http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/111703kstreet.html


you know, it really sounds like that steven soderbergh guy is a real loser. even the lead characters on the show - i.e. James Carville - have issues with how he works. he should be permanently blacklisted /banned from using prosumer video cameras ever again to film tv shows, movies, etc.

Yeah, some guy who starts out making a small, independent film called "Sex Lies and Videotape" and who works his way up far enough that he's taken chances making movies about everything from Christopher Columbus to Vegas heists (albeit a remake) to Space dramas (ok, another remake...) must be real loser.

To quote the loveable Jimmy, "I mean, come on." I'm not SS apologist, but give the guy abreak. Everyone involved in K Street, including Soderberg and Clooney, said that the show was a 10 episode "experiment." As Clooney was quoted in the article you posted, "There are no second takes; we don't really know what we're going to do...I hope we get it right, and if we don't, you'll let us know."

And hey, I should've loved this show -- it sounded just like my type of thing -- but I thought it was aimless. And it certainly didn't showcase the DVX100 at it's best.

And you know what? Who cares. It's not Soderberg's responsibility to make you feel better about the prosumer camera you just bought or to help you prove that miniDV is a viable solution for filmmaking. He has the energy, desire, and clout right now to try whatever the hell he wants to, so he does what he wants. I can admire that, even when I don't enjoy the results.

If you want to prove to the world that the DVX100 is the greatest camera ever, then go shoot the best damn footage you can with it. And half the people in the world will still deride your camera b/c it's a prosumer miniDV cam, regardless of how great your footage is. That is, unless you add a huge matte box and 100 other accessories and get a Steadicam rig. Then they won't even know ther f'in difference. :)

Soderbergh may not have had much success with prosumer cameras yet, but...

... when there are only five pictures per year selected for "Best Director", and one guy is named for two of them? And wins? You gotta give him his due.

I was just really dissapointed, and watched the show every week hoping to find something redeeming - even just in the storyline. I am a huge political junkie, and I also happen like all those movies and tv shows made with handheld cams from denmark. The storylines in K-Street were lamer than the camera shots. I figured what a great combination this could have been. In theory it was a cool idea : The West Wing meets the Celebration. They resorted to some really predictable cliches about political consultants (that they see prostitutes, etc.) and the whole show was just so pointless. It seemed to be too much an inside joke that wasn't funny even to the insiders.

Anyways, I just figure with all of his resources and experience and $$$ and the talent available at his fingertips, he could have done so much better at depicting the complexities and drama of being a lobbyist.

It's not admittedly then a technical thing to do with prosumer cameras. Yeah he purposefully used them in a silly way. The stories were horrible. I know he has made a lot of commercially successful films. That doesn't mean any of them were that great, except in my opinion "The Limey". I thought Peter Fonda kicked ass in that. I didn't like Traffic though, and generally don't judge directors based on whether they've won an Oscar or not. Ditto music and grammys. Didn't Halley Barry win an oscar recently ? I mean come on. It isn't critical success as much as popular success, and we all know what sort of stuff is popular nowadays. Anyways, Soderbergh is no Lars Von Trier. I would like to see a good American tv show with handheld cameras that doesn't involve people going downhill in a shopping cart.

What's the deal about handheld? It's only an effect.

You're right about the poorly "written" storylines in K Street. Of course, The West Wing's stories really seem to blow this season too, so maybe it's just a bad time for political shows. Of course, it may just be too difficult to compete with the bizarre and frightening politicial atmosphere in the real world.

I like all types of movies, from Mallrats to Mishima (which doesn't make me an expert or anything, but whatever), and I thought Ocean's Eleven (as one example) was a incredibly well-made and well-composed action/heist movie. I really admire someone who can make a movie that is fun and can appeal to a broad audience w/out simply appealing to the lowest common denominator. It was fun *and* smart (imho), which is rare to find in that kind of movie (I might even venture to say that I liked it more than the original).

And I admire to a certain extent that Soderberg isn't afraid to make something ugly and fall on his ass. It seems like a rare quality for someone who is suppossedly so controlling. By definition, experiments can fail. And I'm glad that there are people still willing to take chances. Even though, well, K Street kinda sucked.