Meet Mr. Television, Jerry Bruckheimer
PUSSSYKATT
NY DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER
Nobody blows stuff up in the movies better than Jerry Bruckheimer. Now the
producer who has shocked and awed audiences with such hits as "Top Gun,"
"Armageddon" and "The Rock" is sending shock waves through the TV world.
Bruckheimer's forensic crime drama "CSI" was the No. 1 prime-time show this
past season.
His "CSI: Miami" was the top new series.
There's also his hit missing-persons drama, "Without a Trace" — and his
reality show, "The Amazing Race," back for another run this summer.
With three more shows set to arrive this fall, Bruckheimer has become Mr.
Television — the most successful hitmaker since "Love Boat" mogul Aaron
Spelling's heyday in the 1970s.
The former ad exec — whose movies have earned $12 billion at the box office
— says he is enjoying his new status as prime time's hottest
behind-the-scenes name.
"I love the speed of it," Bruckheimer told the Daily News. "You develop
something, you go to pilot, and you know within three weeks whether you get on
the air.
"Movies take forever to get made. I've worked on scripts for 10 years and
finally got them made, where in television, everything is done in a six-month
period."
One reason Bruckheimer's shows have become hot commodities is that they deliver
the same meticulous production values of his lavish, theatrical thrill rides.
While you won't see as many explosions, "CSI," "CSI: Miami" and "Without a
Trace" are fast-paced, rich in detail and packed with special effects —
building on the breakthroughs TV drama made in the early years of "ER."
The actors who work on the shows notice the difference from other series —
and are often amazed how immersed in realism they get.
Khandi Alexander, who plays medical examiner Alexx Woods on "CSI: Miami," said
she avoids eating before shooting her grisly scenes — such as the time her
character severed and microwaved a murder victim's hand to recover evidence.
"This is completely new territory for me," Alexander said. "I've spoken to many
doctors who say I have equipment on the set that they can't afford."
Anthony Zuiker, creator of "CSI," spent a month on the graveyard shift with the
Las Vegas crime lab. Meredith Sheim spent as much time with the Philadelphia
police before writing the new Bruckheimer CBS series "Cold Case," about a
Philadelphia detective who uses modern science to examine old, unsolved crimes.
"If you look at our movies, they are about process," Bruckheimer said. "'Black
Hawk Down' took you inside of a [military] operation and made you feel like you
were there.
"We do the same thing in 'CSI' and 'Without a Trace.' We'll force a writer to
go into the real world and research it or bring the research to them."
The goal, he added, is to "take you someplace you've never been before and show
you how it works."
Jonathan Littman, who oversees Bruckheimer Television, said Bruckheimer has
succeeded in TV where other film people have failed for a simple reason — he
likes what he's doing.
Other movie producers "always thought TV was broken and needed to be
reinvented," Littman said. "Jerry loved watching TV. He just wanted to take
what he did in features and try to make it work on the small screen."
Littman said Bruckheimer reads every script and watches every episode and
provides "pointed notes."
Alexander agreed, pointing out that when "CSI: Miami" was starting, Bruckheimer
spent as much time on the set as he did on his upcoming feature "Bad Boys II,"
which was also shooting in Miami at the time.
"It gave us a level of confidence," she said. "He could have just sat in one of
his castles somewhere."
There's even more Bruckheimer TV to come.
Next fall he'll have "Skin," a "Romeo and Juliet" love story with the feel of a
prime-time soap. Olivia Wilde plays the daughter of a pornography mogul. She
falls in love with the son (D.J. Katrona) of a district attorney who is trying
to take her father's business down.
Rachael Leigh Cook makes her first foray into series television with
"Fearless," playing an FBI agent who was born without the gene for fear. While
it has plenty of butt-kicking action, the series will delve into her unusual
character as well. But — knowing Bruckheimer's reputation for realism on
shows like "CSI" — Cook's hoping he doesn't get too carried away in testing
her fearlessness.
"I'm praying that they don't think it's funny to put me in a dungeon with
tarantulas just to shoot my nonreacting face," she said.
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