The Darkside of Hollywood

David Chappelle's 2006 interview on the Actor's Studio has always intrigued me, full of a lot of unique insights about the darkside of hollywood in this series of clips:

He makes a great opening remark that summaries his experience, where the union of art & corporate interests will leave your heart broken. He refers to the "crazy" label that was given to Martin Lawrence, Mariah Carey and himself... and how these incidences are only symptoms of a "sick" environment/industry(hollywood) ...and he shares how the disinfo coupled with fame turned him inside out.

Makes me wonder what Lawrence and Carey were reacting to.

This interview was in 2006, he's been back for a second interview this year. Haven't been able to find a copy of it as of yet.

After some reflection, this thread would probably be best moved to the disinfo, psychology or media forum.


[edit on 7-12-2008 by The All Seeing I]

He’s a very interesting, funny man. I liked this episode because the host really pin pointed how good comedies see the world differently. Most people don’t seem to know much about him, that he is a Muslim, etc. He’s sort of an enigma for someone who is so famous; even a few years after his show went off the air.

The best place to start i think is through those who have seen the dark side of hollywood first hand and up close... so here are some quotes that i think shed some light on what happens behind the camera:

“Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”
~ Marilyn Monroe

“Hollywood is a place where a man can get stabbed in the back while climbing a ladder.”
~ William Faulkner

“In Hollywood now when people die they don't say, "Did he leave a will?" but "Did he leave a diary?"”
~ Liza Minnelli

“I'll never understand the animal, the machine of Hollywood business. And I don't want to understand it. It's like joining a club, a clique just because everyone else is in it. You don't have any particular interest in it, and it has nothing to do with who you are as a person. You just join it because it's the thing to do. The quality of life is so different in France. There is the possibility of living a simple life. I would never contemplate raising my daughter in LA. I would never raise any child there.”
~ Johnny Depp

“Hollywood has always been a cage... a cage to catch our dreams.”
~ John Huston

“I can't talk about Hollywood. It was a horror to me when I was there and it's a horror to look back on. I can't imagine how I did it. When I got away from it I couldn't even refer to the place by name. ''Out there,'' I called it.”
~ Dorothy Parker

“Strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and you'll find the real tinsel underneath.”
~ Oscar Levant

“Hollywood gives a young girl the aura of one giant, self-contained orgy farm, its inhabitants dedicated to crawling into every pair of pants they can find.”
~ Veronica Lake

“If God doesn't destroy Hollywood Boulevard, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology”
~ Jay Leno

"I look at going to Hollywood as going behind enemy lines. You parachute in, set up the explosion, then fly out before it goes off."
~ Robert Redford

"The execs don't care what color you are. They care about how much money you make. Hollywood is not really black or white. It's green."
~ Will Smith

"It's a scientific fact. For every year a person lives in Hollywood, they lose two points of their IQ."
~ Truman Capote

"Half the people in Hollywood are dying to be discovered and the other half are afraid they will be."
~ Lionel Barrymore

[edit on 1-1-2009 by The All Seeing I]

Found a closely related thread recently posted/titled:

How many times do I have to repeat myself? ....
Hollywood is pulling the ultimate mind trick on you.

[edit on 7-1-2009 by The All Seeing I]

The latestest on Joaquin Phoenix may shed some light:

...Concerns are mounting about the 34-year-old's health, sanity and well-being after the actor had a troubled 2008. His behaviour has been described as 'bizarre' and 'erratic'. A source told Mail Online: ''For people who know Joaquin, it's been an incredibly traumatic year, filled with chaos. 'Everyone wants to help but nobody's been able to break through. His bizarre behaviour has everyone worried. It's just getting scary. 'Joaquin has rejected everything that has come along with Hollywood stardom, the acclaim, the attention, and the artistic opportunities.' Earlier this year, Phoenix disappointed his Two Lovers co-star Gwyneth Paltrow and fans by snubbing the film's world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May and the subsequent premieres around Europe. Phoenix publicly entered rehab three years ago for treatment of alcoholism.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

I would image his brother, River Phoenix's fame and earlier grave due to an over-dose most likely factored in to his current shift in focus.

[edit on 17-1-2009 by The All Seeing I]

I just saw "The Boy With the Stripped Pajamas"...
and i was left wondering why it didn't receive at least a nomination for a golden globe or oscar. Especially when you consider "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was given a nomination in both, in my opinion a pointless shallow film.

My theory is the jewish hollywood power-brokers that be, dismissed "The Boy With the Stripped Pajamas" as a nazi-sympathizing film.

...or is it all about having names in front and behind the camera?... which when i note the names in & behind "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" i am lead back to my original theory.


[edit on 28-1-2009 by The All Seeing I]

Just like most races.. whenever those of the African bloodline let go of the bitterness, they are often so wise in what they have learned through affliction... You can see this in the memory he shares of his father pulling him aside and talking to him about being an actor. His father gave him very wise words.

I remember when the first AND only family of the African bloodline moved into my neighborhood in my younger years. They were immediately loved and respected for theirs was a wisdom that was humble, genuine, and greatly desired. I spent many MANY hours over at their house.. their family is as much a part of me as my own family is a part of me. In this world where most complain.. it is refreshing to see that common bond that was brought forth in that video.

I have always enjoyed his work... there is much wisdom that he brings forth.. it is not just about making the people laugh to him and it is obvious in what he says and in his performances.

I know your point in this thread was a bit different than what I brought forth, but I see more hope and wisdom in that video than I do the darkside and right now in this world, we could use more of the Truth shown through hopeful eyes.. Thanks for sharing OP!



[edit on 28-1-2009 by justamomma]

Correct... not what i was looking for... i posted this thread in the ATS General Conspiracy forum not the BTS Entertainment or Comedy forums... but thank you for sharing anyway.

There is a bigger deeper picture here to be addressed and Chappelle did give some light to the fact that hollywood has a racial bias/bigotry. I recently stumble upon a great documentary that reveals how prevalent and persuasive arab/muslim stereotypes have been perpetuated in american film... some very powerful propaganda that very few people have cared to recognize exists.

Planet of the Arabs A trailer-esque montage spectacle of Hollywood's relentless vilification and dehumanization of Arabs and Muslims. Inspired by the book "Reel Bad Arabs" by Dr. Jack Shaheen. Out of 1000 films that have Arab & Muslim characters (from the year 1896 to 2000) 12 were postive depictions, 52 were even handed and the rest of the 900 and so were negative.

In an interview with the British version of GQ magazine, Megan Fox compared acting to being a prostitute.

Noting that actors are essentially paid to feign emotion and be physically intimate with other actors for money, Fox's comments are sure to spark some controversy.

During the interview, Fox says:

When you think about it, we actors are kind of prostitutes. We get paid to feign attraction and love. Other people are paying to watch us kissing someone, touching someone, doing things people in a normal monogamous relationship would never do with anyone who’s not their partner. It’s really kind of gross.

It's not the only subject she touches on. Addressing her public image as a bit of a loose cannon, she says:

I have this sort of promiscuous image. People assume I’m really overtly sexually aggressive and that I’m this wild child. And I’m not like that at all. I would rather have an image that is wild and promiscuous than to go out of my way to be proper all the time. There are some guys who think I’m going to be this little cupcake who’s going to bat my eyes and be like a receptacle for them. I shut them down immediately.

Fox can be seen in her next acting job later this month, feigning attraction and love opposite Shia LaBeouf in this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

source: www.zimbio.com...

I never really thought of it this way before, but now that i have, it makes perfect sense... which i would imagine only adds to the collective cluster mindf*ck that actors have to go through ... provided they have some inner conflict over selling their emotions.

[edit on 3-6-2009 by The All Seeing I]

Martin Lawerance did a couple of things that got him the crazy moniker.

1. Got high and decided to go to the corner market that was across a 8 lane highway. Pulled a pistol out, pointed it at the cars to get them to stop and passed out during a stand off with the cops.

2. Got clean (supposedly) and started running. Went running one afternoon with the temp near 100 with a wool stocking cap on. He almost made it home. He passed out from a heat stroke in his neighbors yard.

3. Didn't know when to quit the movie buisness after Bad Boys 1 & 2. He went on to make 2 or 3 very horrible movies that probably ruined any chance of him regaining any fame.

So yea, he deserved the crazy moniker.

Man what a thread....


Dave Chappelle is one of the most intelligent people to me. He knows so much. Funny how he says all of this and his show is cancelled...

It's not Hollywood but, I record songs and stuff, a few months back I got an email off an agency asking if I wanted to be represented and promoted. I jumped at the chance and called the guy up. Get this, he wanted 80% of initial earnings for the first 10 months then it would be 70%. He wanted to COPYRIGHT HIS NAME on ALL my songs and lyrics. I nearly wet myself when he said it.

reply to post by jd140


I think the point is what would drive someone to do such things, not so much that he did them.

Not really sure what to say about the topic. Welcome to the real world? While it may be abundant and obvious in hollywood, it's the same all over the world. I like Chappelle a good bit, but I think he should probably be thankful he was able to afford "Africa" and get away from it. Many others are simply stuck in it, and aren't getting paid alot of money for it.

Originally posted by badmedia
reply to post by jd140

 

I think the point is what would drive someone to do such things, not so much that he did them.

Not really sure what to say about the topic. Welcome to the real world? While it may be abundant and obvious in hollywood, it's the same all over the world. I like Chappelle a good bit, but I think he should probably be thankful he was able to afford "Africa" and get away from it. Many others are simply stuck in it, and aren't getting paid alot of money for it.

He liked getting high. He had been doing drugs for a very long time and made a bad decision while under the influence.

He was an idiot and probably thought he looked cool in his wool cap. It does seem to be a style to wear them in the summer.

I don't think Hollywood had anything to do with either of those incidences. Drugs and trying to look cool were the causes.

I think this is an excellent example of how empty and hollow people in Hollywood are. All he did was go somewhere where people don't own TV's and adopted their way of life because they treated him like a stranger. I am glad he didn't go Afganistan, he would have become a terrorist.

Or if he had gone to Amish county he would be driving a buggy. Lets not even get in to the fact that he doesn't even respect those people's beliefs... at least not enough to actually try and follow them. He is no better that any of the other actors that he was complaining about IMO.

Originally posted by jd140
He liked getting high. He had been doing drugs for a very long time and made a bad decision while under the influence.

He was an idiot and probably thought he looked cool in his wool cap. It does seem to be a style to wear them in the summer.

I don't think Hollywood had anything to do with either of those incidences. Drugs and trying to look cool were the causes.

People on drugs don't normally do stuff like that. If anything violence and such is a result of the "business" of it, or some addict going crazy trying to get some cash for more etc.

I doubt he was needing money or anything. No doubt he didn't make good decisions, and he is the only one responsible for that. But that doesn't mean the environment around him didn't factor into it, or that the things aren't a "little sick".

Such things happen all the time under what the person considers "extreme pressure". I've seen it in the army. There was a guy in the barracks next to mine who went absolutely nuts, started going around shooting people up with a shotgun, came down by our barracks and shot himself. He wasn't on drugs. Another guy in that same unit killed his entire family, not himself - he went to jail, and 1 guy in the unit hung himself in a closet. We pretty much avoided that unit like the plague, but they ended up playing baseball and stuff once a day every week after it all happened which looked pretty good compared to working.

No idea what set those guys off, they didn't happen on the same day, but did happen over a short period of time. Apparently it was stress related, I would guess from different issues.

But to me, what he did was more inline with extreme pressure and stress than some drug addict. I'm sure the drugs he were doing and so on didn't help. Possibly have amplified the pressure, or whatever. But takes more than that to get someone to snap like that. They feel like they are being backed into a corner or something.

Doesn't excuse people or anything, or make it right. He's responsible for his own actions regardless. But I think if you try you can understand.



[edit on 3-6-2009 by badmedia]

Originally posted by badmedia
... But that doesn't mean the environment around him didn't factor into it, or that the things aren't a "little sick".

Absolutely... thank you for emphasizing this intended topic of inquiry. Much like a air-traffic-controller or a patrolman of a gang-ridden neighborhood... there are a set of stressors that are unique just to tinsel-town. We rarely question this due to our impression that being a star/celebrity is a kin to living in heaven/utopia. Those rare train-wreck cases that get picked up by the media, we usually dismiss it as a character flaw or addiction issue and never care to look deeper for the cause. ie mel gibson, michael richards, alec baldwin, owen wilson and the casualties of marylin monroe, elvis presley, kurt cobain, river phoenix, heath ledger

Such things happen all the time under what the person considers "extreme pressure". I've seen it in the army.

Excellent example in parallel at use here. It would be great if you could elaborate on this experience in a thread i started a couple weeks ago... U.S. Military: Heavily Armed and Medicated ... most post saw this as a non-issue, solely looking at the meds, but i think the meds are only a symptom of something much darker and deeper which people fail to note.

[edit on 3-6-2009 by The All Seeing I]