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
You can get away with this, but first you should be plugged with Nicholson’s dildo and Sacha’s at the same time in both your ends, north and south.
Aww… no love for Abbie Cornish? I’d be very happy to see her nude in every movie.
Gretchen = Petite? Huh.. did you even see her in the movie Dave? I think you meant big ol hairy 60s style instead of petite right?
Alliance of Women Film Journalists.. is that like the book of Polish geniuses?
Nice, you got a swipe at two of society’s most hated groups in a single post!
Geniuses and women, sure, but who hates Poles?
Uh oh… I just realized that David used the V-word again…
::waiting for potty-mouthed female Oscar prognosticator to say something:: 🙂
No love for Jackass Number Two? I’d give it a slight edge over Borat for jaw-dropping, WTF-type nudity. Both made me laugh and drop my jaw, but Jackass more so.
Fur would have been a better choice than Borat.
Ed, you crack me up. LOLOLOL. Yeah, okay, he SAID IT! HE SAID IT AGAIN! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Okay, Dave, seriously. I love that they singled out Borat for the nudity – I guess a mouthful of a very large man’s ball sack qualifies as “best” in show? I love the dames and am glad to see them making themselves known. There are too few of us out here. Laura, I’m coming for YOU, girl!
So OMG — how gross can DP be in one post? Why must he always go out of his way to diss poor Rinko Kikuchi and her business? Kate Winslet is a hottie, two kids and she still looks great.
So I guess I gotta ask it cause you’re all thinking it…what’s with the woman-hating? Do you only like them when they’re built like teenage boys?
Woman hating? Where? Talk about projection Bipedalist..
When some feminazi niche group pops up with a ridiculous award category, it’s time for some cromag to hurl some muck in their general direction. It is the way of the world.
Jesus – need I say more?
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS OR ACTOR IN SUPPORT OF A FEMALE PROTAGONIST OR FEMALE PERSPECTIVE
You think these women are feminazis? Poland isn’t hurling anything in their direction – He’s looking at their choices in a negative light, shall we say:
“So, is it Rinko’s vagina, Sacha’s hairy ass, Kate’s parentally matured breasts, Gretchen’s petite magnificence, or Maggie hanging all out?”
And must he keep saying VAGINA??!!!! Cunt, pussy, crotch, business – all are preferable to vagina, unless you’re Jeff or Maude Lebowski.
Nudity was used very well in babel, AND Little Children.
But the best use of sex in a film in a year of practically none of it (why is that?) is The Lives of Others.
Anyway you got it wrong. It should be:
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS OR ACTOR THAT IS PLEASING TO MAKING OUR ERECTIONS SPRING TO LIFE
Don’t even say it. Penelope Cruz. I know.
How is The Departed nominated for best picture by this group? There’s only one notable female role in the whole movie.
“THE HANGING IN THERE FOR THE BEST PERSISTENCE”
What does that even mean?
How’d you know about the Cruz fixation? it goes way back so sue me… i must admit when I see Dave write like that and then hear him speak (when iClitz works) I get images of someone alone in a room, huffing on an inhaler, cut out images of models on all the walls, its dark, a lone lightbulb is flickering and the lone figure appears to be a sweaty fijian wrestler rubbing his puffin furiously….
I’ll never understand Poland’s obsession with “Rinko’s vagina.” He keeps bringing it up, like Babel’s nudity is some sort of grand 2006 pop culture moment.
Don’t get me wrong, Babel’s wizard’s sleeve was very nice, but not *that* nice.
How do I get blamed for bringing Rinko’s labia up???? I am QUOTING this group.
And for the record, I find no current actress sexier than Ms. Winslet, except perhaps for Ms. Lane.
This is obviously a very touchy subject, but I must say that JBD is more than a little misogynist here. I know of no reason to call this group ‘feminazis’ or to call their award ‘ridiculous’ when it is in fact for a very good purpose.
I got the impression DP was supporting their choice to recognize that nudity in film exists. Also, bipedalist, are you seriously against the word “vagina”, or did I miss a joke. You do realise that, like penis, that is the correct anatomical term? In what possible world is c*** preferable?
I actually agree with Jeff on this count. Sure, some of their categories are strange, but I’d rather see an organisation such as this that seems to have a purpose outside of Oscar predicting, and that actually has a voice that they wish to get out there.
Plus, they seem like they’re having fun. They have a “Hall of Shame” and they have categories for nudity and “most in need of a new agent”. They seem like they’re doing an awards ceremony for the fun of it, and that’s good to see. Not all awards are about looking into a crystal ball to see what Oscar is going to say.
It should be noted that they have a category for best screenplay by a woman (I didn’t know they were all written by women), but none for direction (although the “The Hanging In There For The Best Persistence” category seems to be the next best thing.). And if nothing else, this just further stamps women in the world of documentaries.
I wonder why they single out screenplay as one of the few awards that is solely intended to go to a woman. How about “Best screenplay by a woman or dealing with themes relating to women” like in many of the other categories?
Are they implying that only women can write a relevant script dealing with women?
It’s not the same for men. Penis, dick, cock, etc. aren’t as dirty of words. Anyway, vagina just sounds so clinical. He should say Rinko’s business. It’s funnier.
How do I know about the Cruz fixation? Lucky guess. I did not know about the Diane Lane fixation, however. No takers on the Rinko fixation?
At first glance, these awards might seem like a step in the right direction; but one quick glance at the website proper proves we have a long way to go.
First off, there are countless references to the word “women” which only fosters a subtextual reliance on patriarchal norms and assunptions in our phallocentric society. Could the more proper and appropriate ‘womyn’ not have been included instead?
Similarly, what of the semiotic implications for usage of the misogynistic term ‘actress’; another word that only furthers the capitalist, post-colonialist exploitation of class and gender in Hollywood and society at large.
Were generations of ‘actresses’ not exploited for profit by an imperialist corporate patriarchal structure that sought to define ‘women’ only in terms of the male gaze?
The nominations are equally distressful. The inclusion of Kate Winslet seems to imply a woman can by sexual even after birth; but upon closer inspection it only furthers the slave-like condition that womyn are little more than ‘baby machines’ and seeks to lull them into a dichotomy with themselves in that hetero-normative societal role.
If I have to tell you what is wrong with the inclusion of Gretchen Mol you are a dupe to the patriarchal, capitalist, Judeo-Christian power structure.
The only glimmer of hope is the inclusion of Borat. By including male nudity amongst the womyn, these awards can make a point about nature vs. nurture and the hetero-normative gender assumptions that plague all of us.
Hopefully, enough men will see Borat’s nudity and feel comforatable in being as equaliy aroused by him as the more patriarchally convential, Ms. Winslet and Ms. Mol.
Disclaimer: Speaking as an individual here and not representing AWFJ …
Personally, I have to agree that the term “vagina” is a little clinical. I prefer “hoo-hoo” myself. 🙂
As for the “feminazi” statement above, I’ll just let that stand as more representative of the person alleging that about the AWFJs members than about the members themselves.
I’m more interested in this statement, myself:
“The inclusion of Kate Winslet seems to imply a woman can by sexual even after birth; but upon closer inspection it only furthers the slave-like condition that womyn are little more than ‘baby machines’ and seeks to lull them into a dichotomy with themselves in that hetero-normative societal role.”
WTF? Okay, Nicol. Here’s my issue with this — and I say this as both a mother and a feminist (though not a feminazi – hah). This absurd academic feminist notion that having children somehow makes women nothing more than baby-machines — and that the inclusion of Winslet’s nudity in the noms has ANYTHING to do with her having had children — is just patently absurd.
When feminists reduce motherhood to nothing more than women being “baby machines,” you are contributing to the misogynistic bullshit that you seek to eliminate. Women should embrace and support each other for their choice — including the choice to have children — not attack each other, and I grow weary of the feminist guard slamming motherhood.
What makes Kate Winslet’s performance in Little Children so stunning is how well she captures the plight of many professional women who struggle to balance the societal messages about what good motherhood means with their own desire to retain their intellectual spark and individuality. It’s hard, sister, and women — or womyn, if you prefer (although I always hated that spelling myself) — need to back each other up.
Winslet is gorgeous, not because she is or isn’t a mother, but because she embraces and accepts her body as it is, and because she refuses to accept the airbrushed, super-skinny view of attractive feminity.
And lastly — personally, I always thought the Oscars should have a nudity category, it would really liven up the otherwise tiresome back-patting seriousness of the event. We’re so freaking uptight about the naked body here in the US, it’s pathetic. I was thrilled to see the AWFJ step up to the plate and have this category.
And where’s Shortbus?
Nicol, this is why I thought you were a college sophomore when you first started posting.
Some of my best fucks are women.
But seriously folks – can some of you even read between the lines? Bah humbug.
“Winslet is gorgeous, not because she is or isn’t a mother, but because she embraces and accepts her body as it is, and because she refuses to accept the airbrushed, super-skinny view of attractive feminity.
And lastly — personally, I always thought the Oscars should have a nudity category, it would really liven up the otherwise tiresome back-patting seriousness of the event. We’re so freaking uptight about the naked body here in the US, it’s pathetic. I was thrilled to see the AWFJ step up to the plate and have this category.”
You said it. My god, what an intelligent, insightful comment. I agree (well, not sure about Borat – not that I had a problem with the nudity but just that it wasn’t particularly interesting). I was wondering why I couldn’t think of a single American movie with lots of great sex – you know, like Donald Sutherland/Julie Christie in Don’t Look Now sex, like Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty in Reds sex, or even like Jamie Lee Curtis and John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda sex. It just didn’t happen this year in any way. Little Children, The Lives of Others were a couple of exceptions. But hey, the Euros are wiping up the floor with us in so many ways. They have never been prude about sex or nudity.
“Winslet is gorgeous, not because she is or isn’t a mother, but because she embraces and accepts her body as it is, and because she refuses to accept the airbrushed, super-skinny view of attractive feminity. ”
No no no no no!
By allowing herself to appear on magazine covers where she knows she will be airbrushed, she is allowing the imperialist patriarchal machine to replicate itself. Hmmmm…RepliKATE…perhaps she is inherently a part of the patriarchal power structure that she says she abhors.
This dichotomy, in confusing young girls (ie. persons of the female gender under age 5) and womyn (persons of female gender over age 5) actually allows the oppressive, Euro-centric, capitalist, Judeo-Christian patriarchal regime to exist.
If Winslet wanted to embrace true feminist ideals, she would cease to make American films, which themselves are part of the post colonialist communication system that allows America to control and continue to globalize the world with its patriarchal, objectified exploitation of ‘other’.
By allowing herself to be objectified by the male gaze, she remains a cog in the anti-homo-hetero-normative-post-imperialist-patriarchal- machine.
Read your Foucault!
Yeah, but by ceasing to make American films she would be perpetuating the submissively silent female stereotypes that she is against. So by engaging in the post colonial, post imperialist, globalized, patriarchal, religio-military corporate suburban conservative powers, she is clearly attempting to co-opt their machinery. = )
Nicol, what are you more offended by: the fact that there is a journalism group composed of women? Or the notion that sex and nudity should be taken seriously and commended when appropriate?
I want to point out that on the website for this group, there is no sign whatsoever of the jargony faux-academic liberal-speak that you’re mocking above.
Nicol, seriously. Step away from your Womyn’s Studies classes and live in the real world a while.
“post colonialist communication system”?
“anti-homo-hetero-normative-post-imperialist-patriarchal- machine”???
You’re joking, right?
See, this kind of nonsense is why men don’t take intelligent women seriously, and why women with feminist ideals who are also grounded in the real world get painted with the same “feminazi” brush as the academic feminists in their ivory vaginal towers. God almighty.
In one breath you rage against the “oppressive, Euro-centric, capitalist, Judeo-Christian patriarchal regime” and in the next you bitch because she makes American films. She can’t win for losing with you, I guess, unless she shaves off her hair into a butch-cut, wears men’s clothing to disguise those dastardly womanly curves, and then only stars in films made — I don’t know, whatever feminist lesbian movie Utopia you seem to think exists somewhere. Maybe the Middle East, I hear they don’t oppress their womenfolk over there much at all.
There is value, Nicol, in women (yes, like Winslet — and for the record, I would include Angelina Jolie here as well) embracing both their intelligence and sexuality, and, in particular, with women owning their bodies and their sexuality. And that is, in part, the value of a group of female film journalists recognizing positive explorations of sex and nudity in film — to own it, to say, “it’s okay to have sex, it’s okay to be naked, it’s okay to show sex in a positive way.”
Sex is not inherently misogynistic. Showing female bodies is not inherently misogynistic. All men, Nicol, in spite of what they’re teaching you in whatever feminist studies classes you’re regurgitating here, are not raging misogynistic assholes, nor are all American films a part of some oppressive patriarchal machine. Please stop generalizing.
God. I need to go suck down a capitialistic, patriarchal, post-imperialist Starbucks double tall latte now, to wash the taste of all this rancid feminist academia out of my mouth.
And palmtree? Right on. That’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
Wait a sec… am I being accused of being obsessed with Penelope by the woman who said The Academy would nominate her to look at her boobs?
No one is accusing you of anything. Except being gross about the word ‘vagina’ every five seconds. AMPAS nominating Cruz or whatever purty girl has little to do with this group of women celebrating the treatment of nudity and sexuality in film. The Academy is dominated by white, straight males. They tend to pick women they’d most like to fuck. It hasn’t really changed much in the many decades they’ve been doing this but for one or two per category every year. We know it’s not the same for the men folk. Being pretty doesn’t help you because the white, straight male Academy members secretly want you, alpha boy, out of the way so that they can fuck said nominated actresses.
That was a mouthful. And it’s Tom O’Neil’s theory; I can’t steal it. Read your Foucault!
But Tom is brain damaged. And you are not.
They both sounded sane and smart on the Podcast to me. Close the circle and plug your man pussy and pussy mouth with Nicholson’s and Sacha’s dildos. “Keypusher” thinks, “this is a very good site with intelligent, knowledgeable commentators — all of you, even the ones I disagree with. Maybe you could be nicer to each other?” I love that, but not in a million years — just wait til JBD starts slamming down some Yiddish, then you’ll really have a laugh.
“I prefer “hoo-hoo” myself. :-)”
Va-jay-jay it totally the it word right now.
You folks realize Nicol is parodying academic feminism, right?
^^^Yup.
*goes back to reading Foucault…*
jeffrey’s Dr is just kidding. Or else his wife is picking on him extra.
Nicol is trying to overstate in attempt to try to undermine the opposite of his beliefs, which has never worked for him, and it is still not working. at least I’m not buying it.
don’t know What is up with the feminine body parts word usage. Maybe some people need a Thesaurus for naughty words so the blog is more safe for work, even though I don;t look at it there.
So the Academy wants to fuck Judi Dench? What about Imelda Staunton? Was that just another attempt to get some nice ass out there on the carpet? And who actiually takes Tom O’Neill seriously?
“goes back to reading Foucault…”
Foucault is so 1988.
“Also, bipedalist, are you seriously against the word “vagina”, or did I miss a joke. You do realise that, like penis, that is the correct anatomical term? In what possible world is c*** preferable?”
Actually, I do believe at least here in Los Angeles, it’s a city ordinance that you can’t say the word “vagina”. Section 3G, Paragraph C, Ordinance no. 7744351CV (or something like that)
Beverly Hills has even stricter rules on the matter. There is no ordinance against display, in fact I think you get a tax break or key to the city if it’s photographed by paparazzi.
The best term I’ve heard for a lady’s sweet spot is: (and I posted this story once on Hollywood Elsewhere, so apologies to any that might have read it already. But it’s fitting)
I was taking one of the girls in my stable to LAX. She is gorgeous, Jewish, and a bit of a stoner. While in the car, she expertly stuffed a bag of weed down her pants to smuggle on the flight.
As she zipped back up her expensive ass jeans, she pats her crotch and smiles at me and says
“Perfect. Right there on the COOKIE.”
I totally stole that term, and now everytime I use the term “cookie” when I’m having my playtime fun with a girl, I get the best responses.
Ladies (and Nicol) feel free to apropriate.
I’ve always preferred Cathy Moriarty’s term from SOAPDISH–“Mr. Fuzzy”–though it’s a bit archaic in these days when Britney and Lindsay have become the No-Bush twins.
THX, I’m definitely going to use that one!
This discussion reminds me of that line from Amelie: “No one likes fur pie.”
Didn’t Cathy Moriarty turn out to have a penis in that film?
Gives new meaning to the phrase, “Where Mama hides the cookie(s).”