Post by TVFan on Jul 22, 2005 9:43:53 GMT -5
From The Morning Call:
Bruckheimer personally touts his new and returning shows
By Ed Bark
Of The Dallas Morning News
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Showbiz has no one bigger than Jerry Bruckheimer, the 5-foot-71/2-inch potentate of prime-time television and big-time moviemaking.
The 59-year-old producer with the near-perfect track record easily was the most important presence at the Hammer Museum, site of Tuesday night's CBS ''Stars Party,'' part of the annual Television Critic Association press tour. It marked a rare appearance for Bruckheimer, who wasn't listed among the expected attendees and mostly lets others speak on behalf of his company's three new series for this fall and six holdover hits, including the three ''CSI'' juggernauts.
''I didn't envision doing another one after the first one,'' he said of the original ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.'' ''But CBS did.''
Absent any entourage and largely unnoticed, Bruckheimer quietly made the scene without making a scene. P.T. Barnum or Donald Trump he's not, at least in the publicity-seeking game. But he proved to be approachable if unimpressed with the record he'll soon hold.
Aaron Spelling — in his ''Love Boat,'' ''Dynasty'' prime — topped out at seven series in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 TV seasons. Bruckheimer's nine shows will erase that mark.
''I just like putting good stuff on the air,'' he said. ''It's not about the numbers … I just love what I do and try to get as many exciting ideas in front of the viewing audience as I can.''
CBS would be nowhere without him. Besides the ''CSI'' trio, Bruckheimer produces ''Without a Trace,'' ''Cold Case'' and ''The Amazing Race.'' His new ''Close to Home'' crime series will replace the canceled ''Judging Amy'' on Tuesday nights. And repeats of his hits fill CBS' two-hour ''Crimetime'' Saturday bloc, giving him nine of the network's available 22 prime-time hours.
Friday's the only night without a Bruckheimer series on CBS. Give him time, and don't worry about him being spread thinner than his tight, taut physique.
''It's limitless,'' he said of his capacity to generate new shows. ''It all comes down to finding the right talent.''
NBC and the WB also hope to strike Bruckheimer gold this season. The peacock network's ''E-Ring'' stars Benjamin Bratt as a crisis-ready military officer assigned to the Pentagon, while the WB gets Don Johnson as a burnt-out attorney rejuvenated by a kid partner in ''Just Legal.''
Bruckheimer acts fast if he sees something that audiences don't like. Bratt's character originally had a wife and infant child in the ''E-Ring'' pilot. No more.
''When we tested it, the girls wanted Benjamin to be single,'' he said. ''We listen to the audience.''
''CSI: NY'' also will be a little bouncier this season, with the crime solvers moving from dank, dark underground headquarters to a sunnier high-rise.
''Everyone thought we could lighten it up and change the sets a little bit,'' Bruckheimer said.
In his spare time, he produces blockbuster feature films such as ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' and ''National Treasure,'' both of which have sequels in the works. And in January, Bruckheimer for the first time will try his hand at TV comedy, with ''Modern Men'' for the WB. It's about three single guys who resort to a ''life coach'' to help them with relationships.
''They've been doing the same kinds of comedy shows since 'I Love Lucy,''' he said. ''Somebody's gotta come along and break the pattern and do it in a different way. And I hope it's us.''
So far he's had just two TV flops. ''Fearless,'' originally announced as part of the WB's 2003 fall schedule, never got on the air because Bruckheimer deemed it lousy and belatedly pulled the plug. That season's ''Skin'' on Fox failed despite a massive promotional campaign during the network's telecasts of baseball's playoffs and World Series.
Bruckheimer claims to read every page of every script. At 50 pages a pop for a typical series, that would be 450 pages a week this season.
''I ride an exercise bike every morning for about 40 minutes to an hour, so I can knock off a couple of scripts then,'' he said. Sundays often are entirely devoted to catching up on any unfinished reading.
After the CBS party, Bruckheimer planned to ''look at some makeup and camera tests'' at home. He always trusts his gut.
''We know if it's a good idea or not — right away,'' he said. ''We don't know if it's gonna be a hit. But we know what a good idea is.''
Bruckheimer personally touts his new and returning shows
By Ed Bark
Of The Dallas Morning News
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Showbiz has no one bigger than Jerry Bruckheimer, the 5-foot-71/2-inch potentate of prime-time television and big-time moviemaking.
The 59-year-old producer with the near-perfect track record easily was the most important presence at the Hammer Museum, site of Tuesday night's CBS ''Stars Party,'' part of the annual Television Critic Association press tour. It marked a rare appearance for Bruckheimer, who wasn't listed among the expected attendees and mostly lets others speak on behalf of his company's three new series for this fall and six holdover hits, including the three ''CSI'' juggernauts.
''I didn't envision doing another one after the first one,'' he said of the original ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.'' ''But CBS did.''
Absent any entourage and largely unnoticed, Bruckheimer quietly made the scene without making a scene. P.T. Barnum or Donald Trump he's not, at least in the publicity-seeking game. But he proved to be approachable if unimpressed with the record he'll soon hold.
Aaron Spelling — in his ''Love Boat,'' ''Dynasty'' prime — topped out at seven series in the 1983-84 and 1984-85 TV seasons. Bruckheimer's nine shows will erase that mark.
''I just like putting good stuff on the air,'' he said. ''It's not about the numbers … I just love what I do and try to get as many exciting ideas in front of the viewing audience as I can.''
CBS would be nowhere without him. Besides the ''CSI'' trio, Bruckheimer produces ''Without a Trace,'' ''Cold Case'' and ''The Amazing Race.'' His new ''Close to Home'' crime series will replace the canceled ''Judging Amy'' on Tuesday nights. And repeats of his hits fill CBS' two-hour ''Crimetime'' Saturday bloc, giving him nine of the network's available 22 prime-time hours.
Friday's the only night without a Bruckheimer series on CBS. Give him time, and don't worry about him being spread thinner than his tight, taut physique.
''It's limitless,'' he said of his capacity to generate new shows. ''It all comes down to finding the right talent.''
NBC and the WB also hope to strike Bruckheimer gold this season. The peacock network's ''E-Ring'' stars Benjamin Bratt as a crisis-ready military officer assigned to the Pentagon, while the WB gets Don Johnson as a burnt-out attorney rejuvenated by a kid partner in ''Just Legal.''
Bruckheimer acts fast if he sees something that audiences don't like. Bratt's character originally had a wife and infant child in the ''E-Ring'' pilot. No more.
''When we tested it, the girls wanted Benjamin to be single,'' he said. ''We listen to the audience.''
''CSI: NY'' also will be a little bouncier this season, with the crime solvers moving from dank, dark underground headquarters to a sunnier high-rise.
''Everyone thought we could lighten it up and change the sets a little bit,'' Bruckheimer said.
In his spare time, he produces blockbuster feature films such as ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' and ''National Treasure,'' both of which have sequels in the works. And in January, Bruckheimer for the first time will try his hand at TV comedy, with ''Modern Men'' for the WB. It's about three single guys who resort to a ''life coach'' to help them with relationships.
''They've been doing the same kinds of comedy shows since 'I Love Lucy,''' he said. ''Somebody's gotta come along and break the pattern and do it in a different way. And I hope it's us.''
So far he's had just two TV flops. ''Fearless,'' originally announced as part of the WB's 2003 fall schedule, never got on the air because Bruckheimer deemed it lousy and belatedly pulled the plug. That season's ''Skin'' on Fox failed despite a massive promotional campaign during the network's telecasts of baseball's playoffs and World Series.
Bruckheimer claims to read every page of every script. At 50 pages a pop for a typical series, that would be 450 pages a week this season.
''I ride an exercise bike every morning for about 40 minutes to an hour, so I can knock off a couple of scripts then,'' he said. Sundays often are entirely devoted to catching up on any unfinished reading.
After the CBS party, Bruckheimer planned to ''look at some makeup and camera tests'' at home. He always trusts his gut.
''We know if it's a good idea or not — right away,'' he said. ''We don't know if it's gonna be a hit. But we know what a good idea is.''
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How are you doing? Hopefully very well, I'm rocking and rolling as always! 
will get a pleasant surprise, with a board full of intelligent fans who love one of his shows. Here's to you, Mr. Bruckheimer! 
