i hate Jason alexander, he's by far the worst actor on the show...
the wife, the daughter, the son, and Malcolm Jamal Warner are alot better than he is...
in every movie or tv show Alexander is in he basically plays himself or his Seinfeld character George... Alexander is George basically...
I beg to differ about Mr. Alexander....but rather than argue....I will let CBS speak for me...they have ordered another 9 episodes of the show....making it a complete season for the show...bad actors don't get that kind of endorsement..and actually...Mr. Alexander has distinguished himself in every entertainment venue...from Broadway to Sit-com....his awards abound...and I salute his talent...and his considerable accomplishments...on top of which..in real life...he is a nice man...and in Hollywood...that is gold.....
shareall of Alexander's sitcoms since Seinfeld have failed...
the reason this show is good is becuz of the daughter, son , wife, and Malcolm Jamal...
they are good in spite of having Alexander on it...
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i like the show, i just don't like Alexander...
that's why it's titled alexander sucks, and not the show sucks...
I totally concur that the rest of the cast is top notch.......I know them all.....and they are all first-class professionals....but suporting casts do not...on their own...get a show picked up for a "back nine".....it is the star...and how the star works with the supporing cast...and how well the writers write...and how America reacts....that gets the show picked up......and it seems that America...the star..the cast...and the writers..are all doing their jobs very nicely indeed...you are certainly free to dislike Mr. Alexander's work...but recognize that you are in the distinct minority.....I see the show shot every week.....and he is the impulse...the talent...the class....the glue that makes this show work...week after week.....the production company....the cast...CBS...and the American viewer....all seem to support Mr. Alexander's work.....as they should.
Let's see another season or more.....
Best...
MR
I totally concur that the rest of the cast is top notch.......I know them all.....and they are all first-class professionals....but suporting casts do not...on their own...get a show picked up for a "back nine".....it is the star...and how the star works with the supporing cast...and how well the writers write...and how America reacts....that gets the show picked up......and it seems that America...the star..the cast...and the writers..are all doing their jobs very nicely indeed...you are certainly free to dislike Mr. Alexander's work...but recognize that you are in the distinct minority.....I see the show shot every week.....and he is the impulse...the talent...the class....the glue that makes this show work...week after week.....the production company....the cast...CBS...and the American viewer....all seem to support Mr. Alexander's work.....as they should.
Let's see another season or more.....
Best...
MR
Alexander is just playing himself essentially, the short bald guy...
how is his character on this show any different than his character on Seinfeld, or any of his other shows he was on?
he plays the same guy all the time, and i think he's just being himself...
so it's not talent or acting, it's just him being himself...
whereas other actors/actresses playing many different characters and roles...
Do you know what Jason Alexander is like in real life?.....unless you do....you cannot honestly conclude that he is playing himself.....
So...let's look at his screen persona...he IS a short bald guy.....would you prefer he do Hamlet?.....or Romeo?.....no...he has a specific visual type...as most actors over 30 have.....a fact of the business.....but he brings to bear acting skills that you seem determined to ignore.....I can tell you...he is NOT playing Jason Alexander......he is playing the guy in the script....not George Constanza......each episode affords Tony a moment of recognition....a moment to consider his obsessive behavior...and often to make ammends.....something that George never really did...and he does it with class...ease...and skill.....you are being unfair when you pigeon-hole actors for playing today something more or less close to what they played yesterday.....was Carroll O'Connor really Archie Bunker?.....or Dick Van Dyke really Rob Petrie?...or Jackie Gleason really Ralph Cramden?......no....none of them where the characters they played....nor is Jason Alexander.....he is an actor who earned his stripes from the bottom up....like all good professional actors....just check his credits...on IMDB.com and on IBDB.com.....see what the guy has done.....
...your posts....are annoying....as hell...to read...
sharethere are plenty of guys who are over 30 who aren't short, balding and fat...
i would say he probably only represents 10% of the men over 30...
the fact is he's nothing like the character he's supposed to portray on this show...
if u watch Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, where the real life Tony Kornheiser starts, they looking nothing alike, other than that they are both white and balding...
since the real Tony is actually average height, average weight, something like 5'10", 175... while Alexander is like 5'5", 200...
The show is fiction...not biography.....if it was, they would call him Tony Kornheiser....not Kleinman....it is merely inspired by his books and his life..there is a real difference between the two worlds.....
shareWhy is that?
shareJason Alexander is one of the most talented actor's in this industry, and the comments that some people have made about him, lol, mean nothing to people like me, and other executives. The comedy timing for a sitcom comes from who? Well first, it comes from the writer's on the show, second, it comes from the director, and then it comes from the actor, and as for Seinfeld, well that was great writing, Jerry is a comedian, Jason had a good foundation to stand on then "good writing". When a writer creates characters for a sitcom, it would be best if they have some standup experience, a comedian on stage in front of a live audience at a comedy club, knows how to create one liners, for a live audience, they can see if the material works or on the other hand trying the material on their doctor, a stranger, a neighbor, a friend, and if they laugh, bingo, you got a winner, if they don't laugh, well it's back to the drawing board, and time to re-write. I haven't watched Jason's new show yet, but I think he is just wonderful in anything he does. I'm a huge fan! I wish him all the success in the world.
Barbara Ricci
Executive Producer
the problem is he plays the same guy on every show, and in Seinfeld... he was good in Seinfeld only cuz of Jerry's writing....
but now that Jason also directs himself, he basically is using stuff from the old Seinfeld show mostly...
I am curious as to how you concluded that Mr. Alexander directs himself on Listen Up!....are you there each week to see him work?....Believe me..he does not direct himself....but rather the show has a long list of directors of excellent pedigree.
shareif you watch the credits each week it says Directed By Jason Alexander...
he directs the show...
I do watch the credits each week and Mr.Alexander is credited as a producer not a director. If you go to TV Tome and view the episode guide, you will see the long list of seasoned TV directors who direct the show. While it is true that from time to time a series star will direct an episode, it is only occasional, as directing any TV episode is a vastly complicated and time consuming endeavor. When a star does direct an episode, their character is usually very "light" in that episode...or absent entirely. Listen Up! has shot 13 episodes so far with 9 more on the way. So far, Jason Alexander has not directed any one of them.
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In the entertainment business, there is a significant difference..or "diff"...between a director and a producer. Producers make sure every job is done...enjoy veto power over most hiring and all casting....they come in varing degrees of power......from Assistant Producer to Executive Producer....and a producer may also wear other hats....they may be the head writer..and/or the creator of the show....they may produce and direct....they may be an executive producer as well as the star......in any event...they enjoy much power over what is shown on the screen.....it all depends on who wears what hats...and in what combinations.....the director is the chief interpreter of the script.. and executes the telling of the story via his choices of how it is shot.....on some shows the director is very much under the thumb of the writers, stars and producers.....on others....not so....but though their jobs overlap....they are very different animals......as far as Listen Up!.....the show only has first-class directors all of whom enjoy the complete professional respect of the writers, producers and stars.......I have seen this in practice....week after week...episode after episode....
shareso Alexander is the producer, so he does have control over the show and teh characters...
perhaps some of the writers or directors they brought over from Seinfeld...
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i watch PTI too... and i think the real Kornheiser is a lot funnier than the fake one that Alexander tries to play...
other than the baldness they are very different people...
my point is Jason Alexander only knows how to play one type of character, like the one on Seinfeld...
and in this show he's basically George Costanza again... i mean he reminds me nothing of Tony Kornheiser... other than they are both white and bald...
i like the rest of the cast... i just don't like George...
I don't watch PTI...never have...rather I know Mr. Kornheiser's work from his columns in The Washington Post....which I have read off and on for at least a decade....maybe more...so I know his "voice"...in the literary sense and not his "face" in the practical sense....and I must say that the Listen Up! goes a long way in capturing the "voice" of his columns....mainly the day to day trials of being an upper middle-class parent of teenagers...in an increasingly complex world...that said...it must be stated again: Listen Up! is fiction...not history...and owes no obligation to its source to be historically or physically accurate. This has been true of dramatic writing since writers first picked up pen and parchment. Shakespeare stole from the Romans and from Holinshead..and made works quite different from the orignal source....Thorton Wilder robbed Moliere blind....and came up with The Matchmaker....it is a practice as old as the art itself...and so it goes in every dramatic form....in the theatre....in film...and certainly in TV land....Are the characters in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness the same as those in Apocalypse Now?.....nope...yet Conrad's novel is the source of Coppola's film...is Inherit The Wind identical to the Scopes Monkey Trial transcripts which inspired it?....no...the dramatic writer must select...adapt...invent...telescope..characters and events...to create something new...
As far as Mr. Alexander's work is concerned....George Constanza is only one of the things he can play...(check his resume)....and Tony Kleinman is not George...sure he is a self-obsessed blowhard...but he has the best of intentions...to be a good father and husband....and however much he may stumble over himself and others in the pursuit of that goal..in the end...he always has a moment of recognition...of perhaps contrition...and certainly a moment when he grows a bit as a man...THAT is not George Constanza. And it is in those moments that Mr. Alexander reveals his true skills as an actor.
face it, Jason Alexander is playing HIMSELF or GEORGE... he's not Tony Kornheiser at all...
becuz Kornheiser is NEITHER short or fat...
and on the show Listen Up, they keep having either Jason/George make fun of himself or someone else does, about being short and fat jokes...
only the bald jokes would match Kornheiser...
face it, Jason Alexander is playing HIMSELF or GEORGE... he's not Tony Kornheiser at all...
becuz Kornheiser is NEITHER short or fat
and i guess you wouldn't have a problem if they casted Denzel Washington as Bill Clinton, if they made a movie/show about Bill?
i don't think George portrays Tony correctly anyway... i mean why would Tony make short and fat jokes about himself, when he isn't short and fat... it only fits George's character...
He is not playing Tony Kornheiser...he is playing a character...INSPIRED by TK's writings....and developed/invented by Jeff Martin who is the Creator-Exec Producer-Head Writer of the show...it is FICTION....and you can't attack J. Alexander for playing himself...unless you know what he is like in real life...trust me...the public's perception of what "known actors" are like in real life is invariably off the mark by a mile or so....I have spent 30 years in the business...and I can tell you that what you see on screen is rarely what you see in real life...that's why it is called "acting".....and it is a craft to be respected..
Now let's look at your hypothetical casting of Clinton...casting D. Washington would...in the right venue...be a great idea...as Clinton is commonly referred to as "the first Black President".....but it would have to be a film where it was understood that factual reality was not the important issue...but rather the "essence of the character" was what mattered......in that case...Mr. Washington...a charistmatic actor..with great wit and sensitivity would do well as Bill Clinton...he would have to tax his acting skills to bring out Clinton's darker side....the cut-throat politician...the feckless philanderer.....but Mr. Washington has plenty of skills up his sleeve....and I think he could bring a fine performance to bear......still...this scenario is unlikely.....and Clinton got a pretty good accounting in Primary Colors.....courtesy of Mr. Travolta...
Now...since you insist on verisimilitude in casting....let's cut closer to the bone..look at Fail-Safe......a 1964 film.....based on a 1962 novel.....(a cautionary tale about the dangers of nuclear proliferation....due to an electronic error....6 nuclear bombers are sent to attack Moscow...and the plot concerns the attempt to recall them).......the novel defines the president as a former Senator from New England.....with a disctinct New England accent...young ..wealthy..popular....in short..without saying it...they are describing JFK....and understand..this was written just after the Cuban Missle Crisis.....
In the film....Henry Fonda played the role......
JFK was in his early 40s in 1962......Fonda was in his late 50s....JFK had a very clear Boston accent....Fonda had...in every film he made..his languid Nebraska twang.....but Fonda seemed to capture the cool..intellectual calm that defined JFK.....while never trying to IMMITATE him.....as he didn't have to...because...as I said...at the top of this message.....it is all FICTION!
Trust actors....they know what they are doing.
the thing is every role you see Alexander in he's the same guy... so some of it must be the real him... otherwise it wouldn't show up in eveyr movie and tv show he's done...
in contrast take Tom Hanks and he's played many very different roles and parts, so you can't tell what he really is like...
I am sorry....he is not always the same guy....as I said earlier....George Constanza never had the weekly epiphanies...or moments of recognition that Tony has..that is the beauty of the show...each week he has a personal discovery that makes him a better man...a better father...a better husband...and it is first the writer's skill....but finally Mr. Alexander's skill...that makes it work..
Does Tony have traits in common with George?....sure...he is short and bald and insecure and a loudmouth...but....Tony reveals his vulnerabilities in a way George never did...and that is where the skill comes to bear...for the writers...and for the actor..
I don't mean to keep punching back at you...but...
I guess your original post got my hackles up...saying that "jason alexander sucks".....no actor with his craft...credentials...and dedication to every entertainment medium should ever be assaulted that way...without actors like him...you..the TV public...are left with nothing but pretty-boy hunks and reality TV...and TV is too good a medium to give it up to them...
But let's look at other stars.....who achieved ICON status....Gary Cooper...Clarke Gable...Humphrey Bogart...John Wayne....Jimmy Stewart...Jimmy Cagney...Clint Eastwood....Bruce Willis...none of them wandered very far off the reservation when it came to their characterizations...yet America adores them...and they all basically played the same thing...same role...film after film...so when Jason Alexander's characterization as Tony....happens to intersect with certain aspects of George.....PLEASE...give him the same courtesy you might give the others...because if you take the time to examine his credits....you will find he has wandered very far off the reservation in his exploration...
well the thing is the ones that actually win awards or ones that are able to do different roles, like TOM HANKS...
Tom Hanks is so much better than George/Jason...
also even on the show Listen Up, i think the rest of the cast, wife, son, daughter, Malcolm Jamal, those are the ones who are the best on this show in my opinion...
about George/Jason again, why else do u think all his other roles since Seinfeld have all flopped? if he's so beloved?
i mean sure at times Jason is funny, but it gets old with the same short, fat, bald jokes over and over... and also with him screwing things up for himself all the time...
also i really like comedians like Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller, but they are never gone win best actor awards cuz tehy are one dimensional actors... they're funny, and well liked... but not award worthy... except in comedy category... but never for BEST ACTOR...
JASON ALEXANDER = A STAR
Please allow me to have a word; Jason Alexander is a star, and he is well loved by his family, friends, and fans. He makes people feel good, he's an entertainer; "not a scholar or rocket scientist," but an entertainer, and he is positively amusing; he really doesn't have to do more than that, he's Jason, he's Jason Alexander, and the entertainment industry loves and adores him.
Do you see this saying: EVERY KNOCK IS A BOOST
Every working actor lives by it! day after day, audition after audition, gig after gig...
Jason Alexander has paid his dues in this industry, and there is nothing negative anyone can say about him, absolutely nothing.
Champb42, it sounds to me, that your opinion really sucks.
Hey, nobody is perfect, nobody, not even you.
I think the analogy of the poem below says it all!
Barbara Ricci
Executive Producer
The Parable Of The Basket
created by Barbara Ricci
There were two women who went to high school together, one was righteous and the other was wicked. The wicked woman took an old broken basket and put broken pieces of glass, twigs, and corroded garbage into it, and she covered it with a brown paper bag. Then she called a little girl who was playing outside with her friends and said, "Little girl come over here, and bring this basket to the lady who lives in that house down there and tell her that I sent this to her." The little girl went down the street and rang the righteous woman's doorbell, and when the little girl handed the righteous woman the basket she said, "The woman who lives in that house over there told me to give this to you." Then the righteous woman took the brown paper bag off the basket and everyone started screaming throw it away, throw it away because it smelt terribly bad with a rotten odor. The righteous woman asked everyone to leave her alone for a while. She went into her kitchen, and emptied the basket out into the garbage pail. Then she disinfected it, fixed it, and filled it with shredded tissue paper. She then took her finest bottle of perfume, and her best bottle of champagne with two beautiful long stemware glasses and filled them with chocolate kisses in addition to a bouquet of fresh roses, and God’s Word. Thereupon, she laid it all inside the basket covering it with clear plastic and ribbons. Then she took a card and wrote on it, "You gave me what you have in your life, filth and garbage, and I give you what I have in my life, Champagne and Roses."
Ms. Ricci...I salute your endorsement of Mr. Alexander.
shareJason Alexander shoudl give half of all the money he has as well as half of all future earnings to his friend Jerry Seinfeld...
the only reason Jason Alexander is even around in Hollywood anymore, is cuz he's friends with Jerry...
it goes to show who you know is much more important than talent...
To borrow from Samuel Beckett..."Here we are again...again."
Once again...I hear you savage Mr. Alexander's talent and make remarks that are, at the minmium, completely unfounded...(most likely they are complete amateur invention)..about the reasons for his continued prosperity in Hollywood. I have suggested to you in the past that you examine his resume.....which you can do easily right here on IMDB. The man was on Broadway just out of college in 1981. Now I will assume that you know nothing about how rare that is. But is is very rare indeed. (I have done my Broadway service and I can testify to it.) And he was working for Harold Prince and Stephen Sondheim. A job anyone would kill for. Not bad for the man that you consider to be "talent-free". Further, he worked with Liza Minnelli, Neil Simon, and won a Tony Award for JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY (playing Pseudolus and Tevya...among other roles...and none of them like G. Constanza).....all of this BEFORE he did SEINFELD. This is not even to mention his turn as Max in Mel Brooks' THE PRODUCERS in 2003.
More to the point....you would be very hard-pressed to find a professional connection between Mr. Alexander and Mr. Seinfeld since the series concluded. If you have proof of your assertion....that "the only reason Jason Alexander is even around in Hollywood anymore, is cuz he's friends with Jerry"....please share it will all of us here on the message board.
Certainly some of his TV and film roles have intersected with George...but not in any material way. And it is wise to bear in mind...that the average American TV viewer..being a natural predator..."only eats what it knows"...some eat meat...some eat plants....the joy of watching Mr. Alexander's work is that he can persuade the intelligent, sophisticated predator to sample a more complex menu.
Finally..don't knock seasoned...dues-paying professionals unless you know the facts.
well Jason's, George character is what really made him... but that was due to good writing by Jerry Seinfeld... and the only reason he got future roles was off the success of Seinfeld....
i didn't mean he necessarily directly helped him get roles...
but if he never got the break on Seinfeld, i doubt we would even know him today...
I agree....George was his breakthrough role.....and due in good measure to the writing...whoever did it....but also due in large part to his acting skill....you assume he is George in real life....and he is not...he is acting....was acting....
Further....Rob Petrie was Dick Van Dyke's breakthrough role....but he was not Rob Petrie in real life....indeed.....offstage...he was someone very different...and darkly so....until his recovery...Ralph Cramden was Jackie Gleason's break-through role...but not the only thing up his sleeve... watch The Hustler....or Requiem for a Heavyweight....or his real long shot Gigot....masterfull acting.....and nothing like Ralph....but the TV viewer loves what it knows and producers and executives know that...and they tend to give them what they want...
Every famous actor has a break-through role....they have to...or they remain just another good actor in the pack...but the breakthrough role doesn't make the actor...the actor makes the role....and the public....loving the familiar..and fearing the different....demands more of the same.
To Mr. Alexanders credit..he gives us something different with Tony...a new and gentle heart under his more familiar self-absoprtion....for TV...that is staking out brave new territory....
To go further....is Al Pacino really the same guy as Michael Corleone?...with his chilly courtesy?...his heartless cool?..no...offstage he is quiet...generous...and very gracious and respectfull to those less famous than he ...the same with Anthony Hopkins...is he Hannibal Lecter?.....the role that made him a star?.....and won him a well deserved Oscar...after decades as an actor?..not at all...actually he is more like the role he played in Remains of the Day....quiet...reserved....private...yet kind...gracious...and very ordinary...until you remember what he is capable of on stage or on screen...then you realize that this averagely behaving ordinary man is anything but average...and anything but ordinary.....but that is only the observer's perception.....
So to conclude....
Never make assumptions about who actors are...or what they have to offer...they will always surprise you....
Well said!!!
I support Studio43 and Leamas. As a straigh guy i must say i like Jason Alexander a lot. He is very charismatic and funny from what i gather watching him on the screen. I 100% agree with what Leamas is saying about him and the actors in general. I've never met him in real life but i'd love to get his autograph on my SEINFELD DVD box set:P (almost got full collection:). Champb42 seems like u got stuck on Seinfeld, check out his independant works like "For Better or Worse" or his guest apperances in various shows. I really liked him in "Monk" episode and "Everybody Hates Chris"
And what's all that talk about him being fat or ugly? He's quite good looking (again i'm saying this from straigh guy point of view), he's got something in him that no other actor has (some uniqueness) and if people can't get pass his heigh or weight; man they are really shallow and superficial.
He is obviously a terrific actor. The people that get all mad and say "OHHHHH - I hate George Costanza!!" .... is because he played the part so well that it got those reactions from millions of people. Plus, he was really portraying Larry David and you don't hear people going after Larry the same way you do with Jason Alexander. He's a star on Broadway as well - many screen actors can't do the stage thing at all!! It takes a lot of talent, which Jason A. has a lot of. In interviews and such, he's not like the character George Costanza at all. Sad that people think he's that way in life!
Q: What is your favorite place?
A: Underneath my Grandmother's dining room table.
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you suck :D
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