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
As someone with no kids but with lots of friends looking for production work…I’m in favor of it.
Hollywood, ie, California, was sliding along on habit and history for too long. The times, they changed. Whoopsie… California was left in the dust.
From the sound of the legislative proposal, this is a jobs support proposition, something to bring the California situation into the fiscal realities of the new millenia.
Hollywood has a great cinematic heritage, so in support of that and all the extisting expertise that will survive to work another day, I say, go for it. This seems like a wise investment.
I’m in favor of it. We’re losing a lot of business to Canada here. We need to give more incentive to stay.
California has much bigger issues than losing a few movies to other sites.
Like what? Having a governor who has no idea what he’s doing?
More like too many years of Liberal control. Ha. Look what happens when a Republican has to clean up a Liberal mess. It’s like cleaning up Chernobyl. Minus the whimsy.
Yes, Chernobyl, Disney-like in its whimsy.
Stella, please don’t inflame the nuts.
Jefster,
Was California under Liberal control for about two decades? How did Gray Davis do there? You got a Lefty state that elected a Conservative actor. That is how pissed they were at the Left for messing up their state. Left wing wackos should police there own bed. Because its mighty dirty.
Sorry jeff. My bad.
No California was not under Liberal control for two decades. California has had two Democrat governors in the past 38 years. And nobody screwed over California like Deukmejian and Wilson both Repulicans. Schwarzenegger was only elected on one issue the car tax, and the idiots that voted for him are regretting it now. Plus there’s really nothing conservative about Scharzenegger he’s only a Republican in name.
Regardless of whose fault California’s fiscal problems are, Schwarznegger has very low approval ratings and either won’t run for reelection or will be defeated.
The subject… the subject….
You people elected the guy who couldn’t speak more than 5 lines in Terminator. Give him a chance. He has heart. He just needs to cut thru the BS red tape that is the California legislature.
California’s a wreck of a state mainly due to too much immigration from illiterate, non-English speakers. The public school system? Used to be Top 5 in the country, now after too much immigration and the general disrepair of the sytem itself, it is bottom 5 in the country. Why so much traffic? Too many people. The power company shortages? Corrupt assholes at Enron and Too Many People. Why can’t an average middle class family buy a house in California? Immigration, ridiculous zoning laws used by the rich to keep the poor away, wacko environmentalists restricting land use too much, etc, etc.
BTW California spends A LOT on the school system. In any other, state it would be more than enough. At some point you guys need to inquire more about where exactly the money goes. I bet most of it just gets eaten up unnecessary administration and bureaucrats. So long as Dems control the legislature, an army of bureaucrats who always remember to vote Dem will eat up most of the tax money that should be getting to the kids and schools.
Schwarzenegger’s irrelevant. Why did anyone expect anything great in the first place? He’s an action star. Or was.
The Pay to stay and pay to go (Incentives from other states) must be heating up.
Already Louisiana and Illinois have promised 60M capital funds for full production capability etc. Odd thing is both states have quoted the exact same capital costs for building the these facilities-competing for the same thing from California.
Most state film commissions have hit rock bottom in the last 10 yrs, but those few states putting a fortune in, might be losing more for their own state, unless bigger budget film production becomes Routine.
And now–California’s bill. Now that several states have sold the family silver to get studios to Come On Down, how will this bill undercut them in endeavors to get moviemaking lured away from California?
I guess it depends on how badly Hollywood-ers want to stay in Hollywood.
So if the incentives bring millions into the state coffers I am ALL for it, but if it ends up Costing big…life in California for the average taxpayer footing the bill, will suck (more).
You can’t force people to work someplace but every incentive helps. The truth is its just cheaper sometimes to shoot in Vancouver or Toronto.
“I bet most of it just gets eaten up unnecessary administration and bureaucrats” and huge insurance overheads–that’s where most of it goes Lindenen.
don’t blame the immigrants–they do all the min wage and half-min wage jobs that no one will do and the California economy depends on that type of labor more than any other state. George Bush sr tried to severely curtail the immigration of people from Mexico and central american countries (the quota) in 1991 and it was the only time in his tenure that the Ag and food lobbies didn;t support him. They would go bankrupt overnight, they screamed. Hispanic and Asian immigrants are Encouraged to go to California–there are ads everywhere on the home turf–mostly by corporate farming and hospitality industries etc becasue they know they can pay them 1/2 min (+tips) or min. I don’t blame immigrants for going to the state that is most likely to employ them. That’s what my non English-speaking grandparents on one side of the family did.
Like i said–If Ahnold’s bill works, cool. If there are no real costs to the state up front, then it is worth the risk.
Well, it’s easy to tell who on this thread has never been to California before. Yes, middle-class Americans can live in California, as that is what 80% of California is consisted from. Yes, the education system is odd, not because of Democrats or Republicans, but because California is always the first to try out new methods, which are emulated down the road by other states.
You know a screwed up state? Forget California. Louisiana takes the cake. Everything is cheap (phone rates, health care) sure, but by that you have to remember that everything being cheap isn’t always good. A terrible place to raise a family, and the weather is some of the worst around. This influx of movie productions from L.A. to LA would be mind-boggling if I knew it wasn’t a flash in the pan. For this reason, I see the bill as a total waste.
Politicians don’t need ‘heart’. They need brains.
Don’t blame immigrants? How about illegal immigrants?
“Well, it’s easy to tell who on this thread has never been to California before. Yes, middle-class Americans can live in California, as that is what 80% of California is consisted from.
Yes, I have been to California! And I know it has a middle class, but are you really going to deny the extreme income segregation? Or the insane housing prices for an average middle class home? California has one of the highest costs of living which is why more Americans left California than moved to California last year. There’s been a middle class exodus slowly bleeding out of California. If the current trends continue, California will end up mostly poor people with some rich people lording over them. Not good.
Yes, the education system is odd, not because of Democrats or Republicans, but because California is always the first to try out new methods, which are emulated down the road by other states.”
Pssst. Education isn’t difficult. What worked 100 years ago will work today. Kids were taught to read using the same methods 300 years ago as today. “New methods” seem to have really worked out since CA’s schools have gone from the top 5 to the bottom 5 in the nation. You’re now down near Mississippi and Louisiana! Does “odd” really mean “horrible”? A big part of what’s wrong with the schools are “new methods”. If they worked, why would they be “new”? We’ve been educating kids for hundreds of years and we used to do it much more competently. The human brain or genome didn’t just magically transform into something new in the last twenty years necessitating new reading methods. BTW, yes, it is related to D versus R since the teacher’s unions are rather left-wing as well as the people usually in charge of assigning reading programs, training teachers, etc.
Lota, in states without lots of illegals those jobs “Americans won’t do” are done by Americans both white and black. The issue is how much they want to pay them, or don’t want to pay them. I’m not sure why I should be eager to help corporate fatasses exploit poor people by not paying them at least minimum wage or higher. Before the large numbers of illegals, Americans managed to grow and pick their own food and still somehow afford to purchase it.
Also, I read recently that rice is actually grown in California. Rice cannot be grown without large amounts of water, so in a state with water problems, the federal government is actually underwriting the wasting of California’s water to grow rice. RICE! Would it be better for most Californians if their water wasn’t wasted growing rice? Yes! I still haven’t gotten over it.
illegal is illegal Joefitz, and should be dealt with accordingly. Cocaine dealing is illegal yet is done publicly in finer establishments in LA, and many upscale businesses in LA “employ” illegal aliens through staffing agencies so they can claim to know nothing of their status. Laws are there, they are not enforced on well-to-do establishments or individuals except as a rare “example”.
Illegal aliens rarely get into the US on their own steam these days–they are not the real problem–human traffickers and counterfeiters and greed for illegal is illegal Joefitz, and should be dealt with accordingly. Cocaine dealing is illegal yet is done publicly in finer establishments in LA, and many upscale businesses in LA “employ” illegal aliens through staffing agencies so they can claim to know nothing of their status. Laws are there, they are not enforced on well-to-do establishments or individuals except as a rare “example”.
Illegal aliens rarely get into the US on their own steam these days–they are not the real problem–human traffickers and counterfeiters and greed for
Rice has been grown in California for a very long time, diverting lots of water from other states and other uses. Average Californians don’t care–it has come up SO MANY times for over a decade. As long as the cable works, who cares about ag policy seems to be the attitude.
lindenen, the middle-class squeeze is a nationwide issue. California has always been more expensive, and has always had a wealth of higher paying careers. However, now inflation across the nation is spreading like wildfire. Can’t wait for the housing bubble to bust. That’ll be a hoot!
Education methods from a 100 years ago didn’t even work a 100 years ago. You throw kids into a overly lit room into broken seats at 7:00 in the morning and expect them to have rapt attention? Hell, 3/4 of my class dropped. Once they saw the classes they were attending would have no affect on their skills outside of school, they couldn’t care. Countless programs have proven that career programs and later start times have kept kids in school and have had them go to college earlier. Like myself. Where was this discovered? California.
Teacher’s Unions are always left-leaning. This would be a D vs R issue if this was happening all across the country, but the legislature has deemed Cali to be the ginuea pig of school systems since the days of Reagan.
From movies to Cruise’s sexuality to Native Americans to now illegal aliens and cocaine production. We got it all here.