THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY CAREER/LIFE
Permit me to entertain you with the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my entire life.
And I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’ve said the wrong thing many times. I’ve slept with/married the wrong people more than once.
But this was worse.
This was worse than breaking up with Heidi Grotz when I was 14, which up until this point was the wrongest thing I’d ever done. Heidi, if you read this, text me.
No, the worst mistake I ever made was shooting SCENE H, pages 31 to 34 of The Harry Situation episode 3.
Why did I do it?
Because I thought it would shut them up. They were screaming about getting the product in there, about how product placement do great things for the show. They said the audience would love it.
I told them that there would be a backlash and the audience would hate them for doing it. I said that the audience was smart and would see right through it. I said that it would corrupt the integrity of the show.
But they made a lot of noise, and I gave in.
Because I believed that they’d see how terrible the scene was, kill the idea, and leave me the hell alone.
See, he’s totally unsexy, but then his hot roommates apply Bold It! Endurance Gel to his head, and suddenly they want to sleep with him. Seems logical. Unicorn.
I thought it was horrible. Horrible horrible horrible. Horrible. Horrible.
But oddly the test audiences loved it. They thought it was edgy and fun!
For me, this wasn’t just harmlessly placing Bold It in the background. The product was now woven into the core premise. And my characters were now sleeping with each other. I had planned to take three seasons to build up to this point. But sure, why not get there right away? I had corrupted the premise of the show and screwed myself into a corner.
See what I mean when I say it’s the worst mistake I’ve ever made?
And it continued to get better. And by better, I mean worser- or is it worserer? I don’t know. Ask the test group.
Library is closing. He didn’t need to use the word “bum”. Must go.
