May 3, 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
Tough call.
The Rock has the fans. And what action movie has opened lately?
My guess? 30 million.
Why the hell is “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” only showing at The Grove? That place is like the Death Star.
Since most critics hate it, I’m sure this mindless action game based film will be a box office smash.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/doom/
Doom will only get males. Us females won’t see it.
I watched Smallville last night which I usually don’t do, and if Tom Welling in it is anything like him in The Fog, it’ll plummet this weekend.
Good call Scooba Steve. I refuse to give my money to rapists like the Arclight and The Grove, which was actually reasonably priced before Arclight opened. Same with the Chinese multiplex. Because of my boycott, I wound up missing Oliver Twist, and many other films. I was hoping KKBB would play at the Los Feliz 3, if not the Vista. Instead Elizabeth town limps through another week at the V.
Let’s all hope that Doom does not succeed, because then we’re looking at a shitload of video game film adaptations that would certainly be a swamp of Hollywood shit to have to plow through. Super Mario Bros, anyone? That gave us a nice 10 year delay on another onslaught.
There’s no way this is making big money. The ladies like The Rock when he’s charming, not just kicking ass, so this is going to be another Rundown or Walking Tall, which both cleared about 45 mil.
Don’t doubt The Rock’s box office ability.
At least The Rundown had some cleverness to it. Doom looks mundane all the way, like a poor man’s Resident Evil, which isn’t saying much.
I agree that there’s no point in seeing movies at The Grove, but the Arclight is still worth going to, I love not having to watch commercials. The Los Feliz 3, meanwhile, may have the most uncomfortable seats in town.
Yeah, the Arclight is a beast but it’s still a single place with easy parking and a nice setup for the premium experience. Where is it written in the constitution that The Grove gets first and only dibs on the big select releases? It’s just a battle to get in and out of there. People should realize that faithful movie people hate being anywhere near “the scene.”
I’m usually at the Burbank 16 on the weekdays. It’s new, cheaper, fairly easy parking and barring the fascist commercials, a great facility.
don’t know the tracking #’s because that box office info is apparently still for the “insiders”. But I’d say $45 mill open. It will get some chicks, there’s a lot of goth and computer chicks out there that into Doom. Overall I think we’re looking at Alien V. Predator #’s, plus or minus 10 mill.
The Burbank 16 is the pits. AMC blows.
I’d pay $20 to see movies at the Arclight if I had to. Presentation is that good and that important.
Doom: $17m.
No way is Doom opening higher than 30. A vs P opened in the summer and had more of a franchise fan base.
The Burbank 16 is heaven compared with most multiplexes in this country. At least the projection bulb is at full brightness and there’s stadium seating.
To Hollywood outsiders: The Grove is considered Naboo, The Arclight is Coruscant and Burbank 16 is Tatooine.
The acoustics in Mann’s Chinese (the big theater) are just awful, like watching a movie in a high school gym. That would make it The Death Star.
I think Doom will get around $18mil. Can’t picture it getting anywhere abover $25mil. If it had been released a few years back yes, but not now.
Doom will hit 30M if lucky, more like 16 unless the youngsters find reason to celebrate it. I will be forced to go, I know it.
I don’t know if The Grove is even as nice as Naboo. What is it with LA theatres–so much crap for venue-choice in the last 10-15 yrs. Maybe because so many people have screening rooms (or a trusty NEC projector).
What’s the Mustafar of LA theaters?
I thought no one liked the prequels. Shouldn’t we be comparing LA theaters to original trilogy planets?
My call for “Doom”: $10 million-$15 million. It’ll get killed by lack of biz in south Florida due to Hurricane Wilma.
Trailers and print ads for “Doom” don’t highlight The Rock. Universal would have had a bigger opening if they gave him star billing.
Hurricane Wilma couldn’t hold Katrina’s jock strap.
The ladies like The Rock, laz? Which ladies? None I know would deliberately chose one of his films as their choice for viewing. They might be willing to please their man by going, but not before striking a deal to see In Her Shoes or Eliszabethtown too.
Oh wait, you don’t mean LADIES… you mean chickies. And you certainly don’t refer to actual WOMEN, laz.
The ladies you know don’t like good looking, well built guys, with charisma, money, and star power? Damn. They must be prizes.
Yeah, we all know that women storm the theater gates every time there’s a Stallone or Van Damme movie playing.
Weren’t they two of the biggest action stars in their primes? Yes. They were.
Stallone, yes. Van Damme, sort-of-not-really.
My point is merely the extremely obvious one about women generally not liking action movies and tending to only go with their dates. Pick arguments all you want.
It’s obviously not a science. I assume some girls go to see a hot guy. Some are forced by their date.
Things would certainly be more interesting if women showed up to see male stars in a movie the same way that, say, men show up to see Jessica Alba.
Females definately support “hot” male stars. Why do you think action movies make so much? Because women go too.
Well it’s a matter of degree. Action movies are as much of a niche as chick flicks. It’s the ones that appeal to a wider demographic that make the most money. That’s the difference between, say, Aliens and Alien 3. One appealed to everybody, the other didn’t.
Alien appealed because it was good. Alien 3 didn’t appeal because it was terrible.
Probably a bad example. But the point stands. More women went to see Pirates of the Caribbean, an action movie that also had comedy and romance, than The Rock, a pure actioner.
Karl Urban has quite a female following — and not teenagers, for the most part, but those who’ve been following him since back in his Xena/Kiwi movie days. But even his presence wasn’t enough to get them out for Doom, from the message board/LJ chat I’ve been seeing.
If the movie had promised something else, anything else, really, than just a lot of action scenes, a lot more of that group would have shown up.
The Rock did really well. But it didn’t have a star at the time. Connery was old. Cage is niche. That’s a bad example.
Pirates just hit it out of the park. Everything came together on it. And its not like Depp was a huge star either. You’re going to need better examples to prove your thesis.
Whatever, it’s a thesis too obvious to really require examples. Anyway, you said it yourself: “Everything came together on it” meaning that Pirates had multi-quadrant demographic appeal. That means, it wasn’t a pure action movie, which typically only draw males under 35.
Jeff, I think, is over thinking this. We all get what hes saying. Some movies are pure action movies and will only get males under 50. Like most Van damme flicks in the early 90’s, Seagal movies, etc. Takes a lot to cross over and get the females to actually make it a real big hit instead of a modest sized hit. Not many action stars can do it thats why we’re still searching for action stars to take over for Arnold, Sly, Bruce.
This all started because somebody had the idea that Doom would have made more money if The Rock had been more prominently placed in the ads. That’s somewhat true, since the ads made the movie look like a star-free made for cable piece of crap. But this movie looked vastly less appealing than either The Rundown or Walking Tall, which both topped out at around $45m, even with co-stars, comedy, locations, and romance. Doom was doomed.
You could have advertised this as the Rock vs Stone Cold and it would have made the same amount.
Here’s a quick thought.
What video game has become a good movie and a box office success?
Mario Brothers? No. Double Dragon? No. Resident Evil? No. Dungeons and Dragons? No.
I can’t name a single one.
“…men show up to see Jessica Alba.”
Really? On what planet? Certianly not this one.
She was number 1 with FF, Honey, Sin City. And who saw Honey for the dancing?
She’s a bad actress but at least Into the Blue was a flop.
None of those video game movies were good, but Resident Evil was indeed a box office succcess (around $110m world box office).