I have not been part of this online venue during the PG season. I have such a startlingly different perspective than virtually everyone else, that I thought I would register and post it. You guys need something to rage at, what with all of this violent agreement going on. I swear that I am not trolling; don%u2019t let your head explode.
First off, I agree that Jason was not the likeable pick, or the pick most likely to work well in a studio setting. That is down to Ben and Matt -- I guess they saw %u201Cartsy%u201D. Jason lacks social skills, and studio filmmaking is an intensely social process. That said, there are some positives about Jason. Yes, I said it!
Jason knew what he wanted. He brought a script, for chrissakes, and that wasn%u2019t even the premise for the show this season. %u201CHere! Make my movie instead!%u201D Props!
Jason made his days! That%u2019s a freakin%u2019 *miracle*! Go ahead -- say it isn%u2019t.
Jason sat right down and told the editor what he wanted -- scene by scene -- shot by shot. The editor was impressed; why aren%u2019t you?
About Effie. I did not take kindly to Effie%u2019s approach; clearly, everyone else here did. Maybe it was just the edit.
Effie was downright childish in her intervention between Pete Farrelly and Jason. %u201CNo you may not talk to Jason about digital. I already tried and failed, therefore it is impossible.%u201D From my perspective she was the epitome of what is wrong with studio politics in that instance. This pretty much affected the way that I saw her for the rest of the season.
Effie was not clear with Jason on the budget choices, and played the victim when called on it. If Jason wanted to re-shoot the stupid car crash and have no money left for pick-ups, that was his stupid choice to make, but he didn%u2019t get to make it. Let%u2019s face it, folks -- the crash sucked -- and nobody on set except Jason (and me, apparently) reacted that way.
Effie%u2019s personal mission seems to be to re-cast and re-write productions to meet her vision of a perfect demographic world. I doubt this is written into her job description. That%u2019s all well and good, but I felt bad for the background guy who almost got on camera, but was then pulled because he was black. Isn%u2019t this a movie lampooning white privilege? Isn%u2019t that kind of undercut if the perfect percentage of guests *aren%u2019t* white, and all of the employees *are* white?
I recognize that Effie is good at her job, but IMO she was not that %u201Cup front%u201D with Jason; I think she saw him as the kid who didn%u2019t deserve to be there -- which he was -- but that%u2019s the premise of the damned show. The first time he over-reacts to a green light, like %u201Cwe can do the car crash%u201D, don%u2019t you learn from that, and qualify future statements like %u201Cwe can do pick-ups%u201D? Mistake; same mistake.
When Effie gave Jason the note that there was a problem with the female character, she did not frame it as a continuity issue (to my ear), but as an empowerment issue. Not having seen the film, of course, my first reaction was %u201Chere comes the crusade again%u201D, and I am not surprised that Jason did not immediately take the note. Later, the feedback was %u201Cthe story doesn%u2019t make sense%u201D, and it was addressed. of course, if Jason were an adult, he would go back to Effie and say %u201CYou were right%u201D -- maybe he did -- no idea.
Anyway, my take is that Jason was far from the worst PG contestant. He brought more of his vision than was even permitted this season (i.e., the script), he made his movie, and there was even enough length to do a sharp edit without turning it into a TV show. Didn%u2019t they pretty much have to pad TBoSH to even get it to 77 minutes? Would an HBO hire him again? I don%u2019t know. What percentage of directors make their days and come away with a usable product?
I haven%u2019t seen the movie yet -- it%u2019s on the TiVo -- but it almost doesn%u2019t matter if it%u2019s any good from a PG perspective. Doesn%u2019t sound like my cup of tea anyway.
A final observation: Ed Weeks is really wasted on %u201CMindy%u201D. He should be in more films!
