This has been confirmed over at G-R.net that Bart Eskander is no longer director of Price after 8 years on the job. The original poster of the thread says that Drew was instrumental in Bart's departure from the show, but that was not confirmed.

http://www.golden-road.net/index.php/topic,9988.45.html

Marc confirms it in Post #7.

Okay.

They complained and complained about the guy's job, but now that he's gone they suddenly have regrets?

I'd figure they'd be ecstatic.

A few stuck to their guns on their opinion. But yeah, those who are now feeling bad for him after they b****ed about him, all we can can really do is sit here and laugh at them for being so two faced. As for Bart, I've seen his name in the credits of many Goodson/Pearson/Fremantle shows over the years, he couldn't have been that bad if he was with the company for as long as he was.

I dunno if you've noticed, but a fair amount of folks over there don't do change well.

What makes you think I didn't make that statement with that in mind?

Just because someone does something at the same business for a long time doesn't mean he was any good at it. I may catch some heat for this, but I offer the Joe Franklin example. Personal opinion, I grant you, but I thought he was awful. And yet, he held that post for forty years.

Billy Crystal's version was better.

/Matzohs by Streitz, for the unleavened experience of a lifetime, my friends.
//So that's where McCain got that from!

Eskander didn't start out as a director--he was a PA, a music supervisor and an AD before becoming a director. I suspect he was a perfectly competent AD who was promoted beyond the level of his competence.

I see this twofold:

- Bart sucked, glad he's gone.
- Who can they bring in that would do a better job as a rookie at a show with as many moving parts as Price? I'm apprehensive that the director can, at minimum, maintain the same level that Bart did. Price just seems really complex.

Ye olde Peter Principle, eh? Okay, I'll give you that.

Funny, since there were an awful lot of armchair directors up in here who thought a trained seal could do a better job when he was calling the shots.

Can't wait to hear what tune gets whistled once the first of the post-Bart eppies is televised. In fact, I wonder if a Facebook group's been started lamenting the release of The Esk. I shall investigate and report back.
ADDED A FEW MINUTES LATER: There are none. This will bear watching, however.

Was it like this in the mid-90s, after Dian and Holly weren't on the show? Every article or every statement tinged with drama, insecurity, tension. Never knowing what to believe. Never knowing who to believe. This is really getting tiresome. At least, since it doesn't involve on-air personnel, it doesn't appear like it will lead to backlash against the show.

Personally, I didn't care much for Eskander's style. I just never understood how he could have so many effects and transitions and other tools (especially with computer technology being so much better) at his disposal, and he chose to use so few. To me, it's like an artist going into his studio every day, staring at his canvas and after a couple hours of cogitation deciding, "I know! I'll paint it......white!" Every. Single. Day. It doesn't make sense to me. I don't know how much of that was his own decision and how much was Barker leaning on him (like I bet he was, judging from a few of the later changes for cars and Plinko), but it always struck me as lazy.

ClockGameJohn has confirmed that R. Brian DiPirro will be "Price"'s next director.

Ahhh, so everything will be done in post from now on.

That is one thing I'd worry about, but hey----time will tell. This might actually prove that he can do a show live to tape. But with the rest of what's happened in 33, I'm not holding my breath. Yet.

I've seen none of that in this thread.

Congratulations on being the first, though.

Considering how far he's come in his career since Street Smarts, talk about a promotion of sorts for Richard Brian DiPirro. Doing the granddaddy of game shows full time. (I know Marco Mancini does the Deal gig now) Best of luck to him.

Since DiPirro sure loved to take shots of the audience on Deal or No Deal, he'll fit right in here!

And that's a problem because......

Maybe this is just my prematurely decomposing brain, but I thought the 2 main complaints were that his timing was bad and his aim was off. If the above contributed to it, so be it, but giving neat-o effects to every camera change isn't going to make things better.

My issue isn't with Bart leaving---I'm concurring that he was, at best, a really dull and uncreative director---it's with 1) wondering when all these recent firings will stop, and 2) that the idea of Price's directing becoming that of DoND's leaves me extremely skeptical....at best.

Welcome to a crap economy.

I have to wonder if you people would even *notice* if this hadn't gone public.

I've expressed my issues with DiPirro's constant audience shots, mainly because they're so gratuitous on D/ND. As Tim said, at least he now gets to directs a show where it makes sense to constantly go to the audience (except for the newly-implemented bump shots of the audience coming out of commercial).

Constant audience shots notwithstanding, he did a competent enough job with the Marathon and the other shows he's done this decade. Would it really be as much of an issue if he weren't involved with Endemol (given their reputation) as much?

Waitasecond. Take your shots if you must (and knowing you, you must), but I think the linked thread starting with the assertion that Drew specifically led to Eskander's departure (which is still speculation) did have all of those.

But this one did not. And what you said was:

"Every" article. That means all. Words Have Meanings.

Contemplated filing a trademark or a copyright so you can profit off of that?

Approves

He's Matt Ottinger. The trademark is implied. :)

Uh, yeah, Eskander's style was reasonably crappy enough that you'd notice a change for either good or bad.

I have to say I'm surprised I'm now one of 'you people' since my reaction wasn't rabidly positive.

Has anyone on this board ever actually directed a gameshow? Or any show for that matter?
You sure are good at criticizing other director's work.

Wow...so defensive over nothing. This is a message board, opinions are discussed, and guess what? Some of those opinions you may not agree with. I only played one year of Pee Wee football, but it doesn't stop me from criticizing my favorite team. Every opinion I've seen was for the most part, reasonable, and not in the "h8r" territory that you're implying.

BTW, you'll find that many of us (myself included), have extensive directing and other behind-the-camera experience, so your efforts at snark could very well backfire on you.

Yeah, I was gonna say, I've never directed anything more complicated than a :30 news promo, but I've damn well worked the other crew jobs long enough to know a bad one when I see one.

Fine, then. I misspoke. Big deal. It still doesn't warrant an attack. Then again, I wouldn't expect you to not completely miss that and defend Lemon.

The previous statement is awesome in so many ways, I can't even begin to tell you.

After all, why make conversation when you can make jokes?

The word "copyright" has actually been Matt Ottingered.

Ok. Here's goes. Have your tickets ready, friends...

It wouldn't be a big deal except you have shown a propensity to say whatever comes to your mind first, and then after your argument, syntax and even your word choice are made more hole-ridden than Swiss cheese, you retreat to "Bah, I misspoke!" "I wouldn't expect anything less!" and so on, rather than acknowledging our (very valid points} and trying to become a better member of our Forum, because you'd rather just continue on your merry way.

I now await your reply, to compare it with the control group.

Andy Felsher. He would have the shortest learning curve of anyone besides perhaps Fred Witten.

Why do you care? Your job's not at stake. What is your job, BTW?

If RBDP gets the reveals he'll be an improvement over Bart. Never mind that it might take 2 1/2 hours to tape a show that now takes 1 1/4.

Are you still on that "line-up"/"roster" thread? I explained my error and explained my opinion in full and tried to make amends. Of course, none of that matters, apparently. Feel free to restart the dogpile.

If you don't want to be at the bottom of a dogpile, you should stop rubbing steak all over yourself.

Yes, because it couldn't possibly be you or Travis stepping over the line.

Looking at both Travis's and my own contributions to the thread, that's pretty much the case, yes.

I contributed, as well, but you sure as hell didn't bother with the majority of my original post. You're the one that drove the whole thing off-topic by sniping at me. How is that not stepping over the line? Are rules 3 and 5 just there for show?

...is basically all you do. All the gazpacho jokes in the whole don't take away from the fact that you get away with anything you want. So this holier-than-thou attitude you and Travis have is tiresome.

That's enough.

As chance would have it, I've been directing television for 18 years, including the past ten as the director of the highest-rated television program in my market, and the two Emmy Awards sitting above my monitor as I type this should count for at least a little street cred. (Not a lot, but at least a little.) Speaking in my official capacity as an Emmy Award winning director, Mr. Eskander's directing sucks.

IMHO, of course.


Lisa: "Dad, there are other wipes besides star wipes."
Homer: "Why have hamburger when you can have steak?"

Are you saying that the only people truly qualified to judge the quality of something are people of the same profession? I mean, I don't know how to boil water, but I know the difference between chicken salad and chicken shinola.

<computerized voice>In Soviet Russia, Ottinger copyrights you</cv>

As for the comment by our "new poster", directors, hosts, and emcees are often criticized (and praised) on these boards. Nothing wrong with having an opinion, is there?

Speaking as someone who has directed a game show, no less, his directing blows. See all the aforementioned references to missing game winning reveals, etc.

Need I say more?

/Maybe, but I'm tired.

An excellent point, and thanks for having the guts to say it.