Rap Producer Wants 'Gotti's Way' to Show World He's a Good Guy
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Oct 5, 2007
Hip-hop mogul Irv Gotti spent years defending himself on charges that his music company was being used to launder drug money -- years that tore apart not only his business but also his family life. He tells us now he's a changed man since being acquitted in 2005, and he wants people to see he's a good guy. That's why he's done VH1's "Gotti's Way," which premieres Oct. 15. "You got to realize that I never was tried for anything in my life (before)," notes Gotti, who runs The Inc. -- which he tells us will slowly be going back to its original name, Murder Inc., for his rap artists.
Rap Producer Gotti Wants to Show World He's a Good Guy (Image: Wenn)
"To go in there facing 20 years against the federal government, it was a very enlightening experience. It made me realize who is really with me in life. I don't want to have to go through that again to realize it, but at the same time, it made me open my eyes."
He notes, "When I was going through it, it stripped me of working because no one would come near me with a 10-foot pole. It put like a cloud over my head, and no one would do business with me. Now that it's over, it's like I'm back in business."
Viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at Gotti's business on his reality show, which features his artists Ja Rule, Lloyd and Vanessa Carlton. Cameras also follow him as he juggles his family life and works on his relationship with wife Debbie, from whom he's separated. "I let them shoot everything."
MEANWHILE: Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin, the duo whose 51 Minds company produces VH1's lineup of reality television, say that "Gotti's Way" is "kind of different for us. It's been a year in the making," according to Abrego. He also says the show "makes Reverend Run's house look like cotton candy."
Abrego and Cronin have so much product on the channel it's hard to keep track. They're also about to launch "America's Most Smartest Model" Sunday (Oct. 7), which boasts both male and female beauties, some of whom expose themselves in ways that have nothing to do with their bodies -- such as a belief that Lance Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. But by mid-season, real brainiacs will emerge, they insist, including a Rand Corporation consultant and a Ph.D. candidate.
And they have familiar franchises returning, such as "I Love New York" on Monday (Oct. 8). They're in the middle of filming the next season of their weirdly popular "Flavor of Love" show, in which clock-wearing, aging rap star Flava Flav is the bachelor choosing between aspiring girlfriends. What if he ever really did find love?
"We'd be so happy!" cries Mark. "Trust us, we'd be thrilled," adds Cris.
THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: It's time to re-evaluate the Nielsen Ratings system, believes "Jericho" leading lady Sprague Grayden -- after seeing thousands of "Jericho" fans create the campaign that caused CBS to reverse the show's cancellation. "Obviously, 'Jericho' is doing well on the Internet or TiVo, but there's no way to rate that. I think it happens to a lot of shows. This whole TiVo situation is a problem," she says.
"How brave of CBS to be one of the first networks to say, 'You know what? We need to revisit this. We need to find a new way to define how successful a show is.'"
With only seven episodes to prove themselves in the second season, which will return midseason, Grayden says the show is doing something almost unprecedented -- listening to the fans. "All the cast members went on the message boards and thanked them, and we ended up kind of starting to have a communication with them. I know some of them talked to our producers, and some of them have even come to the set," she explains. "These aren't crazy people. These are just really nice people who were really into the show and got frustrated with the antiquated ratings system that we're all using, so they made this incredibly well thought out, gracious campaign."
She continues, "The fact that our producers are so open-minded and are saying, 'Sure, I'll listen' -- that never happens. We're all kind of in it together now. It's not just 'Jericho' versus CBS or other shows. It's now 'Jericho' and our fans kind of versus the world."
FANCY FREE: "It's so cathartic to play Jeremy Darling," says "Dirty Sexy Money" regular Seth Gabel, who plays the charming, rebellious son of the powerful Darling clan on the ABC drama. "I find myself doing the craziest things on set, and it actually ends up on the show, which I think is incredible."
The actor, best known to TV audiences as the sexually confused son of Famke Janssen's character on "Nip/Tuck," says he didn't know what to expect when he first came to work with such esteemed actors as Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh, who play his mother and father in the show. "It can be intimidating because you don't know what kind of personalities you're going to be dealing with when you're dealing with veteran actors, but everyone has been so kind and so giving, it's been so easy."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.
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