Xixax Film Forum

Film Discussion => The Small Screen => Topic started by: Ravi on June 09, 2006, 12:42:41 AM

Title: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ravi on June 09, 2006, 12:42:41 AM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbo.com%2Fevents%2Fluckylouie%2Fimg%2Fimg%2Fbg.jpg&hash=99806e266887d5247cb355407c7d16943348bf3e)

Watch the first episode here (http://www.tv.com/lucky-louie/show/22532/summary.html) (requires name, ZIP code, and birthday)




MILD SPOILERS






The pilot is not a gimmicky family-sitcom-with-cursing show. It is honest and not sugarcoated about the anxieties of the characters. For example, Louis' dialogue on the park bench. How often have we heard dialogue on thinking about getting out of a marriage that wasn't completely jokey? I'm sure the idea of being with one person forever is something most people are ambivalent about at the beginning of a marriage.

It's nice for a change to see a neighbor that isn't wacky,and that the main characters live in an apartment. Even the Bundys lived in a house. Money troubles are an uncommon problem in sitcoms, but this episode is about that. I'm sure it will be an important part of future episodes as well.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pubrick on June 09, 2006, 02:35:06 AM
"Sorry, this video is limited to United States users only."

lucky ravi.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on June 09, 2006, 04:13:29 PM
Quote from: Pubrick on June 09, 2006, 02:35:06 AM
"Sorry, this video is limited to United States users only."

lucky ravi.

lucky nobody.

Whatever third party they use for name/zip validation is fucked.  Everyone's talking about how great this show it, but I still haven't seen it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ravi on June 09, 2006, 04:31:36 PM
It worked for me.  If you weren't able to see it and don't have HBO, one of the torrent sites should have it up soon after it airs.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on June 09, 2006, 04:33:40 PM
i think this guy's stand-up is amazing but the previews are surprisingly crappy. and i couldn't finish pootie tang. louieck.com is very worth looking at though.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on June 12, 2006, 08:56:41 AM
Allow me to be the first to say it: it's no Curb.

BUT it's pretty damn funny.  I was very skeptical after those ads despite the fact that I LOVE Pootie Tang but it's good.  It's such a dead-on parody of the 3-camera sitcom.  I don't think it's going to last but it will have a decent-sized cult following.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: MacGuffin on June 14, 2006, 10:30:40 PM
'Lucky' in name only, not in ratings
'Louie' draws only an average of 1.5 million viewers, making it one of the worst premieres for an HBO comedy.
By Scott Collins, Times Staff Writer

HBO hoped to reinvent the traditional network sitcom with "Lucky Louie," comic Louis C.K.'s show about a bickering, sexually frustrated young married couple that some have already described as "Everybody Loves Raymond" with curse words.

But viewers evidently found "Louie's" Sunday premiere a little too TV and not enough HBO, handing the network one of its worst comedy-series premieres. An average of 1.5 million viewers turned out for "Louie," according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. That's far below the June 1998 rollout of "Sex and the City" (3.7 million), the October 2000 debut of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (3.1 million) and even the July 2004 premiere of the showbiz satire "Entourage" (1.9 million), the results of which were considered disappointing at the time.
 
The rest of HBO's Sunday lineup fared little better. The western "Deadwood" returned for its third season with just 2.4 million viewers. And at 11 p.m., the debut of "Dane Cook's Tourgasm" — a video chronicle of the life of the brash stand-up comic and three pals that was generally savaged by critics — gathered just 1.1 million viewers.

Perhaps the only bright spot came from Sunday's Season 3 debut of "Entourage," which attracted 2.7 million viewers, up 69% from the second-season premiere last June. Still, that performance is far lower than the glory days of "Sex and the City."
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: cine on June 18, 2006, 09:26:26 PM
so it seems all ratings have been sucking with HBO lately..

the show was good though, i liked it. all sitcoms are usually all corny, tame and lame. oh, and unfunny. so this was refreshing. it'll probably just last a season though.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on June 19, 2006, 08:28:03 AM
Last night's episode was phenomenal.  It's not that the show was about sex but the way it portrayed and talked about sex was so honest.  Last night clinched it for me: if they had the same jokes done in a single-camera format, more people would realize how good it is.  But it's too vulgar (read: real) for the "Everybody Loves Raymond" set and looks too much like "Everybody Loves Raymond" for most other people to give it a shot.

Is there a "Save 'Lucky Louie'" petition site yet?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ravi on June 20, 2006, 04:24:38 PM
Quote from: becksparrow on June 19, 2006, 08:28:03 AMLast night's episode was phenomenal.  It's not that the show was about sex but the way it portrayed and talked about sex was so honest.

Most sitcoms keep sex at a distance, and when they do deal with it, the treatment is goofy and inconsequential, as if its embarassing to talk about it.  So they just make immature jokes, cue the laugh track, and move on.  The second episode of Lucky Louie shows sex as a part of a couple's relationship.

Jerry Minor's deadpan delivery is spot-on.  Its great that he and his wife are relatable people and not The Crazy Couple Across The Hall.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on June 20, 2006, 04:54:15 PM
I don't have HBO, unfortunately, but I caught this at my cousin's house last night, and it's worth adding a bit more to the praise pile, I think.  I especially liked the "I cut myself shaving and cum came out" line, and the last line was just right, as well.

Catch it before it's cancelled.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on June 20, 2006, 04:58:43 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on June 20, 2006, 04:54:15 PM
Catch it before it's cancelled.

Yesterday, Louis went on The View and before he came out, Barbara Walters decided to go on record saying that the show was offensive and vulgar.
Hopefully, this statement will get more to watch it.
Especially when Fonzie is on his side.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on June 21, 2006, 09:04:07 AM
Quote from: becksparrow on June 19, 2006, 08:28:03 AM
Last night's episode was phenomenal.  It's not that the show was about sex but the way it portrayed and talked about sex was so honest.  Last night clinched it for me: if they had the same jokes done in a single-camera format, more people would realize how good it is.  But it's too vulgar (read: real) for the "Everybody Loves Raymond" set and looks too much like "Everybody Loves Raymond" for most other people to give it a shot.

Is there a "Save 'Lucky Louie'" petition site yet?

i gotta admit. i love this show. watching people interact realistically in a sitcom format really shows how ridiculous most sitcoms are. it'll probably last a season and hopefully find a following on dvd
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on June 21, 2006, 07:28:57 PM
Louis C.K. on The View.

http://web.mac.com/snowpants1/iWeb/Lucky%20Louie/The%20View.html

or

steal it directly (http://web.mac.com/snowpants1/iWeb/Lucky%20Louie/The%20View_files/Louie%20View.mov) (QT mov, 18.7MB)

admin edit: option to save
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pedro on July 11, 2006, 01:11:21 AM
This has quickly become one of my favorite shows.  I love the timing.  This last episode is the best so far.I was also suprised to see that it was written by Dino Stamatopoulos of Mr. Show "fame".  Now that the characters have been well defined, the interactions of those characters are just getting better.

When Laura Kightlinger is screaming OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod and Mike is like "I dont want to die to the sound of that shit", yeah, that's a good moment.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: MacGuffin on September 18, 2006, 11:44:11 PM
HBO cancels 'Lucky Louie'

HBO's multi-camera comedy experiment is over, for now.

The pay cable network has opted not to renew its first multi-camera sitcom "Lucky Louie" for a second season.

The racy blue-collar family sitcom was created by and starred comedian Louis C.K.

"Louie is an incredible talent and a wonderful partner," said HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss. "We loved trying our first multi-camera show with him, and we look forward to other projects with Louie in the feature."
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on September 19, 2006, 02:22:36 AM
Tis a shame
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 19, 2006, 01:40:31 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on September 18, 2006, 11:44:11 PM
HBO cancels 'Lucky Louie'

HBO's multi-camera comedy experiment is over, for now.

The pay cable network has opted not to renew its first multi-camera sitcom "Lucky Louie" for a second season.

The racy blue-collar family sitcom was created by and starred comedian Louis C.K.

"Louie is an incredible talent and a wonderful partner," said HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss. "We loved trying our first multi-camera show with him, and we look forward to other projects with Louie in the feature."

Wait, is she talking about the character Louie?  Clearly they know how to spell Louis C.K.'s name because they wrote it earlier.
Was the reporter confused?  Did it just SOUND like she was saying Louie and not Louis?

By the way, this is retarded... HBO can bite me. 
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on September 19, 2006, 02:33:59 PM
You know, I was watching the pilot of that show The Class on CBS last night.  God awful show but it will be a hit, I'm sure.  I was also informed recently that Two and a Half Men is currently the number one sitcom on television.  Dane Cook is the hottest comedian in the country. 

Am I surprised that Lucky Louie is cancelled?  Not at all.   

Quote from: hackspaced on June 19, 2006, 08:28:03 AM
it's too vulgar (read: real) for the "Everybody Loves Raymond" set and looks too much like "Everybody Loves Raymond" for most other people to give it a shot.

That's the only explanation.  It was the heir apparent to The Honeymooners.  People laugh their asses off at Ralph Kramden saying "To the moon, Alice!" but they turn up their noses to "Sometimes I want to punch my wife in the face."  Same thing.

"Baby, you're the greatest," vs. "I'm gonna fuck your tits off?"  Same thing.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one here who liked the show.

HBO: The New FOX
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on September 19, 2006, 05:58:25 PM
dude, normally I love it when you break down comedy and rip the jokes apart, but you're way off on this one.  it's not that laugh-out-loud funny but it's very satisfying with its marginal optimism and has a very strong voice that goes way beyond cusswords.  Somehow the phony set was used in its favor, to get to the core of the blue collar, middle class lifestyle without the glitz of competent camerawork and editing.  it's a comedy not just because people say punchlines, but it makes the viewers feel pretty good at the end of the day.  I think the other reason it hasn't caught on is because not that many blue collar, grace under fire crowd watch HBO.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on September 19, 2006, 10:06:35 PM
OK, we get it.  You hate Ricky Gervais.

Sometimes the jokes were based around the profanity but it's a totally different thing from the bombardment of vulgarity that was The Aristocrats.  I can think of more jokes based around honest portrayals of everyday life than gags that were just R-rated versions of network sitcom gags.  The allure of the show for me was always the fact that they talked about real things that Raymond and King of Queens and even Seinfeld couldn't talk about.  The conversation with Louie and Walter in the first episode about how Louie's daughter needs to know the difference between black people and refrigerators?  I'll take that over 10 "mother's cunt" jokes.  Yes, I understand that the profanity can be jarring in a multi-camera studio sitcom setting but if that's what you thought the majority of it was, and that the majority of the humor came from potty mouth, you've got to watch it again. 

And I don't agree with Pete that it didn't catch on because the blue collar crowd doesn't watch HBO because I think the blue collar crowd would feel a little condescended to. 

This is why the show got cancelled.  Because everyone was so blindsided that characters on a show could say "fuck" in front of a live studio audience that they didn't realize that there was some really smart writing.  But if it was single camera, the show would have had a second season, no question.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: modage on September 19, 2006, 10:08:12 PM
yeah i was mostly put off by the multi-camera studio audience, cheap sets thing.  if they had just filmed it without all that, i/america might've given it more of a chance.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 19, 2006, 10:15:16 PM
Quote from: modage on September 19, 2006, 10:08:12 PM
yeah i was mostly put off by the multi-camera studio audience, cheap sets thing.  if they had just filmed it without all that, i/america might've given it more of a chance.

but that's the problem.. you/America has no tollerance for what you're not used to.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: modage on September 19, 2006, 10:22:24 PM
i just think that format is SO dead, i'm not interested at all in it. 
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 20, 2006, 12:11:25 AM
Quote from: modage on September 19, 2006, 10:22:24 PM
i just think that format is SO dead, i'm not interested at all in it. 

I hope you're kidding.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ravi on September 20, 2006, 12:39:24 AM
I understand where modage is coming from.  After Seinfeld I can't recall a three-camera sitcom I liked until Lucky Louie.  But there's nothing inherently bad about the format.  Its the writers who make bad sitcoms and the network execs who greenlight them that are to blame.  Oh, and the audiences who watch Two and a Half Men.  Fuck them too.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 01:19:00 AM
Quote from: RegularKarate on September 19, 2006, 10:15:16 PM
Quote from: modage on September 19, 2006, 10:08:12 PM
yeah i was mostly put off by the multi-camera studio audience, cheap sets thing.  if they had just filmed it without all that, i/america might've given it more of a chance.

but that's the problem.. you/America has no tollerance for what you're not used to.

I think the issue is that we've all lived with the three-camera sitcom for so long, and from that we've developed such a monolithic perception of "what a sitcom is", that when something like Lucky Louie, with its profanity and portrayals of realistic human problems, uses the format, it feels like it's parodying the format.  And to an extent it was, which is problematic for a show that does strive to be smart and realistic, because those two sensibilities don't exist comfortably side by side.  The concept was very meta, but the execution was utterly sincere.  Unfortunately, the former distracted from the latter too much for its own good.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: modage on September 20, 2006, 08:32:08 AM
exactly.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on September 20, 2006, 08:38:32 AM
Quote from: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 01:19:00 AM
The concept was very meta, but the execution was utterly sincere. Unfortunately, the former distracted from the latter too much for its own good.

I think the latter actually distracted from the former.  
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 20, 2006, 01:21:35 PM
Here's what Louis has to say about it...

QuoteLucky Louie has been cancelled by HBO

HBO decided not to pick up Lucky Louie for a second season. Here's all I have to say about this right now..

Lucky Louie IS NOT DEAD.

Lucky Louie is the best thing I ever did. It is a great show. People love it.

I will be fighting for the next weeks to keep it alive.

I thank HBO sincerely for giving me the first 13 episodes. I LOVED working with and being on HBO.

BUT...

It's just not in the cards that we go down like this. No way.

Funny shows don't go away.

If you weren't laughing, you were wrong.

More later.

LCK
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Chest Rockwell on September 20, 2006, 01:26:56 PM
Hope it works for him. The show was actually quite funny; it'd be a shame to see what could turn into a great show in a season or two be thrown out before it has a chance to make its mark. I'm surprised it didn't do better, considering it came on right after Entourage, which is apparently the big fucking thing of the summer now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on September 20, 2006, 02:05:29 PM
QuoteIf you weren't laughing, you were wrong.

This is true.

QuoteFunny shows don't go away.

This is not.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ on September 20, 2006, 05:18:01 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on September 18, 2006, 11:44:11 PM
"Louie is an incredible talent and a wonderful partner," said HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss. "We loved trying our first multi-camera show with him, and we look forward to other projects with Louie in the feature."

The syntax wouldn't really match up, but it did get my hopes up a little.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Chest Rockwell on September 20, 2006, 08:04:09 PM
Quote from: luckysparrow on September 20, 2006, 02:05:29 PM

QuoteFunny shows don't go away.

This is not.
Yea his view seems a little idealistic. Funny shows "go away" all the time, more than unfunny ones. Arrested Development, News Radio,  The Street, Home Movies, Futurama, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Dead Like Me, Mr Show, Freaks, etc etc, vs maybe a few good ones that are on per year (maybe).
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 08:08:36 PM
Quote from: Chest Rockwell on September 20, 2006, 08:04:09 PM
News Radio

Newsradio lasted like seven seasons.  It even kept going after Phil Hartman died and the whole thing went totally off the deep end (remember the "Titanic" episode?).

Otherwise, your point is well taken.

On a side note, whatever happened to the girl who played Andy Richter's love interest on ...Controls the Universe?  I would definitely enjoy seeing her on TV again.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: modage on September 20, 2006, 08:15:31 PM
i think she's on HUFF.  is this who you mean?  http://imdb.com/name/nm0108295/  or was somebody else his love interest?  it's been so long, i cant remember.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 08:34:10 PM
This one:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2FWEBJPG3.jpg&hash=4ddf31fa7f3228bbd4b22742f9fecf53e409da97)

As far as I can tell, she's vanished off the face of the earth.


EDIT: Here's a better picture.

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2Fice_mag_irene_malloy.jpg&hash=433fc0ec73fad34df781cf93012c3a50ea537a7b)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: modage on September 20, 2006, 08:44:29 PM
oooooooh yeah.  now i remember.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on September 20, 2006, 09:00:22 PM
Quote from: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 08:34:10 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2Fice_mag_irene_malloy.jpg&hash=433fc0ec73fad34df781cf93012c3a50ea537a7b)
I made sure to watch Grosse Pointe every week, in no small part due to her.

Still pictures do her no justice!  The moving image made me fall in love with her.  (sigh)  I also named a character after her in a screenplay I was writing at the time, since it was the hip thing to do then.

Quote from: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 08:08:36 PM

Newsradio lasted like seven seasons.  It even kept going after Phil Hartman died and the whole thing went totally off the deep end (remember the "Titanic" episode?).


#1.  Phil Hartman was in the Titanic episode, so I don't know what your point is.

#2.  I liked the Titanic episode.  I liked every single episode that Phil Hartman was in.  I don't remember much from after that (and I'm not talking about just the show!).
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 11:44:11 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on September 20, 2006, 09:00:22 PM
Quote from: polkablues on September 20, 2006, 08:08:36 PM

Newsradio lasted like seven seasons.  It even kept going after Phil Hartman died and the whole thing went totally off the deep end (remember the "Titanic" episode?).


#1.  Phil Hartman was in the Titanic episode, so I don't know what your point is.

#2.  I liked the Titanic episode.  I liked every single episode that Phil Hartman was in.  I don't remember much from after that (and I'm not talking about just the show!).

My only point was that Newsradio didn't really belong on the list of comedies that were cut short, since it was around forever, even after its main attraction was gone.  And for some reason I thought the Titanic thing came in the post-Hartman era, but I was mistaken.  Oops.  I liked Newsradio, though.  Make no mistake.

Quote from: matt35mm on September 20, 2006, 09:00:22 PM
I made sure to watch Grosse Pointe every week, in no small part due to her.

Hells, yeah.  Another funny show, chopped down in the prime of life.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Chest Rockwell on September 21, 2006, 07:08:02 AM
NewRadio's tragic history goes like this:
Quote from: WikipediaDespite critical acclaim and an extremely loyal fanbase, ratings for the show were inconsistent. NBC moved the show frequently, often to inhospitable timeslots, making it difficult to establish and maintain an audience. After stabilizing the show on Tuesday nights, ratings did well, only to plummet when the show was moved in the fall of 1996 in an attempt to establish a block of sitcoms on Wednesdays. The show spent the remainder of its life on the brink of cancellation.

NewsRadio was officially canceled in May 1998, after its fourth season, but the decision was reversed a day later, with an order of 22 episodes placed for Season Five. Tragically, just a few days later, focal cast member Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife. His absence would ultimately serve as the straw that broke the show's back. Staff and cast morale never fully recovered, and NBC left the series "on the bubble" until the day the final Season Five episode aired, months after production had wrapped.
For me, it counts. Even though it couldn't have really kept going anyway after PH died.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 26, 2006, 10:51:30 PM
Saw Louis CK tonight... he was really damned funny.. I can't help but wonder which of his bits would have turned into season two situations.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: RegularKarate on September 27, 2006, 01:22:32 PM
Sorry for the double post
Here is a mildly abbreviated statement from Louis,

Quote from: louisck
As most of you know, my show "Lucky Louie" has been cancelled by HBO.  My initial message to fans of the show was that we are "Cancelled but not dead".  I would like to revise that and re-issue the statement under the heading "Cancelled and certainly dead.  Please help."

... HBO is the only place where Lucky Louie can really exist.  Any other place would want a different show.  So I'm asking you to help pursuade them to put it back on the air.  If you want Lucky Louie to come back, please contact HBO and let them know it. 

I know most of you have jobs and don't have time for this kind of horse shit.  Others of you might not even like Lucky Louie.  And listen, the show wasn't perfect.  It's an experiment and it needed more time to become as good as it could be.  But I don't think I'm sucking my very own penis when I say that Lucky Louie was very funny and showed some serious potential to get even better.  We made a connection with people all over the country.

...As far as the ratings, we actually did very well, especially considering that HBO did not promote the show hardly at all.  I am not complaining about that by any means.  I was happy that they let it grow on it's own, because we got to show that our audience was growing based on the show's merits.   The fact is that our ratings increased steadily for several weeks in a row and our cumulitive ratings (tallying up all the times each episode aired during the week) were even higher than deadwood.  We certainly did better than most HBO series have in their first year and when "The Wire" went on the air this season, with much critical acclaim and an already existing core audience, they got about the same ammount of viewers as us.

So people were watching Lucky Louie.  More people every week. 

Why did they pull the plug?  I don't know.  I really don't.
Our show is very different from what they're used to.  It's a populist show, not a museam piece.  Just the way the show looks is a huge departure from what they've succeeded with in the past.  But it was working.  So I don't know.

Up  until the very end, I got very generous and kind support from everyone there.  That's one reason I want to go back.  I've never worked with any people that were so focused on the quality of a show.  They let Lucky Louie be what it was.  I'm extremely grateful to have gotten the opportunity that i did, to have the show on for twelve episodes.  amazing.  I am hesitant to ask for more on my own behalf.  But everywhere I go people tell me how much they love the show.  Couples come up to me on the street in every City in America (i'm on tour right now) to tell me that they watch Lucky Louie together and that it's the only thing they both laugh at. 

...So what can you do? 

well, someone, I don't know who, created a myspace page here...

http://www.myspace.com/saveluckylouie

There is also an online petition here...

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?louisck

you can also go to the hbo.com Lucky Louie message board here...

http://boards.hbo.com/category.jspa?categoryID=700000006

or just call HBO or write them and voice your opinion. 

You know, I kind of hesitated to say all this because I guess I didn't want to come off desperate.  But I don't care.  I love the show and everyone who worked on it.  I don't want any other job in television.

I feel Lucky Louie has a huge ammount of support out there.  All week I've been having to break the bad news to people that it's gone and they are so bummed, it breaks my heart.  The guy at airpot security at LAX, the guy in front of some hotel in Cleveland, three people tonight in Austin Texas.  Everywhere I go people love the show and they want it back.  People I don't even know started this petition and all this other stuff.  So fuck it.  I'm here and I'm asking.  Help save Lucky Louie if you feel like it.

thanks for your time.

LCK

http://www.louisck.com

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: grand theft sparrow on September 27, 2006, 01:49:45 PM
I'll sign a petition but if Arrested Development couldn't be saved, this has NO chance.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on September 27, 2006, 06:16:06 PM
Quote from: luckysparrow on September 27, 2006, 01:49:45 PM
I'll sign a petition but if Arrested Development couldn't be saved, this has NO chance.

On the other hand, I have to imagine this show is so much cheaper to produce than AD was.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Fernando on September 28, 2006, 03:08:15 PM
Ok I know I'm late to jump on the Lucky L. band wagon but I don't care, this show is great even though I've only watched two episodes, one when it actually aired but because my girlfriend hated it couldn't watch more, she found it too raw I guess.

It might be no curb but it's the best comedy since CYE no doubt; also been watching videos of this guy available in the usual places (youtube, his site, duh!) and he is hilarious, he was awesome on the tonight show.

I already signed the damn petition and everybody should too.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on September 28, 2006, 10:19:51 PM
Quote from: Fernando on September 28, 2006, 03:08:15 PM
she found it too raw I guess.

Can't get much rawer than...

WIFE: Come on, try to catch me!
LOUIE: No, I'm not gonna try to catch you!
WIFE: Okay, if you catch me, I'll suck your dick.
LOUIE:  What?  Psh, no, that's just--
(He lunges at her and they both run around the table several times, and he is unable to catch her.  He finally sits back down, panting, looking completely pathetic.)

WIFE: Oh Jesus, look at you!
LOUIE: Will you still... suck my dick?


... something like that.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: MacGuffin on March 17, 2007, 01:00:52 PM
Comedian gets 'Better'
C.K. cast alongside Lawrence
Source: Variety

Louis C.K., who co-wrote "I Think I Love My Wife" with Chris Rock, has been cast alongside Martin Lawrence in "The Better Man."

Lawrence plays a successful talkshow host who moves home to the South in the Universal comedy. C.K. will play Marty, his fast-talking producer.

Malcolm Lee is directing, and Scott Stuber and Mary Parent are producing via their U-based Stuber/Parent banner.

C.K. recently starred in the HBO skein "Lucky Louie." He also starred in one-hour comedy special "Louis C.K.: Shameless" for the feevee channel.

"The Better Man" is Lawrence's next pic following the currently onscreen "Wild Hogs."
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on March 17, 2007, 02:47:21 PM
was this posted already?

louis ck vs. bill donahue (http://youtube.com/watch?v=neDyIWRyiXQ&mode=related&search=)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on March 17, 2007, 03:16:22 PM
Hahah...

"You pooed on my show, you dink!"

Good stuff.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: hedwig on March 17, 2007, 03:34:12 PM
haha yeah i heard that a while ago. puts smith vs siegel to shame.

it's fun to see idiocy confronted and exposed.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: MacGuffin on August 07, 2009, 12:34:48 AM
FX likes Louis C.K.
Cable network shot pilot for third comedy series
Source: Variety

Hungry for a few more laughs, FX has quietly shot a comedy pilot starring stand-up star Louis C.K.

Tentatively titled "Louie," the half-hour is based on his life as a comedian and divorced father of two. Stories are told through a mix of standup routines and sketches (in which he acts opposite actors playing his kids, ex-wife and friends).

Project reps the third laffer in the works at the cabler, which has been aggressively looking at beefing up its comedy collection beyond vet "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

FX is set to elaborate on its comedy strategy on Friday during the net's portion of the TV Critics Assn. press tour.

Cabler has had trouble in the past finding the right comedy to pair with "Sunny"; most recently, "Testees" fell short. That may be why it's been so stealthy this time with its comedy crop.

FX has been developing and shooting laffer projects quietly for months now. "Louie" joins a slate that includes comedy "The League," the recently shot pilot about a group of guys in a fantasy football league, and the animated half-hour "Archer," which has already received an episodic order. FX has several more comedies in the works as well, but at the script stage.

FX plans to make a decision on both "The League" (from Jeff Schaffer and Jackie Marcus Schaffer) and the Louis C.K. project within the next 10 days. Insiders said there's a good chance both comedies will also be ordered to series.

It's a grassroots project for Louis, who not only wrote "Louie," but also cast it, directed it and even edited it, with the help of $250,000 in seed money from FX. Louis shot the low-budget project in New York.

"I said, wire me a quarter of a million dollars and I'll give you a DVD in a month, and amazingly, they did," Louis said. "Because it was only $250,000 they had the reasonable expectation that I wasn't going to disappear with the money. To them, it's a low-risk thing, and for me, I was able to try different stuff."

Louis' life situation as a recently divorced man still co-parenting with his ex-wife largely informs both his current standup routine and this new show. His experience as a fortysomething man back on the dating scene also plays a large role.

The pilot includes two stories: In one vignette, "Louie" must volunteer at his kids' school, and things go horribly wrong when he chaperones a field trip. In another bit, he goes on a terrible date.

"It's a unified stream of conciousness," he said of the show. "It all comes from me being a 41-year-old divorced comic trying to raise children, meet people and have sex."

Word of the FX pilot comes just a day after NBC confirmed that Louis would be joining the cast of "Parks and Recreation" this season for a multi-episode arc.

Comedian is playing a potential love interest for star Amy Poehler's character. It's a high time for Louis, who also just received an Emmy nomination for outstanding writing in the variety/music/comedy category, for the Showtime special "Louis C.K.: Chewed Up."

Louis previously starred in the HBO sitcom "Lucky Louie." He'll next appear in the Ricky Gervais feature "The Invention of Lying."

Meanwhile, on the drama side, FX recently picked up the series "Lawman," from exec producer Graham Yost. Meanwhile, production on the Shawn Ryan pilot "Terriers" starts next week, and Warren Leight recently joined another drama pilot, "Lights Out."

FX is expected to pick up at least one of those two, depending on the outcome.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on August 07, 2009, 03:14:05 PM
This is great news!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: cronopio 2 on June 30, 2010, 03:08:57 PM
Anyone else caught the premiere?  I laughed so hard. Looks like they're aiming for a mixture of curb, seinfeld and his own glorious bitterness. He seems extremely angry now, but that's good.
Highly recommended.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on June 30, 2010, 05:08:55 PM
This format works so much better for him than Lucky Louie. I read in an interview (either A/V Club or CHUD) that the structure of the show is inspired by Annie Hall, which seems like an apt comparison. I'm excited to see where he goes with it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on July 01, 2010, 01:01:15 AM
Loved that poker scene. I could've watched that for hours.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on July 01, 2010, 10:59:26 AM
poker scene was good until the gay guy gave louie permission to say faggot then it felt like the whole scene was just to set up to show that louie had gay friends who didn't mind him saying faggot.

loved the show nevetheless.  the bad news is, tickets to see him live will be much more expensive and sell out much more quickly.  and he'll probably get heckled by a lot more drunk people now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on July 01, 2010, 10:21:49 PM
i don't think he gave him permission to say faggot at all.  i believe the words were "it doesn't offend me because i know you don't mean it", which is exactly right. Nick Depaulo (who i wanted to punch in the face that entire scene) clearly did mean it, making his use of the word offensive.

When Louis C.K. uses offensive language in his acts, it's more of an exploration of the meaning of the word itself. He's the only comic i know who can get away with saying "faggot cunt nigger deer" in the middle of his act and not offend anyone. It's all about his context and approach. I think that's what his gay friend was referring to when he said "i know you don't mean it".
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on July 01, 2010, 10:46:36 PM
that's the thing.  his materials are so good I find lines like that (where the gay friend says he's not offended) to be extraneous.  it's his equivalent of explaining the joke.  he makes plenty of really foul jokes on opie and anthony where they have actual discussions as comedians, and those are actual explorations unpolished, so to contrast those ramblings with that opening scene makes those lines especially blatant.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on July 02, 2010, 03:44:30 AM
holy fucking shit this is the funniest and best show on tv right now.

i really really hope louie can keep it up.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: cronopio 2 on July 02, 2010, 12:07:53 PM
i hadn't seen the second episode (got confused when everyone started mentioning the poker scene and i had no idea what you were talking about. i thought you were still talking about lucky louie and that made me feel sad)   but now that i've seen the first two episodes i'm even more excited about what this could end up being. i love the ethereal tone of the show. it's too early to say but i think this is going to end up being better than curb in terms of american comedy. the best current shows are 'peep show' and 'the thick of it' ,  i think.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on July 02, 2010, 12:58:25 PM
Quote from: squints on July 02, 2010, 03:44:30 AM
holy fucking shit this is the funniest and best show on tv right now.

i really really hope louie can keep it up.

wrote this drunk last night. woke up today watched episode 2. while still funny, episode 1 was better. Really can't wait til the next one.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: samsong on July 08, 2010, 11:15:27 AM
the pilot's golden (best awkward date ever).  also loved the poker scene in the second episode, mostly the stuff before the faggot discussion.  "does your mom really do that?" "i don't know, i don't talk to her every day."  hahaha.  and while the lecture on the origins of the word and its negative connotations was heavy handed, the pay off was pretty lovely: that spotted-from-a-mile-away punchline, the kiss on the cheek, the laughter and the sense of camaraderie.

anyone else catch the third episode?  lays the pathos a little thick but still engaging.  like cron pointed out, there's an ethereal quality to the show that, when paired with louis ck's vulgarity, cynicism, and comedy-as-therapy approach, makes for great tv.  ricky gervais is the ham of hams but has a good time and thus is enjoyable to watch.   "i guess this is where the letter c comes for her dialysis" had me fucking rolling. 

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: jerome on September 09, 2010, 04:40:25 PM
that's it, i fucking love this show. i saw the finale yesterday and it was the perfect ending to a near-perfect first season. louie didn't turn out the way i expected in that it's not an all-out comedy, but more of a hybrid show about everything, with spot-on observations and surprising depth in every episode. and it looks good too. i'm really psyched it got picked up for a second season.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on September 10, 2010, 04:30:04 AM
holy fuckin christ episode 11? what the hell? where did that come from?
tom noonan giving this crazy beautiful monologue?

Amy Landecker, who i've never heard of, giving an insanely great performance as louie's mom. Wow. this is great.

i did not expect that from louie...holy shit...this show has officially blown my mind.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 24, 2011, 12:39:19 PM
new season not so good
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ on June 24, 2011, 12:55:50 PM
It's no Pootie Tang.  But at least it's not I Think I Love My Wife.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 24, 2011, 01:01:10 PM
well it's still better than most tv shows, but now it feels like more of a sitcom. the chat with the sister was unbearable.
he has a writing staff now too, that's trouble.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: john on June 24, 2011, 01:34:59 PM
Quote from: pete on June 24, 2011, 01:01:10 PM
well it's still better than most tv shows, but now it feels like more of a sitcom. the chat with the sister was unbearable.
he has a writing staff now too, that's trouble.
Yeah, wholly disappointing. Especially the fact that the entire episode pretty much leads up to a fart gag. A gag that's almost redeemed by how long they hold on the disappointment and embarrassment of everyone as they file out of the room.

It's an unexceptional episode, but there were some unexceptional moments in last season, too.  That's kind of the great/frustrating thing about this show... every episode has a different feel and a different intention. Sometimes it'll align with what I want from it... sometimes not.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 72teeth on June 24, 2011, 01:41:49 PM
season premieres almost always suck
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pozer on June 24, 2011, 02:21:05 PM
this entire show almost always sucks. though i'm one of the very few HERE that sees zero brilliance in it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 24, 2011, 02:54:51 PM
I loved the tangents he went on in his previous shows. The pot smoking episode was amazing in his depiction of a 20-30something pothead, his reduction of young kids in a cafe was so deadon that they were speaking gibberish. I just didn't get the point of having good neighbors or having his girl learn a lesson about the world being unfair.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on June 27, 2011, 07:13:46 PM
loved the middle finger opening. Such a simple heartbreaking scene that only Louis CK could add a punchline to.

The sister conversation was awkwardly edited, but I loved her character. I kept waiting for something to go wrong with the neighbors but I suppose that's what his misdirection was. When the show cuts away to the standup bits sometimes I wish it would keep going. His standup is so strong.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ravi on June 29, 2011, 12:12:39 AM
Quote from: pete on June 24, 2011, 02:54:51 PM
I loved the tangents he went on in his previous shows. The pot smoking episode was amazing in his depiction of a 20-30something pothead, his reduction of young kids in a cafe was so deadon that they were speaking gibberish. I just didn't get the point of having good neighbors or having his girl learn a lesson about the world being unfair.

I think that scene was related to the first minute of this bit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Z_ZducwbQ) from his Shameless special.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 29, 2011, 04:41:07 AM
he's done a few bits all related to starbucks and coffeeshop and gibberish. in hilarious he talked about the current generation of kids who don't make any effort when talking and every word sounds like it just fell out of their mouths.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on July 01, 2011, 01:15:24 PM
2nd episode much more like the first season
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: john on July 01, 2011, 01:52:13 PM
Yeah, I was actually just logging in to express my pleasure at last night's episode. Particularly the first half. CK's direction is getting pretty assured and (even though we're only talking about 15 minutes) he's not afraid to take his time establishing a particular mood. The punchline for the first half was pretty terrific.

It really comes down to whatever mood a particular episode is, I guess. Last night's mood was just right.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on July 01, 2011, 02:25:10 PM
also it's about how much he beats himself up.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: cronopio 2 on July 08, 2011, 07:34:57 PM
what a kick ass episode. this show keeps doing shit no one has done before on television. i'm going through some stuff about moving, so it really felt good to see a story like that.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on July 09, 2011, 03:31:24 AM
i died at the end of the accountant scene.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: JG on July 22, 2011, 08:56:23 AM
Really really like this show.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on July 22, 2011, 10:24:09 AM
That Tom Sawyer bit at the end killed me. "He's carrying a dead cat, this is not a good sign..."
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on August 05, 2011, 01:37:26 AM
How Louis C.K. Is Reinventing The Sitcom By Being More Like Donald Duck


If Louie were any other half-hour comedy, tonight's episode would be an important one, following as it does our hero's heartfelt confession of love for acerbic single-mom pal Pamela and her easily-missed and oh-so-fleeting offer to do something about it last week. That would make tonight the night when we really got to see Louie's sadsackery in full bloom after making himself vulnerable and blowing his chance.

That's if Louie were any other half-hour comedy. But it's not. There are a lot of reasons for that, but one seems to be at the kernel of all the rest: Unless I've been mistaken, Louie is utterly indifferent to continuity.

To be honest, I've never assumed that anything that happens in one vignette has an impact on anything that happens in another. Characters flit in and out, sometimes to return at a later date, sometimes not. (So far, at least.) In any other show that has separately introduced the main character's brother and sister, we'd figure that we're getting a fuller picture of his family. On Louie, the only thing I can be sure of is that Louis C. K. figured that one story he wanted to tell needed a brother and one called for a sister. It's entirely possible that the two don't even occupy the same narrative.

C. K. is, in many ways, the preeminent short-story writer currently working in the television medium. As such, I don't ever expect all the episodes to be interconnected in the manner of a normal sitcom. So much so, in fact, that I had to go to IMDb.com to figure out if the same (great, GREAT) girls play his daughters every time, since I wouldn't put it past C. K. to cast them with whoever was available in any given week.

(Having said that, I'm delighted that he's stuck with the same kids, because Hadley Delany and Ursula Parker are awesomely childish and funny in a way that's quickly made these two specific actresses indispensable. And Parker's IMDb bio reads, in full, "She is a prodigious violinist." Not "avid." Not "classically trained." Not "talented." "Prodigious." What's not to love?)

Like Donald Duck, the character of Louie exists outside of continuity. When the story required that Donald Duck be a cowboy, he was a cowboy. If he needed to be an Arctic explorer, he'd be an Arctic explorer. The character was the same, and the relationships – with Scrooge, with Daisy, with Huey, Dewey and (funnily enough) Louie – were often still the same, if placed into different contexts. But the stories were self-contained, like sketches. There was no continuity as such.

At its best, that's the spirit that infuses Louie. C. K. is free to follow whatever train of thought that catches his fancy to its logical conclusion without concern for how he'll deal with it in the next episode. He can simply wipe the slate clean and start over with the same core elements: standup comedian, divorced father of two little girls, New Yorker.

After last week's episode, there were plenty of online comments expressing relief that Louie and Pamela didn't become an item, as that would ruin what makes their relationship (a finely tuned symphony of unrequited affection and absolutely requited bad attitude) so much fun to watch. But that, I believe, misses the point: Even if they had slept together – even if they had fallen madly in love and gotten married and grown old together – who's to say that it would have had an iota of impact on future episodes? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. For most shows, that would be a massive, buzzkilling narrative inconsistency. On Louie, it's freedom.

by Marc Hirsch, Npr.com
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ on August 05, 2011, 03:57:21 AM
A silly title that establishes nothing.  This is not reinventing the sitcom.  As far as I can tell, sitcoms make up fake characters all the time as vehicles to plots that exist solely in one episode.

Louie is great, but this article is not.  I don't see the connection between Louie and Donald Duck more than Louie and virtually any other serialized character in a world where new characters are added for the sake of one episode and possibly brought back if a situation harkens back a popular figure.  In fact, it doesn't get more traditional than that. 
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on August 05, 2011, 04:31:56 PM
louie isn't serialized, it's episodic. that's the point. there has been a push towards serialization in sitcoms. i'm having a tough time thinking of any sitcom that has the same kind of history/continuity as louie. childrens hospital comes close, but each episode is still one story, whereas even the structure of louie is totally unpredictable from week to week. one episode might be about one thing, or twenty minutes of one thing and five minutes of something else which might be completely unrelated. the article makes a solid point.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ on August 06, 2011, 01:46:23 AM
How is it not serialized?  Sometimes it picks up on its own split ends, sometimes it leaves them for later. I'll give it the fact that its structure and approach to comedy so dark it's almost drama, I love the show, but the comparison to Donald Duck is an attempt at looking hip, it is an unfounded and arbitrary comparison.  It's just a looser, almost sketch comedy approach to a situational comedy, but I don't see it reinventing the genre. 

My homework at this point is to rewatch Season 1 and catch back up on Season 2, homework I do not dread at all, and perhaps I'm wrong.  But it didn't strike me as wildly innovative, just incredibly well written, shot and acted.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on August 06, 2011, 11:12:05 AM
its tone varies wildly from skit to skit - sometimes people spoke gibberish, sometimes a character flies off in a helicopter, other times the stories are painfully lifelike, I think that's what people meant by a lack of continuity. he also used different girls to play his daughter and he lived in different apartments.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on August 06, 2011, 05:58:08 PM
yeah. i think you're being kind of paranoid about why that article was written. from your description alone, "so dark it's almost drama" it's a pretty innovative show, often subverting the most basic ideas of what a sitcom should be, eg. a platform for funny things with at least one funny thing happening every few moments. how many sitcoms have the guts to (intentionally) not be funny for ten minutes? the article justifies the comparison a bunch of times.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on August 17, 2011, 05:30:16 AM
Episode 9, season 2 is just absolutely incredible. Doug Stanhope is fantastic (didn't think i would ever say that). The whole thing felt like a Raymond Carver short story. Gripping TV with a lot of cum and fart jokes.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on August 20, 2011, 04:15:00 AM
trippy - a very young louis in the 80s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NhlvizRZoQ&feature=related
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on September 15, 2011, 02:39:29 AM
Louis Bombing in 1989 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHcTrRna9U8&feature=player_profilepage#t=322s)


did anyone watch the rest of the season? My vote for best show on tv for sure.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: O. on September 15, 2011, 03:05:48 AM
To put context on to his earlier stuff (there are a handful of videos of them online) you should watch this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R37zkizucPU&list=FLLvPJ5t22_Ym17gEtcjmsAA&index=6) on how George Carlin changed his act. He essentially says he spent 15 years with the same shitty material and then heard George Carlin on the radio talking about his writing process, yatta yatta yatta, watch it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on September 15, 2011, 04:56:50 AM
I did see that carlin video from the other day. I've been devouring anything Louis lately, just watched this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Ar57R8OvQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Ar57R8OvQ)


it was fucking awesome
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on November 06, 2011, 10:19:03 PM
His appearance on Conan (http://teamcoco.com/video/louis-ck-interview-george-w-bush) from a couple days ago. Dude's putting together a show that will be broadcast only online, through his personal website louisck.net (http://www.louisck.net), starting December 10 for $5.

Louis C. K. Plans Online Broadcast of Comedy Concert
via The New York Times

In an epic, farewell-to-New York broadcast of "Conan" Thursday night that featured guest appearances by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert; a rare visit from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog; and the host, Conan O'Brien, officiating a same-sex marriage, the standup Louis C. K. made some news of his own. He announced on the show that he is taping a comedy special that will be broadcast only on the Internet.

Louis C. K., the star and creator of the FX series "Louie," said in an interview with Mr. O'Brien that his upcoming concerts at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on Nov. 10 would be recorded and then posted in an edited version on his Web site, louisck.net, on Dec. 10 where it can be viewed for a cost of $5.

Asked in a phone interview on Friday morning why he was not bringing the special to a traditional cable television network, Louis C. K. said: "To me, I flip the question over: Why should I go through a cable network when I can just give it directly to the people who want to see it? It's so much easier, and it's an interesting experiment."

Louis C. K. has been featured in the standup specials "Shameless," which ran on HBO in 2007, and the Emmy Award-nominated "Chewed Up," which appeared on Showtime in 2008. His most recent standup show, "Hilarious," was presented at the Sundance Film Festival and picked up by the Epix cable channel, earning him two more Emmy nominations.

But in recent years, he said, the cable channels have become increasingly difficult and unnecessary platforms for him to present these kinds of shows.

"HBO used to be the thing," Louis C. K. said. "It used to be called an HBO special, even if you had a special on Showtime – people would call it your HBO special. But HBO gave up that. They don't do it anymore. I offered them 'Hilarious,' to broadcast, and they said, 'Well, we don't do any business with you. You don't have a show on HBO, so we don't have a reason to promote you that way.'"

Showtime, he said, "was really nice but they don't really push stuff, they just kind of stick it on." And Comedy Central is "a weird place – they show too many commercials and they cut all the cursing out."

The joy of presenting a standup special that eliminates any traditional broadcast partner, Louis C. K. said, was that this new show "will be available immediately, and universally." He added: "You don't have to have an iTunes account in good standing. You don't have to have your credit card at Netflix updated. You can be a loser and watch this thing. You can be in prison."

Using this strategy, he said, monolithic and intrusive media corporations don't have to be part of the equation, either.

"Everybody is outnumbered," Louis C. K. said, "because everything in your wallet represents all these contentious relationships with these huge companies. If you want to watch one of my specials on Netflix, they start marketing to you, and you start getting Jeff Dunham ads. You try to read an article about Rwanda and a pop-up comes up for Larry the Cable Guy. 'Hey, I heard you enjoyed Louie's special – now we know who you are.'"

He continued: "You can't put an old black-and-white TV set on your kitchen table and turn it on and watch something. You can't throw on a record and listen to music. You have to belong to something. The idea was, let's just make a thing where you stick your five dollars in a slot, and enjoy the show."

Source (http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/louis-c-k-plans-online-broadcast-of-comedy-concert/)


Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on December 10, 2011, 02:23:54 PM
The day has come, someone torrent this biotch.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on December 10, 2011, 03:30:04 PM
fuck that and spend the five bucks you pussy.

from louis site:

QuoteTo those who might wish to "torrent" this video: look, I don't really get the whole "torrent" thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without "corporate" restrictions.
Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.
Sincerely,
Louis C.K.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on December 10, 2011, 04:09:18 PM
hey man I'm sure my money will find its way to him somehow, he's the best. For now, I'm broke.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: O. on December 10, 2011, 06:13:31 PM
then wait until you scrounge up $5 measly dollars for an hour of good comedy. $5 bucks is nothing, it's a cheap sandwich at quiznos which eventually turns into diarrhea.

i bought it earlier, and watched it. had some great laughs, although i feel he needs to start varying his style and deliveries to something more fresh. it's beginning to feel a little lazy when more than a handful of jokes are on masturbation.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on December 13, 2011, 03:22:44 PM
Louie answers folks questions on Reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/n9tef/hi_im_louis_ck_and_this_is_a_thing/)

"I'm not an atheist. I think God is there and that he is watching and he made us. I just don't give a shit."
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on December 14, 2011, 01:49:43 AM
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/13/143581710/louis-c-k-reflects-on-louie-loss-love-and-life?sc=fb&cc=fp
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on December 14, 2011, 05:00:28 PM
Quit crying dude!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on December 14, 2011, 06:49:34 PM
Yeah, what a pussy. Another great comedian dead. Who cares?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on December 14, 2011, 07:30:38 PM
reelist you've been crashing all through this thread. I feel fat just typing this, that's how strongly I feel about your crashing so far.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on February 01, 2012, 10:41:23 PM
A post he made to moderated.alt.comedy.standup several years ago describing the pilot process. Edited a bit for readibility.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 23, 2006

Someone on the other crazy newsgroup asked me about pitching and selling a pilot. I gave a long-winded answer because I can't get any work done. What I wrote answers lots of questions I've gotten here before, so I'm re-posting it here for you folks who can't stomach the unmoderated group...

So here's a rough outline of how it works, taking a show from pitch to series...  

The first step is to meet with a development executive at the network or studio and pitch them the general idea of the show. Usually you do this with several companies over a week or so, sometime in July or August. Then the agent fields the offers from the interested people, and you weigh the offers and decide which network/studio to go with according to three criteria:  

•   Who really gets your show and will let you do it without fucking it up
•   Who is actually most likely to pick up the show
•   Who is paying you the most money (the worst reason to go with anyone)

If no one has made an offer, you just go fuck yourself. If you have sold your show to a studio, you now go on another round of pitch meetings with them in tow, to sell the show to a network. If you are able to sell to a network, then you start working, now for both entities. (In my case, I sold the show to HBO Independent Productions, which is making the show for HBO, which are a lot of the same people, so my life is easier.) Then the agent makes your deal and you start working.  

The first thing you have to do is come up with the general story line for the pilot, which you pitch to the executives, first studio, then network. Once the story is basically agreed to, you write an outline, which is just a blow by blow description of each scene in paragraph form, which should include all plot points and any funny details or jokes you already have. You then pass the outline in to the studio, which gives you notes. You take their notes and re-write it and if they are satisfied, you pass it in to the network. They now give notes which you re-write the outline with and then pass it in until the network and the studio are both happy.  

When that happens, it's time to write the pilot script, so you go off and take as long as you need to churn out a first draft. I think this took me a couple of months. Only about three days were spent actually writing. The other fifty-seven were spent driving myself nuts while ruminating about what the show is and how to do it. That's me. Some people write every day, just pounds and pounds of words. I do a lot of work in my head and then just shit it out like fast diarrhea.  

Okay, so you now have a first draft and you give it to the studio. They read it and then you get their notes.  The same thing happens now that happened for the outline only often it takes longer, unless you wrote a good outline. What I mean is that, if you really tackle to story and get it right in the outline, sometimes the script is a lot easier. In any case, you go back and forth between studio and network until everybody agrees that the script is in good shape, unless no one agrees or it is not in good shape. Generally, this is the first failure point for most pilots. The writer, studio and network bat the script around and it gets re-written to death, while other pilots are clicking along and improving. You will start to notice that the executives you're dealing with are showing less and less interest and often you'll just suddenly stop getting calls and your agent will say "Yeah... um... I think it's time to move on." BUT if your script is good, if it stays hot and people like it and you, it'll be declared finished and passed in to the network for consideration for pick up. In other words, the executives you've been dealing with at the network, who are development people, will now give it to the top executives: Les Moonves, Kevin Reilley, whoever. In my case: Carolyn Strauss and Chris Albrecht. They read it and sometimes they have notes. If they have big notes, like they think there are essential flaws in the script, you're sent off to re-write yet again and they read it a second time. Sometimes this is a good sign because if they just don't like it, the project will just die there. If they are giving you notes at this point it's because they think it's worth wasting a little time on it. So you do another rewrite and pass it in.  

Now it's time to break out in hives and hit your children for no reason, because you have to wait. Your script is now finished and on a very big and important desk with, depending on the network, LOTS of other scripts that have been through all the same shit. This point is usually reached, horribly enough, right before the holidays. The network presidents take a bunch of pilots home to read over the holidays, while you spend the holidays not knowing your future.  It's torture. And the Holidays, in Hollywood are a LONG FUCKING TIME. These people go away from about Halloween to New Year. So now you hate all of life and it's about the second week in January. People you know are starting to hear that their pilot has been picked up by the network you're with, and you haven't heard. You spend HOURS on the phone with your agent and friends, trying to read tea leaves that aren't there. You run into someone that tells you they just had anal sex with the network president who told them that he is definitely picking up your show. Then your agent calls and tells you they're passing. OR you get a call from your studio executive who tells you that, congratulations, they're going to shoot your pilot.  

Now it's time to actually make the pilot. Holy mother fucking shit. You have to do the following things as every pilot in the city is doing them simultaneously:

•   Find a studio to shoot in
•   Cast your pilot
•   Find a director
•   Get back to work on the script because now that it's being shot people have a LOT of notes that they held back before, when it was just a pipe dream

If you are a strong enough and experienced enough writer, you are the show runner. But if you wrote the pilot but are a novice, you are also going to have to find a show-runner. In my case, I needed to find a show-running partner because I starred in the show as well as creating it, so once we started shooting I would not be an effective full-time show-runner without some help. So you are trying to get the best actors, director and writer in the world at the same time that everyone else in town is trying...

Okay, so casting. First, you have to hire a casting director. There are only a few good ones and everybody wants them. You have to meet with a lot of people who tell you some ideas of who they might cast in your show. If you click with someone you hire them (if you can) and start casting. You see thousands of horrible actors and hear your pilot script read over and over and over and over again. At the same time, offers are going out to very big named actors, none of which you think fit the parts at all, but you are told they will help your show get on the air. (In my case, HBO doesn't give a shit about that, so we were able to cast people according to their funniness and acting. Hooray for me) At one point, you're told that your pilot is going to star Brendan Frazier and Jody Foster. At the last minute, they both pass and you end up with Kirk Cameron and Shelly Biglachnataps.

The way the casting works is that you make usually three top picks for every part in the show. You now take these people to the studio and they decide if they like your choices. If they do, you take those three folks now to network. They sign what is called a test deal, which means they make their acting deal before the network even sees them. So you have to negotiate a deal with three actors per part, even though only one of them will be hired. So the three actors (per part) go to the network and audition for Les Moonves or whoever. He/she/they pick one person and you are cast. OR (and usually) they don't like any of them, and you have to start all over again and now time is fucking running out and every good actor is already on a show.

Alright, so you cast your show and you hire a director, also very hard because there are maybe one of those that are good and he's working on something else. All of this hiring and setting up takes place over February and March. Some pilots spin out and crash because a good cast or show-runner was never found.  So that day in January, when you got the green light, goes from being the best to the worst day of your life.  But if you survive all of that, you shoot your pilot over some week in March or April (we shot ours in April) The pilot shoot week breaks down like this:  

Monday: Table read

The network and studio come and watch the actors read the script, then give the writers notes.  Sometimes the notes are staggering like "We don't know if the main point of the story is really that good or funny."  And you have to insanely re-invent everything. This is probably not going to be a television show now, just the worst week of your life. Sometimes cast members get fired after the table read, and you now have one day to cast a part that took you a month to cast before. But if the notes are minimal and everything looks like it's basically working, you do your re-write happily as the director rehearses with the actors.  

Tuesday: Run through

The show is acted out on the stage for the writers and the studio. The same thing happens as Monday: you get notes, then you give the director and the actors notes and go rewrite as they rehearse.  

Wednesday: Run through

Now the network comes and watches the show on its feet. They give notes and you rewrite and rehearse again.  

Thursday: the cameras are brought in and you block the show for them, as the director decides how to shoot each scene.  

The actors should all be pretty ready at this point and the script should be stabilized. If you are still rewriting and casting at this point...you're pretty fucked, but it happens.  

Friday: Bring in the audience and shoot the show.  

Some pilots take hours to shoot because no one has worked together, one or more actors are bad, and the network AND studio are giving notes after every single  take so you are doing every scene several times just to placate people. They give the audience pizza but they still leave and you end up shooting in an empty house for half the night. This didn't happen to me, fortunately. We shot the Lucky Louie pilot in about two and a half hours (actually we did it twice).

Okay, so now the show has been shot and people get drunk. Then you start editing, which is a long and difficult process. The director edits first, then the show-runners. You pass in your edit to the studio, get notes, and then the network. Then, when the pilot is totally edited, you wait. How you wait differs from place to place. I did a pilot at CBS and we had to wait while they tested the show. They do all kinds of screwy marketing experiments and they show the pilot to a test audience. You are given elaborate data according to the test and you often have to re-edit the pilot to address the testing data. (HBO doesn't test their shows, so I got to skip that this time).

Finally, someone takes pictures of the cast looking desperate as they all sit on the same easy chair, and the pilot is complete. It is put on the desk of the network president, along with elaborate reports and photos of the cast, along with every other pilot that made it that far. You wait and you wait. If it's a network, you wait until the "Upfronts" when they announce their schedule in New York. Some people are told the day of the announcement that they are or are not going to series. When I did the pilot at CBS, we were told we were in the running until the last second. Someone from Warner Brothers called me literally an hour before Les Moonves made his announcement, to say he wouldn't be mentioning "Saint Louie" although we were strong contenders for mid-season (obviously that didn't happen either). HBO doesn't do up-fronts and they don't do marketing research. It's just two people, Carolyn Strauss and Chris Ablrecht, who watch their pilots and then mull it over for a while and then decide. In our case, we were brought in about two weeks after we'd passed in the finished pilot, to meet with Albrecht and basically defend our thesis. We told him what we learned from doing the pilot and how we intended to execute a series if he gave us the chance.  We left that meeting having NO idea which way he would go. About a week after that, I was picking up my daughter from her daycare when my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was someone from HIP calling to say "HBO has ordered twelve episodes of Lucky Louie".

Now, you think making a pilot is hard, try doing it twelve times in six months.  

LCK  
http://www.louisck.com

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on March 21, 2012, 12:05:51 AM
The short films of Louis C.K. (http://splitsider.com/2012/03/the-short-films-of-louis-c-k)

good shit.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on July 20, 2012, 01:10:20 AM
how is it that all of you manage to miss this show every week just like me? GOD DAMNIT!

oh, I remember.. Tv watching has become obsolete. That's right...
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: AntiDumbFrogQuestion on July 28, 2012, 10:01:44 AM
if anybody watched this past week's episode, Parkey Posey stole the show.
I think she's portrayed the first Manic-DEPRESSIVE Pixie Dream Girl on film.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Just Withnail on August 07, 2012, 04:04:56 PM
This just gets better and better.


SPOILERS

The strippers crying to "Sister Christian" is one of my favorite cinematic moments of the year.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on September 13, 2012, 09:51:05 PM
JB would cream himself over tonights episode
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on September 13, 2012, 10:03:12 PM
Do tell.

I actually have to get around to starting this series.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: malkovich on September 13, 2012, 10:10:13 PM
THE CAMEOS. OH THE CAMEOS.

:bravo:

If for some god forsaken reason Louie wasn't already considered god-tier television programming, it sure as shit better be now. Holy fuck.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on September 14, 2012, 03:25:57 AM
as much as i enjoyed that extended cameo, and this ep had its moments, it reminded me a lot of the matthew broderick "acting" episode, which i think is by far the worst ep of the series. i don't find it funny when louie is unbelievably terrible at something. the idea that he had absolutely no innate sense of what hosting a talkshow should look or sound like rang false to me. i understand the idea of him not wanting to host a show or being in over his head, but there's no way he'd be that shitty at reading cards or introducing himself.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PM
I think it was more in response to Lynch giving him almost no direction at all. Louie just didn't know what he was asking him to do. I loved how the boxing match went the same way: "Come back tomorrow". 

I also think Louis sort of overplays the bumbling nature of his character in every episode. He's the straight man and the environments he inhabits are always exaggerated. For instance, the episode where he's in the electronics store and there was actually a different actor playing him on the security monitor when he was complaining about it not being him. For all the emotional honesty the show explores, it's still very much an absurdist comedy show, which is what makes the poignant moments so jarring.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: AntiDumbFrogQuestion on September 16, 2012, 07:19:53 AM
I love how Lynch had that ironic line stating that hosting a talk show was "no big mystery" or something like that.
Oh, Louie.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: picolas on September 16, 2012, 04:48:03 PM
Quote from: ddiggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PM
I think it was more in response to Lynch giving him almost no direction at all. Louie just didn't know what he was asking him to do.
but i knew what he was asking him to do. and i'm not a stand-up. generally people applying to be talk show hosts understand the fundamental idea of being a talk show host. i think the scenes would have been funnier if louie wasn't so idiotic. like if he'd actually tried but failed. i was much more sympathetic towards lynch's character than i was supposed to be because louie was so blatantly non-commital/incompetent.

Quote from: ddiggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PMI also think Louis sort of overplays the bumbling nature of his character in every episode. He's the straight man and the environments he inhabits are always exaggerated.
of course, but there's more to being a straight man than simply not committing to anything.

Quote from: ddiggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PMFor instance, the episode where he's in the electronics store and there was actually a different actor playing him on the security monitor when he was complaining about it not being him. For all the emotional honesty the show explores, it's still very much an absurdist comedy show, which is what makes the poignant moments so jarring.
yes. that's the fantastic mixture that makes louie such a groundbreaking/amazing show.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ©brad on September 19, 2012, 11:33:49 AM
Quote from: picolas on September 16, 2012, 04:48:03 PM
Quote from: ddiggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PM
I think it was more in response to Lynch giving him almost no direction at all. Louie just didn't know what he was asking him to do.
but i knew what he was asking him to do. and i'm not a stand-up. generally people applying to be talk show hosts understand the fundamental idea of being a talk show host. i think the scenes would have been funnier if louie wasn't so idiotic. like if he'd actually tried but failed. i was much more sympathetic towards lynch's character than i was supposed to be because louie was so blatantly non-commital/incompetent.

Quote from: ddiggler on September 14, 2012, 09:32:20 PMI also think Louis sort of overplays the bumbling nature of his character in every episode. He's the straight man and the environments he inhabits are always exaggerated.
of course, but there's more to being a straight man than simply not committing to anything.

I had the same issue pic, and not just with this episode. He seems particularly incompetent this season. The way he awkwardly fumbles his way through almost every scene now with that puppy dog frown, ugh. Is it meant to garner sympathy? I also don't love how every woman on this show is either a one-dimensional bitch or total nutcase or both.



Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on September 20, 2012, 06:40:47 PM
Quote from: ©brad on September 19, 2012, 11:33:49 AM

I had the same issue pic, and not just with this episode. He seems particularly incompetent this season. The way he awkwardly fumbles his way through almost every scene now with that puppy dog frown, ugh. Is it meant to garner sympathy? I also don't love how every woman on this show is either a one-dimensional bitch or total nutcase or both.

I don't really think Pamela Adlon's character falls into either of those categories. In fact, that same observation could be applied to most of the male characters as well.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ©brad on September 20, 2012, 11:16:32 PM
Quote from: ddiggler on September 20, 2012, 06:40:47 PM
Quote from: ©brad on September 19, 2012, 11:33:49 AM

I had the same issue pic, and not just with this episode. He seems particularly incompetent this season. The way he awkwardly fumbles his way through almost every scene now with that puppy dog frown, ugh. Is it meant to garner sympathy? I also don't love how every woman on this show is either a one-dimensional bitch or total nutcase or both.

I don't really think Pamela Adlon's character falls into either of those categories. In fact, that same observation could be applied to most of the male characters as well.

She doesn't. I'm speaking more of the women this season. It's not a big thing really. He's certainly not going full-on Sorkin with them. And you're right they're flawed like everyone in the show, and they definitely have every right to act crazy dealing with someone like Louie. We can move on.

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on February 28, 2013, 11:56:21 PM
HBO Sets Louis CK Special for April 13
via Deadline

Louis CK: Oh My God is the fourth stand-up special on HBO from the comedian. It will premiere Saturday, April 13 at 10 PM. The last Louis CK special aired in 2007, and of course he created and starred in the network's Lucky Louie in 2006, marking HBO's first multi-camera comedy series. Taped in Phoenix, Oh My God takes on topics like the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality. Louis CK wrote, directed and executive produced the special; Dave Becky, M. Blair Breard and Mike Berkowitz also exec produced.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on April 03, 2013, 09:04:14 PM
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pubrick on April 04, 2013, 01:32:14 AM
you expect me to watch an hour and a half long interview (as far as I can surmise from the running time) without giving the slightest reason why this particular feature length talk fest is worth that much time, above all other things that I could do in 83 mins.

is that what's happening here?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on April 04, 2013, 01:46:28 AM
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on April 04, 2013, 02:00:28 AM
thought you guys liked Louis CK...it's what you can expect from a Howard Stern interview, not very funny but I think it's the most insightful thing with him I've heard. He talks about the Woody Allen thing...Idk, if you like Louie CLICK IT!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: diggler on April 05, 2013, 08:24:07 AM
I thought it was a great interview. Howard disappears up his own ass sometimes, but this was enjoyable.

Saw Louis live last night in Buffalo and he brought the house down. He's making it look easy now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pubrick on April 18, 2013, 03:55:33 PM
i just stayed up all night rewatching season 3.

why did no one at all talk about the last few episodes of season 3?

I want to believe that it's because everyone was left speechless.

spoilers for season 3:

i didn't find his fumbling annoying or unrealistic. what was meant to be communicated is that the entire thing was thrust upon him, that destiny hits you with good luck with as much severity and lack of forewarning as it does with bad luck. and that it can be just as disorientating.

so he was fumbling, not because he didn't know what to do or he was an imbecile, but because he just hadn't adjusted to the situation. this is all addressing pic's points against the talk show arc. it was made clear the instant he committed to his fate. the risky part was leaving this turning point to the last possible minute. and that's what they did, and it worked.

Lynch's advice was SO LYNCHIAN it was just incredible. the momentary transformation of the secretary... no other show could pull this off. they used Lynch and his vibe and incorporated it into the whole piece like a master jazz musician. no wonder susan e morse has found a home editing this show, this is as good as top tier woody.

he had me crying with laughter in the first 5 mins of the last episode, the whole ordeal with the eyeless doll, every single moment was perfect, it was like an encapsulation of the show's entire ethos. you could study that scene and learn how to edit comedy. THREE EYES oh my god. so many climaxes it was insane. it reminded me of the beginning of CMBB, before plainview even says a word. that there is an entire life behind every present moment.

listen, let me get back to why the talk show arc worked. i'm sure it's been said before by a million people, but this show is about the moment like no other show on tv. Louie is just trying to get by not day to day but SECOND BY SECOND. at every turn he encounters so many unexpected characters and adventures, some that take over an episode, some that are just a few minutes long but just as memorable, that he has made walking away from things into a transcendental moment. when liz/parker posey died, done, he walked away. fucking ZEN master. 

all the best moments of the series, not just this season, have captured this meditative state. there have been few exceptions where it's delivered on Curb levels of miscommunication such as the airport goodbye to pamela adlon but where it really shines is simply Louie's ability to walk away. SO BACK TO THE TALK SHOW ARC.. the difficulty of this "gag" was that it took 3 episodes to grapple with which direction to walk. he couldn't just accept it and he coudn't just deny it. the first would be walking away not from a momentary intrusion of chaos but from his whole life, that is the thing that grounds him through all the chaos he encounters in every episode. the other option, to flat out deny it, would be to walk away from a future order that would make the present seem like chaos..

the way they resolved it is, predictable or not (since he couldn't REALLY take over from letterman.. or could he?), absolutely satisfying on every level possible. most importantly in his character, but even more importantly in the spirit of the show, which is always reflected in him anyway. the moment he went to yell at the Ed Sullivan Theatre that he "did it", well, what had he done? he played the big leagues and in his own way, won. his own way. literally depicted as he walks down the middle of whatever famous street that is.

i mean, maybe this is obvious. whatever. it's done so well, so earnestly and sincerely and with so much heart. ultimately there is no cynicism in this show, there's no time for it. every other great comedy show i can think of is full of cynicism, some of them i love to death like curb and seinfeld and peep show. but this show and the golden age of the simpsons are the only ones that i know that persistently and fearlessly explore everything that happens when cynicism isn't an option. I could not pay it higher a compliment.

what you end up with is ultimately hope, love, opportunity, second chances, limitless possibilities, and a dignified way to face the interminable SHIT that gets thrown upon us day to day, minute to minute.

you should be ashamed of yourselves for not nominating this in the xaxies.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ©brad on April 23, 2013, 01:01:24 PM
That's a good write-up which makes me appreciate the finale and entire season a lot more. P I highly recommend you check out Louie's interview with Marc Maron on WTF (I know you're adversed to podcasts but it's a great listen) as well as his interview with Stern, although the former is much more insightful into his process making the show. There is no other TV writer operating with as much freedom as Louie right now. FX doesn't even get to read his scripts. They comment on the edit after Louie's had at it a few rounds. It's pretty remarkable to see a writer operate a TV show without the influence of a writer's room, especially when the output is this good. Louie admits he does concept with a friend for episode ideas but the scriptwriting is all him.

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on April 24, 2013, 03:04:29 PM
this last season was hands down one of the most amazing things i've seen. babysitting the bathtub kid episode never gets old. not too much to say that pbrix didnt. any recently updated news on more seasons?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ©brad on April 24, 2013, 03:19:38 PM
No new episodes this year. Louie talked about taking this year off to recharge and focus on stand-up in the Stern interview.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on April 24, 2013, 03:22:23 PM
ah well. ok now i have to watch that long interview. does anyone have any highlights i should skip to or is it best to go full length?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 01, 2013, 08:18:54 PM
It's worth it to listen to the Stern interview while you're doing something else.

Louie was on with the Man of Letters about a month ago, generating some brief hilarity.



I love the guy.  His special was great stuff, and in looking at him in comparison to other comics, I so admire how he starts from scratch each time around in his standup.  You see when other comedians repeat themselves in their specials and this trait of Louie's then makes him seem more admirable.  And the repetition in others' routines just sticks out more like a sore thumb.

His show is one of my faves nowadays (BB is SO 2011 -- heh).  The three episode arc with Lynch as a producer was an amazing brainstorm (there was an article somewhere saying how once Louie thought of Lynch for the role he realized no one else could have done it and he wouldn't have without him).  It was even more amazing to see it play out.  It was as if Louie put Lynch in one of his own movies as -- well, not so much of an antagonist, but I don't even know what the word for him would be -- and cast himself as star.  The season could have easily gone out on that note, but instead it reveled in the quiet after the storm, and the story of how he goes to seek out a landmark from a story he reads to his daughter.  After the importance of what he says and how he says it was so stressed in that time in which he was trying for Letterman's spot, here he's able to get away from all, and escape into the silence and alienation of a world where he doesn't understand a thing, and he has fun doing it.  It seems like every little vignette tackles some absurdity about society as we experience it, puts it under his microscope, and then smashes it much like his car got smashed in the season 3 premiere.  It makes me optimistic when artists like him get their due.  Let's not forget the arc with that crazy chick played by Piper Perabo.  Reminds me a tiny bit of Leigh's Naked, the midnight journey, the quest for truth and human connection, hidden under the guise of debauchery.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 05:39:53 PM
Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ghostboy on September 27, 2013, 06:27:14 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 05:39:53 PM
Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Completely agree, although I put Season 2 on a SLIGHTLY higher pedestal. But it really and truly is the best filmmaking happening right now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on September 27, 2013, 06:50:42 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 05:39:53 PM
Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Quote from: Ghostboy on September 27, 2013, 06:27:14 PM
But it really and truly is the best filmmaking happening right now.

Agree with both of you. Episode 5 in Season 3, when he and Parker Posey go up on top of that building and she's sitting on the ledge was my favorite...went places you don't see in any other TV series, let alone most films.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 07:07:56 PM
Quote from: wilderesque on September 27, 2013, 06:50:42 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 05:39:53 PM
Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Quote from: Ghostboy on September 27, 2013, 06:27:14 PM
But it really and truly is the best filmmaking happening right now.

Agree with both of you. Episode 5 in Season 3, when he and Parker Posey go up on top of that building and she's sitting on the ledge was my favorite...went places you don't see in any other TV series, let alone most films.

That was a great, great moment.

Every time you think you know how it's going to go, it goes in a direction that you can't possibly expect (usually at the exact moment that you think you get it), in a way that's never cheap, but that is insightful about humanity. And also really fucking funny. On top of all that, so many moments of grace.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Just Withnail on September 29, 2013, 07:02:35 AM
Quote from: matt35mm on September 27, 2013, 05:39:53 PM
Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Yes! He seems like he's in the trenches, struggling with what it means to be a good human being.

In the recent Conan appearance below, you can really see his beard and hair greying. His looks are growing into his wisdom.

The surprising thing for me about the show, is that not only does it showcase his immense humanity, which is readily apparent in the stand-up, (though before the show it was laced with a bit stronger cynicism), but it's his incredible strong sense of form. Which shows or films does the amount of narrative experiments you find in Louie? Every episode is a completely unique entity, it's form being whatever the story dictates. In complete antithesis to what seems to be the big thing in shows now, narratives that span every season and the entire show, the extreme episodic nature and complete disregard for continuity between episodes is definitely one of Louie's strong points. I makes it all the more unpredictable and let's Louie do whatever he wants wherever he wants to do it. It's seems closer in spirit to something like South Park, in that it bends it's logic around whatever it wants to portray.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-IHc8cdq_k
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on September 29, 2013, 09:44:49 AM
everyone's scrambling to find a new show
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Pubrick on September 29, 2013, 11:42:44 AM
Quote from: Reelist on September 29, 2013, 09:44:49 AM
everyone's scrambling to find a new show

uh this show has been around for years and those of us who aren't wasting our time on stupid zombie shows or other dead ends have already been praising it for ages. now that breaking bad is finished the only shows worth watching are this, bobs burgers, game of thrones and curb if it comes back.

i'd like to include some british drama like Black Mirror, which is as qualitatively perfect as all those, but they make so few episodes a year that i can't in good faith recommend something that is so quantitatively unsatisfying.  that goes for all british tv shows.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Lottery on September 29, 2013, 12:23:10 PM
My sister strongly recommended this show. She said that I may not find myself laughing very much (as much as I laugh at his stand up work) but it's so insightful and eye-opening that it's worth it for that alone.

And yes, that's the curse of good British television. Immense quality but so few episodes. I've watched the series dozens of times and I still struggle with the fact that there were only 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Just Withnail on September 29, 2013, 01:22:16 PM
Quote from: Lottery on September 29, 2013, 12:23:10 PM
there were only 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers.

:shock:

wow. that's incredibly strange to know. i feel like i spent my entire childhood watching those. right now i have that feeling you get when you revisit some childhood playground that was huge in your mind, and discover how small it actually is.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on December 03, 2013, 06:08:24 PM
Louis CK Inks Overall Deal With FX Productions For New Series
via Deadline

FX Networks is making it clear it wants to stay in the Louis CK business. The network already has Louis CK'sLouisCK2 acclaimed comedy series  Louie, produced by FX Productions. Now FX Prods. has inked an overall deal with Louis CK and his company Pig Newton to develop and produce new series. The agreement is separate from Louie, which this year earned ad-supported cable's first Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nomination. That series returns for Season 4 in May 2014. Under the overall pact, Louis CK's first, the new series will be created or supervised by Louis CK, who would have the option to write or direct any of them and will executive produce. Blair Breard, an executive producer on Louie, would also serve as a producer or executive producer, with 3 Arts Entertainment attached as producers. Louis CK already is a Renaissance man, writing, directing, editing and starring in his shows. Now he will add  a new role — guiding other creators as they get their projects off the ground. "Working with Louis CK has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of my career," said John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions. "So many incredibly talented artists want to work with Louis and follow down the independent and idiosyncratic creative trail he has blazed. I can't wait to see who he brings through our door, not to mention any new projects that he wants to create for us."

This marks the latest production pact between FX Prods and top FX talent. It joins RCG Productions, the production company of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton; and Floyd County Productions, the production company of Archer EP/showrunners Adam Reed and Matt Thompson. FXP also has a first-look cable deal with Paul Giamatti, Dan Carey and their Touchy Feely Films and with Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and their Color Force banner. The deal was negotiated by David Weber and Tom Collier. Louis CK is repped at 3 Arts, and Breard by UTA.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on January 07, 2014, 04:51:59 PM
http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/01/louis-ck-finally-release-his-bizarre-comedian-heavy-black-and-white-film/356781/

A black and white movie Louis C.K. made in 1998 with Amy Poehler, Steve Carrell, J.B. Smoove, etc., soon to be available for $5.  Oddly fascinating.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on January 07, 2014, 05:20:45 PM
A man has sex with ice-cream.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on January 14, 2014, 05:23:40 PM
FX Orders Comedy Pilot Created By, Starring Zach Galifianakis & Co-Written By Louis C.K.
via Deadline

When Louis C.K., creator/star of FX's acclaimed comedy series Louie, signed an overall deal with FX Productions last month, one of his main goals was to guide other creators as they get their projects off the ground. "I can't wait to see who he brings through our door," FX Networks CEO John Landgraf said at the time. Well, he brought another A-list comedian, Zach Galifianakis. FX has ordered a comedy pilot created by and starring Galifianakis and co-written by Louis C.K. There is no concept yet for the project, the first to come out of Louis C.K. and his company's Pig Newton's overall pact at FX Productions. Galifianakis will executive produce alongside Louis C.K., Blair Breard, Dave Becky, Andrea Pett-Joseph and Marc Gurvitz. This marks the 12th (!) greenlighted comedy pilot for FX Productions as the company is ramping up comedy production to supply both FX and sibling FXX. Galifianakis is with CAA and Brillstein; C.K. is with 3 Arts Entertainment; Breard is repped by UTA.

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on March 13, 2014, 04:26:17 PM
Louie is back May 5th.  http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/fx-sets-louie-season-4-premiere-for-may
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on March 13, 2014, 04:57:12 PM
FX ordered 13 episodes. C.K did 14 episodes. Life is good.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on March 24, 2014, 05:40:18 PM
This is kinda funny, it's just whatever. enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3HYLLruJis
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on April 16, 2014, 05:22:41 PM
http://screencrush.com/louie-season-4-trailer-bridge/

Anticipation reaching a fever pitch...
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on May 04, 2014, 02:29:17 PM
There is a six part episode this year called Elevator.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 05, 2014, 07:08:35 PM
Louie is Low-Key TV (http://awefulwriting.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/the-age-of-louie/), and the most effective of a new brand of storytelling.

And it's finally back tonight!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 05, 2014, 08:43:59 PM
and they're playing TWO EPISODES
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 05, 2014, 09:26:15 PM
Each week, for 7 weeks~!

EDIT: The first episode was called "Back" and it wasn't just about the fact that he's back.  Clever.  And oh man, the poker game was a delight.  I like that he continues to employ continuity glitches here.  The bus driver from the premiere returns as a friend at the poker game.  Glorious.  And these people masturbate more than anyone on the planet.

Re: "Model", Louie lives in this Kafkaesque world where the rules are made up and the points don't matter.  It's ridiculous, the situations he gets himself into.  He starts the episode getting rejected left and right, gets what he wishes for, but pays a horrible price (as in the story circle made famous by Dan Harmon), and returns changed (bloody nose; ridiculous, lightning-fast law suit settlement), and finally has something to talk about with the waitress who earlier rejected him and now finds him interesting or at least takes pity on him.  I think the whole conceit of the broken nose/lawsuit plot was ridiculous, but it served its purpose.  I had a roommate once who hated cringe-inducing comedy.  He would loathe this show.  It's uncomfortable to the brink of insanity, but there are still glimmers of joy and of course flashes of brilliance.  Chickens are dumb.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on May 10, 2014, 04:04:19 PM
Louis CK on Charlie Rose (http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/05/09/louis_c_k_charlie_rose_interview_louie_talks_parenting_comedy_and_more_video.html)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 10, 2014, 09:55:22 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS362IR-fIo

A little story Louie told on Opie and Anthony about how Lorne helped him improve his monologue.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 13, 2014, 12:05:44 AM
"So Did the Fat Lady" - Sarah Baker knocked it outta the park.  I am happy to see "bang-bang" get a new definition.  The barbeque-IHOP one sounds disgusting though.

"Elevator, Part 1" - I want some apple pie.

Love how surreal this show is.  Can't wait to see where this elevator motif goes.  My bet is it's probably just 6 totally unrelated stories that all have to do with elevators.  I don't see how he could stretch these initial interactions over 6 episodes, though stranger things have happened.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 13, 2014, 04:14:56 AM
this show is pure brilliance. those long shots? the acting? my god, i tear up on shit that doesnt even call for it. how is he given this much creative freedom? he directs this show like a classic film and, call me arrogant, but i don't see millions of people getting the depth of this show, cinematically.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Axolotl on May 13, 2014, 04:35:25 AM
I've only seen the first one of today's episodes but yeah most of the scenes with emotional intensity or catharsis or when he's trying to wrap his head around a situation as it unfolds around him are these beautiful floaty kind of Woody Alleny long takes. The Fat Lady episode ended with a 7.5 minute one. The Model episode had that amazing one when he enters her house, and the one before with the model out of focus outside the charity event. Before that the ones that immediately comes to mind were the house on the Yangtse river and the hospital scene at the end of New Years Eve and the date with the hot girl after he saw the bum who bum rushed him get decapitated.

I'll go watch the next one now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on May 13, 2014, 08:58:49 AM
I'm not fat. I'm skinny. And I'm a guy. But what she says in this scene is about how being invisible sucks. The feeling that you can't be desired. Sometimes, I just dream about the possibility that someone could desire me, then it makes me sick because, though I am a human being with a body and all, a personality, life made me think that nobody'd want to hold my hand. What are you in the dating game when you're not a sexual possibility? The dating game...looking for someone to love you, wanting someone to love you. Basic stuff. I admire this show because it takes it seriously.

Also: I'm a guy. I don't think I treat heavy girls as less than human being, but I've been pretty stupid, and I always am. Art is a great way to create empathy, to show you, in different forms, something that you've felt. It was a great episode.

I loved the joggers in the long take. And, as usual, the episodes were full of great shots.

Oh: Jane > Abed.

And a great interview of Sarah Baker, who's more insight about the episode than all the "think piece" of the Universe : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/louie-so-did-the-fat-lady_n_5311821.html


Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 13, 2014, 02:54:56 PM
Louie on his writing process. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/louis-ck-reveals-how-write-703433)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 20, 2014, 02:04:26 PM
he keeps topping himself while remaining consistent.
this is such a brilliant and beautiful show. i go from tearing up to laughing maniacally in two seconds.
janes monologue has to be one of the most chills inducing scenes of any tv series. the performance is other worldly.
and who else had a lump in their throat for the violin scene? my god.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on May 20, 2014, 02:10:30 PM
The Jane monologue impressed me. I've always loved Jane, it's great that she has a storyline this important. When Louie told her his favorites things (riding elephants, collecting hydrogen, and remembering moments with Jane) I couldn't hold back my tears.

I loved the rest. Last week, I didn't know what to think about the hungarian woman, because he couldn't talk to her. But it worked. When he desperately asked her to stay was one of the best moments of this week's episodes.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 20, 2014, 04:09:04 PM
i dont know if this is a naive question, which is pretty naive, but has there ever been discussion here of working with child actors?
how the hell does louis ck have such an incredible chemistry with that child? they play off of each other effortlessly.


spoilers spoilers

pam's return was such a heartbreaking meta-moment. could anything be MORE LOUIE? i mean, what else would he have done? this show doesnt mind pissing us off and hurting our feelings for the sake of its meaning, and that is fucking beautiful.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on May 20, 2014, 04:43:33 PM
Quote from: 03 on May 20, 2014, 04:09:04 PM
i dont know if this is a naive question, which is pretty naive, but has there ever been discussion here of working with child actors?

I'm curious about that too, and how he ended up casting them. I believe he talked about it on the season 1 DVD commentary. There's no way to say this without sounding like a total creep, but I am enamored with those little girls.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 20, 2014, 04:46:21 PM
dont worry, i'm right there with you, homie.
i mean, does he direct all those little nuances? her face when she lists 'real questions'? you have to admit that it's pretty brave to have that long of a shot with a kid. so is it him? or did he find the best child actresses in the universe by fluke?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on May 20, 2014, 05:05:18 PM
Here's an interview of Ursula Parker who plays Jane. I think she's just a genius. I heard C.K say that everything she says is scripted.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/ursula-parker-louie-ck-jane-chat.html
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Cloudy on May 20, 2014, 08:16:22 PM
I have to say, I wasn't as taken with the first 3 episodes of this season as much as some here or friends that watch...but the episodes post Elevator floooored me. I lapped it up, ate it all up. The intimacy and fluidity that goes into making these things is so immediately felt.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: matt35mm on May 20, 2014, 09:04:00 PM
Ursula Parker is straight up my favorite actress in the world right now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on May 27, 2014, 05:11:13 PM
SPOILERS THAT SHOULDNT BE SPOILERS TO YOU BC WATCH THIS NOW IMMEDIATELY

perfect, beautiful television.
mindblowing shit:

- the hotel room flashback, is louie god? he does simple things that look impossible, how does he make shit like this? where did he find that actor, did he travel back in time? and casting that girl? who would think of stuff like that? the glass window seperating them invisibly, and then opening was such a simple but brilliant nuance. and the whiteout of the bathroom? man alive.

- the sex scene. such a beautifully shot and orchestrated moment, the entrance, the argument, the blackout with subtle lights swirling. and if you don't get insanely turned on by the noises she makes, there is something wrong with you.

- todd's story. only this show could get away with something like that. in concept, it sounds like stupid filler. but louie made it into a piece of art that is genuinely captivating.

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 27, 2014, 05:36:42 PM
I had chills from the opening scene where Louie and wife were in therapy and he goes over to the window, opens it, lets out a bloodcurdling scream, and returns to his seat as if nothing happened.  And they continue as if nothing happened.  I kept waiting for him to do it AGAIN.  Did pigeons fly?  Was that in my head?  They may as well have.  It was like something out of some surrealistic movie.  It was just so perfect.  We've all been there.  We've all had that feeling.  And he brings it to life.  I love his relationship with his ex.  They're both real, flawed people, and they don't villify the other person.  Denny Dillon was great as the therapist.

What strikes me is how some people on reddit were really confused by Louie's wife being played by a younger, different, white woman.  In fact, Louie has done this in the past, employing different actors for the same part, because the continuity just isn't important to him.  It isn't the point.  And to me, it makes perfect sense.  They were, literally, different people back then.  Not to mention, how could Louie and Janet have played themselves with makeup to make themselves look younger?  It would take away any sort of believability, and take you out of the moment.  Their origin story takes the mythology of this tale to new heights.  Louie apes Bunuel (and maybe Solondz, who probably aped Bunuel anyway), and does so with such skill as to make it look so easy.

And the two sex scenes.  On their own, both of them are very real.  You're very fortunate to be familiar with both types of encounters.  The quickies just meant to relieve sexual tension ... but also to say goodbye.  Nice juxtaposition there.  And then the passionate, lust-fueled gropefest that was his goodbye to the Hungarian chick.  Both different bittersweet goodbyes.

Side note: I didn't think it could get quite better than last week, the scene with Louie's daughter and his new girlfriend, his daughter playing the violin and communicating with someone who he couldn't communicate with.  But it did.

Todd's scenes were existential bliss.  What does one fill his life with if he has no obligations?  It truly is the ability to appreciate the little things in life, to make oneself happy in any way he can.  That too is even bittersweet.  Is Todd honest in what he takes delight in, or is he lying to himself and to his others, kidding himself that a bacherlor's life can be fulfilling?  Louie's been there, and he's struggling with the flipside of the coin, dipping his toes into the water, unsure if he should take the plunge, buy the cow, expose him and his kids to that heartbreak.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 29, 2014, 01:20:49 AM
AV Club on Elevator IV and V (http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/louie-elevator-part-4elevator-part-5-205046)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on June 03, 2014, 02:13:46 AM
They can't all be Elevator IV and V.

Random thoughts:

* I really don't like that the hurricane was real.  It made it boring.
* The scene in the (Hungarian?) diner was nice tho.  I liked when Louie held the waiter's hand.
* "You can't even rape well."
* "Thank you for the that."
* I wish Louie would tell Pamela to fuck off, but if he did, he wouldn't be Louie.
* Nice to see the Comedy Cellar back, but the subject matter was a bit meh.
* Where teh eff did wilder's post go?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on June 03, 2014, 04:55:02 AM
The end of Elevator was great. I loved how C.K isn't concerned about the hurricane at the beginning of the episode, what happens with Amia is more important to him. Before his family is threatened by the hurricane, of course.

The scene with Pamela at the end was fascinating. Because it looked like the one with Amia last week. Which means: very uncomfortable. More uncomfortable this week because Pamela doesn't want Louie at all. And Louie is trying to act alpha male. Pamela says rape twice. Louie acts like a bastard because he wants to be in charge, he wants to control things, for once, and it's shameful. I'm curious to see how the Pamela trilogy ends. I don't like Pamela at all, I don't think she's good for Louie, I don't think Louie is good for her.

Next week is a 90 minutes episode called In the Woods.

Then it ends, in two weeks, with Pamela 2 and 3.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 03, 2014, 03:16:51 PM
- the comedy cellar segment was ridiculous! he just redid everything from his snl monologue which was like what a couple days ago? that was lame. everyone who is into louis ck has already seen and read about that seventy times.
- amia angry is terrifying
- him recreating what he did with amia, with pam was amazing and kind of dark
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on June 03, 2014, 04:40:38 PM
If you want to know what Amia was saying.


http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/06/03/louie_s_hungarian_girlfriend_s_lines_translated_into_english_video.html
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 03, 2014, 05:01:37 PM
been looking for something like this forever, thanks so much man
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Ghostboy on June 04, 2014, 12:19:19 AM
Random question: what are some of the best episodes with Jane from Season 2 and 3?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on June 04, 2014, 01:24:46 AM
Quote from: Ghostboy on June 04, 2014, 12:19:19 AM
Random question: what are some of the best episodes with Jane from Season 2 and 3?



lol.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on June 04, 2014, 01:25:59 AM
Quote from: Ghostboy on June 04, 2014, 12:19:19 AM
Random question: what are some of the best episodes with Jane from Season 2 and 3?
At a quick glance:

Season 2
Country Drive
Halloween/Ellie
Duckling

Season 3
Telling Jokes/Set Up
Barney/Never
New Year's Eve
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on June 04, 2014, 01:33:52 AM
This (http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/louie-elevator-part-6pamela-part-1-205313) is a pretty good read from the avclub, especially the part talking about the second episode. But this bit sums up how much I love this show because of Louis CK the filmmaker.


QuoteThe episode contains some of the most technically challenging camera work of this or any other season of Louie (constantly losing and finding light in order to convey New York mid-storm and mid-blackout), but it takes nothing more than a stationary shot to capture all of the joy, anguish, love, frustration, beauty, honesty, and gratitude that exists between Louie and Amia.

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 04, 2014, 03:26:32 PM
ok so this is weird.
so i bootlegged elevator 6 the night it came out, and i just watched the episode again on tivo, and it's two different sound mixes.
has anyone else experienced this? the episode that aired on my tivo, during the scene where amia and invanka and louie are in the kitchen, the second she throws the plate, the audio cuts and you can't hear any voices, just loud rain and thunder, and then louie touches the tv and everything goes back to normal. if this wasn't intentional, or just a weird glitch, it made that scene 20 times better for me.
anyone else?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on June 04, 2014, 03:44:20 PM
Quote from: Ghostboy on June 04, 2014, 12:19:19 AM
Random question: what are some of the best episodes with Jane from Season 2 and 3?

Season 2: this scene (and Louis C.K is commenting the scene.)



Season 3: when she tells the joke about the gorilla, and the scene, episodes later, where she talks in...it was maybe hungarian, but I think it was a different one.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Axolotl on June 04, 2014, 03:47:25 PM
Quote from: Drenk on June 04, 2014, 03:44:20 PMit was maybe hungarian, but I think it was a different one.
Slovenian
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on June 04, 2014, 04:10:59 PM
Yes, thanks!

C.K talked about next week episodes before the season began:

QuoteThis year there's one story I'm telling that's two parts that I've thought about for, like, five years and it was going to be a movie," C.K. said, adding that both Season 2's "Duckling" and Season 1's "God" were also originally conceived as films.

03:

I couldn't hear what they were saying either, I think it was intentional.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 04, 2014, 04:46:27 PM
well im going to try to post a clip of the other version i have, it's pretty weird that there are two.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 05, 2014, 02:14:36 AM
WTF
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on June 09, 2014, 08:30:49 PM
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/philip-seymour-hoffman-was-planning-to-shoot-a-part-in-louie-jeremy-renner-appearing-in-next-episode-20140606

The URL says it all.  An hour and 30 minutes of Louie starts in 30 minutes on the east coast!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 10, 2014, 02:18:42 AM
i literally applauded when i saw the dedication.
it makes perfect sense. this was the most pta episodes of the series, and probaly the best.
everything was beautiful. like every scene. how can a show be this perfect?
where the fuck does he find these child actors?
and the teacher?!?
we are in the era of the most beautiful and artistic television we will ever see.
i dont even have proper words. more later maybe.

p.s. who thought jeremy renner was michael bowen before we see his face?
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 10, 2014, 01:42:08 PM
I've seen him tell that story:
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Cloudy on June 11, 2014, 03:07:10 AM
This show is a gift. I feel...grateful, kind of like 03's applause.

Wait...Pete was that a live show of his you were at? Was that while he was testing stuff out for this season? Really satisfying to watch after the episodes.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on June 11, 2014, 11:03:59 PM
That was epic and beautiful. Best episode ever.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: pete on June 19, 2014, 04:12:22 AM
Quote from: Cloudy on June 11, 2014, 03:07:10 AM
This show is a gift. I feel...grateful, kind of like 03's applause.

Wait...Pete was that a live show of his you were at? Was that while he was testing stuff out for this season? Really satisfying to watch after the episodes.

no I found that video before I heard him tell that story. It wasn't any time recent. He's had that story for a while.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: 03 on June 21, 2014, 02:09:02 AM
not that anyone cares, but ill comment in depth on the pamela finale later. but for now, has anyone seen this insanely amazing video? it was way too easy to find, so i feel like everybody has already seen it, but i had not.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on June 21, 2014, 02:44:18 AM
This is my favorite old Louis CK joke

Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Kal on June 28, 2014, 12:08:58 PM
I couldn't stop thinking how incredibly cool would be to watch Louie's version of an 80's teen high school comedy. Those episodes were so great and so short. I want to see a show with those kids and all kinds of experiences besides the weed story. So great.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: squints on June 28, 2014, 03:28:51 PM
Quote from: Kal on June 28, 2014, 12:08:58 PM
I couldn't stop thinking how incredibly cool would be to watch Louie's version of an 80's teen high school comedy. Those episodes were so great and so short. I want to see a show with those kids and all kinds of experiences besides the weed story. So great.

I think in total, those episodes are almost an hour an a half? So it's like a little movie. And it's one of the best movies i've seen this year.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Kal on July 21, 2014, 12:10:05 PM
http://www.indiewire.com/article/louie-picked-up-for-season-5-by-fx-20140721?utm_campaign=Wildfire+Message+-+Look+who's+back!+LOUIE+picked+up+for+Season+5...&utm_content=po_1352883&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter (http://www.indiewire.com/article/louie-picked-up-for-season-5-by-fx-20140721?utm_campaign=Wildfire+Message+-+Look+who's+back!+LOUIE+picked+up+for+Season+5...&utm_content=po_1352883&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter)

So the official Season 5 renewal, which was expected, but only SEVEN episodes? What is up with that????
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on July 21, 2014, 01:39:03 PM
Considering it's so soon after season 5, when the wait between 3 and 4 was so long, it might be comprised of ideas he didn't use for 4.  Then there'd be another long break between 5 and 6 if they picked it up again.  Either way, excited to hear it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on January 18, 2015, 10:21:59 PM
http://www.thetvjunkies.com/fx-invests-better-things/

It's back April 9th!  Wow, it seems so quick.  Can't wait!

EDIT: http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/fx-to-air-louis-ck-comedy-special-1201408358/
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on May 01, 2015, 09:03:10 AM
I thought the first three episodes of Season 5 were okay, just fine; it felt sad because I never experiences that with Louie, the show being just fine, even if Season 4 wasn't always a success with me.

But Bobby's Home was fantastic. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. I wish I could steal a scene from this episode.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on May 01, 2015, 10:50:41 AM
I'm such a big fab of Robert Kelly and his You Know What Dude? (http://www.robertkelly.libsyn.com) podcast. Louie is doing us a great service by introducing him to the World. Gonna start the ep now.



Edit: hasn't made it ondemand yet. FML
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Axolotl on May 05, 2015, 11:26:03 AM
Louis C.K. Will Write, Direct, And Star In 'I'm A Cop'
QuoteThe script tells of a depressed middle-aged man who is a volunteer police officer living in the shadow of his mother, a highly decorated retired officer. When she dies, her continued influence forces him to become a real police officer, which is something he never wanted to be.
src (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/louis-ck-will-write-direct-and-star-in-im-a-cop-20150505)

https://youtu.be/uD3yrKQGAWQ
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on May 17, 2015, 03:24:52 PM
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on May 22, 2015, 10:26:30 PM
This is such a PSH character

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLI1vwAv.jpg&hash=8aa795b0b65a7fd2e8bf4258d258a293609ea675)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on May 22, 2015, 11:42:05 PM
He killed it though
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Lottery on May 23, 2015, 12:25:36 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eCVirBPnkQ
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on May 28, 2015, 11:21:00 PM
So sad this season is over, some of these episodes continue to be the most inspiring stuff getting made right now
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on June 26, 2015, 03:11:56 PM
Charles Grodin loves to stay home (http://deadline.com/2015/06/charles-grodin-louie-louis-c-k-cbs-news-emmys-1201454338/)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on January 04, 2016, 10:15:28 PM
Louis C.K. & Albert Brooks Co-Writing & Starring In Animated Pilot For FX
via The Playlist

Louis C.K. has the kind of deal at FX that any star, director, showrunner, and writer would kill for: complete freedom. While his hit series "Louie" has been renewed for a sixth season, the show — which he has been allowed to make whenever and however he chooses — is currently on an extended hiatus. However, he's not leaving FX hanging and has a new show in the pipeline.

Deadline reports that Louis C.K. and Albert Brooks are teaming for an untitled animated comedy that they will co-create, co-write, and executive produce, in addition to providing the lead voices. No other details have been shared, but a pilot has been ordered.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on April 13, 2016, 05:40:39 PM
Louis C.K. Says He's Scrapped His Next Movie & There Will Be No More 'Louie' On FX For Now
via The Playlist

A recent guest on "The Howard Stern Show," the comedian didn't fully explain why, but in the process of describing the evolution of "Horace And Pete," C.K. explains how he essentially blew up his own creative life as a means to create something new. In the process, he canceled his next movie and decided to drop his Emmy-winning FX show "Louie." At least for now.

"What happened was, I told FX I didn't wanna come back for a sixth season of 'Louie' after I did season five," C.K. revealed to Stern. "And I said, 'I don't want to put it off, I just want to say I'm not doing it anymore for now. I might come back and do it again some day, but I don't wanna owe it to you ever.' I just want a clean slate in my head."

Throughout the interview, C.K. implied that forcing himself into fear and risk was his only choice to keep his creative soul happy; and it's what inspired "Horace And Pete." "I walked away from 'Louie' and I had a month where I didn't know what I was gonna do next — that's where a lot of good ideas come from — just total open, nothing, unemployment."

You'll recall last year the comedian/director/writer/producer said he would be directing a full-length feature that he penned called "I'm A Cop." However, C.K. has changed his mind and said that project is no longer moving forward.

"I had a movie set up that I wrote, that I was going to direct and star in. That was supposed to happen this last summer." Why didn't it happen, Stern asked? "I had a movie ready to shoot and I had my TV show going so I said no to both. I said, 'We're not doing either.' And I just threw everything away. It was a very scary and terrifying thing to do."

Perhaps worse, C.K. said he spent a half a million per episode of "Horace And Pete" and eventually spent $2 million of his own money to make those first four episodes. Unfortunately, they didn't earn enough on his website to bankroll the rest of the season, so the comedian had to take out a line of credit and put himself millions of more dollars in debt.

"I got so excited by the idea of having a show appear from nothing," C.K. said. "As a TV watcher, I'm always delighted when I can see a thing without knowing anything about it because of the promotion. So making this show and just posting it out of the blue gave me the rare opportunity to give you that experience of discovery."

C.K. doesn't seem to be sweating it too much and insists with a few stand-up tours he should be back in the black. The interview also covers the fact that seminal musician Paul Simon wrote the theme song to "Horace And Pete" — simply because C.K. had the balls to ask him cold — and that Joe Pesci turned down an offer to star on the show. That segment, in and of itself, is a riot to listen to, with Pesci giving C.K. unsolicited advice ("don't eat pussy"), telling him he wasn't a very good comedian, generally delivering very candid and unfiltered thoughts about the comedian's career ("I watched your stand-up, which I can tell you're just trying, and you're no good at it...quit that now"). But the "Goodfellas" actor still eventually invited C.K. over to his house so the writer/director/actor could spend the day pitching the project to him (Pesci still said no). It's all a really fascinating conversation, and you can listen to the highlights of the Stern conversation below (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/louis-ck-says-hes-scrapped-his-next-movie-there-will-be-no-more-louie-on-fx-for-now-20160413).
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on April 13, 2016, 11:06:25 PM
:(

Still, though, for my money, Louie is the most interesting artist working now.

Fine, fine, I'll buy Horace and Pete already!  I'll get around to it!  I swear!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on April 14, 2016, 03:58:04 AM
Wow, I didn't think Horace and Pete was that expensive...
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on April 14, 2016, 02:55:40 PM
I mean, it's not, but there's the whole thing about Louie having to take out a line of credit to continue with it, and add that to the fact that it wasn't exactly the most well promoted series.  My whole hesitance with it is I don't know when it's going to end, and when I have a backlog of stuff I can watch for $x a month on a streaming service, it's harder to justify buying anything on a per episode basis. Looking at ... $31 right now.  I'm spoiled by Netflix, but I'll get to it.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on April 14, 2016, 03:20:37 PM
Oh. It ended. It's 10 episodes long.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on May 09, 2016, 05:20:56 PM
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/louis-ck-fx-show-i-891704
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ono on March 29, 2017, 06:54:39 PM
From the "I gotta pay for Horace and Pete somehow" tour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Fe3mInaTI&feature=youtu.be

Doesn't really tell you much.  If anything.  Not that that matters.  From Louie, you kind of know what to expect by now.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on April 09, 2017, 05:25:53 AM
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on April 09, 2017, 08:44:59 AM
That was kind of weak. But I watched his new show 2017 on Netflix this week and loved it; it was dark and weird and hilarious.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Lottery on April 09, 2017, 09:19:37 AM
Quote from: Drenk on April 09, 2017, 08:44:59 AM
That was kind of weak. But I watched his new show 2017 on Netflix this week and loved it; it was dark and weird and hilarious.

Good to know it gets better. I watched the first bit earlier tonight and it wasn't a good start, really weak and repetitive. I wasn't feeling it at all so I just watched Chappelle again (still excellent). I'll give it another go.

I wasn't too big on his last one either, I think that was Live At Comedy Store. Can't remember the jokes, all I can remember was that he was a bit more rotund in that one.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on April 09, 2017, 09:25:12 AM
I loved the beginning too, so you may not like the rest! But I might be positive because I was also underwhelmed by his previous show.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Cloudy on July 15, 2017, 02:02:40 PM
little birdy in Manhattan said he just wrapped shooting a feature, funded himself like Horace and Pete (?), shot on black and white film (i hope). sh...
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on August 15, 2017, 01:56:37 PM
Quote from: Cloudy on July 15, 2017, 02:02:40 PM
little birdy in Manhattan said he just wrapped shooting a feature, funded himself like Horace and Pete (?), shot on black and white film (i hope). sh...

First Look: Louis C.K. In 'I Love You, Daddy'
via The Playlist

Louis C.K. has knocked out a feature film with "I Love You, Daddy." Shot on 35mm and presented in black-and-white, the film stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Charlie Day, John Malkovich, Edie Falco and Pamela Adlon and follows Glen Topher, played by Louis C.K., a successful television producer and writer, and his daughter China (played by Moretz).'

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPDGiMf9.jpg&hash=2402a73428a3ed5e3741fd6f32386627e5066768)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: WorldForgot on August 15, 2017, 02:01:57 PM
Louie and Aziz really have cinema boners for B/W!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on August 15, 2017, 02:22:40 PM
I can't wait to see it in 2020.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on August 15, 2017, 02:28:57 PM
About time he did something in black and white, his red hair was getting distracting
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on September 10, 2017, 06:19:45 PM
'I Love You Daddy' DP on Shooting B&W 35mm, Hitchcock's Influence on the Secret Movie, and the Discerning Eye of Louis C.K.
By Chris O'Falt
via IndieWire

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ftgi66Ba.jpg&hash=d937251e33627ae3300d1545673d7b0fb02265c8)
Paul Koestner

C.K.'s longtime DP Paul Koestner: "I'm sure I'm going to roll some eyes, but if anything Louie has a more discerning eye for lens characteristics than me."


Editor's Note: Before his rise to stand-up stardom, Louis C.K. taught himself how to make 16mm short films, which he used to capture a narrative absurdity that wasn't present in his onstage routine. Over the years he has amassed a small loyal crew of filmmaking collaborators and has grown into a remarkably effective visual storyteller — in particular on the 61 episodes of FX's "Louie," which often leans more on the structure of short films than episodic television.

In August it was revealed C.K. had secretly made his first feature film since his misadventures writing and directing the 2001 "Pootie Tang" — starring his close friend Chris Rock, based on one of Rock's sketch routines — which Paramount eventually took away from the then-inexperienced and unknown director and tried to salvage in post-production. Before the veil on the secretive "I Love You Daddy" is lifted tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival, IndieWire checked in with C.K.'s long-time cinematographer Paul Koestner — a collaboration that dates back to 1990 — to find how they approached shooting the 35mm black and white feature and gain some insight into how the autodidactic director approaches his craft.



When Louie first approached me about shooting this feature, he said he wanted to do it in film, specifically black and white. I've had limited experience in 35mm over the years, certainly less so with black and white, so had some learning to do. As a result I went to a family I've known since film school, the Sheitingers over at TCS [New York rental house]. In my mind, Erik and Oliver are the go-to folks when it comes to Arriflex film, and they seemed tickled to dust off some of their "classic" equipment to handle what was at least partially an experiment in replicating a look from the past.

Louie, as I've often pointed out, is a self-taught filmmaker and he knows his craft. He's always been partial to the use of prime lenses, and over time he's amassed an impressive assortment of glass, which includes the Summicrons and Ultra Primes. In addition we carried his Angenieux 25-250, a somewhat hefty lens that gave us our longest focal length.

I'm sure I'm going to roll some eyes, but if anything Louie has a more discerning eye for lens characteristics than me, or maybe it's just a confession that I've never done what I consider appropriate side-by-side testing to see the subtle differences between the extensive array of modern glass out there these days. Notwithstanding the countless conversations traded over lens attributes, when I view any of my past projects I typically can't tell what lens type was in use.

Particularly when considering that in our case color was not an issue, my concerns were a bit more practical. As always, factors include availability, affordability, efficiency and compatibility. Louie self-financed this venture, and while he doesn't own a 35mm film package, he does have plenty of optics, so it made sense to use what he had. My first concern was lens speed. I've become quite comfortable in the world of digital photography, with its current 800 ISO paradigm.

A two-stop loss (5222, presently Kodak's only B&W negative in production, is rated 200 in tungsten light) was a renewed challenge, particularly on a small project with a tight schedule. At T2, the chosen sets (Summicrons and Ultra Primes) are Louie's fastest, and we basically used them interchangeably, focal length being the deciding factor on any set-up. In fact a few times we rented out a couple Master Primes during practical night locations to grab one more stop. Let's see if anybody can tell the difference.

Because black and white film stock is an inherently thinner emulsion than color, we were forewarned to be concerned about light kick-back off a silvered pressure plate, and so we did some testing (as I was previously engaged on the West Coast on another of Louie's productions, Pamela Adlon's "Better Things," credit for prepping and testing should go to my extremely able AC, Cory Stambler, as well as Louie himself). We decided that were we to encounter highlights at the right kind of intensity and angle, we might encounter some undesired artifacts.

As a result, where a three perf pulldown would have been preferable from a practical, economic perspective, we made the painful decision (for me, anyway) to shoot four perf, as that was the only mechanism available with a blackened pressure plate. With more time, testing and technology, I hope I would've seen fit to have blackened pressure plates manufactured for three perf.

Being something of an intuitive filmmaker, Louie traditionally has little to say to me about stylistic choices beforehand. In this case, however, he advised me to watch a batch of older films, with a particular emphasis on some of Hitchcock's works. There's no need for me to add to the general knowledge about the way cinematographers did things back then, but I will say that Louie certainly didn't lock himself into any particular mode of operation. While we did choose to employ many techniques used either out of preference or necessity in the "old days," he didn't seem philosophically averse to breaking the rules to get the desired effect, or the job done.

I Love You Daddy premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on September 27, 2017, 01:16:19 PM
Louis C.K. Dark Comedy 'I Love You, Daddy' Gets November Release
via Deadline

After acquiring Louis C.K.'s latest film I Love You, Daddy out of the Toronto Film Festival for a reported $5M, The Orchard will open the film on Friday, November 17 in New York and Los Angeles, with an expansion on December 1.

C.K. directed, wrote, produced and stars in this dark comedy which also features John Malkovich, Chloe Grace Moretz, Rose Byrne, Edie Falco, Charlie Day, Pamela Adlon, Helen Hunt, and Ebonee Noel. Vernon Chatman wrote the story with CK and the movie was shot on 35M black and white film. Chatman, John Skidmore, Dave Becky and Ryan Cunningham are also producers.

I Love You, Daddy takes a look at artists, a scandal surrounding them and fatherhood. Pic centers on Glen Topher (C.K.) and his daughter (Moretz), who is seduced by a much older, notoriously creepy director and possible pedophile, played by John Malkovich.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on November 28, 2017, 01:35:24 PM
Thank you everyone for not jumping down my throat when I said I still like Louie and will support his future projects. This has all been a weird grieving process, because the man himself isn't gone but his career as we know it is. When Harvey Weinstein was ousted it felt like a good thing, I've never sensed a trace of likability in that man and for too long he's set the bar for what supposedly 'great' cinema is. Kevin Spacey, sure I really love a handful of his movies, but I was willing to let that go in a split second when the news broke. Louie is much more near and dear to me, I was introduced to him by his "comedy central presents" special as a young teen. That was before his whole "dirty" phase, but even then I could see a really brilliant mind at work. Later in my teens I started listening to the "Opie and Anthony" show where he was a regular guest in the mid-2000's and I couldn't believe the outlandishly offensive shit he was saying. It was the polar opposite of that "comedy central presents", it made me think "is this how all comedians talk in their private time?" From there, I discovered "Louisck.net" in it's infancy, back when he would just use it to blog and post video diaries. Reading through that, I thought "Wow, this guy really does not give a FUCK," and he seemed to need a constant output of what was going on with him personally, regardless of who was listening. So, when he finally 'broke' I was nothing but happy to have seen him go through all these amalgamations of his identity to finally find one that the public could accept. Then, when he shot to "best comedian of all time" status, I couldn't help but kind of resent all of the glowing praise, because most of his fans got to be introduced to the 'fully formed' Louie, when I'd been watching the trajectory of his career for years prior. It felt like when your favorite indie band gets a radio hit and suddenly everyone's on board when you were with them all along.

With 'Louie' and 'Horace and Pete', he excelled far beyond just being "Mr. Funny Man" and became really inspiring to watch as a filmmaker. Breaking so many formulaic rules of TV shows and practically creating a new medium. He set the gold standard for how I would want to someday work if given the opportunity, complete independence with as little studio input as possible. At a certain point, when he started getting all these major actors onboard, my admiration turned to pure envy. "How the fuck did he figure this out? Now he's comedy royalty and working with him gives you a huge boost in your career, all from what? Just from being unabashedly honest onstage?"

Then, comedian Jen Kirkman mentions on her podcast that a certain "Very famous, balding comedian" made advances toward her in a creepy way when they worked together. She gives us enough of a description to know that it's Louie, but doesn't go into detail about what transpired between them, just that it was very uncomfortable to have a married man who's work she admired approach her in this way. It stirs up so much controversy that she takes the episode down, but goes on to clarify on "The Nerdist" that what happened was nowhere near a sexual assault, and she was never touched, cornered, or forced to do anything. It was the things he said to her that made her feel uneasy about how this public figure carried out his private life. You can listen to an excerpt here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kra_3U5ul1I


So, with that, it's plain to see she's not lying about this. There's nothing for her to gain, career-wise in bringing it up, but with all the accusations against Cosby floating around at the time, she must've felt it necessary to say "hey, it's not just this revered old guy no one likes anymore who's into weird shit like this. It's possible that your favorite comedian, who can seem to do no wrong right now, is up to some stranger stuff than he's willing to reveal about himself onstage." Does that make her Judge, jury, and executioner on the matter? Not in the slightest, she's just bringing up an occurrence that seemed 'off' and went beyond mere flirtation into more sordid territory.

Then, looking for other potential accusations, you don't have to go far in your google search to find this Gawker (http://gawker.com/5894527/which-beloved-comedian-likes-to-force-female-comics-to-watch-him-jerk-off) article posted in 2012, which is much more damning as it's relaying a specific event that's made it's way through the comedy grapevine for years. Suddenly, the picture Kirkman was painting loses it's vaguery and we have a clear description of the kind of thing he might be up to. Is it rape? No. Is it threatening and scary and sad? Very. Now we have an image in our heads that's hard to unsee and far too easy to believe.

Then, the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html) article sets everything in stone for us, and there's no turning back on our perceptions of this man. Though we were willing to believe the accounts at first, now we have names, dates, places, and descriptions so that it's undeniable. Louie himself can't even deny it anymore and breaks his silence the next day.

What am I supposed to do with this as a fan? Well, I go back to square one, sifting through his "Opie and Anthony" appearances where he was at his most unbridled and honest to see if he ever hinted at being a pervert on this scale. Here's what I found:

Louis admits to making his dog lick cream cheese off of his penis, and exposing himself to his retarded neighbor, at age 11:



This clip disturbs me possibly even more than the accusations, and he was a CHILD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBCa5llSo4Q

So, these stories tell me that we're dealing with a man who was sexually fucked up long before his comedy career, and could possibly be using his stage persona to reckon with this kind of behavior. Just yesterday, I decided to watch the first season of "Louie" in search of more hints he may have dropped. In just the first 3 episodes, there are 3 instances of characters exposing themselves or being asked to:

Episode 1: Louie arrives at his dates apartment, where her neighbor exposes herself to him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZnHClmHC4U

Episode 2: Young Louie encounters a girl he likes in the woods who asks him to "Whip it out" ( he doesn't )

Episode 3: Louie strips down at the doctor, who laughs at his penis and invites the nurse in on the joke ( 3:00 )



I find the last clip the most unsettling, because of the demeanor of the nurse, who seems to have been tricked into looking at his penis for the acting role. Even if he was wearing a "cock sock", he's the most exposed you could be without being fully naked and obviously gets off on women seeing him in the nude, even if his body is unflattering.

Then, lastly, watching his latest Netflix special "2017" (by far the weakest hour he's put out ) he ends it on a note of considering his own gayness because of how he plays 'chicken' with the movie "Magic Mike" whenever it comes on TV. He finds himself extremely aroused by it, but is afraid to finish the movie because he thinks making it to the end will mean he has to admit to himself that he's gay. It struck me, watching it after everything has come out about him, that it's not his potentially being gay that turns him on about it, but the fact that he's an exhibitionist and wishes he could be up onstage showing off his body like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwNO1EGzWXA

Needless to say, I'll continue to watch his work but will never be able to make that distinction between his "art" and reality again.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilberfan on November 28, 2017, 01:47:51 PM
I'm really enjoying this forum, but it's also a little intimidating.  Many of you guys (and gals?  Are there any women in this forum?) a just fucking awesomely articulate.  This post is a perfect example.  This deserves to be an op-ed in the NYT, or otherwise more mainstream than this place.

I was thinking about Louis just yesterday.  And the blacklist in the 50s.  And wondering if these shamed individuals will, when the public mood changes from white hot (to merely red hot?) whether some of them will end up working behind-the-scenes (a la The Front).  I also wonder who will be the first suicide (which happened during the blacklist). 

Sobering times.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on November 28, 2017, 01:54:02 PM
That was really well thought-out and well stated.

To me, irrespective of my personal affinity toward the work of any particular abuser, it's all about where these guys go from here. I believe in change and rehabilitation, but the key to all of it is accepting blame, understanding the issue, and actively taking concrete steps to atone and improve. And if they're unable or unwilling to do all of that, the loss of one artist's future work is a very small price to pay to the ultimate goal of eradicating the systemic inequity and abusiveness of the industry as it currently stands.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Reel on December 31, 2018, 05:22:17 AM
New Standup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsmOegRt5Nc
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on December 31, 2018, 09:16:33 AM
 Just realizing that's not the full set I listened to yesterday. Was it taken down? If so, I can upload it here later when I return home from errand-running.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on December 31, 2018, 11:00:06 AM
I'd like the full set. The few minutes that Reelist posted aren't that funny to me: I know he's in a weird position but I can still feel the denial in his jokes. He can joke about everything, apparently. Can't he joke about his issue, too? Without making it less serious—joking about serious issues is what he's capable of doing.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on December 31, 2018, 11:17:48 AM
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/alethia-455441610/louis-ck-new-set-comedy-cellar-12282018-bootleg[/soundcloud]
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on January 01, 2019, 10:56:12 AM
Seitz suffers from a weird "please, young!Liberals, love me!" syndrom.

https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/louis-c-k-comedy-set-true-self-kevin-spacey.html


I listened to the set: and it felt like a fake new set, I had hard better versions of these jokes before. But I'm confused by the reactions; now that C.K is a sex offender—in our "hearts" at least—he also became some right wing dude? The trans joke is kind of stupid *and* easy: Chapelle found a way better way to joke about trans people, and since he released four shows you could see him commenting in his mistakes, clarifying, while still being funny. But did Seitz forgot Horace and Pete? Now C.K is entirely unaware because of the bad joke? The Parkland one is the punchline of a whole bit about young people and I think it works.

I'm confused. The C.K's "brand" wasn't wokeness and it doesn't become false wokeness. Its "brand" if you want to call it that way is still present in the new set: some kind of absurd bitter provocation. The question is: Is it aimless? It can be. You can apply provocation to everything. These questions always existed with C.K and if you want to re-evaluate then do a serious job and question not only how the new context reveal something about C.K but how it can blind you to what was always there...

I thought that the "retarded" part was clever, for exemple, even if, once again, the subject is presented in an absurd and provocative way.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on January 01, 2019, 11:19:23 AM
I've only listened to part of this but am not entirely convinced he's pandering to conservatives.

However, I think his edginess is less fun when you know he's an actual creep.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on January 01, 2019, 12:11:55 PM
The thing is that YouTube directly linked me to alt-right videos celebrating C.K after I listened to the new set—not that the alt-right needed the "outrage" of "snowflakes", but the bad faith of the articles make them so easy to be seen as "reverse FOX news". It's as if the dumbest narratives from each side always finds a way to be forced on everything.

I agree. It was difficult to hear him talk about sex. It was always clear that he had issues, but it was easier when I didn't know what those were.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: ©brad on January 01, 2019, 03:47:32 PM
The gender identity joke was hacky and lazy. The Parkland bit was just not funny. I can't think of an artist I used to love and now loathe like this.

He's done. Like Dennis Miller done.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: BB on January 01, 2019, 10:26:49 PM
This kinda material is a stress response. Go back and listen to the things he would say on Opie and Anthony toward the end of his marriage. Mean-spirited and hacky in the same way. I'm not sure if it's intentional pandering (he's always held some conservative views, especially toward young people) but his remaining audience will surely reside more on the right. What leftist would support him publicly, particularly when he's serving up bad takes like this? 

Wouldn't it be a fascinating turn of events if he winds up some Blue Collar Comedy Tour-esque populist hackjob? One of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed comics of all time? I think there's a decent possibility. 
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on January 01, 2019, 11:44:47 PM
I like the set in general but I honestly felt his best days as a stand-up were behind him post Chewed Up. He got too famous and therefore comfortable. It was his development as a writer-director I was most inspired by, especially Horace & Pete.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on January 02, 2019, 12:07:10 AM
I Love You, Daddy was so bad that I hope that Horace & Pete was the best he had to offer. Because, yes, he's done in the sense that he'll probably won't be able to do anything else of that scale now. Or maybe in ten years with unknowns actors. Filmed with an iPhone Jaguar.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Kal on January 02, 2019, 01:00:47 AM
The most annoying thing about that Soundcloud is whomever recorded it or whatever that person closest to the audio laughing non-stop like a knucklehead. I was not laughing at most of it and it stressed me out that this dude is laughing uncontrollably and the laugh is louder than Louie...

If you listen to the entire set, the Parkland joke and the other stuff people are making a fuzz about are less noticeable and seem more like his usual material. Lazy, not funny, but also not new. He always offends people on purpose and uses politically incorrect words. It's what he does. George Carlin did this too and depending on the context, you don't get mad at their intention. We definitely live in a more sensitive time where it's harder to do that, but also given what happened with him I would have hoped his comeback would be a little more mellow and sophisticated, like a Louie movie or even an episode or a short film or something where he goes back to showing what a great writer and director he can be, even when directing something so simple.

This just didn't do it for me, but again, I don't know if watching it without the incredibly annoying laugh of this guy in my ear would have made a difference.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on January 06, 2019, 11:20:01 AM
I actually don't disagree with some of this - never thought I'd say that about something outta the National Review, but there it is...

Thoughts? Retorts?

They're Lying about Louis C.K.

'Transgressive' is good, except when the Left gets offended

Is there any precedent for the outpouring of loathing and contempt from former admirers and peers that landed on Louis C.K. as 2018 ticked to a close? Fellow comics and comedy writers broke an unwritten rule and attacked one of their own, joining the usual Twitterati and culture cops in a rage-fueled online stoning. A bit C.K. had performed at a Long Island night club on December 16, with no intention that a national audience hear it, and that leaked online without his permission, was mentioned on the front page of the New York Post and New York Times.

"You're not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot," C.K. said. "Why does that mean I have to listen to you? Why does that make you interesting? You didn't get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way and now I've got to listen to you talking?" C.K. also made fun of hypersensitive, scoldy, uptight young people and their pronoun posturing.

The response from Andy Richter, Judd Apatow, and other comedy pros was to label this routine "hacky," "lazy," "shallow," "easy," and "fishing in a barrel." (I think that last one is supposed to be "shooting fish in a barrel," Andy, it's important not to mangle the clichés you use.)

But what C.K. said isn't hacky. A hack does a bit on how the Starbucks menu is too confusing or how women gain weight after marriage. And anyway, a hacky routine isn't worth mentioning, much less getting upset about. "Parts of a comedy routine performed in an obscure club two weeks ago bombed" is not news. To mock the Parkland kids in even so mild a way as to suggest they have no expertise on gun control is to venture into a high-voltage area. It's the opposite of "hacky." It is in fact "edgy." The edge in question is the frontier where "things that can be said" meets "things that cannot be said." It's where "funny" meets "offensive." It's where the audience will laugh while thinking, "I can't believe he said that." It's where most of the top comics have wanted to live ever since Lenny Bruce inspired outrage for "mocking Jackie Kennedy." (Actually the bit in question suggested that Mrs. Kennedy was guilty merely of being human, of trying to flee the limousine where her husband had been shot, rather than bravely seeking help. This was an edgy thing to say in 1964 but hit home because it was likely true.)

C.K.'s comments on youth weren't hacky and trite either, because their premise wasn't a kids-these-days cliché but something close to the opposite. He was pointing out that (first time in recorded history!) kids these days aren't adventurous enough, aren't frivolous enough, aren't freewheeling enough. Somehow every kid these days wants to clamp down on others, aspires to be a cultural vice principal or a language Niedermeyer. That's funny.

C.K. was not "punching down." The Parkland kids are national heroes. They have been on the covers of magazines and dominated the conversation for weeks. They led a nationwide march. They logged countless hours of adulatory coverage on the television shows. They starred in a CBS documentary, 39 Days, and in a longish segment in the latest Michael Moore movie. Their views on matters unrelated to having been present at a school shooting are eagerly sought. Their youth isn't a source of vulnerability but is central to their power in a youth-worshipping culture (that doesn't much revere dumpy, balding, middle-aged white guys).

David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez have 2.5 million Twitter followers between them. Many of the Parkland kids were invited to sing "Seasons of Love" on the Tonys. C.K. wasn't. They aren't as rich or as famous as he is, but culturally speaking, they are lions and he is a masturbating rodent. C.K. is so loathed that the occasion of his venturing out of his apartment once to speak at a comedy club for 15 minutes inspired this New York Times headline: "Louis C.K. Slithers Back." The attached column labeled him a "malignancy" and suggested he should work in a Gap rather than comedy.

The tone of Andy Richter and Judd Apatow's tweets was not that they were disappointed that C.K. had done a bit that wasn't funny at a show neither of them had attended. No, Richter and Apatow are outraged. And outrage is a double-edged sword, isn't it? Comics don't want to admit they're outraged. Because outrage traditionally makes you a butt of jokes, a bit like the teenaged pearl-clutching brigade C.K. mocked.

What is driving this episode of cultural citizens' arrest is that the Parkland kids are untouchable. They can't be made fun of. They are . . . icons. Comics can't say that because labeling the Parkland kids sacred cows would acknowledge the existence of sacred cows. And they want to reserve the right to barbecue everybody else's sacred cows. Jesus Christ is worshipped by even more people than Emma Gonzalez, but no comic wants to abandon the right to mock his story. (And if attacking a dead guy who was crucified at age 33 for speaking his mind isn't "punching down," what is?) Louis C.K. went after icons. That makes him iconoclastic. And iconoclastic was a great compliment. Still is. Mocking the Parkland kids is taboo. And taboo-busting was a great compliment. Still is. C.K. was being transgressive. And transgressive was a great compliment. Still is. One almost begins to entertain a rumor of a hint of a suspicion that the culture cops don't approve of transgression per se, but only of the transgression of boundaries cherished by people they don't like.

The prototypical C.K. routine will be shocking (in that it ventures without euphemism into an area we don't like to talk about), subversive (in that he stakes out a contrarian position), and funny (because its premise is nevertheless true, or at least true-ish). If you don't agree with the premises, you're not going to find them funny. But the premise of his Parkland bit is that surviving a school shooting doesn't make you an expert on any public-policy question. This is not only true, it's obvious. C.K. is doing the same kinds of bits he has always done.


Whether or not you personally found the material funny, and it's totally fine if you didn't, I think this article makes some fair points.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on January 06, 2019, 12:10:22 PM
Nah, that article's pretty gross in my opinion. It's just another right-winger crying about SJWs and obsessed with this idea of cultural capital and frustrated that they don't have more of it.

As a 53-year old, this writer's POV is nothing new. He's panicking that his generation is losing influence:

QuoteTheir views on matters unrelated to having been present at a school shooting are eagerly sought. Their youth isn't a source of vulnerability but is central to their power in a youth-worshipping culture (that doesn't much revere dumpy, balding, middle-aged white guys).

I don't have strong opinions on Louis CK's set, but I do have strong opinions on this article. This trend of people being so upset that others are offended is pretty much the dumbest thing. I will applaud the writer branching out from "snowflake" and "social justice warrior" — "the teenaged pearl-clutching brigade" does at least sound different. But it's more of the same.

As John Cleese recently said: "Snowflake is a word used by sociopaths in an attempt to discredit the notion of empathy."

And all the talk about free speech is probably their weakest argument. When your free speech is taken away by the government, I think we can all agree that's an unacceptable infringement of rights. When your speech becomes less relevant and influential because your ideas and beliefs are bad, that's called progress.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on January 06, 2019, 12:16:14 PM
To add onto that a bit:

Part of Louis CK's set does perfectly reflect Kyle Smith's point of view, and they are squarely in the same generation. You really get a sense from Louis that he's exhausted by cultural changes. And yes — losing privilege and power and relevance is not meant to be a pleasant thing. But it's inevitable.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilberfan on January 06, 2019, 12:17:55 PM
Quote from: eward on January 06, 2019, 11:20:01 AM

Whether or not you personally found the material funny, and it's totally fine if you didn't, I think this article makes some fair points.


I think I agree with you, here.   I listened to the bit, and while I didn't find all of it hysterically funny, I could see what Louis was doing and appreciated the edginess and where's-the-line testing.   

Thought the article cleverly written, too. 
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on January 06, 2019, 12:28:14 PM
What I agree with overall is that the material is nothing particularly new from Louie, but I also say that as someone who has consumed not only all of his stand-up material, late night appearances, tv shows, what have you, but also every last hour he recorded over the years on Opie and Anthony and various other outlets, which typically found him far more relaxed, subversive, dark, non-pc and beyond controversial, not to mention consistently hilarious. So none of it is really shocking to me. I also don't believe that just because he's taking a particular stance against something for the sake of a joke, whether you find it funny or not, necessarily implies that he holds those views in private, or that he doesn't have empathy for the victims of Parkland, or the struggles of the trans community.  I am one of these people that considers everything par for the course, if the joke is strong enough. These arguably weren't, that's absolutely fair. But I find the moral grandstanding hard to track sometimes. (To be clear, I'm a lefty! Hillary voter and all! Well, Bernie first, but I fell in line and oh god what happened  :shock:)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilberfan on January 06, 2019, 12:31:45 PM
Quote from: eward on January 06, 2019, 12:28:14 PMI also don't believe that just because he's taking a particular stance against something for the sake of a joke, whether you find it funny or not, necessarily implies that he holds those views in private, or that he doesn't have empathy for the victims of Parkland, or the struggles of the trans community.


Precisely what what was in my head listening to the bit.  I heard a comedian working a joke and not (necessarily) ranting about a personal point of view.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on January 06, 2019, 12:34:56 PM
Fair points.

And I will agree, a lot of moral grandstanding and watchdogging (on Twitter especially) is in fact unbearable. I have definitely unfollowed a person or two to avoid it.

In general, most of the obsession with cultural politics is a distraction anyway. Which makes it a little more frustrating that the Parkland students' very straightforward call to action on POLICY is being transformed into a cultural issue by people such as this National Review guy.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on January 06, 2019, 12:37:10 PM
It's very complicated to have this conversation when SJW is a word that exists, created by the alt-right. I'm not at ease with my generation. But I hope that the ugliness is temporary and necessary.

In a way, the reaction isn't surprising: C.K did better versions of those jokes, he was just going through the motions, and the set does reek of wounded privileged ego. The takes come from bad faith and passion. Seriously. The same ones could have been written with different quotes. An old set could have been released as a new one. But the way the articles present the quotes as if they're from a rally is...I get that it's an industry and that it works but...

When reality is complex but is presentedas a manichean circus nobody gains anything but likes.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilberfan on January 06, 2019, 12:45:07 PM
Quote from: Drenk on January 06, 2019, 12:37:10 PM
manichean circus


[Whistles]  I know a little about a lot of stuff--and I've been around a lot longer than most of you whippersnappers--but I'll admit never encountering this word before today.   Props, sir!
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on April 04, 2020, 02:56:02 PM
New special is up for sale on his website (https://louisck.com/products/sincerely-louis-ck)

(https://i.imgur.com/D8nswqM.jpg) (https://louisck.com/products/sincerely-louis-ck)
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Alethia on April 05, 2020, 10:13:51 AM
I watched it. I laughed. A lot.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: polkablues on April 05, 2020, 12:44:38 PM
I'm sure I would enjoy the special, but not more than I would still like him to fuck off forever.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: Drenk on April 05, 2020, 02:59:54 PM
I was surprised to like the special because I had read a New Yorker article about the hour and most of the quotes were embarrassing, but the jokes work in context and the best parts were left off. Ultimately, there's a certain routine. But he digs into some of his compulsions—the pleasure of "uneccessary" offending jokes—in interesting ways.

I did find the experience of watching it uncomfortable, though. I felt complicit. He acknowledge what he did wrong, but still mostly talks about the "trouble", even kind of reduces it to a "thing". I don't believe that he was simply unaware that a "yes" for many women in the workplace were genuine "yes"; like, yeah, men are dumb about consent, apparently, but that was obviously a very controlled behavior on C.K's part, and he never mentions the power he had over these women.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: jenkins on April 05, 2020, 09:27:50 PM
https://twitter.com/tiffstevenson/status/1246495303538262016
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on July 09, 2020, 03:38:56 PM
Louis CK, cinephile

(from his latest email)

Quote from: Louis CKFor those of you still reading I'd like to offer you some recommendations for some great movies you could watch with your free time.

First, three films by a great director from back in the 30s and 40s named Frank Borzage. This guy was way ahead of his time. He had a rare sense of human dialogue especially for the era and he picked terrific stories to tell. 

Three Comrades (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-n/)

Flight Command (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-p/) (Amazing air combat sequences considering the time they were filmed)

Strange Cargo (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-x/) (There does not exist a bad movie with Joan Crawford in it. She was a great judge of scripts and used her star power to champion the careers of directors she believed in. And I can't believe Clark Gable actually existed)

Sticking with Clark Gable for a moment there is

Boomtown  (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-m/)

Mutiny on the Bounty (//http://)

(Also with an incredible performance by Charles Laughton.)

Staying in old black and white, there is nothing like the great "Pre-code era" films. For those of you unaware these were movies made in the 1930s, before the "Hayes Code" (WHICH IS WHAT decided what was OK and not OK or right and wrong to put in a movie.) There was this little window where it hadn't occurred to anyone to put restrictions on FILMS. They were like books or plays. And then somebody figured out what a massive influence they were so they locked it all down. But before that happened there were some astonishing films made. These films did not have a moral code.  So they were able to explore some tantalizing extremes in story and character but also they were able to make films just about people being people acting like people.

Baby Face (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-q/)

Barbara Stanwyck is amazing in this brutal and dark  and sometimes hilarious story of a woman who was handed a terrible life and responds to it by going out into the world with a brutal and exhilarating mission of perfect self interest.

Dinner at Eight (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-a/)

This is a wonderful movie to watch now because it's about a bunch of people living at the precipice of a world that is about to fall apart ( the Great Depression) It's a very funny movie. My favorite "pre-code" moment in the movie is a scene where a doctor is caught by his wife philandering with another woman. She confronts him and he admits it and they have a real dialogue about how to move forward  in their marriage which is not resolved and incredibly relatable. You couldn't have a dialogue like this after the Hayes Code, because anyone who did something wrong in a movie had to be cast as an absolute villain, and no one "good" could make a mistake unless that mistake was perfectly corrected and the character completely reformed by the end of the movie. Which is not real and not human. 

Dinner at 8 offers no judgement or solutions. It just lays bare the flaws in all its human characters for the audience to identify with and laugh at. 

The Hayes Code made that impossible and began a trend that lasted for decades dividing human souls and behavior into "good" and "bad".

None of that moral polarization leaves room for understanding human beings or creating characters in fiction that allow the audience to see themselves in the story and to feel less alone, instead of heroes and villains that make them feel small and ashamed. 

That's not to say that great films weren't made in those decades. And of course in the 1970s there was this crazy resurgence of honest filmmaking. Which brings me to:

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-f/) directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Ellen Burstyn (one of my favorite actors of all time) and Kris Kristofferson (I would also like to recommend that you listen to his song "Sunday morning coming down" before you watch the movie)

After you watch this film, look for an interview with Ellen Burstyn where she tells an amazing story of how the ending came about. She developed this movie herself and is really responsible for how great it is.

Gloria (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-z/)

Gena Rowlands

A great low-budget action movie by John Cassavetes. I could certainly go on about John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands

A Woman Under the Influence (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-v/)

Opening Night (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-e/) etc

But there is one movie they brought them together that a lot of people haven't seen:

A Child is Waiting (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-s/)

Also with Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland. This is a very very fucking sad movie man. It's intense.

Oh. Burt Lancaster. Please tell me that you haven't seen

Elmer Gantry (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-g/)

Sweet Smell of Success (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-w/)

Also with Tony Curtis, who made some goofy movies but also some great ones like

The Defiant Ones (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-yd/)

And The Boston Strangler (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-yh/), which is a really strange movie. The second half of the movie, which is basically a dialogue between the great Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis as a mass murderer, is some great acting and filmmaking. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else.

Speaking of completely enigmatic movies there is the Brazilian film

City of God (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-yk/)

Hanging on Brazil for one more there is

Black Orpheus (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-yu/)

Holy shit that's a beautiful movie.

If you want a couple of incredibly sad but beautiful movies there is

I Remember Mama (https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/i-remember-mama/id325843271?mt=6&ign-mpt=uo%3D4)  (best death scene in any movie ever)

Miracle in the Rain (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jr/)  (Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan's first wife, is heartbreaking in this and also the next one)

All that Heaven Allows  (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jy/)

One of my favorite filmmakers is very little known and I'm not sure where you can find his movies but his name is Michael Roemer. He made two movies

Nothing But a Man (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jj/) 

And

The Plot Against Harry (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jt/) 

If you want to movie that's just a really feel good fun movie there is

Breaking Away (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-ji/)

And the number one movie but I recommend to anyone who has not seen it is Alfonso Cuaron's masterpiece.

Children of Men (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jd/) 

OK I'm gonna stop there. I did not intend to make such a long list. It was really just gonna be three or four movies. But that was fun. I'll do it again sometime.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: wilder on July 20, 2020, 08:06:26 PM
Quote from: wilder on July 09, 2020, 03:38:56 PM
Louis CK, cinephile

(from his latest email)

Quote from: Louis CK
One of my favorite filmmakers is very little known and I'm not sure where you can find his movies but his name is Michael Roemer. He made two movies

Nothing But a Man (https://mailinglist.louisck.com/t/y-l-uhijuyl-ildudythih-jj/) 

The Metrograph is starting a digital screening service (https://deadline.com/2020/07/nyc-arthouse-metrograph-expands-online-live-curated-screening-program-1202990030/) and that will be available starting August 3rd. Complete list of offerings at the link.
Title: Re: Lucky Louie (and now Louie)
Post by: jenkins on July 20, 2020, 08:39:11 PM
personally i find Nothing But a Man on a dvd shelf in my room

another day i was going to shittalk Louis CK's list but there's no intellectual benefit to shittalking. basically i think he's aware of cinematic possibilities through his contemporaneous appreciation of City of God and Children of Men, but there's um fissure between this awareness and his lack of silent movies mentioned, especially since he notes the moral complexities possible within pre-code cinema, but throw this guy a G. W. Pabst, let him take a long sip of F. W. Murnau, you know, etc including two vons, and other movies that paint portraits wider and deeper than domestic dramas by notable actors. Nothing But a Man is solid but he overhypes it and i'd mention The Exiles and Killer of Sheep in return

but that's politics. he's fighting the good fight by liking older movies and possessing a dimensional perspective on the movies he watches. Black Orpheus is by a french director but it's split hairs sure