Pre-winning
I’ve been watching the Charlie Sheen circus this week and even reporting on it, almost nightly, on The Adam Carolla Show. By all accounts Sheen seems crazy as fuck right now but in the back of my mind I began to wonder if this might be an act, or if not an act, a performance… or an exaggeration. There’s something methodical and deliberate about Sheen’s rants and what’s missing, to my way of thinking, is the news that after this or that interview he was caught wandering the streets or yelling into a tin foil ball or ripping his clothes off and pronouncing himself Jesus. For the most part he seems to be showing up on time, talking about winning, tiger blood and Goddesses, and then going on his way, keeping his nose clean, no pun. The  nutjobs I’ve known have been a little messier with their mania.
On Saturday Sheen tweeted that he’d be appearing on Ustream that evening on Brad Wyman’s WYTV network. I know Brad and his producing partner Barry Schuler (former CEO/Chairman of AOL and very early fan of my Ustream show for which I’m forever thankful) and I hosted a live stream of the premiere party they held for their series LOOK.
I emailed Barry, initially just out of curiosity (“Do you really have Sheen on Ustream tonight? WTF is up with him???”) and proceeded to interview both Barry and Brad, separately, in what I’m told is the first interview they’ve granted a reporter about their involvement with Sheen.
I broke /shared some of the story on The Adam Carolla Show tonight. Here are some of the things Wyman and Schuler told me:
They say Sheen isn’t crazy: “He’s an entertainer. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
I asked what the endgame is. They said in the beginning Sheen’s goal was to get his show back but it’s turned into something bigger. They helped introduce Sheen to twitter and encouraged him to take control of his “brand.”
Wyman, who’s known Sheen since they were teenagers says he said to Sheen, “I’m not in the business of exploiting Charlie Sheen.” Sheen’s response? “I am.”
Wyman said he received a 3 million dollar offer to develop a Tiger Blood product and this is just one of the many offers rolling in.
I asked Wyman about the twitter exchange he’d had with Chad Lowe, who encouraged Wyman to get Sheen help. Wyman said Lowe is a “worry wart” but admitted he’d also probably be worried if he’d only seen Sheen in interviews and not been in close contact with him for the last many months. He says anyone close to Sheen who’s concerned should just pick up the phone and call Sheen and see for themselves that he’s fine.
Sheen intends to continue doing Ustream shows but will likely dispense with the talk show format of the first outing. (Bad news for Simon Rex and his fart sounds.)
More details on the episode of The Adam Carolla Show that’ll be up on iTunes tomorrow. For the record, both Dr. Bruce, who was on the show tonight and Adam are still of mind that Sheen’s lost his.
Well, imagine if you were to set up a rough timeline of Charlie Sheen’s troubles over the last year (allegedly held knife to wife’s throat, after which she went into rehab, chased some hooker around who was so scared she locked herself in a bathroom, got his show put on hiatus, the most recent episode with the cokehead rambling, his kids getting taken away a week ago, etc).
It would be rather obvious that his train was coming off the rails. I don’t believe any of that was really played up for the media. I’m pretty sure he’s got enough F.U. money and is distant enough from any consequences that it’s kept him insulated from any real need or desire to change.
However, I would wager Sheen is someone who is coming in and out of sanity to some degree, and if he’s having a moment of relative clarity, he could be continuing with the streak that he’s on- that is, staying in the limelight- in order to capitalize on himself (literally).
Saying that he “knows what he’s doing” and that he’s got things under control is a necessary thing to believe for the people who are around him and enabling him, but more than that it allows them and Sheen himself to dilute the recent trend of the events of his life (ie. downward and spiraly).
Hey Alison, I’ve been thinking the same as you. There is a part of me that really thinks Charlie Sheen is performing, and that there is an intellectual and methodical plan being carried out by him. I don’t know him as a person, but I have read and believe he’s smarter than most in the Hollywood limelight. I am hoping that this is all a well played April Fools joke.
Well, imagine if you were to set up a rough timeline of Charlie Sheen's troubles over the last year (allegedly held knife to wife's throat, after which she went into rehab, chased some hooker around who was so scared she locked herself in a bathroom, got his show put on hiatus, the most recent episode with the cokehead rambling, his kids getting taken away a week ago, etc).
It would be rather obvious that his train was coming off the rails. I don't believe any of that was really played up for the media. I'm pretty sure he's got enough F.U. money and is distant enough from any consequences that it's kept him insulated from any real need or desire to change.
However, I would wager Sheen is someone who is coming in and out of sanity to some degree, and if he's having a moment of relative clarity, he could be continuing with the streak that he's on- that is, staying in the limelight- in order to capitalize on himself (literally).
Saying that he “knows what he's doing” and that he's got things under control is a necessary thing to believe for the people who are around him and enabling him, but more than that it allows them and Sheen himself to dilute the recent trend of the events of his life (ie. downward and spiraly).
He might be exploiting this media frenzy for all it’s worth right now…but he’s still clearly a huge addict who’s completely off his rocker and in major denial.
All though I find his antics highly entertaining, it’s hard to argue against the notion that his coverage is a distraction to the ills of society. America is more concerned with Sheen’s next tweet, rather than the two wars our service men and women are fighting in or the labor unrest in Wisconsin. In many ways Charlie Sheen (as well as the male cast members of Jersey Shore and numerous athletes) is redefining masculinity in the 21st century in an negative light. This only solidifies the foundation of the American Dystopia that has been created by popular culture over the past few decades. Could you imagine a million Charlie Sheens running around? It’s unrealistic, and would do more harm than good.
In response to your post: Sheen is simply investing his time by utilizing the power of the media to get his name out their and make some money. He knows exactly what he is doing.
Hey Alison, I've been thinking the same as you. There is a part of me that really thinks Charlie Sheen is performing, and that there is an intellectual and methodical plan being carried out by him. I don't know him as a person, but I have read and believe he's smarter than most in the Hollywood limelight. I am hoping that this is all a well played April Fools joke.
He might be exploiting this media frenzy for all it's worth right now…but he's still clearly a huge addict who's completely off his rocker and in major denial.
All though I find his antics highly entertaining, it's hard to argue against the notion that his coverage is a distraction to the ills of society. America is more concerned with Sheen's next tweet, rather than the two wars our service men and women are fighting in or the labor unrest in Wisconsin. In many ways Charlie Sheen (as well as the male cast members of Jersey Shore and numerous athletes) is redefining masculinity in the 21st century in an negative light. This only solidifies the foundation of the American Dystopia that has been created by popular culture over the past few decades. Could you imagine a million Charlie Sheens running around? It's unrealistic, and would do more harm than good.
In response to your post: Sheen is simply investing his time by utilizing the power of the media to get his name out their and make some money. He knows exactly what he is doing.
I’ve known drug addicts my whole life and he’s just like the ones I’ve known, including my own father in the way he speaks, his eyes, everything. People can work and do drugs, parent and do drugs, drive on drugs, show up to appointments on drugs etc. Do you think getting fired from the number 1 show is a stunt too? This is just silly.
I've known drug addicts my whole life and he's just like the ones I've known, including my own father in the way he speaks, his eyes, everything. People can work and do drugs, parent and do drugs, drive on drugs, show up to appointments on drugs etc. Do you think getting fired from the number 1 show is a stunt too? This is just silly.
Does it have to be a clear-cut choice? (Crazy vs Calculated) Methinks not. I see hints of both. “Calculated Craziness?” perhaps?
Often, we want to apply labels, define, categorize EVERYTHING. With behavior, it’s very tough to do. Especially when there’s potential “craziness” involved. And in this case, there is. There SO is.
Is he TOTALLY nuts / “on the edge?” Probably not. He can still function, manipulate, promote, speak, etc.
Is he totally SANE, “jacking with all of us?” Probably not. If so, it’s the acting job of the century, as the dude comes across as NUTS.
I’ll continue to “tune in” as much as I’m able to. My attention is finite, so who knows… But as I do, I’m going devote a small amount of thought / consideration to “crazy / not crazy” , and devote more energy to “enjoying the show” , whatever the ultimate motivation turns out to be.
Love it. Regardless of any ultimate conclusions, this is good stuff.
I don’t think this needs to be an either / or thing…
Does it have to be a clear-cut choice? (Crazy vs Calculated) Methinks not. I see hints of both. “Calculated Craziness?” perhaps?
Often, we want to apply labels, define, categorize EVERYTHING. With behavior, it's very tough to do. Especially when there's potential “craziness” involved. And in this case, there is. There SO is.
Is he TOTALLY nuts / “on the edge?” Probably not. He can still function, manipulate, promote, speak, etc.
Is he totally SANE, “jacking with all of us?” Probably not. If so, it's the acting job of the century, as the dude comes across as NUTS.
I'll continue to “tune in” as much as I'm able to. My attention is finite, so who knows… But as I do, I'm going devote a small amount of thought / consideration to “crazy / not crazy” , and devote more energy to “enjoying the show” , whatever the ultimate motivation turns out to be.
Love it. Regardless of any ultimate conclusions, this is good stuff.
I don't think this needs to be an either / or thing…
My official stance on the “Is he or isn’t he?” question.
He’s sane, but crazy-curious.
My official stance on the “Is he or isn't he?” question.
He's sane, but crazy-curious.