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
I figured Fiddy Cent had more of a fanbase. He’s no Eminem, that’s for sure.
Should we note that Chicken Little actually increased 9%?
That should make Disney very happy. A second weekend around $30mil, is great no matter what the studio/film/internal politics of it all.
Derailed seems to have proved tabloids have SOME pull. The Weinsteins should be happy that their first release didn’t flop.
And, on the matter of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, it was NEVER going to get near the numbers that 8 Mile did (it’s showing on half the cinemas for starters – and i’m sure some “urban” areas refused to show it), 50 Cent is just a very blah personality. I don’t really know why anyone would want to spend 2 hours watching him and his monotone voice.
Plus, 8 Mile had “Lose Yourself”, which was HUGE (something like 13 weeks at number 1, right). What song is out there from the movie with the title of his FIRST cd (although, if they had named it the title of his second CD, The Massacre, I doubt it would even get into 1,600 cinemas like it did.
Jarhead dropping 58% from last friday sounds about right. A 50% weekend drop was expected. It seemed like one of the those movies that was extremely well marketed but when people saw it they realised it was something else entirely.
I’m glad Pride & Prejudice is gonna do well. A $3mil weekend would be excellent. It deserves it.
we should mention Chicken Little is up 9% if for no other reason than Len Klady incorrectly has it down for that amount. Part of this astonishing hold may be due to Veteran’s Day. But regardless, Chicken Little is a genuine hit.
In general looks like a solid box office weekend all around.
Poland, how about throwing us a bone as to what you thought of Sheridan’s film?
good for chicken little and zathura!
Dollars to donits Poland is mixed-to-negative on Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
I think the bad movie he saw was The Producers. It’s all a matter of process of elimination. Does anyone actually think Aeon Flux is going to be anything more than a mediocre Christmas action movie? It has an Equilibrium smell to it. (This doesn’t mean I’m not holding out for a surprise.)
Rumor Has It looks like it could go either way. I saw the trailer for the first time last night and it got some chuckles-to-laughs from the audience. It could be a movie that, despite all its troubles, could pull itself together and be a crowd-pleaser like Mr. & Mrs. Smith or Meet the Fockers. Or, it could be The Marrying Man. (Does anyone on this board remember that movie?) Personally, I was just happy the moviemakers had the decency to acknowledge the movie’s debt to The Graduate.
I think the movie is The Producers because that would seem the most shocking revelation of a disaster. With all the talent in front and behind the camera it would seem like a can’t-miss hit. Waht a better candidate for a movie to turn out so bad.
i mentioned “the producers” as a possible “so bad it’s good” candidate last week, and based this on the trailer which is classy and amusing to a certain extent, but not nearly as exciting or funny as it should be. Which says to me that, even cutting it down to 90 seconds, they couldn’t get it to really work. However, “dollars to donits”, the film that’s horrible is not Producers.
I still say it’s either Fun W/ Dick and Jane or Libertine.
It may be
Henry Hill: ‘the decency to acknowledge the movie’s debt to The Graduate’, seems confused. The movie’s explicit premise is ‘what if the stuff that happened in The Graduate was real and happened to your family’. It’s not like this movie is an homage or something, The Graduate is the cornerstone of its existence (and marketing).
Aeon Flux looks like a straight-faced Demolition Man, which is what you REALLY don’t want to be. And it sounds like the story is a case of changing the setup around to please everyone and pleasing no one in the end. The original story was about two cities, not one, and Aeon and Trevor were lovers in a VERY complicated relationship (loving the person you need to kill the most is always a bit of a problem). There’s more, but it might be unintentionally spoilerrific, depending on how the film works.
And what’s with Frances McDormand in the trailer? Isn’t there a law that no one outside of a Terry Gilliam or Jean-Pierre Jeunet film can have that hair? If it’s actually a good movie, they’re doing a damn good job of hiding it. But then again, this IS Paramount marketing….
BTW. I finally saw North Country last night. The studio screwed this movie up. If ever a movie needed to be rolled out into theaters slowly, it was this one. Did they actually think Theron was a big enough name to open a grim true-life courtroom drama? Even Travolta’s A Civil Action needed some nurturing. Theron is a great actress, but she’s not the same as Julia Roberts in Erin Brockobich.
The studio’s fuck up may have cost Richard Jenkins a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. That is a shame because he’s a fine actor who gives probably his best performance.
The movie itself works more as drama than as a dramatization of real events. The Hill-Thomas motif doesn’t really add much. The movie works more as working-class fight-the-power story.
(A more accurate depiction of the true story would’ve been too depressing for most audiences. The real court case needs to be examined in a Barbara Kippel documentary.)
Theron is good if a bit studied. She looks properly grungy but doesn’t come off as lived-in like Streep did in Silkwood, North Country’s obvious inspiration. Theron’s best scene comes late in the movie when she talks to her son about the day that forever changed her life. It’s a quiet scene that demonstrates, once again, that Theron is one of the most fearless actresses working today. It might be a case of Theron setting the bar so high for herself with MOnster that it might be awhile before she shocks us with her range.
Frances McDormmand (grat as usual), Woody Harrelson (a joy to see back on the big screen), Linda Emond (properly cold as the lead defense attorney), Sissy Spaceck (doing her usaual solid work), James Cada (as the evil head of the company), and Michelle Nonaghan (startling vulnerable) all give the movie a rich texture of life-size characters.
And the movie’s soundtrack is a proper selection of songs that act as commentary and counterpoint to the action. Songs like “Bette Davis Eyes,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” and five by Bob Dylan, including “Tell Ol’ Bill,” “Lay Lady Lay,” and “Paths of Victory” all provide the movie with an extra deminsion that most critics aren’t talking about.
It’s early but 50 Cent, Jennifer A, and Zathura all took a bath at the BO.
You think Derailed performed poorly Panda? I thought it did quite well, and much better than people were expecting. I was surprised to see how much it made on Friday.
A 11-13 million gross is more than I would have pegged it for, it really doesn’t look very good.
See this is what troubles me about “film journalism.” They almost always have to see things outside of movie asthetics. Instead of telling you what they think about any (and every) movie they see, they do so based on factors beyond a sense of duty. Inside their reviews are usually industry statements, yapping on about personalities, marketing, and the holy-beside-the-point-trinity of box office, fame and awards.
My conclusion is that a good film journalist is not a very reliable film critic. I can’t imagine one having the courage of say Roger Ebert who after seeing a reeditied version of a hated Vincent Gallo film which started an ugly public feud, felt obligated to remark on how he liked it. Now that’s duty folks!
Weird weekend at the local cinema. At mine, there were no PG-13 movies showing. I wonder when that last happened?
Seems to me the big winners of the weekend are “Chicken Little,” “Pride and Prejudice” (12-13K PSA is DAMN impressive for a “big name” free flick–I mean, it’s opening as well or better than “Domino” did), and “Derailed” (10-12M weekend is a win for this without a proven bankable star, negative buzz, and hyperadult subject matter).
“Zathura” has to be viewed as a disappointment, huge budget, and with that open and the nasty competition, probably going to be lucky to get to 50.
Oh, and “Jesus Is Magic” has to be in the “big winner” category, while “Bee Season” has to be viewed as, at best, a substantial disappointment.
Pride and Prejudice is a surprise, but we’ll see if it can expand.
I wouldn’t count out Zathura just yet.
Derailed is definitely on the more positive side of the expected numbers. Most were saying about $10mil (and no, saying you expected it to gross $10-$15mil doesn’t count. That’s a big difference) so a $14mil weekend or so is really good. It falls in line with the “adult thriller” territory.
Pride & Prejudice’s weekend will be great. And rightfully so. It’s a great movie. Hopefully they fuck up the expansion, because by all rights it should become quite successful.
Paul Hackett, you obviously don’t go to a multiplex then because I’m fairly certain Chicken Little, Zathura, Dreamer and Pride & Prejudice are G or PG.
On Poland’s really bad movie, I don’t think it’s The Producers, because he’s still kept it alive in his Academy Award charts. If it was truly awful it would’ve fallen off, right?
Yes, all those movies are G or PG…and none of them are PG-13. Prime is the only PG13 in the top ten.
Oh, I misread. I thought he was saying there were no movies PG13 or below.
New Jersey schools were closed Thursday and Friday for a teachers’ convention. That helps explains the nice bump up by “Chicken Little”.
“Pride & Prejudice” will go mainstream at Thanksgiving with an emphasis on upmarket/arthouse venues. Focus Features has been building up this picture since July; I remember seeing the trailer with “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
As for “Derailed”? The Weinstein Company carries on the Miramax corporate policy of not running ads in antiwar newspapers. That means no ads in the Village Voice.
Are there antiwar newspapers besides those owned by the Voice’s parent company?