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” ā 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 ā 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 ā he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” ā and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging ā I was with her at that moment ā 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 namedā” “Yeah, sure ā 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 Iām on the phone with you now, after all thatās 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 didnāt seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. Thereās not a case of that. He wasnāt using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had ā if that were what the accusation involved ā 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. Iām not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, āYou know, itās not this, itās thatā? Because ā let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. TimesĀ piece, thatās what it lacked. Thatās 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
I was pleasantly surprised to see that 40YOV was able to come from behind and beat Brothers Grimm for the weekend. Glad to see that the Friday to Saturday bump for 40YOV was 3x as big as last weekend. $100 million, here comes Andy! š
Just need to say that it’s really pleasing to know that the success of 40 Year Old Virgin is a bit of a big middle finger to the networks that mishandled and cancelled Judd Apatow’s television endeavors. While I’d prefer to see him develop characters and storylines over the course of a season, I was totally won over by his cinematic effort.
This should give him a greenlight to do pretty much whatever he wants at this point, as far as comedy is concerned.
Finally, a good story to balance out the bad ones.
I agree…40 Year Old Virgin deserves its success and good for Apatow and Co.
Carell is brilliant and it’s awesome to see that his style of humor is being embraced by lots of people. To me, 40 Year Old Virign is THE comedy of the summer…leaves everything else in the dust.
Four Brothers will quietly do $70 million domestic at this point…strong showing for a good but pretty typical genre flick. I would imagine that Dimension is pleased with anything over $10 million for Grimm for the weekend…regardless of the bad buzz, I’ll still see it…it’s Gilliam afterall…
Kind of thought Red Eye would have held a bit better, but $60 million for that flick has to be considered a solid success.
I’m also happy to see 40YOV getting the success it deserves. Is this Apatow’s first serious financial success? With maybe the exception of Anchorman apatow seems to have been mishandled since his writing days on the Emmy-winning Ben Stiller Show.
people forget that freaks and geeks and undeclared both got decent ratings for awhile. they both got through a full season/season and a half despite constant shuffling by their networks. While I wouldn’t call them successes per se they weren’t outright failures.
We need the really good movies. Award time. Yes we do.
Actually, Martin, Freaks and Geeks was only for 13 episodes. It was shuffled around the schedule by NBC and never was a ratings winner. It was critically acclaimed but never a audience grabber.
Freaks and Geeks: Yearbook Edition is the best $127.50 I ever spent. Except for that time in Vegas….. š
I too am looking forward to the big “quality” films of the fall…can’t wait to see The Constant Gardener this weekend, though I feel I am one of the only ones…
After City of God, I will see anything he puts out.
yes…me too. city of god was brilliant filmmaking and i will see anything with Merreilles’s (sp?) name on it. city of god is probably the best movie of the past few years.
if anyone wants to see something great and different and edgy, check out (if you can) Sympathy for Mr. Vengenance…knock-out. Not as good as Oldboy (my personaly favorite movie of late) but damn good and different and constantly interesting on multiple levels.
Total Z’s.
“it’s really pleasing to know that the success of 40 Year Old Virgin is a bit of a big middle finger to the networks that mishandled and cancelled Judd Apatow’s television endeavors.”
Settle down Lazarus. The success of 40-Year-Old-Virgin isn’t a big middle finger to nobody. Shows like Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared were cancelled because they didn’t rate well enough. Period.
Trust me, the people at NBC are definitely NOT going to be upset that a guy that only die-hards have heard of has directed a hit movie five years after they cancelled his show.
And it’s stupid to think they will.
“Ooh, that guy who wrote a show on our network six years ago has not directed a hit movie. Wow, WERE WE STUPID FOR LETTING HIM GO?!!?”
ya, exactly.
And, yeah, how many people going to see 40YOV actually know who Apatow is? Probably only the ones who actually watched his shows.
And, I remember seeing City Of God in early 2002 and lamenting the fact that the Academy probably hadn’t even heard of it. And then they went and made it one of the biggest surprises in Oscar history. I am definitely interested in The Constant Gardner. City of God was one of those “i’ll give it a look” movies that just blew me away. Great stuff.
too bad judd apatow can’t write and create a hit tv show. and don’t tell me freaks and geeks was a classic. if it was it would have lasted for more than 6 episodes. if he was all into it he should ahve taken it to cable in the first place.
I’ll happily say it. Freaks and Geeks was a classic. Just as in theatrical exhibition, quality often has no basis on ratings.
If we rated the worth of films soley on their box office than Fantastic Four and Dukes of Hazzard would be two of the best films of the summer.
Never saw it. Never saw the reason to since it had zero chance to see a season two.
Since when does good ratings have anything to do with a show’s quality? Friends is garbage and look how long it lasted. Freaks & Geeks is easily a classic. One of the best TV shows ever made.
Bob, I don’t understand how you — or anyone in general, because I know others feel the same way — can indulge in such relentless populism. Haven’t you ever liked a movie or a TV show that wasn’t a big hit at the box office or in the ratings?
(And on a strictly factual level, F&G *did* last more than six episodes. It lasted 18.)
Also, Martin is at least partially correct — “Undeclared” actually did pretty well in the ratings until Fox shuffled it around, pre-empted it like crazy… you know, gave it the Fox Treatment reserved for any comedies not called “That ’70s Show.” “Undeclared” was, if I recall correctly, hovering in the top 50 for its first bunch of airings; not a blockbuster, but doing pretty well in its post-70sShow slot. It’s a genuine wonder that “Arrested Development” has managed to reach a third season.
I don’t recall “Freaks & Geeks” ever garnering more than anemic ratings, though. But so what? Unless a network is either losing a large sum of money on a particular show, or is confident that EVERY new fall series they’re introducing in a given year is creatively and/or financially sound, why shouldn’t they just stick with shows with strong cult and critical followings? They should think of it as penance for shows like “According to Jim” or “CSI: Everywhere.”
It’s just more entertainment-industry greed. No shows should survive with fewer than 8 million viewers, anything that makes sales of $18 CDs drop a little must be illegal, and a year that doesn’t set box office records is a major slump.
the people who say freaks and geeks is a classic are elitists who will like anything thats good but not popular. friends was a much better show. the purpose of a sitcom is to make u laugh. friends did that. geeks didn’t. it went over too many heads. too bad they didn’t wait 5 yrs to make it. then they could have actually got on a cable station and stayed on the air and done something. they should have known better. when was the last time a show like that stayed on for more than 1 season?
Bob:
Are you one of the people whose head Freaks and Geeks went over?
Are you saying there’s something wrong with people who ‘like anything that’s good’?
Do you scan the ratings and box office charts to decide what TV shows and movies to like?
The problem was Freaks and Geeks just cost too much to produce. An hour scripted show is expensive to make when the ratings just don’t support it. And the title? Awful. You mention that title to average people and they wouldn’t watch it no matter what. Terrible marketing.
Jesus Christ. Now only elitists like Freaks & Geeks? What a load of shit. It’s hilarious how untrue that is. It went over too many heads?! You have got to be joking. Someone who says that clearly has not seen the show. It’s about teenagers. It ain’t rocket science or nuclear physics. You’d have to be an infant for anything on that show to you over your head. It’s just an extremely well-written and well-acted show. Simple as that. There is nothing at all that is “elitist” about Freaks & Geeks. Whenever someone resorts to the elitist angle, they are really getting desperate. Liking that show has nothing to do with how popular or unpopular it is. It has to do with liking something that is good. Why can’t it be as simple as that? F&G is hilarious. Friends is a terrible show. It’s a miracle if there is one genuine laugh in any given episode.
Some people only want to be on winning teams, which is a different kind of elitism.
It had to go over a few heads if only a few people ended up watching it. It was on the wrong network. At the wrong time. Had some nice cast members in it though.
Speaking as someone who even kinda LIKES Friends (it’s spotty and broad, but funnier than a lot of sitcoms), the comparisons to Freaks & Geeks are beyond ridiculous. I mean, first of all, F&G was by no means a sitcom. It’s an hour, single-camera, and had both funny and serious moments. Maybe a show could be two out of three and still qualify as a sitcom, but all three means it’s pretty much tested out of *that* class.
Bob, when you say the purpose of the show is to make “you” laugh, are you saying Friends is superior because it made *you* laugh more, or because it made “more people” laugh overall? If you’re arguing the former, well, OK… I don’t agree, but it’s hard to argue comedy with people. But it sounds like you’re at least sort of arguing the latter, which is ridiculous; for that matter, “Yes Dear” has made “more people” laugh than “Arrested Development” or even the early seasons of “Seinfeld” … so what? Shrek 2 grossed more than Spiderman 2, and which is the better sequel? It’s just numbers.
what is the purpose of a sitcom? to make u laugh and make u feel something right? friends obviously touched a chord with the public out there. geeks didn’t. it had a lot of things not going in its favor. the creators should have realized that. timeslot, network, 1 hr comedy/drama, cast of no names, no buzz. its just the facts. i thought it was decent with room for potential but whoever thought it would last more than a yr is lying. i liked friends here and there but i didn’t set my weekly schedule to it. i barely watch the reruns. its no seinfeld.
Too much Friends hate here. What is so wrong with a great cast and great writing? I can name great sitcoms in the last 20 years on my one hand.
Whenever I catch a few minutes of an old Friends episode, I can’t believe how painfully unfunny it is. The characters are all obnoxious idiots, and when they speak it’s like listening to someone slowly dragging their fingernails on a chalkboard. It’s a horrible show. I don’t care how many people love it or how great the ratings were. Neither one has a damn thing to do with quality.
I don’t think the creators of Freaks & Geeks had any control over when NBC decided to air it. And why in the hell should they have tried to cast “names” rather than the best people for the job? It is a brilliant show. Hilarious, moving, extremely well-acted. Writing that is head and shoulders above almost anything on TV right now. I can revisit it over and over again, and I never get sick of it. The best episode of Friends isn’t nearly as funny as the worst joke on Freaks & Geeks.
Comedy is subjective but it doesn’t shock me that Stella’s Girl hates something popular. Don’t be so Archie Bunker, Stella. We all know you lived and died by who ended up with Rachel. You can tell us.
Geez Stella, hyperbole much?
I can understand people not liking Friends but to that extent? The show (particularly in seasons 4-7) had fantastic writing, a great cast that knew how to act against one another (which so many shows do not), some great storylines (surrogate triplets much?) and had a geniune happy and fun vibe through it (again, which so many sitcoms do not). It has more laughs her episode that an entire series of any number of fat-husband-hot-wife sitcoms that somehow flood the tv.
How anyone can hate it so much to the extent you seem to is beyond me.
And this is from someone who did like Freaks & Geeks, so don’t go saying I’m a populist or whatever you wanna call it. I just appreciate good comedy done well, which Friends was.
Why would I call you a populist Kamikaze? Have you seen me call anyone names? No. I am not the one throwing around terms like elitist, as some others are. Different strokes for different folks. I think it’s a bad show. It doesn’t make me laugh. I don’t like the characters. I realize I’m in the minority, but we all are from time to time. Doesn’t change our opinions.
being elitist is not exactly being called a “bad name”. its just who u are. what was a better comedy the past 12 yrs than friends? curb ur enthusiasm? seinfeld? and how do u know about the weak season 4-7 if u didn’t religiously watch it every week? if u don’t think somethings funny why would u even attempt to watch it? weird.
What makes you laugh? Yes Dear?
Friends is one of the best sitcoms ever. It is even rewatchable in syndication. I’m sure a lot of people don’t like it. But you can’t please everyone.
I am changing the subject because it’s gotten boring. Anyone seen The Constant Gardener yet? I can’t wait to see it. Reading a few reviews of it today, some of which called it the best movie of the year, I was stunned to come across two extremely negative reviews. One at filmjerk, and the other at filmcritic. Here’s an excerpt from the latter:
That not a shred of blame for the continent
Whats the need to change the topic of the thread? Post that on one of the newer topics/threads. I’m sure a lot of people will want to chat about that new movie and being stuck on a thread from last week won’t help it.
Where would it have been more appropriate? The James Bond thread? The discussion here was going nowhere fast. It needed a change.
Then let it die a sitcoms death. Just trying to help you out here. Start The CG on the monitor thread. Because it deserves its own place and doesn’t deserve to be in the crappy sitcom talk.
I appreciate you trying to help. I agree, The CG deserves its own place. I tried to bring it up in the most appropriate place. The other threads didn’t seem right.