Re: Kurt Hummel Snark & Bark Thread--Part 11

[Ranwing]

If they are no doing something because they are choosing to take a break, that's one thing. It's another if they're not doing something because they weren't offered any projects over the summer. Which is the case, I believe, with Darren and Chord.

I am rather curious to find out what happened to the plans for Rachel to tour and support her album over the summer. They did talk about an international tour, but I get the feeling that those plans have fallen though.

As for Chris... I'm hoping that after his book tour that he does take a few weeks to relax before he flies out to England to start filming. I have a feeling that once we get into mid-August, he's not going to have any down time at all until late fall (when I assume Glee will finish filming).

[Buenos]

If they are no doing something because they are choosing to take a break, that's one thing. It's another if they're not doing something because they weren't offered any projects over the summer. Which is the case, I believe, with Darren and Chord.

Well we don't know that.  I do think that if you have the expectation, at least when the hiatus began, of filming 22-24 episodes of the next season of Glee, and Ryan Murphy and Lea both voiced that in interviews, that I could certainly see taking a break because you were expecting  to be beyond busy in the fall. 

However I don't fault that on the actors.  NO biggie, but I don't think any of us know what they are actually offered, what they turned down because it didn't fit in with their plans, timing, vacation, etc, etc.

I am rather curious to find out what happened to the
plans for Rachel to tour and support her album over the summer. They did talk about an international tour, but I get the feeling that

MY speculation is that they realized (Lea's camp)  there wasn't a a lot of time for a full tour if Lea also wanted time off for her Cabo jaunts.     OF course my speculation is worth the money they paid me for it.

As for Chris... I'm hoping that after his book tour that he does take a few weeks to relax before he flies out to England to
start filming. I have a feeling that once we get into mid-August, he's not going to have any down time at all until late fall (when I assume Glee will finish filming).

Considering we still don't have an official "starting" time for both Glee and the Noel Coward Movie this summer, I'm beginning to suspect that Chris  requested several months off to do the movie, so that it's going to be difficult to write him in on Glee because of the uncertainty of scheduling. 
( I'm guessing that when RIB thought they were getting a full season order they had the luxury of accommodating Chris 's request.) 


We still don't have an official confirmation how many Gee episodes are ordered, though I do know that Matt Morrison said 13, thought of course Ryan earlier in the spring had said 24.

[Ranwing]

Chord has had minimal offers outside of Glee since he joined the cast. I know that he's played a few small club venues and done a photo shoot or two, but that's been about it. He quit when he wasn't offered regular status and part of the reason it was surmised that he returned to the show was because he wasn't able to find any comparable work. Truth be told, Chord just isn't going to be that big a draw.

As for Darren, I'm sincerely surprised that he doesn't have something lined up for the summer, even if only playing a few club dates. I may not like him, but he is so easily marketed that him not doing something is certainly interesting.

As if said, if they are not working because they are choosing to take a break, that's great. But if they're at loose ends when they want to work... well, I'd be worried about post-Glee prospects if I were them at this point.

I didn't think it was realistic for Lea's people (and Lea herself) to be talking about a multi-nation tour given that she was only expecting a few months off from the show and there was no way they were going to allow her any real time off from Glee (the way Chris negotiated). Still, one of two things happened. Either the label and her team decided to hold off on any major album promotion until after she completes her commitment to Glee (which is realistically sacrificing the best time to promote her album), or they were looking at the numbers and didn't see sales warranting a major tour (at least on her own - I can see her as an opening act for a larger, more established performer). We won't know until after she's done with Glee to see if they renew the idea of her going on tour.

I'm betting anything that RM is kicking himself right now for agreeing to let Chris have this time off at this point. Because despite his insistence on trying to make Darren and Chord happen, he knows that Kurt is one of the last sure things this show has left (the other being Lea). Having Chris miss multiple episodes is really going to be problematic because they are losing a big selling point and one of the few people that can really be used for PR. But it's a done deal. Chris got his permission, committed to Noel and will be away for a significant length of time now. It's not something that the show can undo because his opportunity proves inconvenient. How much he's going to miss will hinge on when they expect to start production. My guess is that if they will be starting production shortly before Chris leaves for London, they'll rush some shooting with Chris before he leaves. Given that I don't expect Kurt to have any kind of independent storyline this season, it won't be that big a deal and he'll just breeze back into being Blaine's cheerleader after he finishes whatever thing they use to explain his absence.

[ChrisColferFan1]

Chord has had minimal offers outside of Glee since he joined the cast. I know that he's played a few small club venues and done a photo shoot or two, but that's been about it. He quit when he wasn't offered regular status and part of the reason it was surmised that he returned to the show was because he wasn't able to find any comparable work. Truth be told, Chord just isn't going to be that big a draw.

As for Darren, I'm sincerely surprised that he doesn't have something lined up for the summer, even if only playing a few club dates. I may not like him, but he is so easily marketed that him not doing something is certainly interesting.

As if said, if they are not working because they are choosing to take a break, that's great. But if they're at loose ends when they want to work... well, I'd be worried about post-Glee prospects if I were them at this point.

I didn't think it was realistic for Lea's people (and Lea herself) to be talking about a multi-nation tour given that she was only expecting a few months off from the show and there was no way they were going to allow her any real time off from Glee (the way Chris negotiated). Still, one of two things happened. Either the label and her team decided to hold off on any major album promotion until after she completes her commitment to Glee (which is realistically sacrificing the best time to promote her album), or they were looking at the numbers and didn't see sales warranting a major tour (at least on her own - I can see her as an opening act for a larger, more established performer). We won't know until after she's done with Glee to see if they renew the idea of her going on tour.

I'm betting anything that RM is kicking himself right now for agreeing to let Chris have this time off at this point. Because despite his insistence on trying to make Darren and Chord happen, he knows that Kurt is one of the last sure things this show has left (the other being Lea). Having Chris miss multiple episodes is really going to be problematic because they are losing a big selling point and one of the few people that can really be used for PR. But it's a done deal. Chris got his permission, committed to Noel and will be away for a significant length of time now. It's not something that the show can undo because his opportunity proves inconvenient. How much he's going to miss will hinge on when they expect to start production. My guess is that if they will be starting production shortly before Chris leaves for London, they'll rush some shooting with Chris before he leaves. Given that I don't expect Kurt to have any kind of independent storyline this season, it won't be that big a deal and he'll just breeze back into being Blaine's cheerleader after he finishes whatever thing they use to explain his absence.

Great post,I agree. Anyway it does not matter,I don't plan on watching season 6,I do not want to see Kurt give up his dreams to become Blaine's and possible Rachel's cheerleader, or even worse,in my opinion become a househusband to Blaine.If I am proven wrong,and Kurt does have independent storyline/s and is not just a cheerleader to Blaine and or Rachel,and does not just be a househusband to Blaine,I might watch. I kind of doubt it though.

[Buenos]

Listen if Kurt is not getting any independen SL's the least they can do to explain his absence is to say he's doing a musical in the West End in London.

Glee could even say that Kurt's career exploding is why they (Klaine) delayed their wedding plans.

I would buy that.   

[fantastica]

^ Whatever you want on glee will never happen. i've seen the pattern. they think differently from us.

[Ranwing]

Let's be realistic. Even when the show had Chris completely at their disposal, Kurt rarely got an independent storyline. Not since mid-way through season 3 when everything that happened to him ended up cycling around to be about Rachel or Blaine. After having multiple episodes of Rachel moping because she bombed her NYADA audition, we got no focus on Kurt after he got rejected. He and Blaine break up over Blaine's infidelity and the aftermath became all about Blaine feeling sorry for himself and having his bestie assuring him that he was a hero. Kurt's POV wasn't given any attention at all until Glease, several episodes later and was limited to a bare few minutes. Winning Midnight Madness was less about him proving himself as a talent at NYADA than it was about teaching Rachel the same lesson for the umpteenth time (since the girl has a skull like a rock and nothing gets through).

I'm sure that the lack of focus on Kurt's individual story will be blamed by the show runners as being due to Chris's film, but it's bullshit. They haven't cared about telling Kurt's story and have it be about Kurt in a very long time. And when it comes to Hummelberry and Klaine, Kurt ends up being all about helping Rachel and Blaine rather than the relationships being balanced.

[ChrisColferFan1]

^ Whatever you want on glee will never happen. i've seen the pattern. they think differently from us.

Very true.  

[Buenos]

Kurt rarely got an independent storyline.

Of course I realize that, I just want the excuse that Kurt is not on the screen because he's away doing a musical in London.   IF he doesn't get SL focus, I at least want him to reside in the Mercedes/Santana stratosphere of outside success even if not seen.   

[Ranwing]

Buenos, I think that is exactly how it will happen. This way the show can answer the complaints from Kurt fans who are upset that he's not given the chances for success that every other character left has. It's going to be more "tell not show" which frustrates me, but I'll console myself that at least in canon, Kurt will be allowed to have some measure of professional success.

The show will likely either capitalize on Chris's movie and have Kurt overseas filming a movie, or he'll be in NY on stage. Either way, it shows that Kurt is working and is in demand as a performer. I can live with that.

[Glorfindel]

^Or they're so pissed that Chris is not available for filming when they need him the most (in hindsight), combined with so many people obviously rejecting the season Sux spoilers and the Daleastreet focus in it while Chris/Kurt is a popular as ever (like e.g. in the new E! poll), that they'll take their sweet revenge by letting Kurt lose even more off screen. 

They could have Kurt busy with some crappy off-off-off Broadway job behind the scenes he can't get time away from to go to Lima (paying his 'due' like most young performers do, but somehow Kurt is the only character on Glee who has to work his way to the top, unlike the special snowflakes most other Glee characters are).
Or Kurt could fail graduating from NYADA at the same time as Blaine does (who of course caught up with Kurt in no time and is now free to go back to Lima for a few months). It's not like it would be the first time that Kurt fails where others succeed (undeserved), just look at 3x22.
Or maybe they're sending him to Russia after all (they would).

And all of these options still would be better than this last one I offer:
Giving Burt cancer again and Kurt needing to either go back to Lima to take care of him (mostly off screen of course), so he can do a little propping up to Rachel and Blaine every once in a while. Or Kurt rushing to Washington and staying there for some time after Burt got another heart attack there.


Too pessimistic? Yeah, probably. And I also think they'll go for the "Kurt is in New York/London to be in a movie/musical" option.
But this is Glee, and we've been extremely disappointed before, so I'll have no, I repeat: no optimistic expectations whatsoever.

It just might be that Kurt being happy and succesful in a musical/movie at the same time when Blaine and Rachel are going back to Lima to direct stupid school choirs will create a too big of an imbalance between 'all-he-wants-to-be-is-happy-but-all-he-gets-is-crap!Kurt' and 'always-needing-to-be-the-bestest-and-most-specialest!Blaine and Rachel'.
If this show has been consistent in one thing it's Kurt always needing to be at least 1 step behind both Rachel and Blaine succes/careerwise.  

[Buenos]

I never had the feeling the writers or RIB disliked Chris or the character of Kurt.  It's just that they fell into ruts on how they wrote ALL the characters, and they're too lazy and ill disciplined to actually work on character development and plots.  So Chris taking time off for his movie isn't something I think the writers would hold against  him, but it's a convenient out not to give him Storylines they weren't going to develop for him anyways.  I mean, "BASH" in which he gets beat up was the throw away C plot of the episode.  

They're not interested in the character of  Kurt anymore (which I suppose in some ways is worse, LOL) , just like they're not really interested in Artie or Santana.

Having said that, Kurt is still probably the best developed character on Glee, no small part to Chris' acting.

[brisallie]

Seriously, RIB is still interested on Glee? On the surface seems they're, as they keep talking about what's coming in season six and so on . But sometimes I wonder if they say all of this, particularly Ryan, to not let others realize how their ego has been beaten; as in the case of Ryan, once again he has a series that was successful and then went downhill, I think the same happened with nip-tuck.

[Buenos]

OK, I stand by my original stance that the Glee cast is free to work their summer off or take a nice extended vacation... (Great Cabo tan, Lea!)

However, there is an object lesson  that sometimes Darren Chris should Shut the fuck up when he goes off in his foot of the mouth tangents...

This is what he said about last year's hiatus before his tour:

"I think most of the Glee kids are probably off in beautiful, exotic places not going on tour and relaxing. I am crazy and can't stop working so if I can convince them to come out from under the hole that they have probably dug themselves comfortably in for relaxation time, then that would be fun."

Of course puffing himself up because he can't stop working.. as opposed to his castmates who take vacations...give me a break.  Of course in a later interview he says that in 3 years he hasn't found the time to finish his album due to his Glee workload.  So much for the  "cant stop working"  man.

And of course he babbled earlier this year  how his album was taking so long (translation: shelved d or cancelled)  compared to Lea's because he was a songwriter composer as opposed to her having an album produced by others  without as much creative input.  PLus he had said earlier that he could have put out a "Rufus Wrainwright" type of album.

“I could make that very niche pretentious, Wall of Sound, Rufus Wainwright, Animal Collective fusion record, which I will make someday maybe, but it won’t sell ’cause nobody will like it except me. I could do that, but as an artist everyone has a responsibility when they’re on a public landscape to cast the widest net and find the in-between.”

So of course he went on tour with bubble gum pop music he wrote, nothing wrong with that I might add.

However Now he changes his tune:

"My brother said something so
beautiful to me over Christmas. He’s a musician too, and we grew up on the same music, and we love the same music. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “Just promise me your record won’t smell like compromise.” And that hit me so hard. I was like, “Oh my god, I’ve been compromising everything!” (laughs) I would take a bullet for this man so hearing that really got me into high gear."

'I have a real opportunity with this album: the goal for it is to make a statement. It would’ve been very easy for me two years ago to make a very simple pop record - not that there’s nothing wrong with that, there’s no high horse here. I could’ve gone in with some great writers, I wouldn’t have had to touch the writing or produce anything. I could’ve sang some huge songs, and had
play on the radio, toured around…but that isn’t who I am. It’s not somebody who I want to be, it’s not somebody I could be for the rest of my life"

Jesus Louise, so he says he could have made a "pretentious album" and a "simple pop album." Is there no end to his gifts and variety of music producing prowess?    

So much for his earlier statement  of tying to "cast the widest net".
Of course if the record Label isn't going forward with his album (implied by an Anders interview)  he's not going to say that.  More that it's his "artistic choice" to be true to himself.  So obviously he told the record company to go fuck themselves. thus the delay on his album..yea right...love the implication that if he sold out he could get pop success..wow that easy.

OK That is my one big Darren post for the summer, LOL, but sometimes he needs to realize he needs to STFU with his statements that do make him sound like a pretentious twat who has foot in mouth disease.

Nothing personal against him, but geeze it's tiring how his stans think he's so different from every other celebrity shilling for a buck.  

Back to Chris, I so love how this "Noel" movie we are going through a whole process of development , we are seeing the baby foot steps of the movie before our eyes.

[fantastica]

dc wants to make his own version of music but it won't have any market, so making "compromise" is very natural thing for him. problem is, such hybrid often ruin the "integrity" of the album as a whole. Matt Morison's first album is also sort of poppish hybrid, and it was very ill received too.

dc should probably make another indie album on a small scale, w/ only his type of music, then distribute it to people who actually like that music. he can also create a pure candy-pop album just to please his tween fans. the later is for money, the former for pleasure.

[Buenos]

The thing it's just so much bullshit. Most successful albums the artist has to compromise somewhat, that's a given.

The trick is not to lose yourself in what you do.

As a big Rufus Wainwright fan I flat out say Darren would be so lucky to even approach Rufus artistry on an album.

Go ahead and make an indie album if you want but stop pretending you're some fucking major artist who is against compromise.

[fantastica]

^ oh dear, let him say whatever he wants. he needs to promote himself. 

besides, he's got an ego.


p.s.: this is unrelated to DC, but i often wonder what's the difference between self esteem and ego. one has positive connotation and the other negative, but aside from that, what's the real difference?

[Glorfindel]

A candy-pop album for Darren would be too late now.
Glee's viewers have dwindled, and Darren also doesn't have as many fans anymore as he used to have. He probably could have sold a reasonable amount of that pop album around the beginning of season 3, when Darren/Blaine was still fresh, a Warbler and nothing more than Kurt's bf who sang a bit too many solos.
But now Darren's Glee songs don't sell much anymore, and he wasn't a draw for 'Girl Most Likely', so I really doubt a pop album aimed at his young teen fans would sell well either.

An 'indie' album for his true fans (the ones who also bought his first EP) would be his best bet imo.

[Buenos]

p.s.: this is unrelated to DC, but i often wonder what's the difference between self esteem and ego. one has positive connotation and the other negative, but aside from that, what's the real difference?

A professor told me once that self esteem is recognizing  (and not minimizing) one's gifts and strengths, whereas ego is more self centered focus, which is not necessarily bad but  can potentially blind you to what are your weaknesses that you need to work on.

All artists should have a healthy self esteem, and some have a very  healthy ego, so they are compatible, but an over the top rampant ego has been the downfall of many a person.  It blinds the artist to what is not working because they can't find fault in what they do nor critique their own work.

Tricky because you need self confidence but not hubris, other two "related" words.... 

[Buenos]

I love both Amber and Naya, but the reality is that those two gals also have a tough road to hoe to get an album out and successful commerically.

Hell, Lea may end up selling over  200-250K copies of her album and some have deemed it a "failure".    

Of the two, I think Naya could have a very interesting album if she would position herself as a type of latina Amy Whinehouse, thought I just love Amber's voice.   Amber does seem to have a solid production team behin her.  One of her producers is also one of Justin Beiber's and she does seem to have legit music cred with the RB community.

Amber's problem is she doesn't look like Beyoncee/Rihanna, and that sucks that the music industry these days is so "visual".  It really, really sucks.  Whereas I think Naya has the "look" they like for music/videos/etc.  However Naya seems a bit lost these days.

[Ranwing]

Lea's album can be termed as a modest success. 200-250,000 units by a total unknown would be considered very good nowadays. The problem is that Lea is not a complete unknown. She is the lead on (what was) a highly successful television show with a large fanbase from both Glee and her Broadway days and who is known as having an exceptional vocal instrument. I don't think that it's out of line that the label had been hoping for at least Gold status for the album (or failing that, a single). Thus far, Lea is nowhere close to achieving either. So while it's not a complete commercial failure, it's not exactly a burning success either. And with the reviewed, it can't even be regarded as a critical success.

Still, I'll be surprised if she doesn't get a second album. She'll probably lose some artistic control and the production budget won't be as generous, but she'll probably get a second album.

I will agree that for the modern market, Amber's weight can be a problem, but look at Adele. She's hardly a twig and her album sold like gangbusters. I'll be happy to say that out of all the Glee girls, she's the one who by any rights should be putting out an album, but right now. Glee is fading fast and after Lea's "eh" sales, I don't think that the label is going to risk any of the rest of the cast putting out an album. That ship left dock a long time ago - Amber, Naya and Darren are SOL.

[Buenos]

Of course hindsight is 20/20 but the Label should have pushed a Lea album somewhere between seasons 2 and 3 of Glee.  It's hard to believe now but the Glee tour of 2011 was the 11th largest grossing tour for the entire year of all music  acts.    I  believe Glee still holds the record for most sold out gigs at the OZ arena in London IIRC.

Those were heady days, as with the start of Season 3 Naya, Amber and Darren all had record contracts for pending albums.  The irony of course that in the end it was Lea by season 5 that actually released an album and the other three are still in limbo.

Chris was smart in that he took full advantage of Glee's meteoric popularity to push getting his movie "Struck by Lightning" done, it really was great timing (and backbreaking work at  breathtaking speed, he finished the movie on a shoe string budget between the end of the Glee tour and the start of SEason 3, something like 20 days...YIKES) .

Sure the movie SBL  was packaged as a somewhat qualified  video release to insure profitability, but in balance the fact that Chris got a movie produced that he wrote and starred in by the age of 21 gave him a cred that you can't buy, for all that the SBL  wasn't a critical indie smash.  Add that he took advantage of Glee fame not to do a generic young star bio self/help book but a children's book series that is going to outlast Glee, and you have someone who's taken advantage of his Glee fame to branch out.

It doesn't hurt he got Emmy, SAG (winning group SAG and individual nom)  and Golden Globe (winning the last one) nomination acting cred, but Chris didn't lest on his laurels but worked his ass off.

Now he's positioned to have at least two movies and two books out for next year, and the naysayers who say he is a one trick pony are running out of time to pretend he won't get any offers post Glee that will pan out.

[Ranwing]

Chris is in a very unique position among the "kid" actors on Glee - besides having the benefit of having been on what was once a highly successful show, he's got the benefit of those very real, prestigious award nominations and wins that no one else in the cast can claim. The only other of the "kids" that comes close to what Chris has achieved is Lea (with her Emmy/GG nominations). As I said once, those awards really do mean something in how Chris is seen in the industry.

Chris said it best himself - that one day he could just be remembered as the actor from Glee unless he was smart and lucky. And he's proven to be both. He took full advantage of Glee's popularity when it was at its peak to get his own writing projects out and get his indy filmed. That leant him a great deal of credibility in the industry. Now that the Do Not Resuscitate order has been signed for Glee, he's probably in the best position of anyone in the cast in regards to not just surviving the fallout intact, but to continue building on the success that he's already achieved. He didn't dawdle because he had the good sense to recognize that there was no promise of how long the gravy train would last.

If there is one truth about the entertainment industry is that today's star can easily become tomorrow's trivia question. You can't just rest of your laurels - you have to be like a shark and keep swimming or you drown. Chris is fortunate to be blessed with not just a multitude of talents, but an amazing work ethic, sense of perseverance, and good sense not to just let a good thing rest.

[fantastica]

consider that Mariah, J.Lo and other big name singers all flopped their new albums lately, lea's sales are actually quite good. it's definitely not a failure. 

it's very tough to be in the entertainment industry, as artists.

[Buenos]

Chris also doesn't condescend to his fanbase, he's dedicated  and by his hard  work shows his appreciation for his fans, but he realizes that being true to himself, including his opinions/positions is the way to have fans respect him.

Giving a  good stellar performance is what he owes his fans and he delivers that in spades.

He has never succumbed to letting the fandoms (KLAINE) dictate his conduct or opinions, and his witty and sarcastic persona has stayed unchanged because he realized he is who he is, and either people like or don't but he remains genuine.

It's amazing that even neglected by Glee as far as screentime Chris still won the PCA award for most popular actor two years running. His fans are loyal because they respect his professionalism and talent.

It amused me that in hypothetical  forums one of  the must fucked up pseudo moderators (snarks at others because  that's her privilege) who worships the character Harmony (seriously she was on for like 2 seconds LOL) snarked in  a post that the actors who won the PCA awards were the ones  whose fans had no life.  This from someone who has over 25 thousand fucking posts on that forum.  There are none so blind.... 

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