Is It An Issue?
Veterans (and Matt Drudge) are up in arms about the mock notion of using a Purple Heart as a tool to remove the panties from a bridesmaid.
Is this even worth commenting on?
April 26, 2024
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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
Judging from the number of comments, I guess the answer is “no.”
What I find so fascinting about Matt Drudge is his morbid fascination with “immoral” Hollywood. He only posts links to articles about the damage in The Biz. It’s almost evangelical.
Like today he put up an all too sexy pic of Jessica Simpson in a bikini. What a creep.
I spoke too soon.
I doubt that Owen Wilson would need a fake ribbon to get Matt out of his panties. He’d have him at hello.
Yeah I’m outraged. Why didn’t he use a Silver Star instead of the mediocre what-veteran-doesn’t-have-one Purple Heart?
And I’m all for too sexy pics of Jessica Simpson in a bikini. More please.
Drudge and his crew pick some of the oddest stories to run with on a daily bases. For a man who enjoys the, fancier, parts of the Miami nightlife. He remains a very enigmatic man through his views of his own site.
New Line caved in to the VFW/American Legion crowd. You can cross “Wedding Crashers” off my list of movies to see.
Also, why does everybody worship Matt Drudge? He is a right-wing hack who pays sources for stories and relies on hearsay. Drudge also thinks it’s cool to snitch to the police — not a healthy attitude when the Bushies want a fascist America.
is it worth commenting on? sure. but on here? this board? absolutely not.
Thanks Chuck for your far out Left views. Drudge is the best news site on the net. That is why all people go there and not just your right wing hacks that you love.
New Line likes the added free publicity. It’s an R comedy. You really think they care?
Drudge loves taking shots at Hollywood. Who doesn’t? They’re an easy target.
I don’t think it was over the line. The whole movie is over the line. That’s what comedy is supposed to be after all.
Are they easy targets for trying to a) entertain us, b) sacrificing their privacy (mostly), c) having opinions, or d) because they are pretty? Im curious. Just curious.
they’re easy targets because they’re famous. use ur head.
Hollywood is an easy target because they’re all prententious schmucks who think they know whats best for everyone else. Thats why I enjoy watching Team America over and over and over.
If they don’t want the attention then do summer stock in Rhode Island. It’s like with athletes. If you don’t want to be a star then play in Kansas City. Not New York. It’s a different ballgame.
I don’t remember many complaints when the brain-dead lemmings at the GOP convention wore purple heart band-aids to make fun of John Kerry.
Clay,
Daily Kos misses your insightful comments when you come and grace us with your presence. Be a nice person and go back to them.
Is he wrong Bruce? Did anyone complain about that?
Stella’s Boy,
Why do people like you always try to relive the past? That’s why you don’t win anything anymore. What happend to “taking jokes”? The point is he was a phony purple hearter. The man shot himself then wrote up a report. If that wasn’t true why doesn’t he release his military records?
Can you pass around the Kool Aid you guys at the Kos drink daily. It must be fun.
These people will never live down the fact that they lost and keep losing. It is always someone elses fault. People in glass houses…..
As a Democrat I would hope anyone coming on here defending John Kerry would keep it to themselves. Can we bury the past then stick a stake in its heart especially with this phony boob? Thanks.
why don’t u stick a fork in liberalism while ur at it. seems that every liberal wants to as it anyway since no one can even admit they’re liberal anymore.
Conservatives always make fun of liberals for living in the past, (2000 election, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, etc.). I’ll keep that in mind next time Jane Fonda comes up.
And if liberals are losing, the conservatives sure as hell ain’t winning. What’s Bush’s approval rating? 44%, 45%. The Republican-lead Congress’s? 30%. A President that won’t act on a leak by one of his top staff member.
The whole moral arche of the film, anyway, was to set up that these guys are kind of slimy and lie their way into weddings to meet girls, and they realize that lifestyle won’t lead anywhere promising (i.e. Will Ferrel’s cameo) and doing slimy things like pretending to be a purple heart winner is wrong. What the hell is the big fuss?
The only real big difference is that Jane Fonda committed treason and should have been in jail. but you’re on the right track.
Joe E you should worry more about New Line’s crappy upcoming lineup than approval ratings for government officials. I guess they couldn’t make Lord of the Ring movies forever. LOL. It’s always tougher when you actually have to work at it.
Don’t be dissing on New Line. They got a great slate of movies coming on. Butterfuly Effect 2. Son of the Mask. The Cleaner. King’s Ransom. Monster in Law. After the Sunset. Mortal Kombat 5. A great mix of new and old.
Do you think they owe their jobs to Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn or does one exec get the credit for their only hit?
Are you being sarcastic Bruce about the ‘great mix’ Bruce?
I’d diss New Line for 2001/onward exec decisions, but then they dissed themselves so I don;t have to.
Good thing for them Don Murphy and a couple others brought them some decent properties for the next 2 years.
i hope that was sarcasm. i pray it was.
Karl Rove committed treason by leaking an undercover agent, and he should be in jail.
And New Line is releasing a Terrence Malick movie this fall, so give them a little bit of credit (not a lot, but a little).
joe e drinks the kool aid. how about u know ur facts before u accuse rove of committing any crime. u want him in jail, bush in jail, delay in jail but bin laden needs a jury trial. right deaniac?
How about giving them ALL trials? But I think they’ll all go free forever.
By the way, Joe E, it’s a waste of time to bait Bi Bob like that. Without ammunition he has very little to say and shrinks into the wallpaper.
Love Malick films but is he really the best thing for a studio? He doesn’t make money. He comes in over budget and the shoots take 3 years to finish. Not exactly a studio favorite Mr Malick.
Lota and Bicycle Bob,
You’re not excited by the slate of New Line films????? You sure?? Butterfly Effect 2!
The facts:
Matt Cooper on Meet the Press, “I learned Valerie Plame was in the CIA from Karl Rove”.
That would be a leak, and that would also classify as treason.
Who is reliving the past? I thought that was a good point. If the Purple Heart is so sacred and should never be messed with, under any circumstances, why didn’t anyone complain when it was used to make fun of Kerry (who I am not a fan of, for the record, so please refrain from calling me some Kerry lover)? Is there a double-standard here? Pretty simple question. It’s funny how so many of you get so worked up about it. I can see the spittle flying from your lips and the steam shooting out of your ears as you hover over the keyboard thinking up news ways to bitch about liberals. It’s a funny image.
Is Butterfly Effect 2 going to be a theatrical release, or DTV?
Joe E,
You can spread those things over at the Kos. Leave it there. We don’t really care or need to hear what or who should be in jail. Especially if you don’t have the facts of the case. Because it is a little more involved than that for laws to be broken.
Again this is what you concern yourself with at New Line?
The Plame thing? It looks as if this scandal is about a spy who was not endangered, a whistleblower who did not blow the whistle and was not smeared, and a White House official who has not been fired for a felony that he did not commit. And so far the only victim is a reporter who did not write a story about it.
A real Watergate huh?
the real source of the leak is joe wilson. the guy outed his own wife to try and harm the bush team. who do u think judith miller is protecting right now? he basically outed his wife in his op ed piece in the times anyway. goes to show u shouldn’t trust a liar.
Malick’s first movie I believe was completely independently financed was it not? ANd really with only 3 movies and all the lauds he’s gotten, I’d hardly say from his catalog he’s high risk. New world isn’t costing blockbuster money. That’s a smart decision to do it–esp with Colin farrel if he can take enough time off from the porn industry to work for the movie.
Why did the CIA ask the Justice Dept. to investigate if there was no serious leak? Why would Joe Wilson, a Republican and George HW Bush appointee, go after current the current administration?
I like this one. It has the Liberals truly grasping at straws. Even the most hardcore of them knew to get off this topic quick.
It’s funny. If her neighbors knew she worked for the CIA, if her friends new she worked for the CIA, no crime was committed by anyone passing such information along to a reporter. As long as they didn
Malick may not make money but the studios still like to have a prestige picture every so often to prove they’re not totally money-grubbing whores.
Christ politics is boring on here.
I enjoy just looking at Malick movies. So wonderfully shot. His problem is telling a story. But he just shoots so beautiful. I know. Cue the tears.
I disagree–I think Malick can tell a story just fine, but he doesn’t tell everything, and nor should he.
I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep in a theatre until I saw Thin Red Line. How does one not tell a great war story with that cast? It was an all star team of great actors. And I was bored out of my mind. Haven’t seen Badlands in a long time. Too long for me to even comment on it.
I have heard that from many other people, how boring they thought Thin Red Line was, how it put them to sleep. I loved it. Great soundtrack, too. So effectively used in the Pearl Harbor trailer.
I expected much MUCH more from it. With the cast and the reputation of Malick behind it.
I shuold probably be the only one telling others what they shouldn’t be bringing in here…
That said, Plame Flame does seem a bit off the track.
Still, please try to keep your senses of humor and offer up your perspectives without attacking others for theirs.
If I want political talk I’d run off to a politics website/blog. I don’t mind it in small doses but not if it takes up a decent thread.
You hear!
I just don’t like things being misrepresented. I thought it was a good discussion on a piece that is 1,000 miles removed from the world of movies. Ha.
Badlands and Days of Heaven. Classics. I think he lost focus on Thin Red Line. To the point where he had a 9 hour movie shot and had to cut it down to 3 hours. You can just tell he didn’t want to edit it down to that short a time. I think it would have played unbelievably well as an HBO 10 hr miniseries.
How much more would you expect from it Blustealer? I am grateful Terence Malick even bothers. Seeing Days of Heaven as a small child was one of the most beautiful cinematic experiences I have ever had in my life.
And thin red line was my grandfather’s favorite war movie (he was a veteran, may he RIP) next to Grand Illusion and Paths of Glory. Why? because it was a very different perspective on what it’s like to be stuck somewhere about to have your ass blown off, and the sense of almost hallucination and out of body experience of reality.
A day seems like years when you are waiting to die and many guys sitting around can’t even complete a full thought with the waiting and the time displacement and the havoc it wreaks on your ability to act and communicate.
It isn’t all sharp feelings and blow it up real good.
Malick did it fine, so far he can do no wrong, and I hope he brings a mystical bent to the often ugly history in the New World.
I was not the biggest fan of Thin Red Line, but I do respect the “different kind of war movie” angle. I’ve always had beefs with the film and am never sure to recommed it to people who ask about it.
and yes, Butterfly Effect 2 is direct 2 video, as will be Final Destination 3.
I’m almost positive that Final Destination 3 will be a theatrical release. 99.9% sure. First quarter of 2006. There have been interviews and set reports on a few Web sites, including an interview with the director, and I believe he said that it’ll come out in January. Butterfly Effect 2 is a different story.
Private Ryan blew Red Line out of the water that year. Wasn’t even close. Really showed what a master Spielberg was just in that opening 25 minutes. Malicks only good scene was the charge up the hill. The one Cusack lead. They needed more of that. Wouldn’t have hurt if they got three lead/anonymous actors who didn’t sound the same and looked even slightly different. Some terrible choices made on that.
That storming the hill scene with Cusack was easily the best in the film. And the fog sequence where the troops are running down the Japanese soldiers, it’s beautifully shot and Hans Zimmer’s score is awesome. Probably his best. But the movie has a lot of speeches, a lot of poetry resusitation and the last 30 minutes kind of sits there.
If they had more scenes like the Hill scene we’d be talking about an all time classic right now.
malick definately didn’t want to release the film that was released. it was like a major chunk of what he wanted was not in there. u could just tell it was not the movie he wanted.
And as much as I’d like to agree with you Lester, Saving Private Ryan is not without its problems too. It has that powerful storming the beach sequence. It has that great scene where they knock down the wall to the hidden German room and the two sides yell at each other before they open fire. But there are some really bad moments too, most notably the ending.
private ryan should have been released as a half hour movie. thats all it really needed. william goldman wrote about it in his last book. how the movie just contradicts everything it sets out to do. goes against every character that they took the time to creat. read the article. its a great book too.
I’ve read that book too, and that section. Goldman makes some good points. But I think he’s was waaaay to harsh on this movie. There are some very redeeming qualities about this movie and I think the crux on the movie is really the Upham character.
I’m a huge, unabashed Goldman fan, I thought he was so right on when he wrote that piece mocking “Gangs of New York”, but his last two movies were so bad. I’d put “Dreamcatcher” as one of the worst movies in the last decade.
u can’t blame him for the dreamcatcher being a dog of a movie. u know how many chefs were in the kitchen with that script so to speak?
Not a clue. But the argument remains this guy is harsh on most movies and he isn’t exactly helping the cause very much.
He lives off a few scripts from the 70’s and Stephen King screenplays from the 80’s on. But his books on the industry and his articles in magazines should be required reading.
I think Thin Red Line and Private Ryan are the two best movies of 1998, and they’re very different movies. Thin Red Line does not want to be the typical action-packed war movie and if that’s what you’re expecting, go elsewhere. I also think that the ending of Private Ryan is absolutely essential to the story Spielberg was trying to tell and part of what makes it a great film.
What makes them both better than most war movies is that they’re not merely telling the story of a campaign, they extend outward into more ambitious territory.
Dreamcatcher is hilarious. I love watching it so much, and I’d rather see it again than Fantastic Four or Bewitched, for example.
I read the King novel. After reading about how little aliens poop and fart on people to make themselves known I figured it would be a great comedy. They should have played up the camp aspect.
You think that Morgan Freeman puts Dreamcatcher on his resume?
Morgan Freeman doesn’t put half the crud hes worked on on his resume.
jeff, you would rather see Dreamcatcher again than FF or Bewitched? Excuse me as I scratch my head at that one. Since, in many corner, Dreamcatcher ranks as a) the Lawerance Kasdan disaster hour, b) a waste of time many had to sit through for a great Animatrix short, and c) shit-demon aliens have no place in sci-fi. d) Plus, Damon Jones deserved much better.
Like I said, Dreamcatcher is hilarious. I never knew what ridiculous thing was going to happen next, even having read the book. Whereas I kept falling asleep in Bewitched and F4, while not horrible, was very predictable.
Shit-demons may have no place in respectable sci-fi, but they’re awesome in goofy, pulpy alien invasion-what would Freud-say sci-fi.
for as bad as bewitched was i’d rather see it twice more than see dreamcatcher again. has there ever been a bigger waste of talent in a cast? not like they casted it with unknowns and crappy actors.
I think it was Damien Lewis you are thinking of. Not Jones.
Yes. That’s it.
jeff, few filmgoing experiences have been more agonizing than sitting through Dreamcatcher. If that’s your idea of hilarity. Please exclude me from it. Whenever you get the chance.