The Origins of Gigolos

You can buy this mug on Showtime's website if you want to.

If you listened to Richard on Matty P's Radio Happy Hour last month, you already know the story that underlies this post: in a nutshell, a guy picked Richard up at a blackjack table in Vegas, turned out to be a gigolo, and his life so intrigued Richard that he decided to stay for a couple of weeks, get to know the guy's friends and, in the end, make a television show about that world.

I haven't written about Gigolos before because I've never seen the show and don't know anything about it beyond some brief information I've found online: apparently, the guys featured are real male prostitutes, but the gigs we witness don't happen in the ordinary course of business--no big surprise, since I'm guessing that the average woman who hires a gigolo isn't open to that encounter being televised. My only personal conclusion about the show has been that, based on the photographs I've seen, the show's creator / producer is far more...um...salable...than the gentlemen on the auction block.

I enjoyed the "how it all began" tale Richard told on this radio show much more than the canned, "Why does it always have to be about women pleasing men?" kind of philosophical justification I've read in a lot of previous interviews about Gigolos, but if this story raised questions in your mind, you're probably not alone.  I mean, it doesn't take a lot of creativity to boil this story down to "Richard Grieco met a male prostitute in Vegas and ended up staying a couple of weeks."  'Cause, you know, that's apparently what happened.

To Richard's credit, he didn't append any "not what it sounds like" disclaimers to this story, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't what it sounded like.

All in all, this explanation of where the idea came from made me a bit more interested in actually checking out the show. If you've seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or forums.

The Dinosaur Bugs Did Me In

If you've been with me from the beginning, you may recall that I didn't come to this party a Richard Grieco fan.  In fact, back in December, I couldn't have picked Richard out of a line-up, and I didn't even know he'd been on 21 Jump Street. In fact, back when I started this blog and my daughter was making a half-hearted attempt at intervention, she actually said, "It would be different if you liked him."

Well, I've crossed the line. It happened during the "making of" segment on the AE: Apocalypse Earth DVD.    Richard was still waggling his fingers to illustrate how he'd searched Google to learn more about Costa Rican bugs before the shoot when I said, "Okay, I've crossed over.  I definitely like him."

Probably this didn't come as a surprise to my kid, since our DVD shelf now features about a dozen Richard Grieco movies and she still hasn't regained possession of the third season of 21 Jump Street.  She didn't mention any of that, though. She just said, "Huh.  Who knew it would be the dinosaur bugs?"

Who knew, indeed?

Now, excuse me while I go watch that video clip again.

Richard Grieco Denies Having Been Paid for Sex

Dear Radio Guys:

Just so you know, "have you ever been paid for sex?" is not actually a normal or appropriate question to ask your celebrity guest. I draw this conclusion not only from basic common sense, but because I've never heard an interviewer ask any celebrity other than Richard Grieco this question. Just to be sure, though, I asked around a bit. The only possibly affirmative response I got was, "Maybe Howard Stern."

So, why have I heard Richard asked this question two or three times just in the past few months?

I mean, yes, I've seen him. And yes, he did start out bartending while waiting to break into the acting business and probably didn't have a lot of money. And yes, he even bartended at a nightclub that was as hot as he was, populated by people with money to throw around and judgment-decreasing substances coursing through their veins.

But, none of that is very unusual for an up-and-coming star.

Here are some theories I've put together as to why you might keep asking Richard Grieco this question:

• For some reason, you just look at him and think, "That guy has taken money for sex."
• For obvious reasons, you look at him and think, "People have offered that guy money for sex."
• You like to ask provocative questions and he seems like a guy who won't kick your ass or hang up on you if you cross the line.
• You're kind of hoping to find out you can rent him.
• You know he's consistently said that he "never went that route" on other programs and are hoping to cut your journalistic teeth by getting him to admit to something.
• You want to be Howard Stern, but don't really have the nerve to try it with most people.
• You're thinking that since Richard produces a "reality show" about gigolos, he must have some personal tie to the industry.
• You're thinking that since Richard produces a "reality show" about gigolos, you can get away with asking the question.

I'll admit, the Gigolos connection seems most likely, but come on...didn't the guy JUST tell us that show was the result of a chance encounter with a male prostitute in Vegas? (But that's another story for another day, right?)

Of course, I suspect that you're as unlikely to share your true motivation for asking this question as Richard is to admit that he's been paid for sex.  If that ever happened. Which it didn't, right? He clearly said it didn't. But, you know, keep asking.

Richard Grieco on Matty P's Radio Happy Hour

You're right--this picture has nothing whatsoever to do with this post. It's just my way of sneakily pimping AE: Apocalypse Earth one more time even as we've moving on to other subjects. 

It's been nearly a month since Richard called in to Matty P's web-based radio show, but I didn't get a chance to listen to the program until yesterday.

It's a 3-hour show, but approximately the first hour is devoted to Peter Weller.  Just shy of the hour mark, "Voice with No Name" marks the transition.

These guys had clearly done their homework, and the show was not only entertaining throughout, but I learned some things I didn't know. Don't get excited, though, when you read the description of the show: though they affirmatively state that Richard is going to appear in the upcoming 22 Jump Street, he did not say that on the show.  In fact, they tried hard to steer him in that direction and he just kept going back to statements like, "I know it's being discussed."  Whether that's because it's an open question or because he's not allowed to talk about it is anybody's guess, but you did not miss a big announcement.

Other highlights:

• The boys run down a list of women they want to know whether Richard has "hooked up" with.  He denies nearly everyone and they don't seem to believe him.
• Richard talks about working with Andrew Dice Clay on Point Doom; apparently, there's not much point in bringing your script.
• Richard describes how Gigolos came about.  You have to hear this for yourself.  It's interesting, but it's also highly entertaining because...well...sometimes he just doesn't seem to think through what he's saying.  It's a good thing he doesn't seem to give a damn what anyone thinks.
• Apologies to those of you who arrived here by Googling things like "what kind of woman does Richard Grieco like?"): Richard makes a casual, passing reference to his girlfriend--the first such reference I've seen/heard since I started this blog.
• Absolutely loved that when asked whether he watched Honey Boo Boo, it was obvious that he had no idea what in the hell the interviewer was talking about.

This only scratches the surface; this one is well worth a listen.  If you're not busy, you should just click this link and listen to it right now:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rockydennisface01/2013/05/24/peter-weller-richard-grieco-live-on-matty-p-radio-happy-hr 

Richard Grieco and the Dinosaur Bugs

Last week, I dug into the details surrounded the release of AE: Apocalypse Earth and how The Asylum "knock-off" starring Richard Grieco and Adrian Paul was basically kicking Will Smith's ass.  It's a heartening story and definitely worth checking out if you haven't read it, but...let's not forget why we're here. 

In the interest of getting back to the overarching, "Richard Grieco is really freaking cute" theme we have going on here, I watched the special features on the AE: Apocalypse Earth DVD last night, and (I know this is going to come as a shock), Richard was really freaking cute.  If you don't already own this DVD, you should order it now, because I am almost certain that you will want to watch Richard talk about the "dinosaur bugs" in Costa Rica more than once.

See that picture above? He's showing us how he Googled the bugs of Costa Rica before making the trip.  You know you want to see it. You know you love the baseball cap.  Just buy it.  The movie's not bad, either.

Looks Like The Asylum is Winning this Round

Back when I watched The Asylum's Almighty Thor, I wrote a bit about how I'd developed an entirely new perspective on the company.  As I said then, it appeared that The Asylum knew exactly what it was doing and was having fun and making money without a damned bit of concern for what other people thought about its business model.

Now, it looks like the company famous for its "mockbusters" may have gone one better.

Last week, Will Smith's $100M+ "summer blockbuster" After Earth hit theaters on May 31.  True to its standard practice, The Asylum got its knock-off, AE: Apocalypse Earth, out on video a few days ahead of the larger film's theatrical release.

Then, a couple of very interesting things happened.  The first was that the Will/Jaden Smith film tanked at the box office.  Yes, when I say "tanked," I mean that it only grossed $27 million opening weekend...but that's the worst opening performance we've seen from a Will Smith vehicle in 20 years (and that includes Wild, Wild West).  The second is that the Richard Grieco/Adrian Paul film generated some interest.

Obviously, there's an apples-to-oranges element in this comparison, given that one of these films was a large-budget picture with a theatrical release and the other had an estimated budget of $1 million and went straight to DVD.  But the comparison is worthwhile, nonetheless.

Viewer Ratings of After Earth and AE: Apocalypse Earth

Because of the differing distribution, not every rating site has viewer ratings for both movies, so I'll start with IMDB.  AE: Apocalypse Earth currently has a 3.4 overall rating on IMDB.  Not stellar, to be sure, but After Earth isn't far ahead with a 4.6.  Considering that the After Earth budget was more than 100 times the AE: Apocalypse Earth budget, that's not much of a lead.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Asylum's film isn't rated, but After Earth has an average rating of 3.8/10.  The fresh to rotten ratio is 17:132 and fewer than half of viewers said they liked the movie.

Since After Earth isn't yet available on DVD, it's not rated on Amazon--but AE: Apocalypse Earth has an average 3 stars out of 5.

Neither film is setting the world on fire, but to the extent that it's possible to compare, they seem to be running virtually neck and neck in viewer reaction: the primary difference seems to be that one of these films still needs to earn another $100 million to reach the break-even point.

Who's Attracting More Attention?

Obviously, After Earth is getting more and bigger press.  But, let's take a look at some trends.

As of today, Richard Grieco is the 1,585th most searched actor on IMDB--that's up from somewhere in the 6000s just ten days ago.  Adrian Paul comes in today at 1,059, and although I don't know exactly where Paul was ten days ago, I know that number was greater than 4,000.  In other words, the two lead actors in AE: Apocalypse Earth have attracted a lot of attention over the ten-day period since the film's release.

Of course, that doesn't put either in competition with Will Smith, who's sitting at # 10 today. However, Smith has made several appearances in the top ten over the past several years and has dipped outside the top 100 only briefly in the past 7 years.

On the other hand, aside from a brief flurry surrounding the release of the first 21 Jump Street movie, Grieco is higher on the list today than he's been since 2000.  Likewise, Paul hasn't come in so high since late 2001.  But the attention the two lead actors are enjoying in the wake of the AE: Apocalypse Earth release pales in comparison to the rank the movie itself is posting.

After Earth is currently the 8th most searched movie on IMDB...and the "mockbuster" version comes in at # 47.  Levin's "knock-off" is just behind the popular television series Dexter and ahead of The Avengers on the most-searched film list, and is one of only two feature films in the top 50 with a budget of less than $10 million.  The other is a Warner Brothers picture with a $9.48 million budget.

So...go Asylum!  I haven't seen the film yet because DHL seems to think that California and Kansas are between Illinois and Illinois, but I hope to soon (estimated delivery date, June 24???)  More when I've seen it. Until then, I'll revert to my recent assessment: this is a company that knows exactly what it's doing.

Update: After this post was published, AE: Apocalypse Earth director Thunder Levin contacted me to advise that the actual budget for his film was less than half of the estimated $1 million that's been widely reported.  That means After Earth's budget was actually near 250 times what Levin had to work with, making the comparisons above all the more impressive.

The Votes are In - Richard Grieco is Hot

Yeah, I know that's not big news to most of you.  And you know that I decided the question wasn't really open to debate after I ran across this recent photo.  But that little poll has been ticking away over in the right hand sidebar (still open if you haven't voted) and thus far, 65% of you think Richard is as hot as or hotter than ever.  Another 20% chose, "It's not 1989, but he's still pretty hot."

Here's the exact tally so far:

Is Richard Grieco Hot in 2013?

Hotter than ever - 16 votes

Always has been, always will be - 36 votes

It's not 1989, but he's still pretty hot - 16 votes

He's okay - 2 votes

Once upon a time, but he looks terrible now - 8 votes

Never was, never will be - 1 vote

It's not too late to weigh in!  Look to the right to cast your vote!