Penn & Teller want to Interview Me...

Just got a letter from Penn & Teller. They want to do a show on Hippies and the 60s and want to interview me. What shall I do... ???

I usually turn down interviews, and this one I would expect to be more hostile than the others.

But the exposure would be great for the sites, and would provide an opportunity to set the record straight about hippies and their contribution to society.

You know that unless they can get a bunch of good zingers about hippies in the Interview they won't be happy. I've watched these guys for 20 years and know how they operate.

I actually like the way they do their new show, but I don't usually agree with them. They can really rip you apart if you give them the slightest opportunity...

At times they can be like Rush Limbaugh or O'Reilly. (I'd do O'Reilly's show just to give him shit!)

 

I had an email exchange with the producer. I had thought a good idea would be to take these guys to a real live commune and let them see how hippies live. They were hot to do it, but I've reconsidered.

Here's my response to them:

Hi Alex,
I'm getting back to you since I don't want to hang you up any further. I'm afraid I've decided against doing the show. My decision is based on a number of things, but ultimately, I don't think hippies will be well served by being skewered by P&T. I can't see any good that can come of it, despite allowing me to have a say. I'm sorry to get you all excited about it.

I also considered just acting as consultant and helping you line up interviews and a commune tour, but still that doesn't improve the adversarial situation that others (including my friends) might find themselves facing.

If you get another project that would be more sympathetic to hippies like your "In Pot We Trust" (which I've seen and like a lot -good job!), I would reconsider working with you.

But I'm already aware of P&T's condescending attitude towards "hippies", and I certainly don't want to be on the defensive on TV.

If I had a face to face with Penn, that would be a different story (I've got a loud, opinionated voice too), but the fact that they just add a locally produced segment to a heavily edited piece, means they get the last word on everything. And since there is no way I could know in advance their take on the show, it would leave me (and hippies in general) defenseless to whatever barbs they choose to throw in at the last minute.

While I understand the show is all in good fun, I've always had a problem with their attitude towards so many things. I'm more than happy they take full advantage of free speech, because that is what I champion too, but a piece critical of hippies is not something I want to be a part of, sorry.

Peace & Love,
Skip Stone

 

Yeah both Penn and Beck are like two peas in a pod.

My guess is Teller writes a lot of the stuff, but can't really match Penn's overwhelming personality, so he keeps quiet.

The nature of their act goes back to Laurel and Hardy (I saw an old movie of theirs recently and couldn't believe how much of their act was duplicated by Penn & Teller).

In a way they are worse than Bill O'Really?

They don't insult you to your face, they wait for the editing to be done, then they place their attacks after the fact, so they get the last word and you don't ever get to respond. Of course it never quite looks that way in their presentations, but you never even get to meet them.

So they pull the wool over people's eyes by pretending they're doing some kind of documentary/fact finding, when in fact their goals are far different. They've already got their point-of-view, which rarely is revealed to those who they interview. So you really don't know how they're going to spin what you say. It's all a setup, and not worth anyone's time if they're serious about their cause.