Denis Leary on "American Idol;" Peter Tolan on NBC
Herewith, your bonus-DVD commentary, quotes that actually might be more fun than those that made it into today’s story about “Rescue Me’s” fourth-season premiere:
Star/co-creator Denis Leary on what FX will or won’t allow:
“John Landgraf (FX president) is an absolute joy to work with. He pushes us to places we wouldn’t go to. But for the middle of season four, I pitched the idea that in episode seven, our guys go into a fire, and they all die. And when you tune in the following week, there’s no episode eight. The guy I was pitching to said, ‘Are you out of your mind? We didn’t pay for half a fourth season.' That was the only thing they ever said no to. I really did believe that that would be an astounding moment in television. They didn’t agree.”
Leary’s collaborator Peter Tolan suggests that story may not be entirely true, which doesn’t make it any less a good story. He offers his own recollection of a creative battle with the network:
“I can’t remember them backing off anything. If anything, they’ll question the mention of a particular person, a real-life person. And then the legal department will say you really can’t do it.
“We had a great fight, a real battle with Fox standards and practices. I was writing very quickly, back toward the end of last season, about Sean (Steven Pasquale) and Maggie (Tatum O’Neal) getting married. I was writing jokes about people’s reactions – that’s she’s so crazy and he’s so stupid, what would their children would be like – 'It’ll be the Bush dynasty all over again.'
“It wasn’t a great joke, but I left it in and it went out and some people liked it. But then I got an Email from Fox – ‘We will not allow this.’ Keep in mind this is Fox. I replied, ‘We’ve done Bill Clinton blow-job references. What’s the difference with this?’ And they reply, ‘That’s historical fact. You’re putting forth personal opinion.’ And I said, ‘But what if it’s an opinion that's destined to become historical fact?’ On and on it went. We went at each other like cobra and mongoose via Email. But it was not that great a joke, so in the end we didn’t fight for it."
More, including Leary’s take on “American Idol” and Tolan's thoughts on his pilot getting rejected by NBC, after the jump.
On the provocative, almost gruesome key art for the new season:
Leary: “Knowing what I know, writing the show, it sums up where Tommy’s character ends up. He’s trying to be a good father to this new baby where he failed his other kids; he’s watching Oprah and Dr. Phil. Financially, he wants to make sure his kids are set. And in trying to balance all those things, that’s where he’ll end up, animalistic, an ultimately naked raw being.”
On criticism of the show’s takes on female characters:
Leary: “I always say, David Mamet’s a great writer, but when men write for women, they don’t know what they’re doing. On the other hand, men in Nora Ephron movies are not any men I know, but I watch her movies anyway.
“We get great actresses on the show (Susan Sarandon, Tatum O’Neal, Marissa Tomei), and we take their opinions to heart.”
Leary on his sensibility and audience acceptance:
“I’ve never done anything that has pleased everyone, except “Operation Dumbo Drop,” which was the biggest piece of shit I’ve made. It was appreciated by everyone.
“Believe me, if I could create an ‘American Idol,’ I would, but it’s just not in me. I watched that show – they sucked me in just like everyone else. I loved Lakeesha and then they kick her off and I said, that’s it; I’m never watching that show again. I got sucked in, I was calling in voting, the whole nine years. But I’m done.”
Leary on life after “Rescue Me:”
“When you come off a show people watch, that can cut short your time as an actor. It’ll be a while before I’ll be able to play someone else. I’ll be taking a vacation as an actor for a while, but I’m OK with that.
“I’ve got another great character in my back pocket. I need to be five years older than I am now to play him. I don’t mind waiting. It’s got elements of but is a polar opposite to Tommy Gavin. Clint Eastwood held on to ‘Unforgiven’ for 10 years, because he knew he had to be older than he was when he read it. That’s what I’m doing with this character.”
Leary on his involvement with “Canterbury’s Law,” a Fox midseason legal drama starring Julianna Margulies:
“I’m not going to bother the writers. Mike Figgis directed the pilot. Once they’re up and running, I’d love to write or direct an episode. Julianna Margulies is very hands-on – I’m just going to get out of her way and let them roll with it.”
How long since your last cigarette?
“Not that long ago. About an hour.”
Peter Tolan on “Ft. Pit,” a pilot he helped produce for NBC but was rejected, and on the subsequent firing of NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly:
“‘Ft. Pit’ was always a little bit of a longshot. It was something our other executive producer (on ‘Rescue Me’), Jim Serpico, was trying to develop. NBC was saying, ‘This just isn’t there for us,’ and asked for a rewrite. I called Kevin and basically they were looking for a ‘Rescue Me’ for network TV. Kevin said, ‘I’d like to position more as a comedy, or play up the comedic elements.’
“The reason was, the NBC people on the East Coast were saying, we don’t want anything dark. Dark doesn’t work for us. I knew we were in trouble – I’d be gutting the sense of the show if we took out all the dark sensibility. Kevin and his people were very supportive, they loved the show, but they couldn’t get it past the East Coast. Kevin was completely a fall guy.”
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David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place.
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