AA Gill on James Lipton and "desperate soaps"

[Sylph]

[EricMontreal22]

Well I hate how they act like writing and acting in a daytime soap in and of itself is proof you're not very talented, they shoulda pointed out that he nearly drove, or did drive, several soaps into the ground as writer (Another World, Capitol) and that all of his (oddly many) writing periods, as well as his created Best of Everything, were artistic disasters. But I'm glad someone finally said in print the exact way I've felt about the man for some time (you have to hear his craptastic, campy Sherry! musical to believe it).

[koos]

What a windbag douche of a writer! That's one of the most incoherent things I've read in a while. Pretentious as hell.

[Sylph]

Koos, are you James Lipton?

[Vee]

Another roundabout thread designed to explain us to all why we are all idiots for watching soaps, created by a longtime poster on Soap Opera Network. Do you think you're special because your avatars are of Hollywood Flavors of the Month?

[DRW50]

What do wine waiters at Ukranian restaurants look like?

[EricMontreal22]

Like James Lipton, I guess (I do have to agree that the writer takes their hatred a bit over the top--are all his articles like that?)

[koos]

James Lipton is almost as much of a blowhard as that guy, but not quite.

I find his criticism of Ricky Gervais and Eddy Izzard retarded. He's right about Lipton, but nothing else. By the time he gets to Izzard, though, it's almost impossible to even tell what he's trying to say, what with that particular brand of nonsense writing designed to appear clever.

[Sylph]

I don't have an impression they act like writing and acting in a daytime soap is a proof of someone's un-talentedness. Maybe it's better that there are no further mentions of his daytime stints, they would again be unfairly treated as ... and it would really be a bit too negative RE: Lipton.

How he got the Studio job is, however, a mystery.

[Sylph]

I have no idea, I stumbled upon this by accident and was at the amount of negativity. It really takes it over the top.

[EricMontreal22]

I think he's very good at talking his way into things. The thing I love is he himself seems to be embarassed about writing soaps--he's always mentioned his long run acting on GL but for years reportedly left his soap writing stints off any info about him (not sure if this is still true).

That said, I do think it's easy to see that the writer of the article is pointing out that the fact he wrote for daytime soap operas proves something about his lack of talent. "His CV is an inspired comic creation. For real. He wrote for and acted in daytime soap operas, and was the author of a short-lived Broadway musical, Sherry!."

[soapfan770]

In any case, James Lipton will forever have the legacy of being daytime's first hack to write multiple soaps.

[Sylph]

I understood. Did I agree is another matter.

Either that's a classic case of "being embarrassed" of working in soaps or perhaps he decided to omit it because if people dug a little deeper, they'd have realised how much of an incompetent he really is.

Still, again, it is fascinating how he not only wrote but got his musical produced and on top of that a bizarre book.

[AnonNona]

That's absolutely typical for Gill, who is considered scathing even by UK standards. Let me put it this way: for Gill, this is relatively pleasant commentary. Good-humored, even.

[EricMontreal22]

Sherry! had some pedigree behind it--it was based on The Man Who Came to Dinner by Kaufman/Hart and I think it was kinda "assembled" by its producers--ie they auditioned different writers, etc (maybe it's again a case of Lipton being very good at talking his way into thing--to be hired as librettist and lyric writer with no real previous experience). It ran under a month though and is one of the more notoriously expensive flops of the 60s, right up there with the Breakfast at Tiffany's musical with Mary Tyler Moore (however it's camptastic title song became something of a gay cabaret hit and led to them finally recording the show 5 or so years ago--and showing that nothing in it was memorable except that song).

I think, though maybe he left off soaps for both of the reasons you mention.

And yeah, Soapfan has a point of him being one of the first examples of a soap scribe who is endlessly hired to write different soaps even though he hasn't had success at even *one*.