Louis C.K. can now join the likes of 50 Cent on the list of “Famous Celebrities Who Are Bankrupt Through No Fault But Their Own,” err – okay, sorry. I’m jumping the gun here; Louis C.K. isn’t bankrupt, he’s just millions of dollars in debt. As if one is better than the other to us peasants with $8.24 in our bank accounts. Tomato tomato, potato potato, either way you still have jack shit.
Unlike 50 Cent, however, Louis C.K. is in the shitter for a bad business investment, whereas 50 got fucked in lawsuits. What is it that C.K. invested in, you ask? Well before I answer that question, tell me…would you watch this show based off of its Wikipedia summary?
The series is set in a run-down family-owned bar called Horace and Pete’s in Brooklyn, New York. The bar has been owned by the family since 1916 and has been passed down through several generations, always with a Horace and a Pete in charge. The current owners are the 49-year-old Horace Wittel VIII, who inherited the bar when his father Horace Wittel VII died one year earlier, and his 52-year-old cousin Pete. The bar is old-fashioned and tradition-bound; for example no mixed drinks are served and the only beer they sell is Budweiser on tap. Pricing is variable, depending on whether the customer is a regular or a hipster who is drinking there “ironically.” For many years, the management has been watering down the drinks, even justifying it to themselves by saying their alcoholic regular customers would be dead by now if they were drinking full strength liquor.
The regular bartender is Uncle Pete (the “previous Pete”), an acerbic foul-mouthed old bigot who insults everyone around him but is frequently entertaining. Regular customers include Marsha, an aging but still attractive alcoholic who was Horace senior’s last sexual partner before his death; Kurt, an opinionated loudmouth; and Leon, a laconic barroom philosopher.
A feature of the series was the frequent references to highly topical current events during the bar-room discussions. This was made possible by the very short time frames between the production and release of the episodes (less than a week). Other story lines appeared to take place over longer periods.
Or what about this brief clip from an IMDB user review?
No? You wouldn’t? It sounds insanely boring and not like something you or your friends could get stoned to and watch on a binge? Well congratulations, you are officially better with your money than Louis C.K., who is now millions of dollars in debt because he self-financed the entire series, titled Horace and Pete’s:
The comedian and actor told Howard Stern he spent $2 million of his own money on the show that’s available to stream from his website.
‘It will hurt, and it will leave me with no cushion in life, but I’m willing to do that,’ the 48-year-old said, according to Deadline.com.
…’I made the first four (episodes), and I didn’t tell nobody and it made a nice little amount of money,’ he explained.
”When I got to episode four, I was like, ‘Hey gang, I don’t have any money.’ So I had to take out a line of credit.’(via)
While sales for the show reportedly increased after C.K. appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he does admit he has a fallback plan in the event he’s not able to recoup his losses, stating that “I’ll go on the road, doing stand-up, afterwards, and I’ll make it back.”
Just what I like to see, a guy who knows his strengths and plays to them – as opposed to two dudes, sitting in a bar, drinking Budweiser ad infinitum.
[H/T Daily Mail]