Is This FINALLY The End of Donald Sterling's Tasteless Los Angeles Times Ads?

As the Donald Sterling/Clippers/Racism/V. Stiviano mess continues, here's one positive byproduct: Our Long National Nightmare of horrid Sterling ads in the Los Angeles Times appears to be over.

No horribly designed and self-congratulatory Sterling ad appears in today's Sunday paper, where they're normally hard to avoid. Instead, the Times digs deep into the ads and discovers what I think most of us had already figured out a long time ago: Those ads are mostly bull$#!+. Promises of grand facilities to help the homeless or poor kids are all talk. Donations aren't as big as Sterling claims. And those ads featuring a yearbook-style parade of community leaders, all seemingly supporting Sterling, are printed without those leaders' consent.

A highlight from the Times' story:

Ads bearing the name of the Sterling Foundation have heavily promoted its namesake's good works. Those in the Los Angeles Times have featured pictures of the billionaire Clippers owner and numerous recipients of his largesse, including leaders of groups that serve minorities and the underprivileged.

Some of the ads said the foundation was committed to making $10 million in donations. Others cited larger figures — $17 million, even $20 million.

The foundation's actual giving has been far more modest than the publicity suggests.

And some of Sterling's most touted projects, such as the Malibu children's camp and earlier plans for a skid row homeless center, have so far failed to materialize.

From 2009, when Sterling began funding the foundation, through the end of 2012, it gave out about $1.4 million, according to tax records.

Most were grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to dozens of community groups and schools, including Para Los Niños, the United Negro College Fund and the Union Rescue Mission.

Some organizations that received the foundation's money said they were grateful. But others said they became turned off by what they considered Sterling's relentless self-promotion, even before the NBA banned the Clippers owner for life last week for a recording in which a man the league said was Sterling told a female friend not to associate with black people in public.

The story doesn't address the offensive design of these terrible-looking ads. But Sterling's claims and his bad taste go hand in hand: For example, his ads touting his funding a new homeless shelter included this image of what the shelter was going to look like:



(Thanks to Eric the Atwater Village Newbie a.k.a. Pedestrian Photographer for the image!) I mean, that's not only an ugly design for a building, but the drawing is all off. It would be impossible to even construct a building that looked like this. Such a half-assed design should have been the leading indicator that this was one big joke.

Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Ropes Marilyn Monroe Into His Assault on Good Design (December 2013)

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules (June 2012)

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights? (February 2012)

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

Donald Sterling Ropes Marilyn Monroe Into His Assault on Good Design

Donald Sterling, what have you done?

As seen in this week's Los Angeles Times. We're used to the oversized, blurry, poorly cropped photos of Sterling in his obnoxious and horribly designed ads. So when "Marilyn" took the place of Sterling in this ad, it was rather jarring. I have no idea what's going on here.

Not familiar with Sterling's assault on good design? Here's a classic:



We've been ranting about Sterling's L.A. Times ads for years. Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules (June 2012)

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights? (February 2012)

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

Latest Sterling Ad: Too Cheap for Photo Rights?

The Clippers are finally giving fans something to cheer about, which is quite a change for much-maligned owner Donald Sterling. But for fans of good design, Sterling is still Public Enemy No. 1.

Eagle-eyed reader John noticed this recent Sterling ad, in which the designers didn't even bother to license an actual stock photo (or hell, just take one themselves). Nope, this ad, for Sterling's Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel, includes an unlicensed stock image with the watermark "STOCK PHOTO" still stamped on it. Classy!

Sterling's horrific ads are legendary, of course, and I think he wears the badness as a badge of honor. I'm just surprised that the ad above doesn't include an awkwardly large, horribly trimmed and WAY out of focus shot of Sterling in a tux -- his signature design touch.

We've been ranting about Sterling's L.A. Times ads for years. Previously on Franklin Avenue:

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste (December 2010)

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads (June 2009)

Donald Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses (May 2009)

Donald Sterling Ads: Homeless? (August 2008)

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar (February 2008)

Donald T. Sterling is Looking For a Few "California-Type" Models (August 2007)

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever? (March 2007)

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World (January 2007)

(Thanks to Franklin Avenue reader John for the tip!)

Donald Sterling Does It Again, Bends The Species Rules

As you know, we celebrate Donald T. Sterling's L.A. Times ads as the worst photoshopped newspaper ads in the world. There's plenty of evidence to back that up, just look at our roundup of past Donald Sterling blog posts here.

Last time we mentioned a Sterling ad, it was because his graphic designer hadn't even bothered to buy the rights to a stock photo, and instead slapped a photo watermarked with "STOCK PHOTO" wording still on the photo!

But at least past portrayals of Donald T. Sterling -- always a blurry, blown-out-of-proportion shot of him -- have suggested he was human. But looking at today's L.A. Times ad, I'm impressed that Sterling has finally come out as a Centaur -- half man, half horse. Congrats!

Donald Sterling Expands His War Against Good Taste

We've written plenty in the past about Donald Sterling's newspaper ads, an assault on the eyes and a jumbled, photoshopped mess seemingly created by the world's first-ever blind graphic designer. (A website is even devoted to the offensive ads.)

But rather than be shamed into hiring a designer with elementary computer skills, the Sterling ad team is now mocking us. They appear to be upping the bad, looking to see how far they can thumb their nose at anyone with a modicum of taste.

My favorite cheesy staple of the Sterling ads has to be the fake buildings, complete with half-assed lettering superimposed on the building's front. In case you didn't figure it out by now, there's no real Greek revival-style "Sterling Foundation" building.

Stay classy, Donald Sterling!

The Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World

Now that the 76 balls have been saved (well, sort of), we've been searching for a new cause to get behind. And I think I found it.

As a new homeowner, I tend to read the Los Angeles Times' Real Estate section before anything else when the Sunday paper arrives. (I enjoy torturing myself as I brace for whatever bubble story runs that week.)

And every week, I can't escape 'em: Those horribly tacky full-page ads from Donald T. Sterling (example above). Sterling is borrowing some Trump-style bravado to pimp his apartment buildings as the best in the world -- but he's backing his boast up with the ugliest ads in the world.

I've wondered if others shared my horror at the ads -- particularly at the amount of money Sterling must plop down each week for em. If you're gonna spend so much money, why not make sure the ads look halfway decent?



Indeed, it turns out I'm not the only one. Losanjealous turned me on to Quixo, who's so disturbed by the ads that he has started a petition to convince Sterline to rethink the ads:

Whereas print advertisements currently placed by The Donald T. Sterling Corporation in the Los Angeles Times and other publications are really ugly,

Whereas The Donald T. Sterling Corporation spends hundreds of thousands of dollars publishing the full-page ads, and

Whereas millions of people are exposed to the ads every day.

We the undersigned request that The Donald T. Sterling Corporation immediately hire an actual graphic designer to create all future ad layouts. Any future ads placed by The Donald T. Sterling Corporation should, minimally, not look like a disaster, and, ideally, look pretty nice, spread beauty through the world and perhaps even reflect well on The Corporation.

Quixo's Marc Grobman explains his fascination with the terrible ads:

Here's the problem: The ads don't follow even the most basic principles of graphic design. They blend a hodgepodge of un-related type-faces. The margins are reduced to an 1/8 of an inch, surrounded by clunky borders. The width of the type is stretched and squeezed to fit. The space is cluttered with very large type, leaving no room for the eye to rest and making it hard to read or scan the page. Basically, the ads are painful to see.

This is not meant as an indictment of Mr. Sterling's secretary, nephew, intern or whoever produces these ads. They're doing the best they can without professional design software or training. But just placing one of these ads in the Times costs more than my annual salary. Donald T. Sterling Corporation can certainly afford to hire a professional to design them.

Go Clippers!

Another Side of the Donald Sterling Ads

We've written often of Donald T. Sterling's painfully horrible print ads that regularly appear in the L.A. Times.

The ads are known for recurring features such as the same large, blurry photo of Sterling; horrible photoshopped images; poor grammar; unusual mixtures of fonts; and strange claims.

Sterling refuses to hire a professional to design his ads; as a matter of fact, it seems like he celebrates the fact that his ads are horrible. The more that people write about the ads, the more Sterling & Co. seem resigned to pissing off readers by keeping them as is.

That's why I was surprised to see, for the first time in years, a different image of Sterling in one of his ads on Sunday:



Yep, that's Sterling, wearing what appears to be a jacket from his prep school days, holding the gaudiest, most gigantic trophies you've ever seen. The ad is for something that Sterling has cooked up called the "Sterling Charity Excellence Awards."

Now, I don't know how legit these awards are, or if they're in the vein of his so-called "Sterling Homeless Center" -- which has so far not been proven to even exist. In the ad, Sterling says 20 charities have been given $1 million in grants. (And, I suppose, one of those tremendously ugly trophies.)

But hey, this is a big moment: The ad may be as ugly as ever, but at least they were finally able to use a new photo of the Man Who Murdered Good Design.

Donald T. Sterling Discriminates Against Grammar

Just when you think those horrible Donald T. Sterling ads couldn't get any worse... they do.

Check out this ad from Sunday's Los Angeles Times. Not only is it visually offensive, but it's grammatically painful as well.

"DONALD T. STERLING HAS CHECK FOR YOU." Has Sterling gone caveman on us? Does he no longer have time for articles like "a" and "the"? What's the follow-up conversation? "DONALD T. STERLING LIKE BUY YOUR BUILDING FOR DIRT CHEAP PRICE. SELL NOW, OR DONALD T. STERLING BUY BUILDING FOR CHEAPER PRICE AT FORECLOSURE AUCTION."

I'm thinking Sterling's people purposely now are trying to make their LAT ads as ugly as possible, just to piss off these folks.

Donald T. Sterling's Floating Apartment Building -- And Other Photoshop Offenses

Those animals with rudimentary photoshop skills over at Donald T. Sterling headquarters are at it again. And I do mean "animals," as I'm convinced Sterling employs a group of chimps (who fetch small salaries and don't demand a comprehensive health care plan, after all) to design all of his print advertisements.

No self-respecting human being, after all, would cop to designing Sterling's newspaper ads, which murder my eyeballs every time I see them. (Read my myriad of posts on Sterling's horribly designed ads here.) I'm not the only one; the Donald T. Sterling Graphic Design Foundation was created in an effort to stop Sterling's offensive ads.

These days, however, I'm convinced that Sterling is well aware that his ads are horrible -- and has made it his goal to make the ads even more ridiculous. The end game, other than taking pleasure in pissing us all off? I dunno.

But this ad above? Let's count the ways this reaches out and waterboards your sight. The building floating on the ocean. The giant 50 ft. woman who clearly doesn't slum it in that building. The horribly cut and pasted building name. If there's one thing going for this ad, it's the simple fact that Sterling's signature blurry, blown out-of-proportion mug shot is nowhere to be seen here.

Is It Possible? Donald T. Sterling Ads, Worse Than Ever?

Following up on January's post about the Ugliest Newspaper Ads int he World, I do believe that Donald T. Sterling is taunting us.

Check out that color shot of Sterling above. It's incredibly blurry; you can barely make him out. It's his ad -- and this is the best photo they can come up with?

Yup, he must be doing this on purpose.



Maybe he's aware of Quixo's Donald T. Sterling Graphic Design Foundation, which deconstructs the full-page eye sores:

The Donald T. Sterling Corporation purchases millions of dollars worth of full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times. These ads appear throughout the publication and can pop-up anywhere unexpectedly.

Here's the problem: The ads don't follow even the most basic principles of graphic design. They blend a hodgepodge of un-related type-faces. The margins are reduced to an 1/8 of an inch, surrounded by clunky borders. The width of the type is stretched and squeezed to fit. The space is cluttered with very large type, leaving no room for the eye to rest and making it hard to read or scan the page. Basically, the ads are painful to see.

Keep fighting the fight! Together, we can show Sterling the page design light.

Donald T. Sterling Ads: Homeless?

Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Times published its final-ever Real Estate section -- a section that, the paper noted, had been a Sunday staple since 1901.

The big question no one asked at the time, however: What will become of the Ugliest Newspaper Ads in the World?

For years, Donald T. Sterling's absolutely dreadful full-page ads have been a part of the Real Estate section (reportedly because the mogul received bottom-basement rates) -- offending readers' taste and angering anyone with any sense of design -- including this guy.

I'd already noticed that the Sterling ads have been appearing less frequently -- now, where will they go?

Emmys 2017: Backstage With Winners Donald Glover, Alec Baldwin and More

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Donald Glover, and "Master of None" writer Lena Waithe were among the winners who broke new ground at Sunday night's ceremony. And the streaming TV biz passed the ultimate Emmy threshold on Sunday night, as Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” made history. “Handmaid’s Tale” picked up the win for outstanding drama series, which represents the first time a streaming service had one won of the top Emmy series prizes. It was just four years ago, in 2013, that Netflix became the first streaming platform to win an Emmy, as “House of Cards” picked up a handful of victories. Read all about it here. I covered the news from backstage; a few highlights:

Alec Baldwin

Laura Dern

Kate McKinnon

Donald Glover

Dave Mandel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the cast and producers of "Veep"

More "Veep"

Sterling K. Brown

Lena Waithe and Aziz Ansari

Elisabeth Moss and the cast and producers of "The Handmaid's Tale"

Check out IndieWire's full Emmy coverage here.

KCRW's The Spin-Off: Sterling K. Brown & Brian Tyree Henry on Their Breakout Year

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, I sat down with two best friends who also just happened to have the breakout year of their careers: "The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story"/"This Is Us" star Sterling K. Brown, and "Atlanta" star Bryan Tyree Henry.

Actors Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry first met a decade ago in New York, when they were both playing drag queens in a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Since then, they've been friends and cheerleaders of each other's careers.

This past year was huge for both of them. Broadway alum Henry landed the part of Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles on Donald Glover's FX show Atlanta. He also had a role on HBO's Vice Principals. Previously known for his work on Supernatural and Army Wives, Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Chris Darden on FX's ‘The People vs. O.J. Simpson' and currently plays Randall Pearson on NBC's new hit family drama This Is Us.

In this episode of The Spin-off, recorded on the eve of the Golden Globes (where both of their shows were nominated), Henry and Brown join Michael Schneider for a candid conversation about what 2016 has meant for them, both in terms of their careers, as well as their approach to life overall. They talk about their enduring friendship, why their support for each other has meant so much, occasionally auditioning for the same role (like Darden!) and what they view as the role of an artist under a Trump presidency.

Listen below!

Clipped

A fairy tale cut short -- the Clippers lost last night to Phoenix in Game 7 last night; both L.A. teams are now out. But the Clippers far outpaced the Lakers this playoffs season -- leading the L.A. Times to wonder, has this really been a full-fledged turnaround for the much-maligned Clippers?

Among some NBA observers there is hope; among others, skepticism.

Charles Barkley, a Hall of Fame player who is now a studio analyst for TNT's NBA telecasts summed up the situation for many when he said Monday, "Getting to the Western Conference finals one time in 25 years doesn't mean you've turned the corner. You haven't even gone halfway down the block."

That understood, this season's success was unprecedented for the Clippers and owner Donald T. Sterling, whose Midas touch as a Beverly Hills developer had previously escaped his basketball team.

Since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984, this is only their fourth playoffs series, and their winning percentage has hovered around .340, meaning they were losers in two of every three games.

But the Clippers were 47-35 during this regular season, their best record in L.A. and their second-best mark in the 36-year history of the franchise.

Me? I just wish Sterling would do something about those obnoxious and poorly-designed ads he runs in the Sunday paper.

(Pic: LA Times.)

What They Said in 2017: Sterling K. Brown, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, RuPaul, Danny Trejo and More

One of the great things about covering the TV biz is all the interesting writers, producers, stars and executives you get to speak to throughout the year. I combed through some of my IndieWire pieces to come up with some of the most interesting things people said to me in 2017:

“I thought that diminished the show,” "Moonlighting" creator Glenn Gordon Caron  said of turning down lucrative merchandising deals at the time. “I look back on that and think, what a fool!”

“The fact that we have flat-earthers is evidence of two things: that we live in a country with free speech and we live in a country where our educational system has failed us,” said Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

"If you go an extended period of time without seeing a reflection of yourself, it’s easier to believe you’re invisible and of minimal value," said Sterling K. Brown. "I want everyone to know that they are seen, appreciated, and their story is being told.”

“I think the world is getting better despite some evidence to the contrary," "The Good Doctor" creator David Shore said of his show's success. "We are watching a character that we’re not used to seeing on TV and we are relating to him.”

“The fact that I would have eyelashes and makeup and pretty hair and a manicure — I’d never been considered in that way — to tell you what that meant to me. I’m always thinking, ‘You gotta lose 50 pounds, no one’s going to consider you for this or that.’ And then this role came along, and on top of it all, she’s funny," actress Ann Dowd said of her role on "Good Behavior."

"This guy is, like, Marlon Brando good," Ryan Murphy said of Sterling K. Brown. "This guy has huge, huge depth of talent, and on top of that, he’s charismatic and good looking, and sexy.”

“How is that not somebody who’s gay?” "Will & Grace" co-creator Max Mutchnick said of Vice President Mike Pence.

“We’re in a very dangerous, very degraded moment in time where the values that everybody who came before us fought and died for are all being tromped upon,” Ron Perlman said. “For no good end except power and greed.”

“I like to think of myself as the king of streaming,” joked Paul Reiser, who had shows on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu this fall. “And then I still need my son to show me how to watch these things. But the point is, I am the king.”

"Now people have to cobble together a career or a salary through four jobs where one job used to pay," Nick Kroll said of the modern economics of being a comedian. "But the reality means there’s a lot more people working and making a living doing the thing they’ve always wanted.”

“I’m fascinated by writers," said Kyra Sedgwick, who played one on "Ten Days in the Valley." "They’re such weird creatures!”

"In this day and age and this show, our goal is to never just brutalize people and leave them brutalized," "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman said of his emotional drama. "It may happen in an episode from week to week, but it’s not our long-term plan. Our belief is even in tragedy, despair, loss, there’s a way to come through it."

“It’s kind of a nutso world right now,” said "The Opposition" host Jordan Klepper. “Everybody is fighting. All we know right now is that we’re angry. Even when the country seems to be agreeing on something what the news becomes is how angry everybody is on the agreement. Boy, this is only going to get more tumultuous and you can feel more addicted to this news cycle right now. It can get pretty overwhelming.”

“I’ve had a number of people murdered in my family and I know the pain of it,” said Robert F. Kennedy, who is adapting a TV project based on his cousin, whom he believes was wrongfully convicted of murder.

“Distractions will be the new norm,” said CBS marketing president George Schweitzer. “We just have to live within this world. This is survival of the fittest in the entertainment marketing business. Everyone’s competing for leisure time attention. Bring it on."

 “I wanted to make sure we weren’t ‘Slapsgiving’ it,” "You're The Worst" creator Stephen Falk said, explaining why he didn't produce a "Sunday Funday" episode this season/ “We were getting to the point where it felt a little stunty. We said we were going to make it the last one and we did. I think it’s easy money now that if we get a Season 5 that, like Freddy or Jason, there will be a new beginning.”

“It’s so slow,” "Young Sheldon" executive producer Chuck Lorre lamented about the difference in producing a single-camera show. “A dinner scene where the family is sitting around the table having dinner, that’s maybe four pages long. It takes as long as it takes us to shoot an entire episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ in front of an audience. It’s unbelievably, torturously slow. When the camera moves from one place to another, you start thinking about alternate lifestyles for yourself, and maybe I should pick up a hobby… I’m brand new, and still learning about this.”

“I truly believe at some point everything will be the way it’s supposed to be," Faith Evans said when asked whether she thinks the mystery of her husband Notorious B.I.G.'s murder will ever be solved. "If it’s not meant for the LAPD to finally resolve this and say this is what happened, then it’s not meant to be. All we can do is pray that one day they do.”

“Our show is the voice of the 21st century,” RuPaul said of his Emmy-winning "RuPaul's Drag Race." “What’s happening politically in our country is people trying to hold on to the 20th century. The kids who watch our show are future forward thinkers.”

"I always try to get some time with Jessica Walter, who plays Lucille Bluth, because right when she starts saying Buster’s name in her passive aggressive degrading tone, it’s just like a Pavlovian response,” "Arrested Development" star Tony Hale said about getting back into character years later.

“Nobody wants to see me get naked and say bad words,” Kellie Martin said of playing a straight-laced character on "The Guest Book." “People feel like they know me in a strange way, like they grew up with me or they went to high school with me!”

“There isn’t a Plan B for that,” PBS president/CEO Paula Kerger warned if public broadcasting is defunded.

"Lock him up!" Matt Groening led the crowd at Comic-Con in a chant during "The Simpsons" panel.

“I’ve told everybody since the show ended, I’ve been on the record saying I have every desire and intention to make a ‘Chuck’ movie," said star Zachary Levi. "I just got to wait on the right time for it. I do believe whole-heartedly there will be a day when it happens.”

“He has a standing ‘yes’ no matter what when he calls,” Danny Trejo said of his relationship with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. 

“I come from knowing my lines and the perfect scene, and none of those tools worked in the ‘Black Market’ world," Michael K. Williams said of hosting the Vice channel docuseries. "I had to let go of all of that and be Mike. Mike is not the most educated person in the world. When I let that go, that fear of looking ignorant in this world, I got to learn.”

“The language is horrendous, but it’s not as damaging as watching a terrible Disney show,” Matt Walsh said of when he'll introduce his kids to "Veep."

“Ultimately the network’s largest fears won out and they decided not to air it,” Jerrod Carmichael said of NBC's decision to pre-empt an episode of "The Carmichael Show" about a shooting.

“In this day and age of opposition research, we have to be buttoned up and squeaky clean," said Vice boss Shane Smith. "At some point there has to be a backlash. Everyone goes after everybody. It becomes mud slinging.”

“People are worried that she’s going to die, but just as worried that if she’s there, how corrupt is she?” "Better Call Saul" star Rhea Seehorn said of fan theories about her character Kim’s fate.

“I watch it and think, if Hillary [Clinton] were president, this would be a very entertaining and intelligent show,” writer Julie Plec said of "The Handmaid's Tale." “Donald Trump is president, and I want to vomit. It’s so harrowing in the context of the reality we live in. The speculative fiction feels so presently of today in a way that it absolutely wouldn’t have if Hillary were president.”

“What Kathy Griffin did, whether you like it or not, is a piece of political art,” said Javier Grillo-Marxuach (“The Middleman,” Netflix’s upcoming “The Dark Crystal”). “For politically conscious art it was fairly mercenary and kind of banal but she did it, and we have to defend her right to do that. Or we will not be able to do much more milk-toast crap that is much less defensive than what she did.”

"The President of the United States has not lost his job for committing numerous crimes, and admitting to having sexually assaulted women,” said "House of Cards" creator Beau Willimon in June. “The double standard is that the person who bears the most responsibility, the leader of the free world, should be held to the highest standard and that seems to be the only person not losing his job!”

"When Trump got elected, almost all of the ideas that Mark and I had immediately dropped off the table,” Jay Duplass told IndieWire at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation panel. “We were like, ‘everything has changed.’ Humor has changed. Impulse has changed.”

Margo Martindale, who plays the Russian handler, Claudia, on "The Americans," has a specific request for her character before the show ends: “I want to slit one more person’s throat!”

"The Bachelorette" Rachel Lindsay on why she ignores commenters on social media: “I don’t care. I don’t know you!”

"American Gods" co-creator Bryan Fuller on how actor Mousa Kraish, who plays the Arabic god Jinn, wound up with a rather hefty prosthetic penis:  “We got on the phone and said, our intention was to do a beautiful love scene between two men, and he was like, ‘OK, as long as its not exploitational, and as long as you give me a beautiful cock.’ The funny part was somehow the visual effects guy got it in his head that it’s an 11-inch cock… We sent this 11-inch cock to Mousa with a note – ‘How’s it hanging?’ – expecting him to be like, ‘Jesus Christ!’ But his only response was, ‘It looks good, but should be darker!'”

Ron Howard on why it took "Genius" for him to finally direct for TV: “Nothing came along that I thought I could really lend myself to and make a difference.”

“I had written off network TV,” Jenna Elfman said. “I told my agents not to come to me with another network show. I work really hard and I do my best to promote the shows. I feel like mostly I do a good job. In any other field that would give you job security. Sometimes it’s like it doesn’t matter.”

“It’s one thing to be an idiot and not know what you’re talking about,” Chelsea Handler said of her right, as a celebrity, to discuss politics. “But if you’re informed and have an opinion, why would I not talk about politics?”

“There are moments where it’s genuine disbelief,” Trevor Noah said of his incredulousness over the past year. “I know, for all intents and purposes, hypocrisy is dead. Hypocrisy is not the tool it once was. Shame is not something you can use to smother the flame of a hypocrite anymore.”

“We piggyback on the work of real journalists,” former "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" executive producer Jo Miller said. “Sometimes we’ll fill in some gaps where there hasn’t been coverage, but we couldn’t do our work without journalists. We’re commentary and point of view, but we’re not a newsroom.”

Dan Harmon on the delays in getting a third season of "Rick and Morty" on the air: “If Justin were here he’d agree. He and I would go, ‘Yeah, we fucked up,’ and it’s hard to put your finger on how we fucked up. ‘Rick and Morty’ keeps taking longer and longer to write, and I don’t know why.”

Bryan Tyree Henry, on how he bonded with pal Sterling K. Brown by borrowing his shaver: “He went and got clippers, and we’ve been best friends ever since. Once you shave a guy’s face, man, you’re best friends after that.” 

End of Year Round-Up: My Favorite IndieWire Stories From 2017

It was my first full year at IndieWire (having joined in April 2016), and I'm proud to say the site is humming along nicely -- and ended the year with its most-read month (December) in IndieWire historu. I went through and selected some of my favorite stories fron 2017. Read 'em below.

‘The Sopranos’ Was Still One of 2017’s Most-Binged TV Shows, Even 10 Years After It Ended (Dec. 29)

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2017’s Winners and Losers (Dec. 28)

Top Rated Shows of 2017: Here’s How the Super Bowl, Oscars, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ Faced Off (Dec. 27)

Paul Reiser on Reviving ‘Mad About You’: ‘There’s Still Comedy To Be Mined’ (Dec. 26)

‘The Office’ Cast: Where Are They Now, And Their Odds of Joining The Reboot (Dec. 19)

‘The Office’ Revival In the Works at NBC; Here’s Who Might Be Back (Dec. 18)

‘Live PD’: Secrets Behind A&E’s Addictive Cop Show, and How It Almost Goes Off the Rails Each Week (Dec. 15)

‘House of Cards,’ ‘Transparent,’ ‘Today Show’ and More: A Complete Guide To TV Rocked By Sexual Harassment Scandals (Dec.7)

‘The Good Doctor’ Phenomenon: Creator David Shore Says He Couldn’t Have Made This Show a Decade Ago, But Now It’s A Hit (Nov. 6)

Ron Perlman Says His Presidential Run Is No Longer A Joke: ‘We’re In Danger of Ending Our Days’ — Turn It On Podcast (Oct. 20)

Jimmy Kimmel: Here’s What Fueled His Reluctant Transformation into the Nation’s Moral Conscience (Oct. 4)

The 20 Best TV Spin-off Series of All Time, Ranked (Sept. 27)

 

Chuck Lorre on Following Up ‘Mom’ With a Pot Comedy, and How Making a Single-Camera Comedy Is Torture (Sept. 6)

 

The 15 Greatest TV Presidents of All Time, Ranked (Aug. 22)

RuPaul Has a Powerful Message on Why The Bigots and Hate Groups Are Going to Lose — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (Aug. 15)

 

How Netflix Has Ignited TV’s Talent War — and Network Fears — By Stealing Away Shonda Rhimes (Aug. 14)

 

As Disney Cuts Ties With Netflix, the Real Battle for Streaming Supremacy Begins (Aug. 8)

NBC Helped Create President Trump — and MSNBC Ratings Prove He’s Been Good for the Company (Aug. 4)

Matt Groening and ‘The Simpsons’ Producers on 30 Years, Beating ‘Gunsmoke’ and Taking On Trump — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (July 26)

Amazon Has Great TV Shows. Now, About That Branding Problem (July 25)

The 20 Best HBO Series of All Time, Ranked (July 25)

 

‘Game of Thrones’: Where to Find The Real-Life Staircase to Dragonstone in Spain (July 17)

Danny Trejo on Weapons, Tacos, the Los Angeles Rams and Weird Looks from Parents — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (July 12)

 

How Donald Trump and James Comey Destroyed the Way Film and TV Depict the FBI and CIA (June 29)

 

‘Power’: When Starz Began Targeting African-American Viewers, It Paid Off With More Ratings and Subscribers (June 23)

‘Star Wars’ and Lucasfilm Have Lost Their Sense of Humor, and Firing Lord and Miller is Only One Example (June 23)

How the Alex Jones Debacle Has Exposed NBC’s $18 Million Megyn Kelly Problem (June 16)

‘Twin Peaks’: When David Lynch Killed Showtime’s Marketing Campaign, Here’s How The Network Improvised (June 13)

The 25 Best TV Theme Songs of the 21st Century, Ranked (June 13)

Jim Carrey on The Perils of Standup Comedy In Our Outrage Culture — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (June 7)

 

‘Transparent’ Star Jay Duplass on Why He Loves Acting More than Directing, and His Disgust for Superhero Movies (June 6)

 

Netflix and Bill Nye Aren’t Censoring His Old TV Show – Sorry, Conspiracy Theorists, Here’s What Really Happened (June 5)

 

The Mystery of Why Top TV Producers Shonda Rhimes, Greg Berlanti and Chuck Lorre Haven’t Won an Emmy (May 30)

 

These Are the 100 Most-Watched TV Shows of the 2016-17 Season: Winners and Losers (May 26)

 

‘The Bachelorette’ Rachel Lindsay Gets Grilled By Comedian Paul Scheer And Tells All — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (May 24)

Jon Stewart and HBO Made The Right Call to Kill Their Animated Cable News Parody, and Here’s Why (May 24)

 

Women Leads on TV Decline As Networks Discover White Dudes in Crisis (May 19)

 

‘Downward Dog’ Creator Shares His Diary on How This Unlikely Show Ever Got Made (May 16)

Network Pilot Season: Why Someone Needs to Kill This Outdated Practice For Good (May 16)

‘Last Man Standing’ Wasn’t Canceled Because Tim Allen Is Conservative, So Stop Whining (May 16)

‘American Gods’ Producers and Stars on How A Nudity Gender Equality Mandate Led to So Much Penis — IndieWire’s Turn It On Podcast (May 12)

 

Alex Jones Is Too Crazy For TV: Why Shows Can’t Pull Off Conspiracy-Theorist Characters (April 21)

Bill O’Reilly Is Out at Fox News, But Don’t Congratulate the Network For Finally Taking a Stand (April 19)

 

‘Tales from the Crypt,’ David Chase Miniseries, ‘MTV Unplugged’ and More: A Status Check on Shows in TV Purgatory (April 14)

‘Deadliest Catch’ Faces Its Own Extinction As Climate Change Rapidly Warms Ocean Waters (April 10)

Trevor Noah Isn’t Angry with Donald Trump, and That’s Why Millennials Are Flocking to ‘The Daily Show’ (April 4)

 

‘Black-ish,’ ‘Insecure,’ and Others Aren’t Just ‘Black Shows,’ As Nielsen Study Proves (March 17)

 

Jimmy Kimmel Producers Reveal Oscars Secrets – What You Didn’t Know Happened Behind the Scenes (Feb. 27)

‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Ratings Surge Has Suddenly Made Late Night Competitive Again (Feb. 18)

The Politics of Funny: Comedians Grapple with Their Approach After The Gloom of Trump’s Inauguration (Feb. 2)

Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry: Breakthrough Stars’ Friendship Began Over a Pair of Beard Clippers (Jan. 16)

Joel McHale’s ‘The IT Crowd,’ Scott Baio’s ‘Rewind,’ and More TV Cancellations Before Their Premiere (Jan. 5)