# Have you ever watched "Mozart in the Jungle"?



## mellame (May 14, 2015)

I recently finished the first (and only) season and I'm hooked! However, I think it's only available on Amazon Prime and so I was wondering if anyone else here watches or has watched it.

And if you've never watched it, and aren't too put off by MANY sexual references/scenes and excessive use of the word f*** in every episode, you should definitely give it a try haha. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3502172/


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

What in the world have people come up with now???? 
I've never seen it and I don't know what I'm in for really....but I'm kinda interested. Just curious really. I don't want to become hooked or anything but sometime in the future I might just watch an episode.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

mellame said:


> I recently finished the first (and only) season and I'm hooked! However, I think it's only available on Amazon Prime and so I was wondering if anyone else here watches or has watched it.
> 
> And if you've never watched it, and aren't too put off by MANY sexual references/scenes and excessive use of the word f*** in every episode, you should definitely give it a try haha.
> 
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3502172/


I'd take any amount of cringe-inducing sex scenes and effing and blinding over the scam that is Amazon Prime! Sorry to be so blunt. 

Now Mad Men is over, I've no use for TV drama.


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## mellame (May 14, 2015)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> What in the world have people come up with now????
> I've never seen it and I don't know what I'm in for really....but I'm kinda interested. Just curious really. I don't want to become hooked or anything but sometime in the future I might just watch an episode.


It's really good, I swear! It's about different musicians that are involved with an orchestra in New York and the sex and drugs and drama involved, and it's very interesting. The main characters are a young female oboist, the new conductor quite obviously based off of Gustavo Dudamel, the former (and bitter about being so) maestro, and a cellist who has seemingly done it with almost every member of the orchestra. However, if you decide to watch, just be warned that the first episode has a _very _sexual scene in which the cellist is talking about her experiences. I promise you that that is the absolute worst of the sex scenes and the rest are not as graphic haha!


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## mellame (May 14, 2015)

Figleaf said:


> I'd take any amount of cringe-inducing sex scenes and effing and blinding over the scam that is Amazon Prime! Sorry to be so blunt.
> 
> Now Mad Men is over, I've no use for TV drama.


Haha I actually quite like Amazon Prime! And although I've never seen Mad Men, I feel your pain- Downton Abbey won't be back until 2016, and it will be its last season.


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## blairtin (May 16, 2015)

Hi Mellame, I wrote the book Mozart in the Jungle on which the show is based; the main character is based on me. So yes, I'm a paid shill for Amazon Prime, so everyone can skip that now lol.

First, Amazon Prime provides a free 30-day trial, so you can watch any or all episodes at no cost. Also, Amazon Prime costs about the same annually as Netflix or Hulu, but you also get free shipping on any purchase from Amazon labeled as "Amazon Prime," so it's a pretty good deal. Please add in the fact that my show was created by members of the Coppola family and stars some major talent, so it's a fairly prominent production.

Did I mention I'm a paid shill? LOL. But I do pay for my own Amazon Prime membership, and I buy a lot of stuff I might not otherwise as shipping is free. 

Is the show true to form? Yes, our lives are very much as represented. They did an amazing job representing the friction between musicians and audiences/administration. Of course a few things are not 100% accurate, but everybody knows that, and it's a cinematic shorthand. Do you really want to watch someone practicing scales for an hour every episode, or poring over International Musician? Hollywood suicide.

Please keep in mind that the creator, Jason Schwartzman, has notable music relatives. His great-uncle, the famed conductor Anton Coppola, was a consultant and provided some hilarious and apt stories -- and he was bounding around the premiere at Lincoln Center like a 30-year-old (he's 98). Jason's grandfather was NBC Symphony flutist Carmine Coppola.

Of course this is a personal snapshot. As in any other field, not every musician resembles another. It's easy to say someone "slept their way" into something. But ridiculous. We operate at odd hours, and are restricted to people who share our schedules and passions.

I hope everyone enjoys the show. It's certainly opened classical music to a lot of people who didn't know they liked it. Not that anyone's done it here, but it happens elsewhere -- trashing the show on trivial terms is just shooting yourself in the foot.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

Yes, and in parts it was good: the best scene of all was the Fur Elise trick with musical glasses. On the other hand, others strained my credulity, especially in the final parts of the series. A pity the pieces featured were not identified, Amazon merely saying they are available on their website - surely a departure from the usual US protocol for acknowledgments. What is the point of saying the purpose is to advance the cause of classical music when the pieces are not identified? A wasted opportunity indeed.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I'd have no problem with Amazon Prime if one had to opt into it intentionally (as some customers do of course). It's the inertia selling I object to- when you're not even aware that you've signed up to the dratted thing until they try to bill you for it.

Rant over- I'm sure that Mozart in the Jungle is very entertaining. :tiphat:


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## mellame (May 14, 2015)

manyene said:


> Yes, and in parts it was good: the best scene of all was the Fur Elise trick with musical glasses. On the other hand, others strained my credulity, especially in the final parts of the series. A pity the pieces featured were not identified, Amazon merely saying they are available on their website - surely a departure from the usual US protocol for acknowledgments. What is the point of saying the purpose is to advance the cause of classical music when the pieces are not identified? A wasted opportunity indeed.


That's very true. Hopefully that will change with the next season!


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## mellame (May 14, 2015)

blairtin said:


> Hi Mellame, I wrote the book Mozart in the Jungle on which the show is based; the main character is based on me. So yes, I'm a paid shill for Amazon Prime, so everyone can skip that now lol.
> 
> First, Amazon Prime provides a free 30-day trial, so you can watch any or all episodes at no cost. Also, Amazon Prime costs about the same annually as Netflix or Hulu, but you also get free shipping on any purchase from Amazon labeled as "Amazon Prime," so it's a pretty good deal. Please add in the fact that my show was created by members of the Coppola family and stars some major talent, so it's a fairly prominent production.
> 
> ...


Well it's definitely a surprise to get a reply from you!  I really love the show, and I can't wait for the next season. I haven't read your book yet, but I was thinking about buying it today.. from Amazon, actually haha! A belated congratulations on both your book and the show. I can't even imagine how exciting it all must be for you!


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## gHeadphone (Mar 30, 2015)

blairtin said:


> Hi Mellame, I wrote the book Mozart in the Jungle on which the show is based; the main character is based on me. So yes, I'm a paid shill for Amazon Prime, so everyone can skip that now lol.
> 
> First, Amazon Prime provides a free 30-day trial, so you can watch any or all episodes at no cost. Also, Amazon Prime costs about the same annually as Netflix or Hulu, but you also get free shipping on any purchase from Amazon labeled as "Amazon Prime," so it's a pretty good deal. Please add in the fact that my show was created by members of the Coppola family and stars some major talent, so it's a fairly prominent production.
> 
> ...


Congrats to you, getting a show made from your book is quite an achievement.

Im going to look for the book to read now and im looking forward to the box set once it comes to Ireland!


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