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Jerry West vs Jeff Pearlman

Marshmallowmilkshake Apr 22 2022 09:13 AM

[url]https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/winning-time-bob-ryan-jerry-west-spar-over-jerry-west-portrayal/ Nice bit of gaslighting from author Jeff Pearlman, whose work is the basis for the HBO series Winning Time, which apparently takes great liberties in portraying Jerry West as abusive. West, and people who know or covered him, objects. Pearlman said the creative liberties taken in “Showtime” are “no different” from films like “42,” “Remember the Titans,” “We Are Marshall” and “Rudy.” “Zero percent different,” Pearlman tweeted. “It's not dishonoring anyone. A-n-y-o-n-e. Truth be told, the show is reminding people of Showtime's greatness, and evoking rich memories of a glorious time in NBA history. Are the characters exact fits? No. They're (wait for it) actors using (wait for it) scripts written by (wait for it) writers. And the writing is insanely sharp, smart, cool. When I saw the saga of Jack McKinney on screen, I nearly wept tears of joy. Yeah, but when you take a real person and start using real names and give them very negative traits in something that is kinda sorta billed as a real story, they are going to be pissed -- with good reason. You are damaging their reputation. Lots of stories tell about how Art Howe was unfairly portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman in "Money Ball," and how he's been hurt by that. If you are going to fictionalize something, change the name so at least people know the characters aren't "exact fits." Just my 2 cents.

Edgy MD Apr 22 2022 01:00 PM Re: Jerry West vs Jeff Pearlman

Pearlman said the creative liberties taken in “Showtime” are “no different” from films like “42,” “Remember the Titans,” “We Are Marshall” and “Rudy.” The everybody does it argument is weak defense for a filmmaker. For a journalist, it's terrible. The smug "wait for it" sarcasm is awful.

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 25 2022 07:37 PM Re: Jerry West vs Jeff Pearlman

Yeah, douchy defense but should note here tho that Pearlman is not the screenwriter-- it's just his book it's based on. I don't believe he'd have made up stuff for that

Frayed Knot Apr 25 2022 08:01 PM Re: Jerry West vs Jeff Pearlman

Yeah, that's the way I'm thinking too. The complaint here is that Jerry West is portrayed in the series as a ranting redneck, something no one who knows him apparently agrees with. I doubt Pearlman actually portrayed 'The Logo' as anything like that and, assuming he didn't, I'm not sure why he's going out of his way to defend the screenplay. Sure, they have a right to do so, but doing so invites the very reaction they're getting, especially when you're doing so to not just a living person but a still active one.