Film & TV Chappelle Show suspended

[Glockmatic]

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,16484,00.html?eol.tkr

In a surprise announcement Wednesday, Comedy Central announced that the highly anticipated third season of Dave Chappelle's show will not make its May 31 premiere date.

"Comedy Central has suspended production on the third season of Chappelle's Show until further notice," network spokesman Tony Fox said in a brief statement. "All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future."

No official reason was given for the shutdown, but sources told E! News that Chappelle has been MIA from the set for weeks. There was no indication on how long the suspension would last.

In December, the network said that Chappelle's Show was behind schedule after Chappelle fell ill, forcing the network to postpone the expected February debut of new episodes.

"Dave--and his entire production crew for that matter--got a bit of a late start on writing season three," Fox told the New York Post. Production was slated to resume in January.

Last August, Chappelle, 31, reupped with Comedy Central in a massive two-year deal, valued at $50 million by the Hollywood Reporter. The deal also set a new Industry precedent--reportedly giving the funnyman a large cut of backend DVD sales.

Featuring Chappelle's often raunchy standup, offbeat sketches and killer parodies of Prince and Rick James, Chappelle's Show has steadily built a huge following since its January 2003. By the end of season two, the half-hour show was often pulling in more than three million viewers, a substantial number for basic cable. The first season currently ranks as the all-time top-selling TV show on DVD. (Paramount has indefinitely pushed back the release of the second season--the studio hopes to time the DVD to the start of season three.)

In addition to his gig at Comedy Central, Chappelle had been working on a book for Hyperion. There has been no word on the book's status; there's also no word on the reported Rick James biopic for Paramount in which Chappelle would portray the late R&B wild man.

sucks

 

[Steph]

awww, oh well i dont have cable, but ima buy season 2 soon

 

[imported_MAKaveli_10]

1 word can describe the pain im in - WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

 

[tupac004]

what the fuck is up with that.will this shit ever air?.........im starting to have my doubts

i could see them dumb fucks cancelling the show at the last second, even though it was a hit last year, they're dumbasses so ya never know

 

[Pacaveli-T]

godamn i've been anticipating this more then half life:aftermath man this blows this is like the third time that it got pushed fucking network has it out for him......anyways at this rate it'll be one of those shows that gets pushed a year and ends up falling off, losing his fans and then he comes back....shiet he's "hella funny" and i want charlie murphy back with him...

*im rick james bitch, get me a drink*-damn now ima biter...

 

[PuffnScruff]

i hope he isnt letting his fame get to his head

 

[ramza34]

yea he's been sick lately, but dumbasses are starting to get to him- he's walked off recent stand up performances because assholes in the audience wouldn't stop screamin "I'm Rick James bitch"

 

[Snowman]

Was Looking Forward to Season 3.
**Goes An Gets A Kleenex**

Hope Dave Irons Out His Problems.
I'll Be Waiting For Season 2 DVD

 

[Pain Of Depth]

I would get off a stage too if assholes couldn't stop screaming

 

[Rukas]

The white man came and took his show!!!.... It was the white man!!....

Jokes.

But serious, no one is cancelling the show, they just signed a 2 year $50 million deal with Chappelle.

Id laugh if this turned out to be one big joke or something. Who knows. Hes apparently sick though.

 

[S O F I]

Well, there's nobody else to blame but Dave and his production crew. I just want to know what kind of sickness he has.

 

[fields316_2000]

its starting to sound like fame has gotten to his head. first off it was his lack of material that pushed it back the first time. when he was starting out, you know pre-"rick james bitch' dave, he would have had his stuff in line and on time because he was hungry and starving for that big break. he got it and 50 million so now the world is on his time. unfortunitely fans, like me, are getting tired of waiting for something that could quiet possibly suck. some things can be overated and the third season might not live up to this hype.

 

[absolut_dreII]

Fffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pain Of Depth]

I can just NOT understand how people turn fucking illnes into "fame getting to his head" shut up!

 

[fields316_2000]

listen kid - most flu's dont last a whole YEAR!..he damn sure wasnt sick enough to cash that 50 million dollar check he accepted...and then appeared on HBO with his lil stand up..its all in his priorities-watch this season will not live up to its hype and he'll be yesterdays news.

 

[Pain Of Depth]

so what , he's not the only comedian out there , get over it ... and I don't appreciate u talking down to me either! I don't care that I'm 9 years younger!

 

[~Vindictive~]

rumor is that dave is in rehad. but they didnt say if its for alcohol or drugs. and i'm not gonna miss his show cause all he did was ignorant stereotypes

 

[fields316_2000]

i find his show funny, but what i found out is, ironically racists (white power web sites) actually support his show and watch / buy his dvds. things like 'the nigger family' and the blind black guy that is racist..they eat it up and support his 'message'..i didnt believe it until someone showed me a forum where these klans men were laughing about him,,then talking bad about black people...

 

[mechman]

nooooo
*beats head on wall*

 

[fields316_2000]

Pressure Behind 'Chappelle' Delay 46 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Dave Chappelle is under pressure, according to a Newsweek report. The star of Comedy Central's popular "Chappelle's Show," is exhausted due to tension, partying and creative differences with Comedy Central, causing last week's halt in the show's production, the report said.

"I saw him start trippin' when the buzz started to get real loud," one unidentified celebrity friend told Newsweek. "I think he was in shock after the first season, and then (during) the second, it hit him that he was the man. That freaked him. And then came the pressure of living up to expectations for the third season. He's never been there — where something's so good and you got to come even stronger the next time. It was too much."

Neither Comedy Central publicist Tony Fox nor Chappelle's spokesman, Matt Labov, has discussed what caused the halt in production or how long it will last. The third season was to premiere May 31.

Another source pointed to the 31-year-old actor-comedian's partying, although Labov has denied that his client has a drug problem.

"Everyone knows Dave likes to have fun," a music industry source said. "I wouldn't say it's out of control ... but at some point that has to affect you if you've got a regular gig."

Newsweek writer Devin Gordon visited the set in November 2004, just a few weeks into shooting on the third season. Gordon didn't notice any out of the ordinary behavior.

The Newsweek report claims Chappelle wants to delve into more controversial racial issues, unsettling "Comedy Central" executives; Comedy Central and an employee in Chappelle's camp said last week the delay "is not a network issue."

"Dave is not compromising what he wants to do," another source said. "He's waited a long time for this chance, and he's not trying to do anything that isn't 100 percent his vision."