Or, that girl in your profile could be the ref and she can wear nipple cams.
Pool reality show idea. Paging Fatboy or dippy?
- Thread starter azbluemach1
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azbluemach1
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you guys have seen dateline, primetime, 60 minutes, etc, right?
A fun idea....but this is not feasible.
Two main reasons:
1) Reality shows are typically filmed on controlled locations. They have anyone and everyone sign release forms. With a show like this, whomever gets hustled would likely refuse to sign a release. Typically you can blur out faces of people who don't want to be on the show, but when they're key characters, it's just not going to work.
2) The quality of footage from hidden cameras is awful. You can't make a show out of surveillance type footage. It will look like garbage. If you use a camera crew, then you ruin the secrecy necessary to perform a successful hustle. You're also talking about 9 crews, one for each of the players, which is mega bucks.
JCIN and I have already discussed and planned a proper reality show, one that would be feasible, realistic, and would generate a response from mainstream audiences. We're simply short the capital to set it in motion. A few key industry figures have shown interest, but in the current economy it seems unlikely that it will ever get off the ground.
Two main reasons:
1) Reality shows are typically filmed on controlled locations. They have anyone and everyone sign release forms. With a show like this, whomever gets hustled would likely refuse to sign a release. Typically you can blur out faces of people who don't want to be on the show, but when they're key characters, it's just not going to work.
2) The quality of footage from hidden cameras is awful. You can't make a show out of surveillance type footage. It will look like garbage. If you use a camera crew, then you ruin the secrecy necessary to perform a successful hustle. You're also talking about 9 crews, one for each of the players, which is mega bucks.
JCIN and I have already discussed and planned a proper reality show, one that would be feasible, realistic, and would generate a response from mainstream audiences. We're simply short the capital to set it in motion. A few key industry figures have shown interest, but in the current economy it seems unlikely that it will ever get off the ground.
Nathan, are you telling me that Pawn Stars is not real?
Not Nathan, but, the only thing real in the show, is that these guys do actually own a pawn shop. Everything else, is staged and embellished to one extent or another.
Not really a bad thing, how boring would it be to watch Rick try buy his 400th Ipod or 29th Makita drill.
RC
Pawn shop hunted for years, never found a 19th Century cannon in any of them.
Lol I can't figure out if you're kidding or not.
Pawn Stars is filmed in a controlled location, so I fail to see the comparison.
In my opinion though, that show, Storage Wars, and many other Discovery reality shows are staged.
Just to add.
I don't know about a pool themed reality show.
But, I believe, somewhere in the pool world there is a very compelling Hoop Dreams style documentary just waiting to be made.
All it takes is the right filmmaker with an interesting viewpoint to make it. Oh, he would also need to hate his money.
RC
I don't know about a pool themed reality show.
But, I believe, somewhere in the pool world there is a very compelling Hoop Dreams style documentary just waiting to be made.
All it takes is the right filmmaker with an interesting viewpoint to make it. Oh, he would also need to hate his money.
RC
There is an old saying that "content will follow the money." If you can make money by appealing to an audience, you will create content for that audience.
That is what movies do. That is what television does. That is what radio does. That is what the Beetles did. They created content that appealed to an audience.
Myself as an audience member for a pool reality show, I would enjoy viewing something different than, say, the pool purist who wants to watch tournament robots play mum pool and/or people who bet it high but can't run 3 balls in a row.
But the real question is what content would be attractive to mainstream America. There is an interesting relationship between the media and the public and how the media can literally influence an audience's thirst to stay tuned. Political analysts do this every day on Fox News and MSNBC.
That is what movies do. That is what television does. That is what radio does. That is what the Beetles did. They created content that appealed to an audience.
Myself as an audience member for a pool reality show, I would enjoy viewing something different than, say, the pool purist who wants to watch tournament robots play mum pool and/or people who bet it high but can't run 3 balls in a row.
But the real question is what content would be attractive to mainstream America. There is an interesting relationship between the media and the public and how the media can literally influence an audience's thirst to stay tuned. Political analysts do this every day on Fox News and MSNBC.
One more little factoid about TV and reality shows.
There are 220 million people in the United States. About 30 percent of them will watch something news-related on any given day, and on any given night, the news shows will have maybe 4 million viewers.
If pool can get included in the news somehow, some way, it may be one stepping stone to getting it a reality show of its own.
The multi-million-dollar IPT tournament that happened in July 2006 in Las Vegas got only a one-sentence mention on ESPN, one time, one sentence. That was it.
Chris Moneymaker was the stepping stone for poker when his almighty win hit the news. A regular online poker player hits the big time. Something like a Chris Moneymaker is what needs to happen for pool before we can even think about a reality show.
Look at the Sheenius of Charlie Sheen in recent times. He's on the news every single day and night. He may seem like a Looney Tune, but the man knows how to market. Pool could take a tip from Charlie Sheen on marketing.
There are 220 million people in the United States. About 30 percent of them will watch something news-related on any given day, and on any given night, the news shows will have maybe 4 million viewers.
If pool can get included in the news somehow, some way, it may be one stepping stone to getting it a reality show of its own.
The multi-million-dollar IPT tournament that happened in July 2006 in Las Vegas got only a one-sentence mention on ESPN, one time, one sentence. That was it.
Chris Moneymaker was the stepping stone for poker when his almighty win hit the news. A regular online poker player hits the big time. Something like a Chris Moneymaker is what needs to happen for pool before we can even think about a reality show.
Look at the Sheenius of Charlie Sheen in recent times. He's on the news every single day and night. He may seem like a Looney Tune, but the man knows how to market. Pool could take a tip from Charlie Sheen on marketing.
Attachments
Earl should get his own Reality Show!
How about this?
Have a Psychologist interview and help Earl Strickland and chronicle his life. Name it "Diary of a Mad Man" or "The Chronicles of a Pool Star"
I would give it the following topics/chapters "The broken marriage", "the soft break", "The Cuetech Saga!" "The return to grace" "The Missing Million" "The Real Color of Money" "The Mary Jane" "The Joe Rogan" "The Casino Con" "The Dumpster" "Two Men and a Stranger" "The Open Payment Plan" "The IPT"
Man this could be a whopper with some Psycho mumbo jumbo thrown in for good measure! A real good look at "The Hustler turned Champion" that might be the best title yet!!!
Some real footage from Earls blow ups thrown in for good measure! Some Great TV!!!
KD
How about this?
Have a Psychologist interview and help Earl Strickland and chronicle his life. Name it "Diary of a Mad Man" or "The Chronicles of a Pool Star"
I would give it the following topics/chapters "The broken marriage", "the soft break", "The Cuetech Saga!" "The return to grace" "The Missing Million" "The Real Color of Money" "The Mary Jane" "The Joe Rogan" "The Casino Con" "The Dumpster" "Two Men and a Stranger" "The Open Payment Plan" "The IPT"
Man this could be a whopper with some Psycho mumbo jumbo thrown in for good measure! A real good look at "The Hustler turned Champion" that might be the best title yet!!!
Some real footage from Earls blow ups thrown in for good measure! Some Great TV!!!
KD
I can't think of any multi-million $ payouts in pool at the moment. Not to say that will never happen but I doubt it until pro pool becomes properly organized. Until that happens I don't understand this obsession with getting pool on tv. Oh wait, let's confirm that pool is really a hustlers game by doing a reality show.
i've been thinking about a reality tv show idea for a while, but had been keeping it to myself for two reasons. (1) because i figure ppl would just shoot down my idea, and (2) it seems to evolve everything i get a chance to stop and think about it more...
i started out thinking about something similar to the original post...however i've basically steered into a completely different direction.
hustling = very bad pool publicity for a mainstream TV audience
don't we want to soften the mainstream image of pool?
most people i know that "like" pool are so afraid of being hustled they won't even walk into a pool hall, unless it's because they're in a league. they tell each other "Don't ever play THAT guy" when they should be saying "You should play that guy, if you want to learn how to play"
while many of "us" better players would enjoy a type of show directed towards us, we don't realize how small a target audience that is.
it is my opinion that the best thing we could do is to stay away from hustling and even downplay gambling in general, since probably less than 5% of pool players will ever have an intention of gambling, and of those that do, probably less than 1% of them will ever get hustled by somebody.
maybe instead...
we make a reality show about somebody who has dedicated themselves to improving at pool. maybe even make the show about two people. a guy who used to be a league player, but is transitioning to becoming a tournament player, and his new friend/girlfriend who is just starting to play league.
the guy takes occasional lessons from various pro whenever he can, is practicing and learning and slowly getting better. the girl gets tips from the guy, whenever she wants to listen, but is more looking to play pool as a way of being social, and has just joined a league.
this way it would have two different viewpoints to try to appeal to different skill levels. lesser skill levels would hopefully enjoy learning about the game of pool as it applies to leagues, and maybe some will go out and try it themselves. better league players would enjoy watching it, since they could learn a few things as the guy learns them, and maybe enjoy some of (learn from) his tournament experiences as well.
I'm thinking that it would be pretty difficult to get all the league associations to get together to fund something like this without outside help. best thing we could do is find a way to do it on our own and make a pilot. but we would need to write a killer story first. anybody on here a good writer? I'm guessing we all could add ideas, but to get them written well, is a different story!
i started out thinking about something similar to the original post...however i've basically steered into a completely different direction.
hustling = very bad pool publicity for a mainstream TV audience
don't we want to soften the mainstream image of pool?
most people i know that "like" pool are so afraid of being hustled they won't even walk into a pool hall, unless it's because they're in a league. they tell each other "Don't ever play THAT guy" when they should be saying "You should play that guy, if you want to learn how to play"
while many of "us" better players would enjoy a type of show directed towards us, we don't realize how small a target audience that is.
it is my opinion that the best thing we could do is to stay away from hustling and even downplay gambling in general, since probably less than 5% of pool players will ever have an intention of gambling, and of those that do, probably less than 1% of them will ever get hustled by somebody.
maybe instead...
we make a reality show about somebody who has dedicated themselves to improving at pool. maybe even make the show about two people. a guy who used to be a league player, but is transitioning to becoming a tournament player, and his new friend/girlfriend who is just starting to play league.
the guy takes occasional lessons from various pro whenever he can, is practicing and learning and slowly getting better. the girl gets tips from the guy, whenever she wants to listen, but is more looking to play pool as a way of being social, and has just joined a league.
this way it would have two different viewpoints to try to appeal to different skill levels. lesser skill levels would hopefully enjoy learning about the game of pool as it applies to leagues, and maybe some will go out and try it themselves. better league players would enjoy watching it, since they could learn a few things as the guy learns them, and maybe enjoy some of (learn from) his tournament experiences as well.
I'm thinking that it would be pretty difficult to get all the league associations to get together to fund something like this without outside help. best thing we could do is find a way to do it on our own and make a pilot. but we would need to write a killer story first. anybody on here a good writer? I'm guessing we all could add ideas, but to get them written well, is a different story!
I respectfully fail to see the correlation.
Moneymaker won that large sum of money, catapulting poker into the mainstream. That part is undeniable. However the event didn't spark a poker based reality show. All it did was increase the games event-based popularity, which in turn gave networks more reason to put it on TV.
The required elements necessary to trigger a repeat of the 'Moneymaker phenomenon' do not exist in pool. We do not have sufficient prize money, and the pros are continually pushing to eliminate the luck factor in pool (a crucial element to giving regular joes a chance at winning). Even if the phenomenon was possible, it would only increase the success of tournament play. This thread is about starting a reality show though....not increasing tournament play.
A more relevant example is the reality TV show "The Ultimate Fighter". This was the catalyst that set off the insane success that is now the UFC. The show familiarized the public with the fighters and rules, and was simultaneously used as a marketing avenue to pump up upcoming PPV events.
For this very reason I feel that a reality show is what pool needs. The general public does not even know the proper rules to play 8 ball, nor do they have a clue who Shane Van Boening is. A reality based TV series that includes pool would solve that problem.
The key is to make a show that features the game, but does not rely on it exclusively. Pool players are the basis of the show, but other elements would be used to make the show more entertaining and appeal to non playing audiences, sucking in the viewer, where they are then exposed to pool as a secondary focus.
As the show progresses, the viewer is slowly exposed to the game to the point where they are finally familiarized enough its intricacies. Pool is then moved more towards the primary means of competition as the show culminates.
I feel this is not only the best way to increase interest in the game, but also the most effective means of making a genuinely entertaining show.
Just my 2 cents.
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you might have intended this to be sarcastic, but a movie about Earl Strickland's recent comeback, if done properly might be the single best thing that could happen to pool. Can you think of any other recent news that is worthy?
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I respectfully fail to see the correlation...
...I feel this is not only the best way to increase interest in the game, but also the most effective means of making a genuinely entertaining show.
Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for your loose change!
Before pool can be on TV, it needs to have a target audience. It ain't going to happen on the Internet, no matter how many times it is showcased there. The Internet audience is limited in numbers.
In pool, there are too many chief-cook-and-bottlewasher types of entities. Believe me, since I categorize myself as one, I understand its limitations as far as growth.
A successful businessman knows how to get the right people to do the job. He has to find the right person and then trust that person to do their job correctly in order for him to succeed.
In other words, you wouldn't see the camera guy on CNN news in the anchor box, or you wouldn't see the anchor on CNN news behind the camera.
I just cannot see pool on TV -- yet and until -- an interest in it is developed, which I can't see happening on the Internet alone. For a reality TV show about pool, whether it is prime time or cable, there has to be an audience base. To date, there is none in pool.
Chris Moneymaker's rise to the top in poker, coming from a humble background, gave poker a rise in popularity on TV. After his win, poker was showcased on TV frequently on various channels, not just one.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I respect your thoughts and appreciate you sharing them on this thread. Enjoyed the read.
Perhaps a show that revolves around bar league pool? There are millions of players who would identify with it and may watch. It could focus on several teams for a season. There would be a lot of interaction with the players, lost tempers, relationships and so on. At least there is a guarantee that there is an audience that can identify with them.
Ack. You missed my point entirely.
Trying to hit a specific target demographic is where pool has always made its mistake. The industry markets towards pool players, hoping pool will grow. It makes no sense.
The industry then wonders why they've made no headway. The same strategy is implemented time and time again...always with the same lack of result. They fail to learn from their mistakes.
The idea is to aim at the exact opposite demographic...and that's the general mainstream who doesn't play pool.
Focus on creating a reality show with pool players that anyone and everyone will watch. Use other forms of competition, other activities, and other gimmicks to make the show entertaining, and then slowly implement more and more pool into it as the series progresses.
This is an idea i've thought of before. There is SO MUCH drama in the APA in the travel leagues for bars. I mean before I quit playing you should see the immense about of yelling and arguements and all that would happene EVERY single week.
This would draw people from the bars attention. The bartenders, everyone that was in there would focus on it. I mean in hindsight this is most DEFINITLEY the wrong way morally to market pool. But it's really no different then what a lot of reality shows out there do.
All you'd need to do is find the right league with the right people in it and it would be like magnet on television with all the drama. Lord knows the middle of Florida is loaded with this type of personality.
I have to state though that I certainly don't advocate this kind of thing. I much would rather pool be presented in a professional manner before a national viewing audience ala the SBE
I agree, if they were to make a reality show, they should focus more on the players, and the road to their successes.
One factor that makes reality shows a success is the drama that is involved and the characters and how or if they change over time. If a reality series were to be made, they need to make it interesting by showing the dramatic side of the players/game.
For example, a player like Johnny and his struggles (if any) to make ends meet to support a family, through prizes won from tournament play, his decisions in the process, what happens if he cant/doesnt win, or what happens if he cant attend an event because its on the other side of the world.
Or Earl's journey to regain his old glory days, or his journey to gain enough points to get to the Mosconi Cup, and in the process explains what the Cup is, how he thinks the game is flawed, how he practices, his daily routine, his thought process, his history and the sacrifices, divorces, any habit forming issues hes overcoming if any etc.
Or Shane overcoming his handicap to become a champion, his crazy traveling to world events, his two person tournaments. How he handles a loss, like against earl on the 10 ft-er, and moves on to his next challenge.
It doesnt even have to be Johnny or Earl, it could be joe schmoe, and the sacrifices they make to try to make it to the pro level. And the side jobs they take to support playing pool, like dennis orcullo and fishing. Or players leaving their previous jobs for pool and their reasons for why. bring in drama, characters and obstacles and how the characters overcome them over time, and it might work.