Oh I seriously need new episodes of Glee yet unfortunately we have to wait until the Superbowl (February 6th) for the series’ return! Below are some of the cast and creators of the hit show being featured on the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter … Nine million albums sold, iTunes domination and a show that (barely) stays on this side of proper. In the war room with TV’s hottest series as it reinvents what’s possible … read on below for a few juicy tidbits from the article. I’m beyond thrilled the show has become such a huge world-wide phenomena, right after I watched the pilot back in the spring of 2009 I declared it a hit, but I seriously had no clue how big it would actually become, I’m a total Gleek for life. Let’s just all pray the show doesn’t jump the shark anytime soon!
EMINEM:
“We went after Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself,’ and it was jaw droppingly expensive,” Murphy says. “Around $200,000. We couldn’t do it because the episode would’ve been so over budget.” Then there are artists whose catalogs are off-limits.
KINGS OF LEON:
Glee’s best-known rejection: Kings of Leon, who rarely license their music. Murphy’s message to nonbelievers the Followill brothers? “F— you, Kings of Leon,” he says, raising the volume of his monotonal interview voice ever so lightly. “They’re self-centered assholes, and they missed the big picture. They missed that a 7-year-old kid can see someone close to their age singing a Kings of Leon song, which will maybe make them want to join a glee club or pick up a musical instrument. It’s like, OK, hate on arts education. You can make fun of Glee all you want, but at its heart, what we really do is turn kids on to music.” Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill tells THR: “This whole Glee thing is a shock to us. It’s gotten out of hand. At the time of the request, we hadn’t even see the show. It came at the end of that record cycle, and we were over promoting [“Use Somebody”]. This was never meant as a slap in the face to Glee or to music education or to fans of the show. We’re not sure where the anger is coming from.”
GUNS N’ ROSES:
Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who recently revealed that he draws the licensing line at Glee. “Glee is worse than Grease, and Grease is bad enough,” he said in an interview. Murphy’s response: “Usually I find that people who make those comments, their careers are over; they’re uneducated and quite stupid.” Worth noting: GNR allowed a hokey Glee-like arrangement of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” to be used in the 2008 Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers.
FUTURE OF GLEE:
Besides, Murphy adds, tons of top-notch talent are clamoring to get on Glee. The latest to approach him for guest spots: Stevie Nicks and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom he’s trying to write in, and Anne Hathaway was recently announced (she plays Kurt’s lesbian aunt). Even former Idol judge Simon Cowell requested a sit-down with Murphy. “I went to his house, and the meeting was simply: How did you come up with this, and why didn’t I think of it?” In a way, Glee has out-Idol’d Idol. It gets its music to market faster, and those songs are burning up the charts.