TULSA JOKER

 

Sitting on the floor between takes at a former psych
hospital for six days in the middle of winter
would've been OK if the damn show had been
picked up by the network.

If it hasn't been made clear by now, let me assure you that background work is like any job. Sometimes it's fun; other days, all you want to do is go home. Mostly, it's OK. Anyone who gets into it expecting glamour is delusional. And those wanting it to be "fair" -- whatever that means -- has no idea how the game of life is played. 

It helps if you're willing to work overnights or accept 3:00 a.m. call times -- I'm not -- but often it just comes down to looks. Most of us accept our fate. I'm quite aware that my looks peaked a few years ago and, like the recent eclipse, lasted but a short time. As long as I'm not verbally reminded of it, I'm fine.

So I'm happy to live in New York rather than Atlanta, where the Paramount+ streaming series The Tulsa King is filmed. (Does Atlanta look that much like Tulsa? On a cheaper soundstage, it does.) The casting agency providing background quit this week when Tulsa King's star was heard disparaging some of the extras' looks with observations like "fucking ugly", "fat guy with a cane", and the old standby "tub of lard". 

Pot, kettle.

That's bad enough. But when those words are spoken by Sylvester Stallone, as they were here, then it crosses the line to You gotta be kidding me. 

I'm not going to disparage someone who looks (and sounds) like he was repeatedly punched in the face with cement block before undergoing mediocre plastic surgery and bathing in bronzer. That kind of thing is beneath me. I merely allow you to look at the picture and decided for yourself: Does this creature have the right to insult the looks of anything that walks on two feet, including probiscis monkeys?

By all means, laugh. But this was the
submission that got me the part of
"1980s Porn Convention Attendee"
on The Deuce. And I still didn't make 
final cut when it aired!

After he (and the director!) were through with their physiognomy studies, Stallone demanded, "Bring pretty young girls to be around me". As if they would do such a thing if they weren't being paid for the "pleasure". And since the "fat guy with a cane" was probably the only guy with a cane on set, throwing in "fat" is pretty ugly (there's that word again!) on Stallone's part.

I've experienced similar situations on sets, but nobody heard the star or director say, "Get rid of that skinny goofball." It usually comes down to, "Move the guy with the glasses." No problem. They want a particular look in the shot. I get it. it's just business. Polite business. Professional 

business.

In addition to taking a glance in the mirror, Stallone might want to remember that he's remained as relevant as he is by playing (and replaying and re-replaying) Rocky and Rambo (introduced in 1976 and 1982 respectively); appearing in the increasingly ridiculed Expendables movies; and that Tulsa King is running on a platform that lost $490 million in the last quarter of 2023. Rather than making fun of extras, he should be happy anybody wants to be seen with him, even for money. 

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