Homina, Homina, Homina: Hugh Laurie

And I've wondered far too much about what could have caused such a clash. Nothing to do with Hugh, but...haven't you ever wanted to yell at KJ??? I know I have--but then I don't have HL's reputation for good manners..... :lol: :wink: I guess what I mean is I have not idea what could cause HL to behave that way but I have no trouble imagining how such a clash could come about in the context of the show...does that make sense? I don't know enough about KJ to have an opinion (trying to be spoiler free means I avoid reading most of the stuff from the producers etal). The thing is, the show's been going for more than 3 years without such a thing happening. I probably shouldn't even have brought up the subject, though.

The thing is, the show's been going for more than 3 years without such a thing happening. That we know about. I'm under no delusions that the set is perfect and that a team of bluebirds and forest creatures help Hugh get dressed in the morning. Plenty of things happen on the set that we don't hear anything about. People fight, people storm off, shit happens. This happened at a time when people storming off of sets for two days was actually relevant to a bigger picture and the gossip blogs and tabloids had people willing to offer up additional pieces of the puzzle.

Happy Thanksgiving! ... All or Nothing At All is being released on DVD. Amazon.com preorder. That's awesome!! Thanks for spreading the word marykir! I love this movie and think Hugh is so good in it...glad it's being released! Oh wow, now those spoffle/breasts are going to be full screen, DVD quality. I knew you were gonna mention the spoffles bailey...*g* But think of it this way...those scenes with Hugh's amazingly toned torso exposed are gonna be DVD quality too and that is definitely something to be thankful for!! Now if I wish hard enough maybe they'll officially release "fortysomething" as well. That's what I want next too. I don't know if this helps at all or if it's totally useless but whenever I order stuff that's from the BBC...like all the ABOFL dvds...I always fill out that little comment card that comes inside the dvd case and write in that I want more Hugh Laurie stuff released and mention Fortysomething by name. I hope somebody's looking at those cards when they get them back!

Bailey, it scares me how often I agree with you. :) Insert evil cackle... This is one time I'd love to be able to say I don't but...One thing, whether this story is right or wrong, it did make me realize for the first time what it must mean for Hugh to be away from his family and close friends for such long stretches of time. IIRC, one reason Stephen had his meltdown was the longtime lack of someone to go home to and talk about whatever was going on. (At that time, he was still in his celibate phase that lasted, what? 13-14 years?) Now Hugh is kind of in that same boat for most of the year. I guess I never really thought seriously about what that must mean, to work like a dog and, at the end of the day, not have a loved one to turn to. It's been commented elsewhere that Hugh looked like he was tired in the most recent crop of press conference pics - I thought so myself. Also, more and more we seem to be reading about his involvement with the show, in terms of working with the writers and directors besides his own acting duties. And of course there's that interview where he says he can't turn off. Perhaps it's all really starting to wear on him. The NE story bothers me quite a lot, as it's not-good behavior seemingly out of character for the character I had built up from previous information. And I've wondered far too much about what could have caused such a clash. But the man is definitely under huge stress, and that's just with what we know is happening on the surface. I hope everything works out OK. The rest of my post will rely on the assumption that the NE article has a grain of truth to it. That being said... I really don't see how it's possible his job doesn't wear on him. There's just too much at stake resting squarely on his shoulders in a way that is somewhat unprecidented in primetime programming. There are very few shows that feature such an obvious lead with so much screentime and that has such astronomical ratings. Everything that goes with that---the investment of time, of effort, of struggling to maintain quality, of trying to appeal to the grea-*test*-('") number of people, of getting your advertising dollar's worth, of making public appearances, of struggling with an accent not your own, of just plain everything---how can that not make a person just snap? Doesn't really matter how professional they are, as long as they tick the box next to "human" it's going to happen sooner or later. Add on the fact that said person doesn't have the connections here that he has at home and I'm awfully surprised something this big hasn't happened sooner. But I don't consider this to be bad behavior, not by any stretch of the imagination. I think it's a release valve that blew and everyone involved recognized it. Producers were "happy" to reschedule production because they have to recognize the enormity of the situation that Hugh is in as well. The clashing part doesn't really bother me either. Maybe I just recognize it too well. I tend to clash with people at work quite a bit. I'm in a creative field. Everyone has different opinions. Everyone wants to succeed. No one agrees 100% of the time how that success will come and what it will take. Clashes happen even amongst the closest of friends or co-workers. It is what it is. They'll get over it. Assuming, of course, this ever even happened. :-)

The NE "source" also mentioned that HL and Katie Jacobs are "the best of friends" and they've often argued over the past four years. What got me though was the quote that the BBQ HL was supposedly going to host for the crew went on without him. I have the image of a bunch of Teamsters breaking into Hugh's empty house in Malibu and raiding the fridge. "Dammit, we need that barbeque!"

That's awesome!! Thanks for spreading the word marykir! I love this movie and think Hugh is so good in it...glad it's being released! This is the first thing I've ever preordered for myself. It's very exciting!! Okay, so it's not that exciting, but it was weird to realize that I've never placed an early order for something. I ordered my mom's Harry Potter book this year (this was the first time since the second book that she didn't head out for the midnight sale, the slacker!), but I've never done it for myself. I just considered the fact that this probably isn't something that'll be at Best Buy that Tuesday. Hell, I sometimes have a hard time finding more mainstream stuff on the day it's released, much less something like this. But I don't consider this to be bad behavior, not by any stretch of the imagination. I think it's a release valve that blew... I agree. People nut up sometimes. No matter what the situation was that he found himself in (i.e., however big or small), it happens. Most of us do it on a smaller scale but, then, most of us work a lot closer to our homes than he does and have far fewer cameras and magazines interested in what we're doing each day.

Thanks so much marykir- its showing on Amazon uk - but no price yet. Really looking forward to watching it.

Price is $20.00 for pre-order on amazon.com US. This is very exciting news. I wonder if Hugh's sudden international superstardom has spurred interest in his previous more serious work. If so, maybe we'll eventually get A Pin for the Butterfly on DVD as well.

That we know about. I'm under no delusions that the set is perfect and that a team of bluebirds and forest creatures help Hugh get dressed in the morning. Damn! Way to ruin a girl’s delusions. It's been a long time since I've gone all fangirly over an actor, one reason being that I don't like the thought of becoming emotionally vested in someone and then waking up one morning to headlines about DUI’s, rehabs, sudden conversions to comet worship, middle-aged wives dumped for 23 year-old starlets, etc. While I do tend to believe the gist of the NE story, I don't consider it to be anything like the aforementioned problems. HL is under a hell of a lot of pressure and sometimes blowups happen. It’s not a disaster; it’s just one of those things that happen to most of us. Perhaps it’s strange but I’m more bothered/touched by a few very small things then by the whole blowup scenario, like the arranged for and presumably catered BBQ that the host didn’t attend, and the fact that the ‘family obligations’ cover story triggered a ton of fans’ prayers and best wishes for an apparently non-existent problem back home. On a brighter note, does Hugh now hold the distance record for ‘storming off the set blowups’? I mean , has anyone ever stormed more than 5,554 miles?

I wish Hugh would bite the bullet and ask Jo to move to LA with their daughter, at least. The boys are probably old enough to stay behind under the guidance of relatives or close friends. Being gone for so much of the year is too much. It is asking for trouble and seems unnecessary. He'd be able to see his family if only in passing and it would be an anchor. Now if he'd only listen to me................. 8)

Now if I wish hard enough maybe they'll officially release "fortysomething" as well.That's what I want next too. I don't know if this helps at all or if it's totally useless but whenever I order stuff that's from the BBC...like all the ABOFL dvds...I always fill out that little comment card that comes inside the dvd case and write in that I want more Hugh Laurie stuff released and mention Fortysomething by name. I hope somebody's looking at those cards when they get them back! Telling the BBC you want Fortysomething probably won't do much good since it aired on ITV. You might have better luck with BFS (or Network DVD) as they release lots of old UK series. I guess it can't hurt to send them a letter thanking them for releasing AONAA and hoping it sells well enough that they will consider releasing more of Hugh's older work, followed by a list of things you'd buy. Re. the quality, I have the BFS DVD of Girls on Top, and while it's certainly better than a copy of a VHS recording, it's nowhere near the quality of a current series release. We're still talking about shows taped 15-20 years ago and who knows how much attention has been paid to preserving the master tapes. I'm not sure what the deal is with PAL releases from BFS. From their about page:BFS acquires exclusive rights to film and television programming for home video distribution and broadcast where applicable. Distribution rights are obtained by license, acquisition and co-production from various independent production and television broadcast companies. These programming rights are developed into home video products for North American distribution and where applicable, are licensed internationally. If you're interested in a PAL release, you might contact them directly to make sure there actually will be one.

Telling the BBC you want Fortysomething probably won't do much good, as it aired on ITV. You might have better luck with BFS (or Network DVD), as they release lots of old UK series. Oh man am I a moron!! Ooops. I guess that's a pretty big detail there isn't it? No wonder the BBC hasn't released Fortysomething...it's not their show!! Thanks for the info marykir...I probably should know that but I guess I didn't pay enough attention. I wonder if Hugh's sudden international superstardom has spurred interest in his previous more serious work. If so, maybe we'll eventually get A Pin for the Butterfly on DVD as well. I think it probably has at least a little bit to do with Hugh's US appeal. Maybe not...but I think it could be part of the reason for releasing it now. And I agree with you...I'd like to see A Pin for the Butterfly too!!

Thanks marykir, for letting us know about the "All or nothing at all" DVD. I'm excited and might break down and order from the US and end up paying for customs again. It says "all regions", which is great if it's true. Not that they could stop me either way. Or it might make a nice Hughlicious Christmas present... It's gonna be just like every year. I buy myself a present and give it to someone in my family and tell them: "Here is your present for me". Does anyone else have to do this? I feel so weird every time. As if it isn't bad enough that season 3 still isn't out. (Tomorrow!?).

Well, thanks everyone for making me feel a little better about the NE story. I do realize there's going to be dissension on set, and in fact Hugh alluded to another instance on a talk show last year when he said colleagues went out to dinner to resolve a problem, but it didn't get resolved. I guess I was influenced in this case by many posts at the time he left about the serious disruption to the show, how no one would do that lightly, etc. And I too was bothered by the BBQ thing, which was more personal. Sorry, but I do get antsy about things that have any potential to harm his rep or (selfishly) to bring the show to a premature end. What can I say? I've been a fan forever and, well, I like the guy. :) It does seem kind of silly for them to put out a cover story about family obligations, because if this is true, it was bound to come out - too many people would be close to the situation. But I guess they had to say something. BTW, I'd rather this would be a spat than a problem in Hugh's family serious enough for him to have to leave so suddenly.

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