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The People Vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story - S1 - FX Tues - 90 on Metacritic

GavinGT

Banned
Anyone got some good documentaries about the case? I know everything is so widely covered already, but I was too young to really absorb the events as they were happening.
 

breakfuss

Member
It was okay. I'm not entirely sold on if yet. Felt a little...corny at parts? Whyyyy oh WHYYYYY do they keep name dropping Kardashians? Yes, we know he is the father.

Loving Courtney B. Vance and John Travolta though.
 

strafer

member
That was some good shit. Although I know nothing about the trial or OJ. All I've seen him in is the naked gun, that's it.

So did Robert really witness that stuff with OJ and the gun ?
 

Eidan

Member
Odd to me that season 2 is about Hurricane Katrina...

But season 1 casting is so great.

Definitely a bold decision for a series called "American Crime Story". If it goes in the direction I think it will, it should definitely be interesting.
 

strafer

member
Yes, apparently. Also, that was the actual Kardashian house they used to film, actually filming in KK's former bedroom he threatened to do it in (now vacant).

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood...e-kim-kardashian-bedroom-american-crime-story

Damn. I guess nobody wants to buy that house.


Wow, they do look similar.
 

dave is ok

aztek is ok
The fact that this was all written before Ryan Murphy's involvement explains why it's so much better than other Ryan Murphy shows.
 

breakfuss

Member
I guess another thing is I just don't see the point of this. I was hoping it wouldn't simply be a re-telling of events. We all know OJ did it. Idk...was hoping for another angle here.
 

smokeymicpot

Beat EviLore at pool.
Anyone got some good documentaries about the case? I know everything is so widely covered already, but I was too young to really absorb the events as they were happening.

The only one I can think of that is really about the trail though is June 17th, 1994 the 30 for 30. The only thing I remember is the Bronco chase and other events during that day. It is on Netflix I am pretty sure. ESPN is doing a 30 for 30 in June for O.J.

The fact that this was all written before Ryan Murphy's involvement explains why it's so much better than other Ryan Murphy shows.

This was my main worry. I am not really a fan of his work so I was a little worried.
 
I was very pleased with the episode. Not sold on Cuba as Juice though. It's the voice. He can pull off the looks, but the voice is just way off. I can suspend disbelief though and still enjoy the show though.

The wife and I will stick with it, even though we know the depressing outcome. But we are pleased with his current situation.
 

strafer

member
I was very pleased with the episode. Not sold on Cuba as Juice though. It's the voice. He can pull off the looks, but the voice is just way off. I can suspend disbelief though and still enjoy the show though.

The wife and I will stick with it, even though we know the depressing outcome. But we are pleased with his current situation.

I forgot that Cuba actually is a great actor. It's a shame he like disappeared from movies.
 

Curufinwe

Member
I guess another thing is I just don't see the point of this. I was hoping it wouldn't simply be a re-telling of events. We all know OJ did it. Idk...was hoping for another angle here.

We're seeing a lot of behind the scenes stuff, though. I think it's fascinating.

I followed the case closely at the time thanks to Larry King Live being on TV when I would get home from high school, but a lot of stuff I didn't really appreciate due to my age and unfamiliarity with the deeper aspects of American culture. I can't wait to see how the show handles this powder keg.

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/14/us/issue-of-racism-erupts-in-simpson-trial.html
 
I forgot that Cuba actually is a great actor. It's a shame he like disappeared from movies.

It's like he did Jerry Mcguire, was charismatic as fuck in that role, and then did straight garbage, including shit like Boat Trip and Radio.

I'm sure he got paid well, but man, you fucked up.
 
Damn this was great. I was skeptical that they could make something I lived through and already know a ton of stuff about interesting, but this was riveting.

Sarah Paulson is a goddamn treasure.
 

Sane_Man

Member
Trashy as hell but definitely watchable. I thought Paulson was the weakest thing in it, although she improved further into the episode. I think it was mainly the script she was working with. "This prosecutor says "Go get him!"" made me roll my eyes so bad.
 
From the MArcia Clarke interview someone posted it, I didn't know this:

Marcia Clarke said:
But then they blew one of the greatest lines in the show. Detective Ron Phillips, wonderful guy, he was the one who called to notify Simpson in Chicago. What he actually told Simpson was, “Your wife is dead.” And Simpson's response was, “Who killed her?” Wait a minute, how about a car accident? How about an overdose? [Ed. note: In the FX series, Detective Tom Lange calls Simpson at his Chicago hotel and says, “I have some bad news. Your ex-wife Nicole Simpson has been killed,” and later notes to his partner that Simpson didn’t ask how she died.]

http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/marcia-clark-people-v-oj-simpson-what-it-got-right-and-wrong.html

How is this thing in terms of treating the victims with respect?

So far it really doesn't. Presents them like any run of the mill crime drama. Like the trial itself, this is all about OJ, very little about Nicole Brown Simpson or Ron Goldman.
 
Riveting TV.

I know I'm gonna get chills to the bone when they nail what's so incredible about the OJ case. That this injustice was so horrifying and new to a majority of the country, but has been the norm for black communities for centuries. At least, I hope they nail it.
 

breakfuss

Member
Its not just about OJ though.

The show is about more than just OJ.

Yeah after watching the season trailer posted above I see they'll be delving into more things so I'll stick with it.

Good/hilarious cast all around, but I thought Courtney B. Vance was phenomenal.

He really is. Out of everyone he was the most believable.

Riveting TV.

I know I'm gonna get chills to the bone when they nail what's so incredible about the OJ case. That this injustice was so horrifying and new to a majority of the country, but has been the norm for black communities for centuries. At least, I hope they nail it.

Yep. Well said. Still doesn't make what happened right but in a way it almost felt necessary to expose how unjust the system can be. Too bad much hasn't changed since then though.
 

GavinGT

Banned
Trashy as hell but definitely watchable. I thought Paulson was the weakest thing in it, although she improved further into the episode. I think it was mainly the script she was working with. "This prosecutor says "Go get him!"" made me roll my eyes so bad.

Yeah, lines like that felt clunky but necessary. They had a lot of people to introduce.
 
Thought it started pretty goofy with a lot of questionable acting, the general vibe was very "TV" rather than the more cinematic tier production design and dp budget we're used to seeing on other shows, but maybe this was a conscious decision to play into the televised aspect of the case. Cuba was decent enough but that line delivery on the phone with the police had me cracking up. Travolta looked like a ghoul recently ejected from a plastic surgery clinic but overall I thought his was the best performance overall next to Vance's. Will tune in again next week.
 

The Beard

Member
Riveting TV.

I know I'm gonna get chills to the bone when they nail what's so incredible about the OJ case. That this injustice was so horrifying and new to a majority of the country, but has been the norm for black communities for centuries. At least, I hope they nail it.

What are you talking about exactly?
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Did critics already see the full season? I wonder if we'll get a montage of kids at school and people at work all taking time out to watch the verdict.

I'm glad this isn't going for some tawdry crime stuff, but is incorporating all the sociological elements. That was a crazy fucking time, based on my vague recollections.
 

Memles

Member
Did critics already see the full season? I wonder if we'll get a montage of kids at school and people at work all taking time out to watch the verdict.

I'm glad this isn't going for some tawdry crime stuff, but is incorporating all the sociological elements. That was a crazy fucking time, based on my vague recollections.

Just six. Up to that point, it's mainly been stuff at a media level, nothing yet in terms of spectatorship. But it isn't really into the meat of the trial at this point.
 

AlphaDump

Gold Member
How is this thing in terms of treating the victims with respect?

A bit poorly actually. They are mainly just seen as part of the crime scene so far.

edit: So far the show is pretty good, but the acting does come off a bit forced. Cuba Gooding Jr.'s voice is way off, it takes me out of the story completely.
 
A bit poorly actually. They are mainly just seen as part of the crime scene so far.

The writers addressed this here in an interview with NY Mag.
The writers and producers chose to leave Brown Simpson and Goldman out of the story as characters — their gruesome murders are not depicted, and neither one of them is portrayed while still alive. In recent days, the families of the victims have protested that producers did not consult with them on the project. It’s a perspective that often gets lost in the true-crime series that have become a recent national obsession, from the Serial podcast in late 2014 to Netflix’s jaw-dropping Making a Murderer. “We never wanted to feel like we were exploiting the victims,” Jacobson said of leaving them out. “There’s a line in the series in which Ron Goldman’s father says, ‘My son has become a footnote in his own murder,’ that speaks very much to the way in which they were not given justice in terms of how the case was about everything but them, and how painful that was.”
It's difficult to say what the best way is to handle crime stories being re-examined. As noted in the quote, the Brown Simpson and Goldman families have protested the series moving forward without their consultation.

Toobin also said:
The show is not looking to exploit the murders and the series treats the victims and their memories with great respect.

"This is not a story about how the victims were unimportant," Toobin explains. "This is a story about how the process didn't give those victims what they deserve."
 
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