Hollywood loves second acts. If you’re willing to pay your penance, dust yourself off and return with a head held high, elbow greased and primed for hard core diligence, the Klieg lights might still be waiting to shine on you. That’s what Tony Kaye is hoping for.

Following a highly publicized flip-out surrounding his only major theatrical release to date, 1998’s American History X, a period in his life Kaye describes as “crazy, reckless, idiotic, ego-filled nonsense where I destroyed myself,” he was sent into cinematic exile. After over a decade where he made only one other film, Lake of Fire, a 2006 abortion documentary, the director is venturing back into Hollywood with a small, Web-based project that is guaranteed not to end up in the editorial hands of Edward Norton.

Kaye has teamed with Fox Digital to create a web series, which he says is “‘American Idol’ meets Ingram Bergman meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” In layman’s terms, the show, titled “Exentrics,” is Kaye’s attempt to build a contemporary band with a new sound.

Like P. Diddy’s “Making The Band” or CBS’ “Rock Star” series, the show is part reality TV, part audition. The real difference with his project is that you have to be more than a great musician to earn a slot with Kaye; you also have to be extremely eccentric.

When asked if he’s choosing to document and celebrate the eccentricities in others because he himself is so uniquely creative, Kaye initially plays dumb about his own kooky labeling before balking at the title.

“I don’t think I am eccentric to be perfectly honest,” he says, his voice inching toward annoyance. “I think I’m a very normal person who came from a very normal home and hated that I was as normal as I am. All my life I’ve tried to be as eccentric as I could be because I’ve always been a fan of people who are eccentric, but I think I am a fake, a fraud and I want to go out there with my camera and gather what I consider to be real eccentrics. I am absolutely NOT an eccentric person.”

David Brooks, Kaye’s longtime friend and the man at Fox responsible for shepherding their project, laughs hysterically when he hears Kaye denied his infamous peculiarity.

“His pre-existing notoriety is the show!” Brooks chuckles. “The thing that distinguishes the ‘Exentrics’ is Tony, who is 180 degrees from what the audience would expect. The show is just as much about him as it is about the musicians. People are fascinated by the random movement of his brain. It draws you in.”

Brooks explains that while one camera crew films the aspiring musicians, another is trained on Kaye as he works with both music industry professionals and a team of psychiatrists to build a group which they believe could swell anywhere from 20 to 100 members.

While the series’ goal ultimately is entertainment, Kaye has high hopes that this group will cultivate a new sound for the next generation. He doesn’t believe in mourning the loss of bygone years when record shops and radio ruled the music scene. Instead, he believes music has arrived at its most exciting time thanks to the Internet.

“You can look at any era, put yourself in it and say, ‘This is the worst time. What a shame. Where are the good old days?’ I don’t subscribe to the loss of anything,” Kaye says.



For more information and to book an audition, visit myspace.com/tkexentrics.