bigger @sshole that day. Just another perspective on that one.

[MightyPen 67414]

I have to defend Billy Bob a bit on this one.

I think you're right that B-Bob was under the impression that the CBC had been instructed to, and had agreed to, not mention B-Bob's film career at all, and then B-Bob took offense when he heard it mentioned in the introduction and decided to sabotage the whole interview.

 

Now the question becomes: can publicists legitimately instruct the CBC not to mention a glaring subject, and can the CBC legitimately agree to such a stipulation? Jian's position was that that's not the way it works; the CBC is granting the band publicity, and it's on the CBC's respectful but not deferential terms. Jian was going to mention the glaringly obvious film connection in the introduction, but move onto the music from there... but B-Bob wouldn't let him. Instead he falls into a ridiculous funk (and perversely will talk only about "monsters of movieland" or something,... WTF?), then insults Canadians as "mashed potatoes with no gravy" just to try (and fail) to get a rise out of Jian.

 

Silly power game. And I think B-Bob clearly lost. Jian stayed classy and forthright. B-Bob then doubled down and lost again during that evening's performance (where he and his band were pelted with gravy packets). They never played in Canada again.

 

As Jian mentioned in the interview, once he and B-Bob start to tackle the issue head-on: the band wouldn't even be in the studio if it wasn't for the film-star connection. They can't ride on B-Bob's stardom coat-tails to undue prominence, and then insist it never be discussed. To pretend B-Bob isn't a film star and never mention it at all isn't a film star would be ridiculous.

 

Core of the issue: B-Bob thought that his publicist could "instruct" the CBC what to talk about and what not to. Jian disagreed, since he knows his job as a responsible interviewer and journalist on behalf of his listeners. Maybe B-Bob's is now the American standard for journalism, where the powerful subject calls all the shots. I hope we stick to Jian's.

[Mikeyboy 27113]

I think you're right that B-Bob was under the impression that the CBC had been instructed to, and had agreed to, not mention B-Bob's film career at all, and then B-Bob took offense when he heard it mentioned in the introduction and decided to sabotage the whole interview.

 

Now the question becomes: can publicists legitimately instruct the CBC not to mention a glaring subject, and can the CBC legitimately agree to such a stipulation? Jian's position was that that's not the way it works; the CBC is granting the band publicity, and it's on the CBC's respectful but not deferential terms. Jian was going to mention the glaringly obvious film connection in the introduction, but move onto the music from there... but B-Bob wouldn't let him. Instead he falls into a ridiculous funk (and perversely will talk only about "monsters of movieland" or something,... WTF?), then insults Canadians as "mashed potatoes with no gravy" just to try (and fail) to get a rise out of Jian.

 

Silly power game. And I think B-Bob clearly lost. Jian stayed classy and forthright. B-Bob then doubled down and lost again during that evening's performance (where he and his band were pelted with gravy packets). They never played in Canada again.

 

As Jian mentioned in the interview, once he and B-Bob start to tackle the issue head-on: the band wouldn't even be in the studio if it wasn't for the film-star connection. They can't ride on B-Bob's stardom coat-tails to undue prominence, and then insist it never be discussed. To pretend B-Bob isn't a film star and never mention it at all isn't a film star would be ridiculous.

 

Core of the issue: B-Bob thought that his publicist could "instruct" the CBC what to talk about and what not to. Jian disagreed, since he knows his job as a responsible interviewer and journalist on behalf of his listeners. Maybe B-Bob's is now the American standard for journalism, where the powerful subject calls all the shots. I hope we stick to Jian's.

 

Valid comments and a usual, well thought out. I guess the question is was the stipulation agreed upon (as is my understanding) as opposed to should it have been agreed upon. Most people who have seen or heard this interview assume that Jian did nothing to provoke him. Anyway, I do conquer that Billy bob is an @sshole, (as a defence attorney I would have been fired), I just feel that Jian was the bigger one in this case, which brings us back to the original question. So yes, being an @sshole seems to at least be common with celebrity, if not a prerequisite. ;-) (Sorry for steering this thread off topic).

[roamingguy 300292]

I guess I just believe the a$$hole celebrities just stand out more, making one to believe every or most celebrities are a$$holes

I believe in the celebrity world, as in the world at large, it has it share of good people, and a$$holes. Keep in mind too, celebrities (including politicians and the media) have on them almost always, the media/paparazzi , no one else is subjected to that sort of scrutiny. How would one view mainstream society if all people were subjected to that same sort of scrutiny

RG

[Mikeyboy 27113]

I guess I just believe the a$$hole celebrities just stand out more, making one to believe every or most celebrities are a$$holes

I believe in the celebrity world, as in the world at large, it has it share of good people, and a$$holes. Keep in mind too, celebrities (including politicians and the media) have on them almost always, the media/paparazzi , no one else is subjected to that sort of scrutiny. How would one view mainstream society if all people were subjected to that same sort of scrutiny

RG

 

Unfortunately, you are correct in that the publicity one gets for being an ass is normally far greater that for doing something good. That was the first I had heard of John Malcovich saving someones life for example. For many, fame and infamy seem to be two sides of the same coin. No such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right.

[Guest *Ste***cque**]

I don't think a personality disorder is a requirement to become a famous celebrity, although it doesn't hurt. :)

 

Isn't asshole just another word for a narcissist- someone extremely selfish with a grandiose view of ones own talents and a craving for admiration. I think narcissism is at work in many of these situations. Celebrity attracts narcissists like a moth to a flame. If you aren't a narcissist when you become a celebrity, all the adoration can turn you into one if you're not careful.

 

We just notice this behavior more in successful actors, athletes and businessmen because 1)you need to be an asshole to get there quite often and 2)the media and fans are obsessed with them. Joe plumber down the street might be an asshole but unless he's on TV or you run into him, only his wife and friends will know.