caracas1914

"I have been let go"... That is going to make his book tour and interviews a real interesting QA time... Jimmy Fallon can't come quickly enough.... My speculative guess is that due to the change in status with Glee's shortened season and episode order, RIB asked/requested Chris to cancel his "Noel" shooting schedule in order to accomodate Glee's final run. He refused to and that's that.

Actually the Associate Editor stated that he started around Sept 1 last year (after production was delayed due to Cory's death) as a fact but he didn't say work wasn't delayed. His first tweets said this specifically: "Thought I was starting way sooner." I just can't see how that referred to any other TV project other than Glee. He also said this: "Not sure what is going to happen.I;m not sure we're dong a full season again this year. Could be off in the winter." Again I do think all these twitters referred to Glee, as far as delays and uncertainties, now he's somewhat backtracked by saying technically he didn't start on Glee until Sept 1 last year, but that's not the same thing as denying what he first posted. Agree that none of us know exactly what's going on but my impression from what he tweeting was he was clearly referring to Glee as far as thinking he was starting way sooner. Didn't actually refute that. Since nothing has been officially stated yet my guess is that someone told him to STFU. ETA: Sorry, rereading the twitters, yea, he might be saying his delay in starting on the show doesn't mean the show itself is delayed. For all we know Glee decided to use him more sparingly this year, which means..., No I'm going to stop now...LOL.

Ryan has had some of his crew people since the Popular/Nip Tuck days of production which goes back nearly 15 years so the fact that some of them are apparently getting delayed a paycheck for an extended period shows things must be screwed up big times behind the scenes. My impression is that FOX's ex chair Kevin Reilly threw money at RIB /Glee and they got so cavalierly used to it that if the new regime is playing hardball about everything it's thrown them for a big loop. Just a hunch, but I doubt Ryan Murphy will have the luxury to waltz into the writer room anymore and famously say he was inspired by the color orange, and than insist on an elaborate number based upon "At the Ballet" because he whimsically got obssessed by that song. FOX may not "care" as much anymore about Glee but I suspect they also aren't going to rubber stamp any vision/plan of Ryan Murphy for the season either , not while they are still footing the bill.

I thought the Unique story had some good potential, but it was marred by the one note portrayal of the character from Alex (and the writers) as a sad, weepy victim with no backbone, ie a black, transgender oversized Marley. Granted, Alex killed the number (If I was a boy) with the singing. As someone had mentioned, he was a poor man's lovechild of Kurt and Mercedes.

Let me give it a shot. I doubt we'll ever know all the details, but there was talk of a NY spin off between seasons two and three but that was jettisoned once the press made it sound like Chris, Lea and Cory were being "fired" after season 3. This was based upon some public statements that Ryan Murphy had uttered regarding both the spin off and some of the characters graduating from high school. It was a big snafu as apparently nobody told the actors (such as Chris the day of his Emmy nomination announcement) what to say regarding being "fired" when confronted by the media: so it seemed nobody was on the same page. Depending on who said what, several people were blaming others for the misunderstanding (For example, Ryan IIRC basically said Chris knew what was going on, refuting Chris public disavowals of ignorance) It was dubbed by some fans "graduation gate". FOX finally stepped in and said nobody was getting fired. Regardless, the spinoff was then dead in the water. However, by then Ryan Murphy had publicly trumpeted that some of the ND kids *had* to graduate after 3 seasons, (among the reasons he stated was "realism") , what that translated to in Season 4 was that some of those graduates were limited for all practical purposes to intermittent "guest" appearances (Amber, Harry, Dianna and Mark) or far less screen time (Lea, Chris and Naya). once shipped off to New York. The 64,000 dollar question was whether FOX knew that was what precisely RM and company were going to do when they agreed to let the HS characters graduate after 3 seasons, or if what happened sort of just evolved based upon the poor execution of the split narrative. (Mileage varies if it truly was ever intended to be a genuine split narrative by the show runners.) So in a sense the show painted themselves into a corner with the graduation. Once the show decided to retain Lea, Chris and Naya it was a given there would be some sort of a split narrative. IMO the irony was that there was never any genuine intention by FOX (nor GLEE) that Chris, Lea and Naya be fired or let go after season 3 graduation, so it was a huge risk/gamble to basically downgrade your leads for unproven new leads while still keeping those prior leads on the show in a reduced capacity. Yet that is essentially what FOX (in hindsight) allowed Ryan and Company to do.

Does anybody know how accurate those TV Guide stated salaries are? I mean is there really have some sort of master list where there is access to everyone's salaries,, because my guess is some actors wouldn't want for various reasons to have their salaries made public. So I would think some are extrapolated or estimated based on unnamed sources. For example, Chris Colfer was not listed at all (nor was Naya Rivera, Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, etc) so any estimate to what he makes would assume he makes less than Jane, Lea, and Matthew but I doubt there is any way to actually verify that short of having a copy of his contract. Chris himself has been pretty circumspect in interviews regarding how much he actually makes.

LOL, Don't get your panties in a bunch. Personally I thought his remarks were crystal clear and horrific. I used "perceived" in the context of IMO how most of the public/GA probably viewed his comments. Thus I assume most GA/people thought it was homophobic but there is always that .0001 percent that don't. For example, I would think some who view FOX News (to take your anecdote) would have no problem with his comments. Won't hazard to guess how many, but there has to be a few, sadly enough.

God, For Marley's " wrecking ball" number alone "A Katy or a Gaga " wins hands down for worst episode. Wait, " City of Angels" which revisited Marley's angst ( horror she is going to quit Glee! Let's all rally around her) is pretty close too, but it had the glory that was Skylar.

Well if we are "contrasting", some of the big cast changes "Grey's Anatomy " did was IMO because they were necessitated by major personnel issues. Isaiah's perceived homophobic statements caused dissension on the set; Heigel wanting out of the show to pursue a movie career, ( plus publicly shading the show by announcing her names withdrawal from Emmy consideration because her role didn't merit one). Otherwise the "core" actors of Season one of the show remained part of the cast for at the least first 7 or 8 years. I think it's fair to say that if there was no on set problems with either they probably would have continued several plus years on the show. In contrast, with 'Glee' a lot of the cast sidelined by Season Four (including regulars Naya and Chris, relatively speaking per screentime ) stemmed from the show runners unilaterally deciding they were creating new leads. There was no real transition or seamlessly transferring characters in and out. It's like they ripped off the band aid or hacked off an arm of the show helter skelter and thrust a bunch of actors as the new "lead" characters.

It pretty clear that Ryan Murphy thought the biggest find was Melissa Benoit. Granted IMO the actress is talented, she's pretty and she has a lovely voice. The problem was that the character they wrote for her (Marley) was as compelling as soil erosion, and putting her in a tired triangle with two even less charismatic actors (for all that they are nice eye candy) was recipe for disaster. Then again, these are the same show runners who thought Dean Geyer and Lea Michelle had scintillating chemistry. The problem was that past the original cast, the Glee people never reproduced the same magic with any of the characters brought in later. Arguably the exception was Darren because of the "Klaine" of it all, but the hubris and arrogance of thinking they could make lightning strike twice was obvious. Then again, they let Jonathan Groff, Gustin Grant, etc, among others slip through their fingers.

I just find the ER, Friday Nights live, Lost , Grey's Anatomy comparisons to Glee not applicable because through the first 5-6 years of those shows there were clear leading characters who remained that way despite being "ensemble" casts with multiple actors transitioning in and out. The Coach and his wife were the lead characters in "Friday Nights Live", in ER, it was Clooney and several others for at least 5 years, ditto Greys Anatomy with Grey, Derek, Izzie and Christina, etc, etc. None of those shows had the fucked up idea to replace the leading characters with 2.0 imitations after 3 years and make heretofore clearly supporting characters who were manned by weak actors at best (Chord, Jenna, Darren and Heather) suddenly "lead characters." Glee literally threw away it's successful mix of actors/chemistry that helped make it a hit so suddenly you had a split narrative where it leading actors made cameo appearances while everything but the kitchen sink was thrown to shove the new revamped McKinley down the public's throat. Who the fuck extends a losing proposition by not ending a school year because the show runner can't admit he erred in trying to make new stars? Only Glee. ER and the rest were not that mind staggeringly stupid. PlLus those shows had decent writers.

Probably one of my fave Glee singing episodes was "Duets", Season 2. "River Deep, Mountain High" "Lucky" "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" "Le Jazz Hot" "Sing!" "Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy" I thought all six numbers were very good and highlighted the singers well (cleverly even Harry's vocal limitations in "Sing")

God, let's hope that it's not faceless choir competitions with zero investment in the actual performers. Wait, It's Glee, they would so waste musical numbers like that.

Fox Upfront Commitments Fall 10 Percent to About $1.6 Billion Fox is close to selling out its primetime upfront inventory for the 2014-15 television season. And like last year, the network is down about 10 percent in dollar volume, putting it at around $1.6 billion compared to last year’s upfront haul of $1.8 billion. -------- How this affects Glee? 200 million less doesn't spell much budget leftover for a lame duck lowest rated show left on the FOX schedule.

Seriously, it's not like Chris Colfer is going to be gone for 6 months of filming, for fucks sake. If he's gone for 4-5 weeks of filming his Noel movie he would still be available for the majority of the (per Matt Morrison) 13 episodes of Season 6. It will be amusing to hear all the bullshit rationalizations we will get why Kurt won't get leading SL's or focus this last season despite being along with Rachel, the only young original leading character left from Season One. Artie has always clearly been supporting. Fully expect Ryan Murphy and company to milk the hiatus for the Noel Movie to use Kurt for little more than a prop for the Klaine Wedding for Ryans's big fat cultural gay wedding statement and have stand in the sidelines supporting Rachel and Blaine for season Sux.

The point is in a shortened season why waste time on The noobs and the Warblers. If they bring back the Noobs, using them like they did in "100" is a pointless exercise. Dalton/ Warblers, does the show really need to spend any more screen-time on Stepford characters?

I think Ryan Murphy has "end game" of the hoof and will do any plot convulsions to get his now proclaimed Rachel/Will conclusion in Lima. The problem of course is they logically need to use choir members as props and non speaking/non singing characters if the focus is ostensibly on the leading actors/characters. Yet how can the audience be invested in choir rooms where they don't know the students well. However, knowing RIB, they will give these 3.0 Noobs some kind of storyline and get completely distracted, so that suddenly Marley 3.0 ( heaven help us) and Warblers 4.0 get songs and tons of screentime in a shortened season. As long as Ryan Murphy gets his shirtless Sam money shots it will be about the performance arts in his mind. Going back to choir competition for a 6th season with choir room performances because the writers are too lazy ass to actually write any new development for adult characters is about par for the course.

Eh, actually Blaine being the director of the Warbers is the most predictable spoiler: the show feels compelled to have some character(s) constantly kiss his ass and having the original stepford wives Warblers go back to that role is both easy and lazy. It's even more convenient because they are not even fleshed out characters so no pretense that any of their scenes are anything but an excuse to highlight his awesomeness. Sam stumbling at McKinley trying to be a leader will be retread of every Finn season 4 storyline, though of course RIB have to find some disposable LI for Sam to pretend he's all that and a bag of chips to every girl he encounters. Maybe Brittany will do a couple of cameos and they rehook BRAM together again, since she is Bi and they are both mental equivalents. Artie I expect not much SL or development on his career, though, I think his dreams of being a director had the most promise. It's mind boggling how having a young character at film school in Brooklyin resulted in ZERO SL's about creative projects shown on screen, but of course, according to Ryan Murphy, it's "all about performing arts in school. " Lea at least as Rachel will bring home both the drama and the comedy, as will Matt Morrison. I don't want to get my hopes up that Matt will get plenty of opportunities to sing and dance.

"Love America" directed by Naya Rivera http://naya-rivera.com/post/89757042235/love-america-directed-by-naya-rivera

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/24/jane-lynch-glee-series-finale/ Why am I not surprised? They are bringing the Warblers back.

Marley was "nice"but that was not the main problem, but that she was a sad sack character who whimpered for most of her screen time.. Fuck, they laid it on thick for this character; Marley was introduced as a poor ingenue, with an overweight mocked mother, her defining trait having an eating disorder and an outsider and yet with two hot guys immediately besotted with her. That model had to have come with a spine in an alternative universe but instead we got her portrayed as such a whiny victim. Even her last SL in "Nationals, she is frigging going to Nationals yet contemplating quitting Glee because she's had no callbacks for her songs submitted to outside sources. WTF? And yet we have two guys still battling for her and everyone falling over themselves trying to accommodate her. AT least Rachel was entertaining in her Divaness.

Grey's Anatomy doesn't fit the mold. They didn't get rid of the core lead characters of "Greys Anatomy" for the first five/six years of the show. (if we are counting Izzie and George who left after seasons 5 and 6) They introduced new characters and eventually retired out some (the actor who was accused of homophobia was an exception, he was out after 2 or 3 years IIRC), Meredith, Derek, Baily, Christina were all leads for over 9 years. Why do we keep beating a dead horse about "precedence" when there is ZERO history of network TV show voluntarily by choice replacing all the lead characters after 3 seasons. IN terms of screen time, Lea, Chris, and Cory were not the top screen time characters in Season 4. No one has yet shown a comparable show where show runners fucked up that badly.

All teenage/high school based shows have this challenge with the characters as they grow up and supposedly mature and become more adult, such as "Boy meets World", "BH 90210" or any show with a lot younger characters. Glee showrunners sometimes act as if it was some huge obstacle faced for the first time in network history only by them. What I don't like was the desengenuous way RM handled things....if anybodys think that RIB/FOX seriously contemplated letting Lea/Cory/Chris go after Season 3 they are smoking way more than even Colorado or Washington would allow. So if we take it those core characters weren't going away, then it behooved the show to have done whatever they needed to do in the format to accommodate that reality and maintain them as the leads. What they tried was epic fail, and all this distracting side talk of the showrunners of "realism" , "supporting performance arts, graduating students, NY versus Lima, etc, is just CYA bullshit.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a show that focuses on performing arts in schools, that problem is that that was what Glee originally was and the showrunners didn't have the self discipline to keep it focused there the first time around. It got overrun by romantic triangles, losing virginity storylines, and Sue versus Will feuds, etc, in a perpetual groundhog day at High School. It was getting weary seeing that with the original cast, was much worse with the 2.0 noobs, and will be beyond depressing to have the older graduated cast doomed to repeat the HS shenanigans in a nightmare "Lima loser" limbo where this time they are now not the performers despite having the choir room being thrust again as the "heart and soul" of the show. What a clusterfuck. NO surprise, Ryan Murphy is typically chicken shit taking cover with Cory's death. He was a "father" to Cory and now it was Cory's death why the show didn't work in Season 5. Far be it for Ryan's shitty "brilliant" idea of Noobs as the new stars come to light as a big factor for the fail.

Since none of the younger cast are left in high school or choir, does this mean they are all left as mentors/teachers/props to a whole new bunch of noobs? How do you get emotionally invested in a new bunch of kids if the older cast are not performing the numbers? There are only so many times they can show all the cast as 2.0 Wills to new choir clubs. It certainly lost its sheen in Season 4 with the grads mentoring the HS kids and with Finn as the new quasi director, plus again, they have to somehow flesh out all these choir groups which takes focus away from the leading characters. What a road kill mess. And yes, this probably means more and more Becky.