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
Yes. And I know which show(s) you are referring to.
Sounds like Daniel Craig and Eva Green to me…
Yeah G4 is pretty rancid these days. Tech TV just a few years ago was a worthwhile channel, with lots of informative programming. The Screensavers show was especially good. However TechTV did a slow downward slide that accelerated a great deal when they merged with G4. Now it’s all video games, movies, and syndicated geek dramas. The only onair personalities that have survived the transition are the hosts of X-Play. The B-Cup brunette I imagine is Olivia Munn… she’s hot but I’ve seen less vacant stares at McDonalds.
Their names are Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, and I think the sub they have from time to time is Blair… Butler, I want to say. Hey, I’m a dork with dork interests, and I occasionally watch to see what’s out since with a full-time job and stuff, I don’t have time to be obsessive and on top of anything anymore.
And yes, this is pretty much a lot of video game culture and what the network tries to cater to right now. I literally read a review of “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” by someone who’s in their target group that basically read off about a PAGE of things that were horrible about the movie, but that it was okay because Milla Jovovich’s outfit was hot, so it was a good movie. They also have a show called “Attack of the Show” which features a boxom babe and geeky-looking guy. That’s more of their attempt at a news show. However, I, who have sat through Gods and Generals, can’t last 15 minutes through that dreck. And ironically, they have a segment called “The Feed” hosted by someone who needs to EAT SOMETHING!
But the biggest failure is they’re trying to simultaneously cater to “cool” people who only play Madden and Halo and the more geeky fans. So, they’ll give huge compliments to geeky games and franschises, but then insult the people who like them. (“This game is fantastic, a 5 out of 5, but God, you’re a loser if you’re a fan of it!” Only said with more sarcasm, irony, and random factoids). Just because they have self-depreciating humor doesn’t make it all better. The saddest thing is their attempts at “pushing the edge” with humor and usually amount to rape jokes. Your Breakfast Club sketch getting tired? Throw in a monologue about one of the characters getting raped and have everyone laugh at it at the end a la the end of an 80’s sitcom. Your parody of Saw is out of ideas? Throw in a dolphin raping joke. And so on.
Welcome to the world of TV watching when you have to wake up so early and the morning Sportscenters aren’t even running yet. It’s either this, or listen to some pyramid schemes about how you can be RICH working part-time from home on your computer. Sometimes, it’s VERY tempting to switch over to them.
When they were TechTV, they had some nice shows on that both boy & girl geeks could appreciate. Michaela Periera, now on KTLA’s morning news here in LA, used to be a news anchor there.
Since it’s been G4, it’s totally descended into a shameless pander for young male eyes, which is sad.
I still miss The Screensavers, from the Leo & Kevin days š Podcasts aren’t quite the same.
I gotta take a moment and defend Morgan and Adam.
Both were with Tech TV before they were bought out by G4. Both have been in the business for awhile.
Morgan Webb happens to be a real gamer. She is quite an attractive talent. I worked on a pilot that was designed to be a news/review show for videogames; which is exactly what X-Play is. Trying to find an attractive female on camera talent that is a real gamer was quite the challenge (This was 1998, however the times are a changing with today’s youth).
Adam is also as real a gamer as it gets and knows the industry quite well.
Both are very cool people personally and professionally and again, were with TechTv before the merger.
The real story is; imagine the most abrasive; annoying; jock-head, alchoholic, so think they’re cool that they’re actually square – FRAT boy mentality you can think of…multiply it times 100 and that would give you an idea of the out of touch, frat boy dickhead producers running this network. Also they are cheap and underpay their talents.
Yes, all faults of the disconnected – lowbrow content can be laid on the producers of these shows.
But the talents themselves? Morgan Webb, Adam Sessler and Kevin Perira are all real gamers. The rest, are the frat boys trying to sex up G4 into a lamer version of Spike TV.
The sad thing they don’t realize is, the average gamer is much more high culture than low culture.