HOLLYWOOD PODCAST #37 - Overnight Success Pt.2 - “This Is Now”
Actor James Bulliard went from the lead in an ABC primetime drama to a depressed, bankrupt and out-of-work actor. This is part two of his story.
Links
Actor James Bulliard went from the lead in an ABC primetime drama to a depressed, bankrupt and out-of-work actor. This is part two of his story.
Links
Awesome, part 2. Will listen tonight after my concert. Playing one tonight.
I’m excited.
You have a great week, Tim.
Great shows! I just discovered your website, and listened to the last 4 shows. Keep them coming.
Tim,
I’m a recent fan of your podcasts. I really enjoy the shows you put together. Enjoyed this one as well. However, it was a little annoying when James Bulliard would constantly interupt you EVERY time you asked a question. Other than that this was an enjoyable podcast.
Hey guys (and Ling)! Thanks for the comments.
Dave - - James and I spoke for 3 hours so his “interrupting” may have actually been the results of my amateurish editing. I’m not sure but I’d rather take the blame on that one. Thanks for giving my show a shot Dave. Stay in touch!
Later,
Tim
Tim - good interview - made me really think about hollywood. Felt really sorry for James. How did you get him to sit down and talk to you for 3 hours? No jobs to go to? — it’s all in the memories now.
-Alex
Alex,
Yes. James is both fascinating and honest. I truly admire his honesty and willingness to share, disect, and evaluate what his past few years have been like. Him and I had a genuine rapport so I think time just flew by.
Keep up the great work Alex and thanks for the Itunes review. Much appreciated!!
Tim
Sorry I haven’t been able to comment on your last shows. But I have problems entering this site. I don’t know why, but sometimes every other page on the web works, but when I try to enter this one, it just doesn’t work.
Anyways, what a great show! Love it!
What really amazes me about Hollywood is how fast “success” can be turned into “miserable”. It’s a crazy business. One day you’r the star of the show, the next - the guy getting coffee (or not even that).
Well, thats all I got to say for now. But check out my new video if you like at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMmzHv4Scc8 .
Thanks man! Love your show, and keep’em coming!
Later,
Daniel
Hey Tim…a friend pointed me in your direction a couple of weeks ago, and “Overnight Success” is the first Podcast I’ve had the opportunity to listen to. It was truly amazing; there were times when I found myself nodding emphatically, and times when I found myself speechless.
There is a question I’d like to ask you about the “Overnight Success” podcast, but I’d rather not post it here. I’d really appreciate it if you could email me privately, if you get a chance.
Thanks a lot, and keep up the awesome work! You’ve definitely gained a fan.
Yo Michelle! Email me at thehollywoodpodcast@mac.com and we’ll talk.
Tim
The interesting thing about this interview was James’ verbosity. He knows how to tell a story and is very articulate. Probably these are the kinda people you want to interview. Also, when you interview people, let them maintain their own flow. Sometimes, you tend to milk a moment and extract more emotion out of a story. It is very glaring and sometimes out of place.
But thanks for all your efforts. This is really good content. Please use more Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to expose your podcasts to the community. Also, please see if you can get onto a podcast conglomerate a la gawker for podcasts.
Have you thought about filming your interviews?
Terrific show.
prope//er,
I appreciate your comments. You seem to be pretty hip on SEO stuff. I pretty much know nothing about it. Feel free to drop me an email if you have some specific ideas. thehollywoodpodcast@mac.com
Re: my interview style. Like everything else, it’s a process - sometimes successful, sometimes not. I’m working on it though.
Stick around.
Tim
Loved this guy’s story. Although it was very sad, what stopped it being merely depressing was him having you to bounce it off and his ability to have perspective on it all. As a monologue it would have been just brutal, but with Tim it became more like one guy telling a mate something bad that had happened: “Jeez man, wait till you get a load of this…”
Let’s hope his other ambitions come through now. I can see him being on the radio.
What an amazingly common story…overly self-important manic depressive college flameout hits the lottery and then acts like such an idiot his career is over as fast as it started… and then blame’s it on everyone but himself… karma’s a biotch.
Yo Beens! I’ve got to disagree with you on the last part of your statement. I think James totally accepts responsibility. Success can be a tricky thing to deal with . . . I’ve heard.
Thanks for checking in!
Tim
didn’t realize success makes someone scuzzy and sleazy, or sceazy. i thought that was more a character driven thing rather than an event driven thing…
Hmmm. Well, success in Hollywood can do some weird things to people but I truly don’t think James is scuzzy, sleazy or sceazy. I wouldn’t confuse laughing at oneself with pride in oneself. I don’t think he’s proud of what happened to him or what HE did to him. Everyone in this town lies about how great they’re career is going. I respect the fact that James is willing to talk (and laugh) about his fall.
Tim, thanks for the great interview and I listen to your podcast religiously!! No question he’s a skeezy dude. I’m from Ohio and we also call grown men who don’t have a job and live with their mother scrubs. Sounds like he was a loser before he hit the lottery and that he hasn’t changed much as a result of all his “success” (although not sure 2 episodes on Fri nite when no one’s watching could be called a success). I also applaud James about being willing to talk about what has happened to him but he does seem strangely proud of being a loser. It’s almost like he feels superior as a result of it - sort of like people in AA trying to outmatch each other’s tales of hitting bottom. I wonder where he goes from here though. Kind of laughable that anyone would hire him as a lawyer or a banker. Don’t you need at least a college education for that kind of thing? What about used car salesman? He could be good at that…
Hi Tammi. I’m just hoping that James turns things around. It seems that he never really loved acting anyway. Hopefully he can go back to school or something like that and turn the page. He’s young so maybe he can notch this one up as an interesting and challenging experience. We’ll see.
My gosh what a sleazebag!!
What on earth do you mean by calling him a ’sleazebag’? A sleazebag is a creepy guy who hits on girls all the time. This guy just had some bad luck. What cold-hearted people there are in the world!
Andrew, the bad luck part is that his (probably) crappy show got canceled. Sleazebag = almost 30 and living at home mooching off mom, sad he’s not on set since he can’t bang the actresses there, petty shoplifting, probably doing too much coke, bet a friend about banging natalie portman, etc, etc, etc and then acting like he’s supercool guy because of all this. He’s the kind of guy with a perspective that may’ve been sort of cool in high school and now is just disgusting and sleazy. He also reminds me of the guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High who said, “I keep getting older and they keep staying the same age.”
On second thought, he would have been pretty sleazy back in high school too.
Re: the Fast Times line - it was probably Damone who said that.
I’ve met James and I got to know him a little bit. I’m just not willing to go along with the “sleazebag” classification. That’s just not him.
So, what is he then? Well, I think he’s a guy who fell into something and got huge success very quickly and handled it horribly and is now trying to figure out what his next move is.
I think he would agree that all of the things you listed are not cool.
He’s doing what he can do right now.
Strange that all of those things were incredibly cool a couple of months ago but now he’d agree that they’re not cool? Has he since done rehab or something?
Maybe a follow up interview would clarify things for your listeners.
No. I don’t think he thought they were cool then either. I think him laughing this stuff off makes it seem trivial and cool but I never got the sense that he really thinks that.
A follow-up is a possbility. We’ll see.
“He also reminds me of the guy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High…â€
That wasn’t Damone, cos it wasn’t “Fast Times…”. That line was Matthew McConaughey in “Dazed and Confused”. A much better movie in my opinion by the way. Watched Fast Times a few weeks ago for the first time and was surprised - had really expected a better highschool movie from the makers of “Say Anything” and “Clueless”.
I get what you mean about stealing stuff reflecting incredibly badly on a person, that was hard to listen to. I guess I mean that the guy looked too clean cut to be sleazy, a word I associate with someone really greasy, fat or creepy.
hollywood - just started listening to your podcasts. great interview and i think a follow-up would be absolutely hilarious. i have $5 that says the guy’s working in retail somewhere — thinking… adult video/magazine store or burger king as a manager after doing such a good job on the frialator. either that or a used car salesman in el segundo. here’s rooting for james, posterboy of all l.a. losers!!!
Andrew - Thanks for the heads up on the reference. Yeah, I guess I associate sleazy with just acting horribly in general. There are good guys and then there are sleazey guys I think.
Tim, was sincerely sorry to hear how things went with the “hot chick” and very much appreciated your podcast. Hope your doing well and all the best to you.
I think you’re all being too hard on James. I like him a lot. I don’t think he’s a loser or sleazy. I think he’s a young guy trying to work his stuff out. I’m in his corner.
Tim
tim - the only way it could be at all funnier would be if he were blowing dudes on sunset blvd for $10 a pop to support his crack habit. come on now, you guys are both cracking up about what a skeeze he is so how come it’s harsh if we think it’s funny too??
Hey Tim.
No. I don’t think he is a “skeeze” but I DO think his stories are tragically hilarious. It’s definitely funny stuff.
In a way, that’s what I’m defending. It’s so rare for someone to laugh about their failures. I absolutely love James for this. It seems unfair to call him a “sleazebag” or a “posterboy for LA losers” because he already said all of that. He admits his mistakes and laughs about them.
Here’s the deal. I know James. I like James. I think we should be giving the guy some love for talking about blowing his career and stealing pastries. The guy is struggling. Let’s give him some love.
It’s depressing for me to think about him reading these comments.
You feeling me?
Hi Tim,
Just finished listening to this podcast, and I have to agree with you that there are a lot of people here who are being WAY too hard on this guy. I don’t know if any of them have ever fallen on hard times, but I have — and I can say from my experience that sometimes, the only way I can look back on them is to laugh about them (even though I did some things that would apparently classify me as a “loser” or a “sleazebag” in these peoples’ eyes.)
I think maybe that’s the case with James — now of course I don’t know the guy, but maybe it’s possible that the only way he can think about some of the harder times is to laugh about them. If that’s his way of dealing with it, more power to him.
As for being a “loser” because he still lives with his mother — holy shit, who are these people to judge? They may one day find themselves in a situation where they have to ask someone for help, and though it may make me sound like a bitch, I hope that they’re labeled “losers” because of it.
I think one comment on this thread summed it all up — there are a lot of heartless people in the world. And apparently a lot of them got enjoyment out of someone else’s misfortune.
I just needed to get all this off my chest. Great work, Tim — I always love your podcasts and look forward to more greatness!
–Liz
tim - def feeling you but i think you and liz might be taking this a bit too seriously. rather than saying it’s really sad what happened - which it is - why is it wrong for all of us to laugh a bit in the same spirit as you two do on the recording? if he was sincerely interested in being taken seriously wouldn’t he at least man up enough to enroll at a community college or get the best job he could and begin actually doing something with his life??? i mean 4 YEARS since getting work??!?! what does it take for someone to get the picture??
he, you and liz seem to come from an entitlement school of thought where people deserve love and respect without actually having to DO anything in order to receive it. to me that’s just plain silly. i come from a perspective where someone who acts like a slimy, skeazy, cowardly mooch and treats life like a joke leaving, in jams’ words, paths of destruction behind them without ever doing anything to set those things right, deserves to be laughed at and ostracized NOT embraced and given empathy. as TLC so aptly put it, a scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me.
Tim,
I have this friend from high school. We both had brothers that were four years older than us. Our respective brothers were complete douche bags. They caused a lot of trouble at school but it was the trouble at home that made my friend and I so angry. Together, we would completely trash and laugh about our loser brothers. BUT the minute someone tried to join in, “Yeah. Your brother is a fucking loser.” That’s when things changed. We would defend them.
That’s the only way I can describe the feeling I have. I agree with you just like I agreed with those dudes who were piling on my brother. My older brother was a complete asshole at the time and James hasn’t done much to deserve much either. But I’ve got to back up my brotha just like I backed up my brother.
So, it’s not wrong for you to laugh. It’s funny shit. I love that you’re laughing. I’m just not going to pile on.
Respect,
Tim
Going back to what I said originally and only amending it slightly: My gosh what a complete sleazebag!!
Where’s the love?
No love here, Tim — only a group of incredibly judgmental people, apparently….
liz - yeah, you’re right up above. you do sound like a bitch. what is it you’re doing now if not judging people who make entirely valid and thoughtful points about what a skanky loser james is? while tim is honorably and respectably not piling on, he too sees the worth in laughing good naturedly at douche bags like james. it seems to me that it’s people like you who think everybody can act however they want without being called to task for their actions that are the problem. what kind of world would that be if everybody agreed with you? wake up.
Tim: Actually, I don’t think I’m a bitch. I just wanted to point out that some people don’t have incredible luck in their lives, and yes — some people actually are forced to “mooch” off of their parents for a time before finally getting back on their feet. In my case, I ended up having to live with my parents for two and a half years before finally being able to get myself together.
I just think that, while James’ run of incredibly lousy luck combined with the fact that he’s now living with his parents at his age might make him look less than stellar — it’s not always fair to assume that you know all the facts of his life that may have contributed to his current situation.
Sorry if I came off as a bitch; that wasn’t my intention (although I do find that women who speak their opinions without apology seem to be automatically labeled ‘bitches’, and if that is indeed the case, I’m proud to be a bitch.) In any case, obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions; I just think that people are relying too much on a two-hour podcast to form their opinions of a person they’ve never met.
liz – sorry to hear about your own hard times and i’ll trust that you are in fact not a bitch. still, wishing ill on what we must assume are good people is not great testimony in your defense. also, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of mooching but to make a career out of it as james has done for the last 4 or 5 years?!? now, that’s pretty disgusting.
as far as this all being “incredibly lousy luck†i think erica put it best up above: “Andrew, the bad luck part is that his (probably) crappy show got canceled. Sleazebag = almost 30 and living at home mooching off mom, sad he’s not on set since he can’t bang the actresses there, petty shoplifting, probably doing too much coke, bet a friend about banging natalie portman, etc, etc, etc and then acting like he’s a supercool guy because of all this.â€
re relying on 2 hour podcast to form an opinion of a person, james, to his credit, just hung out his dirty laundry for the internet to check out. not sure how it’s our fault that his particular form of dirty laundry is a lot like spud’s from the movie trainspotting after he shat in his girlfriend’s bed…
Yo Tim.
Your words:
“while tim is honorably and respectably not piling on, he too sees the worth in laughing good naturedly at douche bags like james.”
This does pretty much sum up my feelings. Like James, I can laugh at myself. I’m just choosing not to pile on the guy.
I think that is the essence of the debate we have going on. Are we going to celebrate the guy for being honest and laughing at himself and his mistakes? Or are we going to pile on?
BUT
let’s not drop the “BITCH” word here. Argue your point. Liz will do the same.
Cool?
This is good stuff. Lets not call each other names though.
Tim
tim - i think the debate is ACTUALLY whether people like james that are way down on the lowest rung of evolved humans SHOULD make manager at burger king or just be kept on the frialator for good. should they be given that type of responsibility when their track record suggests they’ll likely choose to sleep in and choke when the pressure gets too great? what if their cash registers are off by $400 at Swanky Panky’s adult video store? will they simply quit or take responsibility for it? will people like james balk at selling a lemon of a car for $6000 to an innocent little old lady after buying it the day before for $300 from a chopshop? these are the big questions we should be asking ourselves, folks, not whether or not skanky sleazebags REALLY are skanky sleazebags.
I suppose I’m probably a little bit idealistic — a bit too forgiving, perhaps? I certainly don’t think that it’s really up to me (or anyone else, really) to decide whether another person is “way down on the lowest rung of evolved humans”. Then again, I am also the kind of person who feels bad for homeless people; I find myself wondering what happened to put them in that particular situation.
Maybe you can chalk my reaction to James’ story (and the resulting reactions here) up to the fact that, deep down, I still believe that people should be given a shot to redeem themselves. Despite the tough times I’ve gone through myself (or maybe *because* of them), I know that sometimes you need to have people rooting for you rather than putting you down, because the putdowns don’t help.
In response to the questions you pose, though, Tim, consider this: You ask whether he should even be given another chance in light of his track record. So I ask you this in response: How can he ever hope to pull himself up from “the lowest rung of evolved humans” and be more than a “skanky sleazebag” if everyone out there thinks the same way you do? If he is judged solely on the past events of his life, then he’ll never rise above where he is now. It’s when people are willing to take a chance on people like James (and myself, frankly) who have had really shitty experiences that they’re able to make more of themselves. If someone hadn’t taken a look at me and said, “OK, you know what? You’ve done some really shitty things, but you deserve a chance — and I’m going to give it to you”, I would not be where I am today.
Seriously? This is getting long-winded, and I know I sound sappy as all hell, but honestly, my heart goes out to people like James who find themselves in rotten situations because of the way things have gone in their lives — regardless of whether it’s due to bad fucking luck, or their own stupid choices. Because everyone deserves that chance to turn themselves around, they just need a little help sometimes.
I’m with Tim on this one. I’ve known sleazebags like james and they just need to man up and get their GED and start taking classes at a community college or something…anything. Prove themselves on the frialator and slowly work their way up to the BK Broilers and then the register. Work overtime for god’s sake and show you’re committed.
Hopefully, with time, these people can get a small apartment and then maybe they can start dating women who aren’t completely scuzzy, too. Liz, I’m with you in rooting for james.
Tim, I’m going to help lead the charge on this and will hereby be donating $1.45 through paypal to your website to inaugurate the “James, get back on your feet!” fund.
This is tooo funny but I’ve got $0.88 to throw to the “James, get back on your feet!” scholarship fund, too.
Alright. Calm down everybody. This is fantastic!
First of all, “TIM” needs to apologize for calling Liz a “bitch”. Doing something like that ends a conversation in a cheap way. Too easy brotha. If Liz is a bitch then I’m a bitch. Call me a bitch!!! Just apologize so I can engage you in your arguments.
Second, I want to mention something we can all agree on. It was good fucking show!!! Come on!! The brotha stepped up and talked about his shit!!!!
Third, I want to illuminate this topic a bit. The only reason I know James is because I was at a diner in LA with friends. My friends and I were drunk and high and talking about music. We must have hit upon the music of the 90’s because James, who was in a booth next to us, chimed in. He had some funny and interesting opinions about the 90s. Long story short. He asked me for my email address and the eventually my mailing address. The dude made a 90s mix and sent me a CD. Come on!!! This is a beautiful thing. He was just engaging in the world, trying to be a better person. It’s a small thing but it was selfless. I, being the sleazebag that I am, googled him. The rest is history. His history begged some questions. I followed up. He agreed to sit down with me. And now we’re talking about it.
What I’m saying is that I see the hope and goodness in James. I’m in his corner and I’m not leaving.
AND I worship the BITCH that Liz is.
AND I reluctantly love Erica, Jamie and Tim.
Tim
the “bitch” conversation revisited:
liz said: “though it may make me sound like a bitch, I hope that they’re labeled “losers†because of it.”
and then i said: “yeah, you’re right up above. you do sound like a bitch. what is it you’re doing now if not judging people who make entirely valid and thoughtful points about what a skanky loser james is?”
then liz said: “Tim: Actually, I don’t think I’m a bitch. I just wanted to point out that some people don’t have incredible luck in their lives…Sorry if I came off as a bitch”
and then i said: “liz – sorry to hear about your own hard times and i’ll trust that you are in fact not a bitch. still, wishing ill on what we must assume are good people is not great testimony in your defense.”
at this point i thought it was pretty much settled that there was some QUESTION of liz’s bitchiness but nothing definitive to really work with here….
so, liz, if i “called” you a bitch and you are in fact not a bitch then i apologize. from your last comment i gather that you understood that and you came back and asked a very good question:
“In response to the questions you pose, though, Tim, consider this: You ask whether he should even be given another chance [on the frialator, etc.] in light of his track record. So I ask you this in response: How can he ever hope to pull himself up from “the lowest rung of evolved humans†and be more than a “skanky sleazebag†if everyone out there thinks the same way you do?”
i’m going to think on it for a bit, as i don’t presently have any good answer beyond that which jamie gave, pledge $1.85 into the “James, get back on your feet!†scholarship fund and will let you know my thoughts ASAP. fair ’nuff?
Also, I’m hereby offering to donate what was my little sister’s 10 speed schwinn traveler to james’ transportation fund. She outgrew it when she entered high school and it may be a bit small but it could be a good start for james’ getting out and about.
Tim: Apology accepted re: the “bitch” question; although I suppose it depends on what your definition of “bitch” is. I’m strongly opinionated, and don’t back down easily. This seems to be most people’s definition of the word. Besides, I’m rarely offended by the term, as it is usually a default “insult” that people fall back on when they can’t think of anything better to say.
I’m waiting to hear your thoughts on the question I posed to you. I’m sure you’ll have something fascinating to say.
re the “bitch” debate, i think that was originally your own description of how you might be sounding and i, upon reflection, thought it might actually have some validity. i usually think of it as someone (male or female) who wants to punish someone for simply having an opinion that disagrees with their own - regardless of how valid and well thought out that other opinion might be - although i almost never use the term since i think it’s kind of derogatory towards female dogs in heat.
re your question from before, was thinking about it as i drove the 10 home and i’ve found a good solution for james “career mooch” bulliard. he should first take the $4.18 that jamie, erica and i have so generously offered, along with jamie’s little sister’s bike and use that as a base to work from. then he needs to find a sugar mommy (or sugar daddy if he happens to realize through greater self realization that he prefers men) who’s extremely gullible. preferably one who’s not very proficient on the internet so that they wouldn’t have read this thread.
so, just to conclude, i don’t have much hope for him in ‘real world’ redemption since there’s just too large a chance that he’ll find some way to get himself fired. i think his best bet is to find a replacement for his current mom and then hopefully he’ll be fine and won’t end up homeless.
Tim:
You seem to think that *everything* that’s happened to James has been totally and completely his fault. I’m honestly curious here: do you believe that he “got himself fired” from that show he was on? If so, how do you figure? I mean, from what I gather, the ratings just weren’t there… It just seems from some of your remarks that you blame everything right from the beginning on some flaw in his character.
I don’t know. I guess I just don’t have as jaded a view as some people do; and as I said, I may be a little idealistic. I suppose I subscribe to the same belief syatem as Tim #1 (did there really have to be two Tims on this thread? I mean, REALLY *lol*) — I tend to see hope and possibility in everyone, and that includes people who, like James, seem to be currently rather hopeless. I guess I just like to believe in people as much as I’d like to have other people believe in me. Like Tim, frankly, I’m rooting for this guy. I’m not going to make any assumptions about his personality, or his worth as a human, because I don’t know him. I just hope that someday he manages to get himself back on his feet, back in school, something — because everyone’s got something to offer, even if the majority of the odds seem to be against them.
Cheers Liz!
Nothing but love on Valentines Day!
Tim
PS - I love you also Tim.
Hollywood: (Actually, y’know…that’s a pretty cool handle):
Much
Well, apparently symbols = a no no here, so I’ll amend my statement.
“Hollywood” Tim (Hey, I like that!):
Much love to you as well. Happy Valentine’s Day (even if it is a bit late!)
Liz
Tim, I’m from london, uk and just started listening to your podcasts. Brilliant, brilliant stuff and this thread is piss on yourself funny.
I agree with tim that he should forget about the university gig as he doesn’t seem to have the smarts to make it in the real world. Best thing for james would be to stick with his mum or find some rich old woman to cadge from - since this seems to be what he’s best at.
Liz might actually be the perfect girl for james - totally gullible, not too smart, sympathetic to non-educated wankers like james and perhaps has a few extra quid to throw to his cause - in short, the perfect “sugar mommy”.
And let’s face it, even if she’s a complete and total minger - which she likely is - james isn’t exactly a hot item either these days.
Cheers to a great show!!
– Darren
Darren:
Thanks for the assumptions about my intelligence. However — my master’s degree in education says you’re dead wrong about my being “not too smart.”
I also love the assumption that, since I have empathy for others, I am completely worthless as a human being. Sounds like you’re a real winner yourself; I imagine the ladies must be swarming.
Darren,
Hello and welcome. Thanks for listening! I hope to make it out there to London some day. Never been.
Re: Liz.
You’re messing with the wrong “bitch”.
Tim
welcome to an interesting thread darren. you make some great points about liz and james. still james has a stated desire to be banging actresses on set so i’m not sure liz even will fit the bill for him. at the same time i’m pretty sure he can’t afford to be too discriminating in who he’s banging these days given his circumstances. can’t imagine too many self-respecting women, such as liz seems to be, outside of some big fatties who’ll get what they can take would even let someone like james touch them. then again there could be some crack whores who may be interested since he does actually still have a roof over his head. you never know.
You know, Tim, you started out on this thread making points that were at least half-coherent and original. Now you’ve just resorted to the same old tired bullshit over and over.
At this point I’m pretty sure anyone who reads this thread will come to an immediate conclusion as to your opinion of James (as well as your apparent allergy to capitalization.)
i think if you’ll actually read the thread you’ll see that jamie first brought up the notion of james’ romantic prospects, then i looked at it from a practical standpoint as far as what’s best for james and then darren was kind enough to look at it from a realistic point of view. all different things entirely. i guess darren makes a good point about your level of intelligence. i’m actually a big fan of james and am rooting for him like the rest of us. go james!!!
Tim, it would be smashing to have you come over to this side of the pond. After reading Liz’s last few posts I’m flummoxed as to why she’d be so offended by my comments and so peeved at tim. We’re simply trying to help a mate out and get him back into fighting form.
I’ve plenty of empathy for the ol’ cellar dweller and hope he finds himself that lucky lady out there. Perhaps Tim would care to do a follow up interview with him as erica originally proposed just to see how things are working out for him?
Cheers!
Darren : You’ve got a funny idea of “helping” someone. Interesting. As for being “flummoxed” regarding by my being offended — well, if you can’t figure out why — well, then you belong on this thread, don’t you? You can join in with the rest of the naysayers.
Tim: Nice turnaround. You call what you’ve been doing “rooting” for someone? They must have a vastly different definition of the term where you come from.
Have a good time here on the thread, Darren. I’m sure you will — there’s more than one of your ilk present.
Jeez, I leave a thread for a week and see what happens!
Interesting to hear about how you hooked up with James originally. I often wonder about how the interviews came about. How did you meet the Baywatch stand-in women? Why are there so few pictures of her anywhere?
Liz, isn’t it kind of insane to think a complete skankbag like james is suddenly going to be altogether different from who he’s self-admittedly been for his entire life? Similarly, where’s the real hope with James beyond the hope that he’ll continue being to be the complete loser he’s always been? I agree with Jamie, Tim and Darren that his best bet is to find somebody (sugar mommy or sugar daddy) who’s o.k. with psycholoser guy and who will put up with his b.s. As I said above, there are good guys and then there are sleazebags - one acts like a great guy and one acts horribly - and n’er the twain shall meet.
You’re one of those ‘leopard can’t change its spots’ people, right Erica? Maybe you’ve had bad experiences with people… Personally, I’ve got a little more faith in humanity.
My gf is a counsellor and has seen many people FAR lower than James turn their lives around - addicts, suicidals, self-harmers. Furthermore, there are quite a few examples of actors, singers etc finding huge success after years in the doldrums. Jarvis Cocker was scrounging around on the dole thoughout his 20s. Ian Richardson, who just died at 72, won a clutch of Baftas after he turned 50. But he was stacking shelves and and had a breakdown in his early thirties.
Don’t write-off James just yet. Or anyone else for that matter.
Darren,
I may, in fact, try to do a follow-up interview. I’ll look into it.
Tim
Andrew:
Your point about addicts, suicidals, etc. is spot on. I know. I was one of them. Entire years of my life are blank for me, thanks to an addiction that took me places I never wanted to be. Yet here I am, a successful, happy individual. I have a wonderful career and a life I love — but it took a hell of a long time to crawl back up from the bottom of the barrel, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it unless I had support. Having people tear you down is never helpful; although people often make arguments that “tough love” works wonders, there is a distinct difference between tough love and kicking someone when they’re down (which is, sadly, what has been going on a lot in this thread.)
People grow. People change. And even when they’ve been “losers” for most of their lives, they can turn things around. But it’s not something you can accomplish overnight, and it’s not the kind of situation where you wake up one morning and say to yourself, “That’s it, I’m going to change!” and *poof* — suddenly you know exactly what you’re going to do and how you’re going to accomplish it.
I agree with you, in short — people shouldn’t be so quick to write anyone off. But it’s all too easy to look at someone else and point out all of their shortcomings. It’s not so easy to look at your own. And I think that this is where James should be applauded. He had the guts to talk about his failures, and all a lot of people can seem to do is shit on him for it. I wonder if anyone else here would be willing to admit their failures, let alone laugh about them.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m with Liz on this one, folks.
People like James just need to man up and quit being scuzzy. Get yourself a GED, enroll in a community college, burn more CDs for random strangers like Tim. Take my little sister’s Schwinn and the money we’re offering and get yourself a paper route or something.
People CAN grow and change into respectable human beings, like liz did, and I’m sure James can someday be something more than a total loser. Go James, go!!
No, Andrew. I have a lot of faith in certain people to change and grow. People who have a sense of right and wrong and are essentially good people. People who are just trying to game the system like James, I think, are only interested in manipulating other people to think they’re good people but have no real interest in actually doing things to effect real change.
The more comments I read on this thread, the more I wonder if anyone listened to the same podcast I did. “Game the system”, Erica? What exactly is that supposed to mean, and where are you getting this idea? I guess I just don’t see where you’re drawing that inference from, and I’d like to know where you’re coming from with this.
I think maybe she’s getting confused with another podcast, Liz. Easy mistake to make.
Well, that’s an explanation for some of the comments that have been made here, Andrew. Honestly, some of the inferences being made in this thread make me wonder if Erica’s the only one who’s confused.
I think shoplifting when pretending to be shopping is gaming the system. I think living at home when you’re James’ age and not working is gaming the the system, too. From the interview I think it’s pretty obvious he’s a sleazy guy and there’s certainly no confusion about that.
OK. The big question.
Can James turn things around after experiencing such highs and lows?
Can he turn things around?
And how do we define “turning things around”?
Happiness?
Money?
Love?
Any thoughts?
Erica:
I’ve done all of the things you describe as “gaming the system”. Took me six years to get back on my feet and for most of that time, no, I did not have a job, and I lived at home. Luckily the people who believed in me outnumbered the people like you, and I was able to get back to where I needed to be.
Tim:
Yes. I think James can turn things around. I’m curious….did James, in fact, have a job at the time you interviewed him? I just know that some of the comments here have dealt with the idea that he was some unemployed bum mooching off of his mother, and it just occurred to me that none of us even know whether he had a job or not.
To get back to the point: yes, I do think James can turn things around. But I think that I might define “turning things around” a little differently than some people on this thread; unlike Jamie, Tim, and Darren with their “fund”, I don’t think that money is the problem here. Yes, I suppose having money might fix *some* things, but — well, frankly, if James’ story teaches us anything, it’s that money isn’t the most important thing in the world. In short — having money does not make you happy, or successful.
Turning things around, for me, means being happy with your own life, regardless of what others may think. It means finding something in life that you love to do; when you find something like that, it doesn’t matter how much money you make. I think that the upshot of this story is that when you’re doing a job you don’t really enjoy, money is the *least* important issue. Happiness is what it all comes down to. Happiness and knowing that what you’re doing is fulfilling for *you*.
I sincerely hope that James is able to find his own happiness, no matter what that may be.
Liz, happiness is about finding the right job? That’s way too depressing. I think money’s pretty important in order to do fun things like traveling or going out to restaurants or whatever - never mind mortgage payments, bills, car payments, the kid’s clothes and groceries. While money obviously doesn’t bring happiness it’s a pretty miserable existence without it - and I know because I’ve been there. Now, I may not know what happiness is any more than the next person but I can say that it makes me happy when I do good things for the people in my life or when I accomplish something significant - like getting the kids off to school without one of them having a temper tantrum.
I think the follow-up question to Tim’s original question is, assuming James does turn things around, how long will he stay “turned around” before he falls apart and starts acting horribly again? A week? A month? A year maybe? I hope he does figure out how to pull things together but then again I won’t be holding my breath.
Erica: I did not say that happiness is about finding the right job, actually. I said that, for me, it was having a life that satisfies you. For some people, that may involve finding the right job, yes. Since not all of us are lucky enough to be independently wealthy, a good job is usually rather essential in doing things like, oh, I don’t know — surviving.
As for you “holding your breath”, no, I don’t suggest you do that — because I have the feeling that your idea of “pulling things together” is so lofty that no one would ever be able to attain that goal, at least to your satisfaction.
I see by your latest comment that you have children. If, God forbid, one of your children grows up to have a tough time of it and ends up in a similar situation to James’, I wonder if you’ll be as hard on them as you’re being now.
Liz, you talk out of all sides of your mouth. On one hand someone like James is perfectly fine and worth rooting for as he is while he’s out shoplifting and then at the same time you say that having a good job is essential for —survival. Well, which is it? Should he be working or is he totally fine, in Darren’s parlance, cadging off his mom and stealing from grocery stores? As far as my idea of “pulling things together” goes I don’t think youhave even the first clue as far as what this means. What I mean by pulling things together is simply not acting like a complete skankbag, like a James, and taking responsibility for the person you present to the world. Perhaps this is too lofty for anyone to attain and perhaps it is just basic.
Wow!
You two are mixing it up.
I’m about four margaritas and a glass of Pinot Grigio in but I’m going to call you out Erica. I think that you think James is a dirt bag right now. I think Liz wouldn’t like that label but it’s hard to argue with some of the behavior that he detailed.
BUT
I do not believe that you think he is hopeless.
BUT
It seems that the big point for you is whether it will stick.
My mother talks about “character” a lot. Maybe this is what you’re saying about him. That you doubt he has the character to persevere.
The truth is, none of us know. Time will tell and hopefully I’ll be able to sit down with him again.
BUT
I think my story about how James and I met is indicative of his character. He had nothing to gain in being so friendly to me. He didn’t know that I had this amazing podcast. Kidding!
Tim
Okay, Erica, I concede. Yes, I do think that a job is, in some manner, a big part of having a ‘good life’, at least in financial terms.
Having said that, I know what it’s like to go without a job for an extended period of time, and not for a ‘good’ reason, either. I was unemployed for a hell of a long time because I was too goddamn strung out to work at anything. Even after I had cleaned myself up, it still took a hell of a long time for me to get up the courage to go looking for a job, because my self-worth was in the toilet. I didn’t really think I was good enough to do anything. I wonder (because of the failures that James has experienced) if he feels the same way, you know?
In any case, obviously you feel strongly about this, as do I. I think we can agree to disagree, because as a wise man once said — I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.
For the record, I’m willing to give James the benefit of the doubt simply because I don’t know his character enough to say anything otherwise.
Tim, I agree with your take on how I see things. Maybe he was hitting on you at the diner? After all you’re not so hard on the eyes.
Liz, thanks for the concession and am sorry you had that kind of battle with heroin. I think it says a lot about your character that you’re still with us and fighting for what you believe in. Maybe Jams does feel the same way as you did but who really knows how he feels about this stuff. The way I heard it was that he’s just laughing at everybody that gets up and does an honest day’s work each and everyday. To me that’s just disgusting and, in Tim’s words, qualifies him as a complete dirtbag. And yes, we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.
Erica:
I honestly did not hear what you heard….I don’t recall getting the feeling that James was “laughing at everybody who gets up and does an honest day’s work”, so I’m not really sure where you’re getting that. What I heard was a guy who fucked up, who admitted he fucked up (for whatever reason) and was telling his story. I didn’t get the feeling that he was trying to say, “Oh, look at me, I’m so awesome and everyone else is a sucker!”
But again, I’ve been in low places, so I may have an insight into this that not everyone has.
Liz, James sounded to me like a born fuck up. It would have helped if he’d at least been funny but I can’t even say I laughed at any of his stories. At least Tim, Jamie and Darren thought his skeaziness was humorous but I can’t even say that.
Well, Erica, to each his or her own, I suppose. I think you are reading things into the podcast that weren’t there, but perhaps you’ve had your own experiences that are colouring your impressions. I have to say I still do not see exactly where you are coming up with this impression of “skeaziness”, but I suppose you have your reasons.
liz, i think erica has already detailed a couple of times a lot of the ways that james is a skeazebag. i also just have to say that it is a very concrete vote of confidence in a person’s character by having an ex-heroin addict, such as you are, as the only real defender of one’s worthiness…
Tim, Mr Coyne himself has defended James several times here and said that the guy isn’t worthless. Not only is TC the only person here who’s actually MET James, he’s also the guy who runs the site. If you hold HIS opinion in such low esteem then why are you even posting here?
Furthermore, I’ve defended James too, and I’ve never touched class A drugs. And it’s also pretty sad that you ‘just have to say’ that the opinion of a recovering drug addict is worthless.
Wow, Tim. Thanks for reaffirming my thought that you can’t defend your opinion without putting someone else down. It’s great to know that, apparently, as a former drug user, my opinion is worthless. You’re…a piece of work. Congratulations.
Additionally (and this speaks to the issue of inferring things where they aren’t there, actually): at what point did I say that the drug I was addicted to was heroin?….Both you and Erica seem to have read things into my experience that weren’t there. (The drug was not heroin, by the way, so I’d also like to congratulate you on your reading comprehension.)
I, like Andrew, question why you’re even bothering to post here, if you’re so bent on insulting an opinion that is held by more than one person here. As Andrew has said, Tim C. has actually met James, and apparently does not see him as the “skeazy loser” that you and others think he is. So why is it that I’m the only one you’re shitting on, here, Tim, huh? Is it because you lump me into the “loser” category as well, because of my past, therefore making me an easier target?
If that is the case, then I assure you that your insults lose most of their veracity. Not that they had much to begin with….
liz - heroin, crack, meth - whatever. same difference. anyway, andrew, no one’s saying james (or liz’s opinions) are worthless. if i can speak for the others for a second, i think we’re just saying they’re not worth too much. james could certainly get a job someday - whether it’s fry guy at bk or used car salesman and then actually contribute something to the world and liz may actually start make some decent points beyond her bleeding heart twaddle.
“Same difference” — no, actually, there is a difference, Tim, but I wouldn’t expect you to know it.
As for my “bleeding heart” twaddle, believe me when I say I’d rather have my “twaddle” than your insults, callousness and total lack of ability to defend opinions in any way besides tearing down others.
I’m trying really hard here not to fall into your trap of insults here, but you’re making it pretty difficult.
Is it irony that the second place Hollywood Podcast logo was a heart bleeding into the shape of a microphone?
I guess I am a supporter of “bitches” and “bleeding hearts”.
Yo Tim. You do seem to be coming at this with a lot of judgment.
My objection all along is the lebelling of James as a “sleaze bag” or “dirt bag”. It’s just too easy. But I suppose if you had described him in some middle of the road term then this comment thread wouldn’t be so polarizing.
I am hoping this all ends with a cyber hug though.
Tim: “andrew, no one’s saying james (or liz’s opinions) are worthless”
Yes, YOU were saying that. You said:
“an ex-heroin addict, such as you are, as the only real defender of one’s worthiness…”
Now, given that both TC and I were also defending James, and you are claiming it was just Liz, that means you are completely discounting what we said. Now you’re saying that YOUR opinion on someone you’ve never met has more value than that of an acquaintance of that person. Anyway, weren’t YOU the person who posted this a while back:
“i’m actually a big fan of james and am rooting for him like the rest of us. go james!!!”
You’re a troll. I’m guessing there’s bad stuff going on in your own life. You know what I’m talking about.
I can’t believe the judgements you people are making on someone who you have heard less than 2 hours of an audio interview with and had no personal contact or communication with. We’re talking about a complex human being here, not a piece of machinery.
Can he change? Look at the metamorphosis we have all made since we were born. Coming to such conclusions on anyone is ridiculous, let alone someone who was sucked into the Hollywood machine and was candid enough to talk about his experiences on a podcast by some guy who he befriended.
Congratulations Tim, clearly an incredibly good interview based on this polarizing discussion alone. Too bad some people are so narrow-minded or quick to jump to idiotic conclusions due to the liberties an internet message board affords them.
Well, I’d like to offer congratulations to both of you, Andrew & Jesus, for finally seeming to have accomplished the rather lofty goal of putting the kibosh on Tim’s rantings. Way to go, both of you
Cheers! We aim to please. It’s been bumped down a page now by the newest podcast, so I’m guessing trafic on this thread will quieten. Now, scuse me while I listen to the Flags of Iwo Jima Extras podcast.
you guys are too funny. my rantings?!? that’s strange. i thought that’s exactly what you were doing all along liz.
tim, if i’ve been overly judgmental then i deeply apologize.
andrew, you’re creepiness from the last post is … well … creepy and weird. and i didn’t see tim or you actually doing much defending of james up above. in fact i think tim was the one who brought up the terms “douche bag†and “dirt bag†as more appropriate terms for james. i don’t disagree with him on this front and hope he does do a follow-up interview with james to see which term he himself would prefer that more accurately describe his actions in the past. perhaps tim’s two terms are actually less polarizing ones that we can all agree on?
jesus, you’re saying what? that james is somehow still in his development phase of evolving into a person? i thought we guys peaked at 18 and that it’s all downhill from there. for james peaking meant getting thrown out of school and then moving into his parent’s basement. that’s quite a peak. sorry but your point about james being full of hope and promise falls on deaf ears over here. now, let’s be realistic for a moment and strategize about james’ future.
you guys really are way too much and i’m still trying to figure out why you don’t think it’s as funny as the rest of us who have posted in the past do and offer some solutions instead of trying to suppress people’s opinions.
I have another soluton. How about a lemonade st
oops…premature posting going on over here… The idea was what if we all pitched in a couple of bucks to help james put up a lemonade stand?
Hello.
Tim. I think most people found his situation humorous, sad, funny, etc.; I just think a couple of you seem to be coming a little too hard core at the guy.
I think it’s that simple.
By the way, Gladwell’s book THE TIPPING POINT has some interesting points about “character”. Long story shot - character is mostly defined by context not some core state of being that is unchanging.
In other words, who know how any of us would have reacted in similar situation: sudden wealth, fame, etc.
Tim, how about you learn to use punctuation and capitals in your posts. Then people might be bothered to read them. Or perhaps not.
No wonder you found my post creepy. You knew I was right, which must have been harsh for you.
Men may reach their physical peak around 18, but mentally teenagers’ brains are still pretty undeveloped, according to recent ideas. This explains why they are the best people to send into wars - they’ll obey orders without considering the risks.
Ask any 30-year old if they’re more mentally developed now then 10 years before. They’ll admit to a physical slack-off, but most reckon they’ve learned from their years of mistakes too.
tim, i agree with you and thought his situation was both sad and funny. sad in how it’s turned out so far and funny thinking about where he goes from here and what his real prospects are. been meaning to read gladwell’s the tipping point and thanks for the reference. it’s an interesting concept of how character is defined and certainly worth thinking about some more. i think we can probably all agree now that james’ character as displayed on the podcast is that of a dirt bag or douche bag and whether he’ll always be like that has really been such an incredibly fun speculation to engage in - outside of liz’s crazed rantings. if we have been too hard core, tim, apologies all around.
andrew, no. i meant creepy, like weird stalker creepy, not creepy like you were anywhere near target. in erica’s parlance to liz, i don’t think you have the first clue about my life but thanks for playing anyway.
How curious Erica: it was Tim who talked about creepy, not you. And my reply was clearly to him too. I just did a search for ‘creepy’ and you’ve not used the word once before. And you refer to Erica in the third person too.
So… are you actually Tim? Or has the website screwed up your posts somehow?
Can I take a wild stab in the dark and guess that you’ve been posting under two names to make it look like more than one person holds your opinion. It would explain why both of you write in the same ‘no caps’ format, and why you’ll say preface your remarks with phrases like ‘as Erica has already pointed out’.
So, posing online as both genders… and you said that I was creepy.
in the interest of full disclosure, i’m erica’s sister’s husband and i’m using her computer to post. the computer automatically fills in the name for us. we’ve all been discussing the whole james controversy for the last few weeks seem to be pretty much in agreement about it so we’re more or less interchangeable as far how we stand from here on out. sorry to cause you any confusion andrew.
-tim
Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that.
so, andrew. which term do you prefer? dirt bag or douche bag? i think the hypothetical idea of him pouring coffee on the floor after having an intern get it for him would qualify him as a douche bag and, on the other hand, the shoplifting and leaving paths of destruction behind him would probably be more along the lines of dirt bag? so, maybe both terms work. thoughts?
and liz, in reading back over your posts i stand corrected and apologize for calling them rants and for putting down your opinions which are certainly as valid as my own. i was out of line.
i also second what erica said above: “I think it says a lot about your character that you’re still with us and fighting for what you believe in.”
Tim:
Considering what has been revealed in your last few posts here, I’m starting to think you suffer from some kind of dissociative identity disorder. Either that, or you’re just a complete bullshitter.
(Also, FYI: it is completely possible to change the name you post under here. If you’ll notice, directly under “Leave a Reply”, it says, “Welcome back ____” (Change). If you click on “Change”, you are able to fill in your own details. So if you are, indeed, Erica’s “brother in law”, it would have been perfectly easy to change your details every single time you posted) I commend you on trying to cover your tracks, but it was a piss-poor attempt nonetheless. Just admit that you made up two different identities (or HAVE two different identities), because at this point you’re busted and we all know the difference anyway.
I will agree with one thing you have said: Yes, you have been WAY out of line in regards to your comments to me. You have turned nearly every one of your comments into a personal attack against me, rather than using logic and intelligence to defend your opinions. YOU, my friend, were the one who appared to be doing the “ranting”, not me. And just for the record? Your apology is most definitely NOT accepted, because the only reason you are even bothering is because you know your little “double identity” ruse has been discovered and you’re trying to backpedal as furiously as you can. For God’s sake, I can practically hear it from here.
Also: How DARE you comment on my character so soon after saying (and I quote): ” i also just have to say that it is a very concrete vote of confidence in a person’s character by having an ex-heroin addict, such as you are, as the only real defender of one’s worthiness… ” You didn’t “have to say that” — you said it simply to be an asshole, and you succeeded admirably. So don’t you dare try to save yourself now by pretending that all of a sudden you’ve “seen the light” and have changed the error of your ways. That doesn’t fly with me, Tim (or Erica or whoever the hell you are.)
Why doesn’t someone else here land a pilot in less than a month after arriving in L.A., get dropped, and then tell us on the show how it goes for them after that whirlwind experience?
Andrew was correct, the human mind is not fully developed until much later in life, around age 18 or even later. That’s why there are so many smart college students who do stupid things like commit rape, binge drink, fake their own kidnapping, etc.
Well said, Jesus. Well said.