TMC
07-09-2022, 02:19 AM
https://pagesix.com/2022/05/31/jon-cryer-was-almost-chandlerplus-tv-secrets-of-friends-more/
In recent years, Burrows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burrows) has had a “fun clause” (https://www.secondcityworks.com/podcast-posts/guest-james-burrows) added to every sitcom contract (https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/james-burrows-shares-directing-insights-in-chat-with-lisa-kudrow-1200813939/) he’s signed which allows him to unilaterally walk away (https://books.google.com/books?id=e5ZyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA294&lpg=PA294&dq=fun+clause+james+burrows+men+behaving+badly&source=bl&ots=epOhCPWjxB&sig=ACfU3U3_LSkLzGSw8B4v98i-qF8j3hutnw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhiKm5k-v4AhXtomoFHYudDogQ6AF6BAgfEAM) from a project if he’s not enjoying himself. It’s only been used once (https://www.secondcityworks.com/podcast-posts/guest-james-burrows), on the short-lived NBC show “Men Behaving Badly.” (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125239/http://www.jumptheshark.com/m/menbehavingbadly.htm)
It was based on a British show about two sweet men who did horrible things. Burrows explains that the original show (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Behaving_Badly) worked because the leads were so lovable, the audience forgave their nasty acts. But, he adds, the American version (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Behaving_Badly_(American_TV_series))’s first mistake was hiring “Saturday Night Live” alum Rob Schneider — who was “neither sweet nor did he know how to play a sweet character, so it became a show about a malevolent guy doing malevolent things.
“No one could connect with that. Rob and Ron [Eldard, his co-star] never got on. Occasionally, the producers would say, ‘Rob’s in his trailer and he won’t come out. Can you talk to him?’ The vitriol got so bad that during a taping, in front of an audience, the cast ‘walked through the show,’ saying their lines with no emotion,” Burrows writes. “They tried replacing Ron with Ken Marino, but people found it very difficult to work with Rob. I was done.”
In recent years, Burrows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burrows) has had a “fun clause” (https://www.secondcityworks.com/podcast-posts/guest-james-burrows) added to every sitcom contract (https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/james-burrows-shares-directing-insights-in-chat-with-lisa-kudrow-1200813939/) he’s signed which allows him to unilaterally walk away (https://books.google.com/books?id=e5ZyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA294&lpg=PA294&dq=fun+clause+james+burrows+men+behaving+badly&source=bl&ots=epOhCPWjxB&sig=ACfU3U3_LSkLzGSw8B4v98i-qF8j3hutnw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhiKm5k-v4AhXtomoFHYudDogQ6AF6BAgfEAM) from a project if he’s not enjoying himself. It’s only been used once (https://www.secondcityworks.com/podcast-posts/guest-james-burrows), on the short-lived NBC show “Men Behaving Badly.” (https://web.archive.org/web/20061031125239/http://www.jumptheshark.com/m/menbehavingbadly.htm)
It was based on a British show about two sweet men who did horrible things. Burrows explains that the original show (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Behaving_Badly) worked because the leads were so lovable, the audience forgave their nasty acts. But, he adds, the American version (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Behaving_Badly_(American_TV_series))’s first mistake was hiring “Saturday Night Live” alum Rob Schneider — who was “neither sweet nor did he know how to play a sweet character, so it became a show about a malevolent guy doing malevolent things.
“No one could connect with that. Rob and Ron [Eldard, his co-star] never got on. Occasionally, the producers would say, ‘Rob’s in his trailer and he won’t come out. Can you talk to him?’ The vitriol got so bad that during a taping, in front of an audience, the cast ‘walked through the show,’ saying their lines with no emotion,” Burrows writes. “They tried replacing Ron with Ken Marino, but people found it very difficult to work with Rob. I was done.”