Fuck! They got me again! I'm so deep into this fantasy land I don't even know whether it's the matrix or inception. Confucius say, a gentleman preaches only that which he practices. This was kinda what made the "live your life the way you want to" thing more powerful from him than in your college chancellor's graduation speech. I mean, obviously he went too far (clown story etc.) - I've a friend (who luckily lives in a different country) like that; great fun, but if you're out and he feels like getting so fucked up that you will have to either ditch him or take care of him, he's going to fucking do it. Fuck that guy.
I honestly can only remember about two or three of the IHTSBIH stories. I read all the ones on his website (after finding it through Maddox), and read the rest just standing in book stores after picking out books I actually wanted to buy. Don't get me wrong, I thought they were hilarious stories, but I only read a couple more than once, and I never considered spending money on them or even glancing at the newer books. The only things I admire about him is his hard work and desire to follow his passion. Always found his stories to be WAY more about content than the actual prose, as his writing never really stood out to me. To his credit, he did admit he wasn't the strongest writer, even out of his group of friends. The things I'm thankful for that he brought into my life, in order: RMMB/TiB, Robert Greene, Philalawyer. Re: the movie. While I understand his explicit narccissm, I still didn't get why he was SO confindent (arrogant?) about its success before even one screening. One of the very few things I know about making a movie, let alone making a box office smash, is that it's REALLY hard, especially for a relative nobody, even if what you made is legitimately great (still haven't seen it, so I have no opinion). I mean, didn't the experienced movie-making people he worked with ever tell him, "you know, no matter how hard we work, it's still very possible that this could flop"? It's like he never heard the "don't count your chickens..." expression in his life. Or maybe I'm just underestimating his narccissm. Regardless, I suppose I'm glad he's moving on, for the little I care, and I'll definitely take a look at whatever he does next.
I found out about Tucker after finding the link from Maddox. I read all of the stories, joined the RMMB, etc (this was in '03, I think). I loved his work and found it hilarious. The RMMB was my favorite website ever. It taught me how to write funny stories. It gave me an outlet to write things. It made work days go way faster. The people were funny and they enjoyed partying as mucha s I did. It was heavily moderated, to keep the eWeaklings (anyone that uses e tough guy because they were butt hurt at the treatment they got for being dumb or not funny) out. I learned a lot about myself, and how to become happy in life. I became a better writer. I was legitimately sad when it closed down. This place is nice, but I miss the emphasis on the old board of story telling (I wish this place would return to that, and focus less on eWimps that don't have friends posting songs all weekend). Re movie- I knew it would flop when he got financing from the fine folks at Darko. Donnie Darko was a terrible movie that only survived because weird people like it. At that point I knew no one normal would enjoy it. I however greatly enjoyed it. I know, I am in the minority. I don't care that the main character was a douche. it had an ok plot and a lot of funny one liners, mixed in with poop humor. That is a recipe for enjoyability. Re the article- It is publicity plain and simple. But I'm guessing he really did change. One's liver, sec organs and sanity can only take so much before you crack. I also can't imagine what going to therapy that much is like. it has to change you. I've only bee to therapy once. It was with my girlfriend (who sees the therapist to figure out how to deal with her crazy family, and not end up like them). I went because the therapist wanted to get my take on her family. I felt great after. He must feel like a million dollars. Re follwing him- I will buy the new books, and keep up with him. The least I can do is throw him a few dollars for the thousands of hours of entertainment the website gave me. Plus I like his writing. It makes me laugh. I'm a sucker for the funny.
I belong to that odd subset of RMMB folks, like Nom C or the gay dude in Britain, that weren't big fans of Tucker's writing and didn't at all fit in with the crowd. I was only able to muster the attention up to skim the article, and found it interesting in a WEHT sort of way. It's beyond me how anyone but pretty interested fans could find it interesting. Like someone else mentioned, it's sooooo self indulgent, and reeks of low self esteem with the mentions of how financially successful he is. No matter how successful his book as, there's no way he's as financially successful as he himself would have liked to have been at this point. It's like a guy at a bar that mentions dick size a few too many times and no one else cares about his dick size but now knows a little bit more about what makes him tick. I don't have any specifically funny RMMB memories, but did find the board really funny. I'll sound like an ass, but I was always impressed with how funny regular (mostly dudes) could be. It was funny to trade WTH quips on some newly emerging internet weirdness, like John F Page (was that his name?). I do remember during that thread Tucker musing something about "how could someone be so delusional", and it was like, indeed, dude. Bless him, he's trying hard to figure out what makes him tick, but there's a lot of dysfunction behind that dysfunction. Anyway, regarding the board, I think one of his strong suits is being able to build a community, the strength of that is witnessed by the existence of this place and the almost Fight Club-like qualities of RMMB..and community-building is a powerful ability to have. And there's no question he's charismatic, smart and interesting, or that he can connect well with young folks and maybe people in general, and suss out what is funny and interesting to other people. But the hyperbole and EGO and showmanship and perspective that the world is his Machiavellian oyster…that stuff just amuses me and I think hinders his work and career (see: the movie, Rudius the company). Now that I have kids, I'm struck by how toddler-like he is--the gleeful center of his own world, plotting plans to have the most Tonka trucks in the sandbox. Amusing, fun to be around, but limiting. Maybe I'll follow his stuff, assuming it's more writing…depends on the topic…i'm not interested in sports or "the game" between men and women, or psychoanalysis and how your parents screwed you up. Just as with the article, I find it difficult to picture how non-hardcore fans will at all be interested in whatever product he turns out…the "bad boy with a heart of gold" thing doesn't seem that compelling, but maybe his work can stand on its own without "him". He definitely connected with young people on the topic of what to do with life, and I'd read/discuss that. Good for him that he's tried during his career to create new things, and he's put himself out there...if where he's gotten is all that becomes of it, he can still be proud, and I appreciate the entertainment he's brought me.
He would have made a shit tonne of money from college speaking. I would at a guess say he would have made $20-50k per talk. Absolutely no idea how many of these the guy did, but if that was me it would have been the core of my marketing strategy. Stupid college students.
To the argument that "I don't think Tucker has changed or is changing" I disagree with. Could be him tired of all the drinking and the whoring but... The movie failing probably prompted the biggest change in him. If the movie suceeded and everyone/Hollywood jumped on his nuts I highly doubt that any big changes would have occured. He would be on top of the media empire he wanted to launch and get a lot of press about it. Not easy to come back down to humble self when all of that is around you. When you shit fails and no one cares, except for all the people on your messageboard talking about how they didn't love your movie? All you can do is look inside and get to work.
I hope he sees the irony in saying that he is dealing with his narcissism while switching from tuckermax.com to tuckermax.me.
One of my favorite Tucker Max-related bits of humor, had absolutely nothing to do with the books or the RMMB. I remember reading the article in ESPN the Magazine about Mark Herzlich, the linebacker now with the Giants but who was an All American at Boston College but then got cancer and missed an entire season. Anyways, midway through the article, it was going through the process and a particularly bad day of treatment. The final line of a large paragraph was "I went to see a movie. I saw I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. It was the worst movie I have ever seen." It was just after the RMMB ceased to be and Tucker was withdrawing his persona a bit online. For whatever reason, I remember reading it and cracking up. I think my favorite story is the Vegas Trip because it really kind of encapsulates how crazy that city is. So many Tucker stories almost required a suspension of reasonable thought and normal life to make sense, but that one was just spot on.
He mentioned at the Ohio State premier that his asking price for college speaking engagements would never be under 30k. Of coarse it's not based on market prices but what the college decides to pay with the tuition monies they collect. It's how you get Snooki speaking for 35k.
The idea of any entity paying money to listen to that thing speak is the biggest blow to the Pro-Life camp yet. I enjoyed Tucker's stories and got some good laughs out of them. I also found a couple of them somewhat hard to believe. True or not, he's a good writer with an entertaining style. I don't even remember how I came across the board, and I can't think of anything I might have been into/involved with that would have caused me to find it, but I did. I posted like an idiot and managed to rightfully earn three bans before I learned to stay quiet. Thankfully (or not) there was still plenty of stupid to go around that place, but I remember several threads that had me transfixed through page after page of great stories. It's a shame no one managed to save some of that stuff before it went down.
Of course this is marketing. Tucker is not stupid and I believe is trying to make an honest change in his life, but is going to make a situation work for him the best he can as any sane person would. "Tucker Max" version 1.0 has run its course and now it's time for the new version. I'm not sure if he can ever fully let go of his "Tucker Max" persona that he has worn for such a long time, but I wish him the best of luck in doing so. My take on Tucker's writing is that all the best stories were the ones that involved his friends in some fashion. The Tucker having sex and something bad happens stories were OK for a laugh, but the ones where he interacts with with his college buddies have a much more personal touch. I bought Assholes Finish First and I loved the Tucker owns Duke Nerds story, but then there was another one of his sex stories and just lost interest in the book and never finished it. The stories were probably OK enough, but I was just tired of them. Since I didn't finish the last book I can't see myself buying either one of the new ones. I predict his next book with his new persona is going to be a extended version of what was just in this article. It's going to be his journey to a "more complete" Tucker Max and his how he got there. What I'm most interested in, if he does go this route, is if it will be a narcissistic journey of enlightenment for him or a more thoughtful reflection on his past and future? My money is on narcissistic.
I question the validity of an opinion regarding someone else's behavioral issues when said opinion is expressed by a group known to spend entire weekends discussing both the banal minutiae and intimate details of its members' private lives with complete strangers.
FOCUS: I will never forget the Fornicats thread. That was epic. Plenty of others as well. I really loved the TMMB/RMMB. It was such an incredible cross section of people and personalities. I struggle to find any sort of humor that makes me laugh the way I used to reading the message board. There were a handful of really talented writers there and it allowed me to stretch my wings in that regards as well. I always found Tucker to be funny, even when he was being vile. I liked his writing and something about his narrative was inviting. If he's finally grow out of his narcissism well, good for him. I wish him the best of luck.
A friend turned me on to his website my freshman year of college, and I was sold from then on. I joined the RMMB, but like others, was a bit intimidated by all the negativity that could be stirred up by mods and how quickly you could get attacked for having a differing opinion. I can honestly say that I never even thought to use Tucker's writing and "advice" as actual advice. To me, it seemed as nothing more than one big website and forum of entertainment. It's enlightening to see stories of people who actually listened to what he had to say and applied it versus people on the RMMB that would say that just to kiss ass. As for the article, I found it kinda hard to read. Tucker spent so long developing this persona, and in 7 pages he goes completely against the grain of his own creation and expects everyone to immediately buy in. I don't think its fake, but I think he's got some more road to travel before this new and improved Tucker gets taken seriously. I said this before and I'll continue to say it, the best thing I got from the RMMB was Hooah. I've been told it was faked, but I really don't give a shit- whoever wrote that had me captivated. Even if it was fictional, I'd read that book. Same with Tardblog and...I can't remember the name of the blog itself...but it ended up being taken over by the guy who always wrote about his extremely dysfunctional family before having a huge falling out with Tucker and being blacklisted. Anyone remember that guys name/name of the blog? I really enjoyed his writing as well. The DiMeo call out and there was another one (apparently my memory really fucking sucks). I cannot for the life of me remember the guys name, only that he looked like the Cryptkeeper and was famous for getting a verbal rape at the hands of some Fox News reporters.... I can't help but root for Geoff Stults after the massive IHTSBIH failure. The story I remember hearing was that he turned down the Hangover for IHTSBIH. At least that was the story that was proffered over there. The fact that he still has a career if that's true is amazing. He just got his own TV show- hoping it leads to success for him. I understood why the movie failed- the premise was lackluster and the jokes fell flat, but that had (mostly) nothing to do with the actors- I thought they did a pretty good job of at least injecting some emotion into the movie. Except Czuchry, but I'm pretty sure he had to have been coached to come off as the most abrasive and unrelatable asshole possible. I mean, come on, didn't he come from Gilmore Girls or one of those equally crappy shows, where everything is emotional and sappy?
I'd like to see Tucker try his hand at writing comedy scripts for a TV show or movie, or even humorous fiction in book form. He has built a career on telling his stories and talking about himself, and although that worked for him, it's run its course at this point. Time for something new. I really, really hope that he doesn't come out with some dopey rehab book about his recovery to sanity or some bullshit. Why do we care? He is not a compelling enough character to warrant any attention on his own. He's a good writer and has a good sense of humor, so I'd like to see what else he could do that wasn't purely Tucker-centric for once.
He's starring in his own major network show as an eccentric P.I. Michael Clark Duncan is his sidekick on the show from what I hear. It starts really soon, if not has already.
BC Woods. It had his own blog Dunce Upon a Time after he left. But if you go there he just recently posted a whiny post about how he is not going to write anymore.