"Chris, we don't like how you talk to us. You're supposed to genuflect and beseech unto us our considera--"
--That's not gonna happen. Don't you know my M.O. by now? I elbow my way in, bust up the place, and claim what's mine. Here I am. Please take no personal offense. Everyone gets some of my magic. It's how you know I love you.
"Again, you don't even have an agent."
Fine. If you need me to have an agent, pick one for me.
"You are one cocky bastard, Chris."
Yup. But I deliver. ...Would that all your properties could...
So here's what I'm thinking: You've got that amusement park down in Orlando. (By the way, I like that Hulk rollercoaster. Do you know that part when you get launched upward at the beginning? It would be so much cooler if you could have some actors dressed up as ride attendants who make like there's a problem with the ride but they can't shut it off. The riders overhear something on one of the "attendant's" radios about the track having collapsed. So everyone's scared shitless to begin with. And then alarms go off and warning lights flash as the coaster continues its propelled ascent up the track. But the shutoff switch doesn't work. And everyone's screaming and crying as the coaster gets ejected from the launch tube. And there's no track on the other side of the launch tube, and the coaster is just flying through the air and all the cars are jackknifing like some kind of tractor trailer gone bad. Everyone thinks they're going to die. But what really happens is that there is a net there to catch the rollercoaster. And hydraulic actuators make that brrrrrrr sound as they lower the net to the ground, several hundred feet below. And then the bored, gum-chewing ride attendants come out and raise everyone's lap bars and it's all over. I think this is better because you can save money by not having all that unneeded track for the rest of the ride.)
But anyway, you've got the whole studio down there. I assume you film things there. Like TV shows and whatnot.
Here's my idea: There's this guy, right? He works at a 7-11. (Which is good because maybe we can get them to sponsor a portion of the show. We'll do product tie-ins and show people drinking Big Gulps.) The guy is nobody. But he's actually the single most powerful man in the world. He lives in his parent's basement, maybe, and he has a blog, and he disguises himself inside a performance art piece by the name of Chris King Pop Icon. He has perfect plausible deniability. And he reserves the right to make things up. He leaves to his make-believe audience the responsibility for determining what is true.
I envision a madcap show. Maximum laughs per minute. Car chases, Chris' exploits fighting crime, pillow talk with his girlfriend Jelly (if I can get away with it; otherwise her name will be Raputa.) If you've ever read the book A Confederacy of Dunces --which I highly recommend-- that is my target comedic sensibility for the show.
"But what is it about?"
It's about nothing. A documentary is about something. A drama is about something. Comedies are about nothing. You just string together a succession of laughs. That is the point of a comedy show. (As opposed to the brand of stand-up that I have been performing, which I have conceived to be something different. Much of my stand-up act is distinctly non-funny social commentary.)
The name of the TV show is Chris King Pop Icon's ProductName Seven.
I'll handle the show, you handle the money. I'll sell the advertisers' products, you provide the studio and the people.
"How much do you want to get paid?"
I couldn't care less. Here's a number: I'll write, act, and provide directorial input for a duration not to exceed one season's worth of episodes, for one hundred thousand dollars. (Details, of course, have to be hammered out before this can be considered an "offer.") After any first season, we'll renegotiate.
Or you can lock it all in at once. We'll talk about it. Everything's negotiable.
"How do we enter into a binding legal agreement with you, what with your unique legal status?"
We'll create a corporation by the name of CKPI Industries, a corporation that can be sued within the conventional legal system. You contract with that entity. That entity pays me. We'll figure it out.
"How do we contact you?"
Orlando's a small town. Someone will know where to find me, should anyone go looking. Start with the newspapers. I'll be there from approximately December 17th to January 15th.
"What makes you think you can launch a show and assemble and maintain an audience?"
You do.
And here's the sweetener: If I fail to deliver to you an emmy within one season, I will forfeit some portion of my compensation. (This assumes, of course, that I have access to all required resources, writers, promotions, etc. etc. etc. But it's a gamble I'm willing to make. ...because I know I'll deliver.)