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
They are all unwatchable pieces of shit?
Most of them suck
Oh, with the same release date?
Bring it On was a terrible pretentius piece of crap, BUT the opening sequence (the cheer in the dream) was hysterical–great parody.
Most of those titles made more on rental than theatricla exhib?
That’s a good guess. I’m pretty sure that every one is an August release.
Going to go out on a limb.
Oscar winners???
so what David is trying to say is that is not a good date to release a movie–jinx.
The possibilities are endless here.
What are titles who cost execs their jobs?
What are titles they can’t give away at garage sales?
What are titles were all offered to Bret Ratner?
Many of them, to my knowledge, were shelved for sometime. Simone is quite underrated, but the rest can burn.
I don’t think any movie on that abysmal list was ever underrated.
maybe specifically they were released the last friday in august?
nevermind, it appears to just be late August releases
MGM movies
August. The Award Season month.
Lota, what exactly about Bring It On was pretentious? That’s a terrifically fun movie! One of the few recent teen movies I actually saw again when it came to video.
bring it on is a really good movie. a very rewatchable. whats pretentious about girl cheerleaders trying to have fun and win competitions? this from the same poster who thinks the redskins should be named the washington bland ones? thats not pretentious?
What are 25 movies which have never been in my kitchen?
and the answer trebek is….
Hero is a masterpiece, Bring It On, the two Jeepers Creepers, and Ghosts of Mars are all decent to good.
The August release dates don’t really have anything to do with actual quality. Merely the studio’s perceived notions of quality.
Jeepers Creepers 1 and 2 and Ghosts of Mars decent to good!? Agree to disagree.
You can like Bring it on if you please, I haven’t seen too many teenagers talk or behave the way teenies did in that movie, especially not in the cutthroat world of cheerleading comptetitions.
Two cheerleaders from my high school got national awards when I was there. Bring it on just didn;t seem realistic to me.
I skipped Bring It On when it was in theaters because it looked painfully bad to me. But after all of the good reviews and positive word of mouth, I decided to rent it when it came out on DVD. I really don’t get what all the fuss is about. I didn’t find it all that funny or clever. Just dull and annoying.
I don’t think anyone here can take anything Jeff says seriously again. Jeepers Creepers???
I hope you are joking.
I still take jeff very seriously. He is an intelligent, thoughtful poster. It would be boring if we agreed on everything all of the time. I’m sure there are movies that I like that he hates. Different strokes for different folks.
lota u have never hungout with cheerleaders have u because that movie is dead on with how they act. obviously extreme with some of the ladies but what movie isn’t extreme? i’m sure mobsters don’t all act like the corleone family.
Whats funny is if anyone here said Jeepers Creepers was a classic or even decent, Stella’s Boy would rake them over the coals. But we’ll forgive you for that Stella’s Boy since Jeff is your best friend here and defends every single one of your loony thoughts. Without question.
Jeepers Creepers makes Dukes of Hazzard look like an Oscar winner. Yes, it’s that bad. But to support the sequel too?
Did you actually see either of the Jeepers Creepers movies? They’re much stronger than your typical teenagers-in-peril horror movie. The characters are allowed to settle in to normal rhythms before all hell literally breaks loose. I’m a big horror movie fan so I’m predisposed to like them, and don’t blame others if they just aren’t into the genre.
I agree that Bring It On is not pretentious. Neither is renaming the Redskins. Neither one has to do with a pretense of quality greater than they actually possess.
The Ghost of Mars? Good? Did we see the same movie?
I don’t know, why don’t you describe the movie you saw and your reactions to it.
It is killing Stella’s Boy that he has to defend and backup a list of movies that includes Jeepers Creepers 1-2 and Ghost of Mars. Just absolutely killing him.
So you think every movie on the list up top is horrible and agree with studios’ decisions to dump them in August?
its pretty safe to say that 95% of those movies deserved the dumping. if u like a few thats good. to each his own. since movies are really subjective. on that list i liked bring it on, jay and silent bob, and undisputed.
Kirsten Dunst may have peaked as an actress in Bring It On. Where was her awards? I’m being serious here. She was that good.
Victor Salva. Don’t even get me started on him. The man is a bigger jerk on person than you even think he would be.
Lota, I don’t think Bring It On was intended as a documentary on how teenagers actually talk. It’s funny and cute, and all of the major characters are sympathetic (it’s not as if Dunst is facing off against a squad of “evil” cheerleaders, as she doubtless would be in most teen movies). A little crude around the edges, but so much fun.
The first 40-45 minutes of Jeepers Creepers are actually pretty strong — it builds slowly, we don’t see the creature, and there’s a feeling of actual dread (even if the characters do spend an inordinate amount of time making “horror movie mistakes”). I even half-liked the sequel — reasonably tense and well-shot, although the characters in the sequel are mostly worthless. Put the best parts of both together and you might get a really good horror movie.
Bob said it. They’re all guilty pleasures, and any of our personal faves (for me: Jay & Bob, O, Bring It On) would cause at least one person on this board to get their panties in a bunch. But that’s the point, isn’t it… it’s a billion dollars worth of suck.
Even if you add successful openers to the list, you’re not adding much quality. The only generally-agreed-upon August classics are The Sixth Sense and The Fugitive. The rest are American Pie 2 and 3, Rush Hour 2, Signs, XXX… a.k.a. more of the same, once you ignore the grosses. Either you enjoy them guiltily, or you vomit.
Speaking of vomit, wasn’t the Exorcist prequel an August movie? If we’re talking about a dump list, that had to be one the biggest dumps ever (in more ways than one).
they dumped that exorcist movie twice it was so bad.
Half the movies I love are so called guilty pleasure but yet i really don’t feel guilty. I feel good for liking them. They’re my non guilty pleasures.
I agree it’s all taste. I loathed Jay & Silent Bob. It was the movie that turned me against Kevin Smith, which I didn’t think could happen.
Kevin Smith’s last few movies have made me doubt if he can hack it or is just a witty writer with no sense of pacing or storytelling.
Or where to put a camera, which at least he’s aware of.
After I saw Dogma I realized he was in over his head. He may have peaked with Mallrats. No expectations. Just funny gags. Tell some jerkoff jokes, star wars humor. Now he’s screwed. It is so bad hes going back to the Clerks well again.
When the fanboys gave Jersey Girl a pass and insisted that it was a good, from-the-heart movie, it made me want to hunt each one of them down and beat them senseless. You take that same movie, shot for shot, and only change who wrote and directed it (say, Chris Columbus or someone like that), and they would have shit all over it and called it the worst movie of the year.
Careful criticizing Kevin SMith Y’all, the View Askew nation will take a contract out on you. Talk about crazy loyal-to-a-fault fans. I am just not a kS fan at all, but at least he tried to do something different with DOgma, although it ended up being kind of unweildly with way too much ‘informing’ dialog & characters. I liked the idea of Linda Fiorentino being a decsendent of the Messiah.
Jersey Girl was given a pass by no one. Also no one saw it. A double whammy.
It was given a pass by Smith fanatics. They talked about how honest and heartfelt it was. Thankfully few actually saw it.
You can’t go by hardcore fans. Like Stella’s Girl and loving the West Wing. No matter what he’ll always give it a pass.
Don’t cry now, Stella’s Girl. Take a good natured joke like a normal person.
I have actually never seen an episode of The West Wing. No joke. Never looked all that interesting to me. You’re right, you can’t go by hardcore fans. They are not capable of any objectivity.
At least you took the joke well. It is Friday, it’s hot, and we just had a weekend of Stealth and Dukes.
Don’t worry you haven’t missed much with the West Wing. Peaked very early on. Mostly due to Aaron Sorkin. The only real good tv is now on HBO or FX anyway.
I agree, HBO and FX are kicking all sorts of ass right now, which is why it sucks to not have either one. I have to wait for DVD. Oh well.
The only real good TV is on HBO and FX?
Gentlemen. I believe you’re forgetting a little show on Fox called “24.”
24 and Lost are the only watchable dramas or sitcoms on network tv.
How don’t you cable? It’s 2005! Most of the good shows are out on DVD. Pick some up.
3-star Ebert reviews?
Easy. THey were all moved around for a year or more before ending up in an August release date (well, except for the Jeepers Creepers sequel…hm…)…well, they did all come out in August.
“I don’t think any movie on that abysmal list was ever underrated.”
Suspect Zero gets a lot of unfair hate.
That is a list that can kill a healthy man if you read it back to him.
I think January-February is actually when they release worse movies. My most disliked movies of the last three years – White Noise, The Perfect Score, Darkness Falls – all came out in that span.
in defense of TV, which has been often better than the movies from year to year since 1993…
current network dramas that are better than 90% of film in a given year:
Lost
24
Law & Order: SVU – better crime procedural week after week than any cop movie made since the 1995 combo of Seven and Copycat.
current network comedies that are better than 90% of film in a given year:
Scrubs – perhaps my favorite comedy ever, don’t let your displeasure with Garden State dissuade you.
Arrested Development
Simspons – just finished its best, sharpest season since season 9.
Scott Mendelson
Doesn’t Law and Order SVU strike you as the same thing every week? It’s well-made, but the current crop of police show, where the characters take back seat to the crime of the week, doesn’t thrill me.
With SVU, for me, the characters don’t take a back seat. The main characters that sometimes do, at the expense of other characters who happen to be involved in the plot. Rich characters are rich characters, whether they get star billing or guest star credit.
Scott Mendelson
the shield and deadwood are the two best shows on television…24 and lost are both awesome as well…Rescue Me is brilliant and VERY underrated…basically, anything FX and HBO kicks ass…but when it’s airing, nothing competes with the Sopranos…so richly put together on every single level…btw, has anyone tuned in to either STARVED or IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA? Starved is a little to weird for its own good but has had its moments…but Philly is fucking awesome…it better not get cancelled. it feels like the next Seinfeld. Seriously.
and the closer has been consistently well done all season…i have never been the biggest fan of Kyra Sedgwick but on the closer, she just kills…and the entire supporting cast is great (JK Simmons rules)…pretty violent and mean too.
Throw in another vote for Deadwood. The second season was the best ‘fiction-in-motion’ to come about this year.
I hope Prison Break is as cool as the premise and trailer…but it’s a Brett Ratner product so I must lower my expectations.
Shouldn’t the answer be August and not September?
Bring it On is a good movie. Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, and Gabrielle Union, mmm mmm good! 🙂
Prison Break looks real good. It had better be. They’ve been promo’ing it since January!
“Kevin Smith’s last few movies have made me doubt if he can hack it or is just a witty writer with no sense of pacing or storytelling.”
His first few movies didn’t clue you in?
As far as Prison Break goes, is the idea that the brother who intentionally gets sent to prison does so in order to prove the other brother’s innocence? Or so they can break out? Or both? It looks decent, but I don’t see a long-term show there at this point. Unless they are in prison for a very long time.
ZacharyTF is correct — these titles all opened in late August.
I remember the Loews megaplex in New Brunswick NJ opening 2 prints of “Ghosts of Mars”. Why? The theater wasn’t allowed to pick up “The Deep End” or “Ghost World”, not even “Apocalypse Now Redux”. Seems that Loews megaplex screwed up a show of “Made” a few weeks earlier.
Anyway, who would want to dump all over “Bring It On”? At the AMC Empire in Times Square that picture had the perfect trailer placement — in front of “But I’m a Cheerleader”.
I have heard they have stories and a plan for seasons after the eventual prison break. Remember they have to be on the run. Kinda like The Fugitive.
HBO’s ROME could kick some ass…
Not can. Will.