Bruckheimer Demands Authenticity On TV

CSI executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, long known as a backer of high-octane blockbusters, this week explained the key to sucessful television: realism.

"If you look at our movies, they are about process," Bruckheimer told Stephen Battaglio at the New York Daily News. "Black Hawk Down took you inside of a [military] operation and made you feel like you were there."

The producer, whose myriad of credits include Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Enemy of the State and Pearl Harbor, said his expectations for television were no different. "We do the same thing in CSI and Without a Trace. We'll force a writer to go into the real world and research it or bring the research to them."

Examples of this being put into practice include CSI scribe Anthony Zuiker working with the Las Vegas crime lab and Cold Case creator Meredith Stiehm tagging along with the members of the Philadelphia police force.

Bruckheimer's entertainment philosophy obviously struck a chord with audiences: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was the most-watched television show this season, and CSI: Miami was the most popular freshman show. The Emmy-nominated producer said he wants to "take you someplace you've never been before and show you how it works".

The full interview, which also contains comments from CSI: Miami's Khandi Alexander (Alexx Woods), can be found here at the New York Daily News.

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