Landing In Turks & Caicos
Sorry I dissapeared today… long travel day to T&C and expected to have time to write during the layover in Miami.
Nothing all that interesting seems to be going on… what do y’all think?
May 9, 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
Well, that was a pretty great MNF game.
..moviewise I got nothin’. Sorry.
Oh wait. I thought you posted a blog about the Prestige, Dave, but now I can’t find it. Did you write about it yet, or did I dream that?
..please don’t tell me I dreamt that.
You dreamt that… but now that the trades are reviewing, I will try to get to it in the next couple of days…
Sonofabitch. I coulda sworn you had something. Eh, I guess not. My bad.
I saw The Departed for a second viewing tonight. Even more enjoyable the next time around.
It wasn’t a packed house by any means, but it’s fun to listen to everyone’s reactions. I went with a friend who had already seen it and a friend who hadn’t. The latter let out a loud Holy Shit when the last 5 minutes plays out. He enjoyed the hell out of it.
My other friend says he’s having a hard time thinking of a better film in the past five years. I’m not sure I agree with him on that front, but it’s a matter of taste. I happen to think Master & Commander is the best film of the past 5 years, but I may be alone on that one. Still, The Departed is definitely up there for me.
I saw Last King of Scotland tonight, it thinks it’s a morality tale but as it turns out it’s a grim horror show about how horrible Africa is, so best for Europe/America to just avoid it. It doesn’t help that it’s one of those movies where it takes the protagonist a full two hours to learn what we already know going in, i.e. that Idi Amin is a dangerous nutcase.
In case that didn’t make sense, it’s not very good which is a shame because there’s plenty of talent involved.
I assume this is for the Turks and Caicos International FIlm Festival?
I cannot believe I missed the comeback of the Bears. I went to sleep at 23-3, thinking that they had lost. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waterbucket, don’t take this the wrong way, but I never, ever would have expected you to be a Monday Night Football fan.
I saw The Departed tonight for the first time. Good, but not as spectacular as I had been lead to believe. I thought Leo was fantastic, I though Damon was not and I though Jack was somewhere in between. Technically it was pretty good, althought I thought Infernal Affairs looked better and I appreciated that movie’s 100minute running time.
That ending was great though, ey? Yeah, very good, but it won’t be making my Top 10 of the year. I’d give it a solid B.
Interesting that you say that, Camel– I thought Damon managed to be the best among an excellent cast. I liked his control and focus on top of an absolute moral emptiness– he kind of struck me as a mix of Jason Bourne and Patrick Bateman.
What didn’t you like about him?
What’s up with the divide between “established” print critics and some Web critics over Flags of Our Fathers? Is the buzz on this film greater than originally thought? David, what’s your take? Your review has been the harshest yet.
I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I did not buy him as an amoral sexually vile creature. The character was fine, but I think a different actor would have worked much better (speaking of Patrick Bateman, someone like Christian Bale perhaps? I’m not sure on that) I dunno, it just felt awkward hearing Damon spurt out the filthy dialogue and such. Purely a personal position, I know.
Oh, whatdya know? I am exactly sure what it was. š
By the way, did anyone else notice that the accents of certain cast members kept going in and out and back again?
It’s ok Eric. Most of America would also never expect a gay guy to enjoy, gasp, football and basketball. Honestly, I’m only flaming on this blog because I know it annoys D-Po, the homo hater. If you meet me in real life, you’d probably mistakenly want to set me up with your sister/niece/daughter. Now I must get back to my embroidery!
Camel – Yeah, the accents were on and off. They usually are in these big ensemble things. In my boy Damon’s defense, I thought his was one of the better accents. (Isn’t he from he from the area?)
Part of what I like about Damon as an actor is the way he picks roles that undermine his impossibly good looks. He’s a young, handsome guy, and he plays characters who use that to abuse the trust of others, including the audience.
Waterbucket – Thanks for understanding my naivete. Very cute.
I think Leo is much better than Damon (who I think is a great actor), but I also think Leo’s role has much stronger writing behind it. His character felt much more developed and complex to me than Damon’s. Damon is sort of bland. I didn’t find his performance compelling or interesting. Maybe that will change with repeat viewings.
I was put off by DiCaprio’s performance by the sudden turn for the worse the character takes midway through. He suddenly starts to lose it, but it felt too sudden to me– unnatural, inorganic.
Maybe that’s the fault of Monahan’s script, which I otherwise admire, or Scorsese’s pacing. Either way, I didn’t fully believe the changes that DiCaprio was going through.
And I fully bought everything about Costigan. Oh well.
Yeah, I bought everything to do with Costigan as well. I think as soon as they told him he’d never be a cop is when he began to lose it. It wasn’t a situation he was ever totally comfortable with, and it obviously ate him up inside from the get go…
I thought both performances were pretty great, personally. DiCaprio brought shadings to this role that he hasn’t had as an actor for almost a decade, even in Aviator. Add to that the fact that this is the first time he’s come across as a true adult — partly because you could actually believe he was a tough guy, more than just a pretty face. It was his face that I remember most from the film, in fact. He was the most emotionally connected of any character in the film. Some of his expressions were priceless. And he really did seem vulnerable. Damon also was great at conveying mixed emotions. Colin was the ultimate phony and Damon is close to great at letting us in on his darkest secrets. There’s a vague intimation that he could even be a closet homosexual though it’s never really explored in any depth. Still there is enough fake bravado in Colin to make you feel just slightly sorry for him. He’s the least emotionally connected character because he has to hide everything, only I always felt like I caught a glimmer of torture there. I’d give each actor kudoes if I could. They’re both exceptional.
I thought Damon played the ending well, but the rest of it..? Yeah, I just didn’t buy him in it. Like during the rugby game.
But, I did buy DiCaprio.
I will agree with what Austin said– this may be the first time I was not distracted by DiCaprio’s youth. I know he’s a lot older than he looks, but that doesn’t matter on screen. He’s always looked like a boy trying to play a man. (I liked his Aviator performance, in part because that was appropriate to it.)
But Departed may have been the first time in years that I didn’t think he was too young for a role.
And seriously… where did those muscles come from?
What was with Wahlberg’s hair btw? It was sorta gross. š
Camel: And seriously…where did those muscles come from?
Me: Um, from working out?
…i wasn’t asking seriously.
That’s okay. I wasn’t answering seriously. š
š