"You're looking at a very,
very lucky guy and I want to tell you why. Probably 80, 85, maybe
90 percent of the reasons why people get jobs and do work in our industry
are for reasons other than noble ones.
Every once in a while
something comes along that you are able to feel passion for, passionate
about, exercise that passion for, and when that happens you are a
member of a very select few in this industry, or any industry, who
gets to go and apply one's passion. It is no secret to any of the
people here that Beauty and the Beast is that experience for
me. I can only say that every single person who works on our show,
to the man, applies their passion week in and week out.
There are some things
that you learn when you do a one hour, one camera filmed show, because
I've done theatre, I've done film, I've done standup, I've done the
Tonight Show (laughter). One hour, one camera filmed television is
physically impossible. Twenty two one hour movies a year for nine
months is not true; you can't do it. In order to do it you're pushed
up against the wall of everything that there is about you. You are
asked to go to the limits of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually,
in every way. You find certain things out about yourself that you
would not find out under experiences that were not extraordinary and
some of these things are rather unpleasant, some of these things are
rather pleasant, but you become reveletized. That's not a word - I
just made it up (laughter). Speaking impromptu - I try never to do
it because it terrorizes me. I'm doing it here tonight because I think
there is a real exchange that's gone on between myself and this group,
but I'll get back to that in a while.
The thing that I found
out about myself that I am the most proud of is that I have always
known that I have had obsessive shadings to my personality, but one
of my obsessions is that it (the show) be as good as it can be and
I am standing before a group of people who have come into being to
promote that principle, promote the courage, and to make possible
activity around those concepts in an industry that sometimes forgets
to do that or doesn't need to do that.
That's why I'm here tonight.
I'm here because Viewers For Quality Television is a miracle for us
at Beauty and the Beast, for shows that like Mr Cannell said,
are not derivative, that try to stand alone, to be pioneers to perhaps
other beast shows in the future (laughter). But I'm really not here
to get this award. I'm here because we have similar goals. I salute
you as you have saluted me. Thank you very much."
