It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
You’re right Dave! What a great idea. Have a nice weekend and happy 40th birthday!
Hey if entertainment news kicked as much as LOST
does then maybe there would be more responses to
the other post on this here blog. I am not
knocking them or anything I do enjoy reading, but
not like I can add something about Finke outside
of, “You tell’em STEVE DAVE!”
And now you go getting snide on The Mountain! If
we had to pick just one Hudson. It would be Oliver
but damn it Hollywood has picked the wrong one!
Hopefully this show will fix that, because Oliver
Hudson should be a bloody movie star.
The WB is a wasteland of bad tv
Uh no Mark, that happens to be a little network
called CBS. Talk about a load of crap on a network
that cant even touch the quality of Gilmore Girls
on their BEST DAY! CSI? Psssssssshh. CSI remains
a totally pointless show, that might be well-made,
but could never touch the epic quality of Angel or
even the bloody Mountain.
People who hate the WB; usually hate TV or like watching
pointless shit like the Apprentice. To think; Trump
has the audacity to believe his stupid show would
sell on DVD. Probably couldnt move as many units
as season six of Buffy.
But to each their owns…
I think most network shows are drivel. They can’t compete with the HBO’s and the FX’s of the world. They can’t really blame standards really either.
But relatively speaking, HBO has a lot of drivel
all over it. The Sopranos have been and will
continue to be the most overpraised bad show
on TV. Six Feet Under might have been turned around
with it’s past finale, but the show overall had two
of three of the worst seasons ever for a GREAT
TV show. Then we have Entourage; the movie-star
equivalent of Arliss. FX has all of three shows
that reach any sort of goodness. Three shows.
On the networks you have so much more, but some
people just have to hold a grudge. That again, on you
because I loves the networks.
Mark,
You should try Gilmore Girls or Everwood some time. They are both excellent shows that just happen to be on the WB.