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 thought you already saw Borat.
Looking forward to…
2:37
Borat
Coeurs
Copying Beethoven
Diggers
Fay Grim
For Your Consideration
The Host
Lake of Fire
The Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Offside
Pan’s Labyrinth
Rescue Dawn
Taxidermia
and whatever film(s) I know nothing about that I just happen to see because it fits a schedule that I wind up loving.
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone – Tsai Ming-liang
I’d love to see this up there since there hasn’t been domestic distribution for his last few films.
I’ve seen it twice… and can’t wait for the third viewing…
I saw a trailer last night for The Last King of Scotland. I saw two notable features: a really crappy title, and a queasy sense in my mind about why it was that a movie about an African dictator famous for killing thousands of Africans in Africa was about…a white guy. Fortunately the trailer addressed this as well, but sort of in passing. But Whitaker looked good.
Wait a minute – who has been waiting for the next Tarsem Singh movie?
Rather impressive that they’re getting the entire New Crowned Hope lineup — also a bit surprising, since it means they’ll all be premiering at Toronto instead of the NCH festival itself.
The Masterpieces Going In???
One more thing – who wants to place wagers on what percentage of DP’s review of The Fountain will be about Rachel Weisz and what percentage will be about everything else in the movie? I’m thinking 60/40.
Awesome! Johnnie To has three movies to be shown in 2006 Toronto Film Festival -“Exiled” , “Election” and “Election 2”.
PS: “Triad Election” in the US title of “Election 2”.
http://www.kaijushakedown.com/2006/08/new_york_film_f.html
J. To is so damned prolific and so damned good.
I still marvel at the opening of Broadcast News where an entire 8 minute action scene is filmed in one long meandering camera take. Brilliant!
Man, whatta lineup! Can someone tell me where Sundance fits into the landscape in terms of relevance any more?
I can’t wait for BORAT but Larry Charles’s MASKED AND ANONYMOUS is one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. Ever.
M&A is considered by many to be The Worst Film Ever Made.
I have spared myself the grief.
As a director, I think L.C. is one of the greatest record producers ever… which is to say, he rides with those who brung him… and if they are being indulgent, the film goes that way… and if they are being brilliant, the film goes that way… he gets it done for the visionary, for better or worse.
I’ve been waiting for the next Tarsem flick – I thought “The Cell” was fantastic. I know I’m in the minority.
You can like the movie, but I beg of you: don’t feed his pretentiousness by referring to him as ‘Tarsem’.
I wish I could reccommend MASKED AND ANONYMOUS as a good laugh, but it’s not even funny bad. It’s just bad bad.
Funny bad (and an excellent reccomendation for horrible movie lovers) is Matthew Bright’s TIPTOES. Gary Oldman as a midget! Kate Beckinsale has never looked hotter, buy oy yoy oy. I saw the film at Sundance and in the introduction, Bright said he hoped the producers walk outside after the screening and get hit by a bus. Strangely he hasn’t made a film since:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0316768/
“Jindabybe Ray Lawrence
The director of the much underappreciated Lantana, just picked up by Sony Classics”
YES YES YES!!! You guys are in for a brilliant treat. That movie is stunning. Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne and Deborra-Lee Furness are all excellent. I loveloveloved that movie.
“2:37 Murali K. Thalluri
Lots of controversy around this 22 year old’s work, which already landed him in Cannes and now, The TO.”
Definitely lots of controversy down here over this movie. Amongst many things it was the secret opening night film of the Melbourne Film Festival (people weren’t told what movie it would be until the screening started) and that resulted in walk outs due to the film’s discussions about rape, incest and the film’s extremely graphic ending. Nasty piece of work there.
“Macbeth Geoffrey Wright
A hot Shakespeare title again, with another remake on BBC’s Shakespeare Re-Told series. This one from the promising Romper Stomper director.”
There has been such polar-opposite reactions to this film so far. Some call it masterful, others call it disgusting exploitation. Victoria Hill as Lady Macbeth is a standout I’ve heard (but not in the typical LADY MACBETH way if you know what I mean)
I hope Tarsem Singh’s new movie is anywhere near the visual orgasm that The Cell was.
BTW, the most controversial Aussie film of the year is also showing at Toronto. That would be Ana Kokkinos’ The Book of Revelation. As the news headlines put it “The $4.5mil Public Funded Rape Film”
lol.
It’s BREAKING NEWS, not BROADCAST NEWS, and it’s the best movie released (sort-of) this year. I saw it in ’05 and was just bowled over by how resoundingly brilliant it was. Already out on DVD and cheap at twice the price.
I have nothing much to say about Toronto, because I think it’s an overrated festival run by idiots… but I do recommend trying to see Snowcake. While watching a movie starring Sigourney Weaver as a mentally challenged person might sound trying, it’s actually a very funny and moving film. One of the hilights of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and Mr. Alan Rickman’s finest moment.
Please don’t toss around phrases like “Alan Rickman’s finest moment” without meaning it. The man was Hans Gruber, for God’s sake.
Hmmm…Snowcake, eh? I’ll add that to my list. I decided to go full out and took the week off of work to see as many as I could. I have 30 tickets burning a hole in my pocket… I will do everything I can to be at Borat. Can’t wait for that one. Also…new Hong Sang-Soo! Yay!
He actually smiles and *laughs* in the movie… he actually has range!
Coming Soon…Alan Rickman is…SNAPES ON A PLANE!
As for last week, Johnnie To is still shooting EXILED….
http://www.kaijushakedown.com/2006/08/exiled_still_sh.html
PS: Some correction:
TRIAD ELECTION is the US title of ELECTION 2, not “in” US title of ELECTION 2…. Sorry….
I cant wait to see:
The Fountain
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Host (could be the next Save The Green Planet?)
Borat
Mon Meilleur Ami
Babel
Zidane
Renaissance & Princess (Actual innovation in Anime?)
The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (the Engineer in me loves the name)
Manufactured Landscapes (Burtynsky’s photographs are stunning, and if this is in Special Presentations it may be something special)
Paris Je T’aime (I wonder if all those directors will show up 🙂 )
Time (Kim Ki-Duk is brilliant)
Rescue Dawn
Even the obligatory Miike offering looks interesting!
I think this will be one of the best TIFFs in the last 10 years.
Aren’t some of these movies opening in, like, a months time? And as wide releases too?
KC: Yeah, that’s the thing about Toronto. Everyone always makes a huge deal about it but the biggest and best movies playing there are usually the ones that already have distribution and are being released by the end of the year. Journalists/critics just like making a big deal about it because it gives them a chance to see these movies early so they can be the first on the bandwagon. Quite a few of the Oscar movies were there…Capote, Walk the Line (how that didn’t get a BP and director nom is beyond me), etc… but a lot of the stuff that doesn’t have a distributor is hit/miss. Can’t think of one Napoleon Dynamite/Little Miss Sunshine like hit to come out of Toronto in the last few years, but David could correct me on that if I’m wrong.
Like, if you lived in Toronto it’d be pretty awesome to go see something, but I can’t imagine travelling all the way to Toronto (no matter where you are) just to see movies that you can see cheaper over the next few months. And with the advantage of having knowledge about whether its a good or bad movie.
Like, the Melbourne Film Festival is a pretty big film festival in Australia (the second or first biggest I assume) but looking at all the stuff that was screening it was all movies that are out over the next couple of months and then there’s the titles that I’ve never heard of and don’t feel like spending $15 on.
Festivals are weird.
Toronto is a mix of films that will be coming out (some as early as the week after the film festival ie. the festival is the Premiere party), films that will trickle out over the next year, and films that will never come out.
I’d guess probably half of those films above will not come out in the theaters. Plus, the movies people are most interested in ahead of time are the ones that people have actually heard something about. This naturally results in films that are likely to come out.
There are always, *always*, a large number of finds at the festival. Three off the top of my head: Tsotsi, Whale Rider, George Washington.
KC, if you subtract movies youve heard of (and thus are probably coming out) and movies you’ve never heard of, there arent a whole lot of movies left!
Nobody had heard of Napolean Dynamite before Sundance either…..
Crash premiered at and was bought out of Toronto.
The press is naturally there to cover the Gala screenings and the upcoming fall releases, so that’s the coverage you’ll get. [Insert Oscar contender here] disappointed audiences and critics and is looking less like a nominee now. [Insert Fall release with big stars here] wowed the crowd…
Thing is, they are showing 261 feature films so obviously most of them are not those big films, and most are never going to get US distribution no matter how good they are. Pick out a couple of the upcoming releases that you just can’t wait for, some known quantities that aren’t commercial, and then take chances. There are a lot of international titles that likely won’t ever see any play in the US outside of festivals. Sure you’re going to occasionally wind up with the occasional film that is painful to sit through, but you will also will discover many gems.
That’s the real joy of the Toronto Film Festival – the many films that I would have never had seen except for it. And in today’s age where for most films you see you’ve already been bombarded with trailers and ads and articles, it’s fun to sit down for a film and realize you have no idea what to expect. Plus, the festival is well run and not too difficult to get tickets (again, especially if you’re willing to take chances).
The films I had never heard of prior to the fest have usually been my favourites–Oldboy, Nobody Knows, A Ma Soeur and The Duelist stand out in my memory–although the adoring crowd at the Sideways premier and the infectious laughter at The General were also treasured movie-going moments. I usually try to avoid the movies that will be opening wide within weeks–although something like Borat might be more “special” at the fest…
I’m getting very excited about this year–although both week-ends conflict with my Ultimate Frisbee finals. I might just have to show up to screenings in cleats & sweat. I apologise to all in advance.
“KC, if you subtract movies youve heard of (and thus are probably coming out) and movies you’ve never heard of, there arent a whole lot of movies left!”
lol, I mean movies that are by big directors and have distributers and are coming out soon and then there are films by no name directors that I’d rather wait to hear stuff about before planting down cash for them.
I would’ve hated to have paid to see Oldboy in a cinema.
I suppose it doesn’t help that even the smaller interesting sounding films aren’t really reported on and it always seems people forget them come the time of the year when people start talking about their favourite films of the year.
How about Thank You For Smoking EDouglas? Would that count? Toronto kicks ass. I’ve been there four times for the festival now. It is a blast and worth every single penny.
“I would’ve hated to have paid to see Oldboy in a cinema.”
Why?
There’s a whole programme in the festival called “Masters” which is generally films by top-tier directors around the world. Even in this programme, most of the films still rarely get distribution over here…..
EDouglas’ statement is right for any film festivals other than Sundance. Many good movies
are already [pre-bought] before they are finished.
( Unlucky, while many US distributor think that Sundance Film Festival is the best place to buy movies, many overseas distributor always overlook Sundance Film Festival )
Toronto has become, in my opinion, the most significant film festival in the world, in great part because of its range.
That said, it is not primarily a sales festival for domestic product. Half a dozen films a year, when all is said and done.
Sundance is a very different animal. In some ways, because indie film has faltered, the two have become much more stratified in the last couple of years. Lots of new product at Toronto, especially foreign. But Sundance has the feel of being an indie bazaar.
Interesting discussion.
True, Toronto probably gets a lot bigger interntional turn-out than Sundance, both press and industry, and true enough, Crash and Thank You For Smoking would indeed be two Toronto standouts…(as would Hostel from last year), though you don’t usually hear the festival mentioned when people talk about those movies, unlike Sundance. (How many articles have you read about Little Miss Sunshine or Napoleon Dynamite that mention the festival, compared to how many mentions Toronto has gotten with Crash or TYFS)
Anyway, a lot of the movies I really want to see (Pan’s Labyrinth, Copying Beethoven, Volver), I’m seeing this coming week, a week before Toronto even starts. I guess it’s not that big a deal to me cause being in NY, I know I’ll get a chance to see most of the movies even if they don’t get major distribution, but of course, a lot of the ones people are going to Toronto to see are the ones that already do have distributors.
Figure on a cost of $700-800 (presuming you get press credentials) to see movies that many people have already seen or will be able to see in a matter of months. Not worth it.
I have never spent that much to go to Toronto, but I don’t stay for the whole thing. And it is more than worth it. It’s not just about seeing great movies. I love the city and greatly enjoy walking around Toronto with all the other movie lovers. I love talking to people in line about what they have seen and will see. I love seeing midnight movies with a rowdy crowd. Plus, five or six movies that I saw and liked or loved last year still haven’t been released to theaters or DVD as of now. For me it is more than worth it.
By the way, according to Variety’s poll in 9/2005, most buyers, sellers and producers still think that Cannes is the best film festival in the world. It also stated that “Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Venice and Sundance were adjudged the top five events overall, by a clear margin, followed a long way down by San Sebastian. ”
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117928629&categoryid=2063
But it is just a result of the poll in 9/2005. In 9/2006, the result would be changed.
Not that I’ve been to tons of festivals, but I’ve been to a few and Toronto is by far my favorite. It’s not hard to see 5 films in a day, so you figure you can see 1 film with fall distribution, 1 film from a known quantity that might get picked up, and 3 films that you know little to nothing about in one day. I’ve seen many wonderful films at Toronto that still aren’t available on DVD in the US.
I’ve always just bought tickets the regular way and never had much problem. Festivals aren’t a cheap thing and since the exchange rate isn’t nearly as good as it once was, it’s not quite the same bargain, but it’s still very reasonably priced. Plus, Toronto in September is a nice place to be, the venues are pretty nice for the most part, the festival is well run, standing in line with other festival goers comparing notes is fun, and it’s just an overall great atmosphere. I always tell people who think it would be fun to take a trip to a film festival, that Toronto is the one to go to. No, I’m not being paid to shill the festival, but the week in Toronto in September is one of my most anticipated events every year.