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
Illusionist is still plugging away. It’ll be fresh in people’s minds next week when The Prestige opens. I wonder how the comparison will affect reviews of the new film?
I’m very pleased that The Departed held its own against The grudge 2. It’s a major achievement, a rare serious-minded adult movie that’s connecting at the box office.
Is a $25 million total for a lowbrow Dane Cook vehicle really a bad number? Considering the guy has no box office track record I’d think this would be a good number. I guess it’s all about expectations.
Will the Greatest Generation turn out next week to support their boy Eastwood? Or. are epople exhausted by WWII movies? I have a feeling that’s why Spielberg handed off the movie to Eastwood. He’d been there, done that.
Anyone know when Miramax is planning on opening The Queen wide? At this point, they could probably keep it fairly limited for a few weeks and save a major expansion for post GGs, but that’s two months away. All I know is that they should start looking at how Capote expanded (only went wide in early February) and get away from the Vera Drake model (The Queen is already well ahead of that other British movie with a critically hailed female performance.)
The real question re: Deliver Us from Evil is who is going to piss in the pool and ruin its 100% positive on RottenTomatoes. I have a feeling that the subject matter might put a lot of people off, much like with Little Children (which actually held up well in its second weekend despite no expansion… similar to In the Bedroom if I recall.)
I want an answer to EDouglas’ question, too. Where I am “The Queen” is playing only at the two Landmark Theatres in town. I’m too lazy to go there.
Sideways didn’t expand to more than 500 theaters until the week before nominations were announced. I believe The Queen will follow similar route. So far, their release patterns have been very similar.
Well, in concern on Deliver, not many people find the topic of peadophiles that theatrically enticing.
The Queen was playing in a local multiplex where I am, which pleasantly surprised me.