Bob Odenkirk starts e-beef with Rogue Wave :: Film & TV Music News :: Articles

Bob Odenkirk is one of those rare gems in the sea of '90s comedy. Devotees of his and David Cross' Mr. Show fondly remember it as a high water mark for hilarity during its four-season run on HBO, before Mad TV made us regret loving sketch comedy. But that was then and this now. Odenkirk's pissed and he's not gonna take it anymore.

The SNL alum appears in a clip posted on MySpace where he pitches his original idea for the video, which features cardboard cutouts of the band roaming through Reseda, California. Odenkirk, clad in a neon-green bodysuit, then harasses the band members while they film the real music video. We couldn't make this up if we tried. In what seems to be a brilliant bit of marketing, Odenkirk was so disgruntled they didn't use his version, he penned a "sternly" worded e-mail to the press demanding the realization of his vision. As follows:

To Any and All Members of the Media Whom It May Concern:

Let me preface this letter by saying that I know full well what makes you media moguls tick. We all know that this business revolves around the dollar sign, not the art. While I might not agree with your philosophy, at least I can respect it.

That being said, are you guys kidding me? I will be the first to admit that Rogue Wave and I did not exactly see eye-to-eye on the “Chicago x12” project. However, to be honest, I don’t care what Zach, Pat, Patrick, Dominic, and that guy with the glasses have to say about the video. They should just be thanking their lucky starts that I didn’t set the video around Zach going to singing classes so he could learn how to annunciate. This was my creation and all those guys did was provide a soundtrack to it. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter what Rogue Wave thinks. It’s called “Director’s Cut” and it’s clearly in my contract.

What I don’t understand is why most of you appear to have sided with the band on this issue. When a director is given creative control of a music video, there is an unwritten rule that the suits will trust his vision. All that aside, my video was at least twice as awesome as theirs.

I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. All I am “asking” is that you erase any and all traces of the unofficial “Chicago x12” video and promote the hell out of my version. In conclusion, I would like to remind you of my legal team’s 98% success rate in court.

Thanks again for supporting the artistic community,

Bob Odenkirk

P.S. My “Director’s Cut” is available on www.myspace.com/itsbobodenkirk for your viewing pleasure.

Odenkirk's clearly joking around, but does it really even matter? While you wait for this to resolve, amuse yourself with this clip of Paste chatting with Rogue Wave at Sasquatch, as well as some fond memories of the genius that was Mr. Show: