Max's image was actually that of actor Matt Frewer in latex and foam prosthetic make-up with a fiberglass suit created by Peter Litten and John Humphreys. Computing technology in the mid-1980s was not sufficiently advanced yet for a full-motion, voice-synchronized human head to be practical for a television series. Other than the publicity for the character, the real image of Max was not computer-generated. The classic look for the character is a shiny dark suit often paired with Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. Instant branding, instant recognition." Production The name originated well before the other aspects of the character from George Stone, who said "Max headroom was over the entranceway of every car park in the UK. HEADROOM: 2.3 M" (an overhead clearance of 2.3 metres) suspended across a car park entrance. The character's name came from the last thing Carter saw during a vehicular accident that put him into a coma: a traffic warning sign marked "MAX. The AI of Max Headroom was shown to have been created from the memories of crusading journalist Edison Carter. The background story provided for the Max Headroom character in his original appearance was rooted in a dystopian near-future dominated by television and large corporations, devised by George Stone and eventual script writer Steve Roberts. The two also wrote the 1985 book in his voice, Max Headroom's Guide to Life.
They created dialogue for Max's appearances in the TV movie and TV shows, which the actor added to through improvisation. At first sight he'll ask about that blackhead on your nose." Producer Peter Wagg had already hired writers David Hansen and Paul Owen to construct Max Headroom's "whole persona", which Morton described as the "very sterile, arrogant, Western personification of the middle-class, male TV host". Max always assumes a decade long friendship on the first meeting. The actor took inspiration from The Mary Tyler Moore Show 's Ted Baxter, saying in a 1987 interview, "I particularly wanted to get that phony bonhomie of Baxter . “Rap God” just debuted in its music video form, with Eminem portraying 80’s icon Max Headroom, the British TV character turned New Coke pitchman.For his role of hosting a music video programme, Max Headroom was conceived of by creator Rocky Morton as "the most boring thing that I could think of to do.a talking head: a middle-class white male in a suit, talking to them in a really boring way about music videos", also deciding that he should be computer-generated.Ĭanadian-American actor Matt Frewer was chosen based on his "unbelievably well-defined features" that Jankel noticed in a casting polaroid, and from his comedic improvisation skills that he demonstrated in a ten-minute audition. And Slim Shady’s latest LP is not hurting for singles: at one point the bleached-blond Detroit resident had four songs in the Top 20, a feat not replicated since The Beatles in 1964. One of those tracks was “Rap God,” a long tune with a lackluster hook that demonstrates the emcee’s variety of flows. Kelly’s ‘Do What U Want’ Extras to Debut First Vice-BitTorrent BundleĪs for Eminem, his “MMLP2” album moved enough units in its first two weeks to earn platinum status. 1, where he was two weeks ago, and drops Gaga all the way to No. Comparatively, Lady Gaga moved just 46,000 units in its second week. But the real problem with “ARTPOP,” according to some critics, is a lack of marketable singles.Įminem sold 120,000 copies of his “Marshall Mathers LP II” this week, which marked its third on the charts, according to Billboard. That earlier success was partially bolstered by an Amazon promotion. While not the worst second week drop ever ( Madonna‘s “MDNA” fell historically by 87 percent in 2012), it’s not good - even a “Saturday Night Live” hosting stint and buzzed-about performance at the American Music Awards could not generate strong sales for the app-accompanied album.ĭuring its debut week, Gaga’s prior album, “Born This Way,” sold more than three-and-a-half times “ARTPOP’s” first two weeks combined. “ARTFLOP”) took an 82 percent dive, after selling just 258,000 units during its debut. Following a steep Week 2 sales decline for Lady Gaga, Eminem is once again the No.