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
Unfortunately I just saw the same thing (I say unfortunately because my wife simply insists on watching Regis and Kelly…and The View…and it makes me want to punch the TV) and it made me think that he was only saying that because people who might want to see the film might think it’s not “good” because it didn’t get an Oscar nom and “little” films like LITTLE CHILDREN, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, LITTLE PAN’S LABYRINTH and so on did get nominated.
I dunno if people really sit at home saying “well, it didn’t get nominated for anything so lets go see something that did” but there is a certain cred that comes with having a nominated movie this time of year.
For movies that people are unsure about, “unsafe” movies I call them, I do think that Oscar nominations help a lot.
The “unsafe” movie for most this year is “Pan’s Labrynth” and “Children of Men”, I’m sure people who were on the fence to see Pan’s will put down the money now. I’m not sure about COM, though I tell every person it’s one of the best sci-fi movies I’ve seen in a long time.
As a film fan, it’s one of the most frustrating things. I give my family, for example, a lot of grief for not seeing certain movies, and they’ll say the usual “looks weird”, “I don’t know anything about it”. Oh well, got to fight the fight.
Keep fighting the good fight, Hopscotch.
I one got into an argument with my father because he asked if I’d seen Patch Adams and I told him I hadn’t and probably wouldn’t. “We go see the movies you recommend, why should we see the ones you say are good?” he asked.
“Because I would never tell you to see Patch Adams for one.”
It leads to some frustration, but its worth it. I’ve gotten family members to see some great stuff they would have missed otherwise. If you can just get one ever once in a while…
My mom sees EVERYTHING and I always tell her, “if you keep paying to see bad movies, they’re going to keep making them.” She doesn’t listen though.
Shoulda heard the conversations when she told me “That movie SHORTBUS looks really cute…”
Thanks for the support,
Some memorable ones for me was when I was being “difficult” because I didn’t want to see Jumanji with the family. Or being accused of acting like a “film snob” because I didn’t like “Peter Pan” (the new one).
It’s not a taste thing per se, but a safety thing. For some if they haven’t heard of the star or anyone involved they just don’t care to see it. Over thanksgiving, everyone HAD to see “Casino Royale”, fair enough. We saw it. We all liked it. A trailer of Pan’s Labrynth preceded it and I could hear the whispers of “what’s that?”, “who’d want to see that”, “are those aliens?”.
But who am I to judge. I don’t control their brains or hearts, they don’t want to see movies which I find fascinating and endearing, I should probably let it go.
My father would always call me to complain about how violent movies were. I finally said to him, “Dad, look at the ad in the paper. If the star is holding a gun and there’s a little box at the bottom with a big R in it, there’s a very good chance it’s going to be violent.” Not sure he ever actually took my advice.
One of my family members shut off Minority Report halfway through because there “were so many weird things they didn’t explain.” When I asked what they were, they were ALL explained in the second half of the movie. Heaven forbid a detective movie have any kind of mystery. I think it was more the weirdness that turned her off really, but oy…..
I watch mainstream movies and anything else I can get my hands on. However, being in Thailand, I only get mainstream movies in the cinema. I have to catch anything else on DVDs, months, sometimes years, after they’re released in the US. You guys in the US are very lucky to get such a wide variety. I envy you.
My dad, when he was working full-time, would never watch anything that wasn’t mainstream and had a cop in it. Since he retired, and got a medical condition where he has to sit in the same spot for two hours getting treatment, he’s started borrowing everything his local library has in their collection. Now he’s constantly emailing me telling me about all the tiny and weird foreign films that he’s enjoying that I haven’t even heard of. It’s very cool.
Not being able to sit thru a movie like MINORITY REPORT says something about the person watching it. Not movies itself. Thats just a lack of patience and that person would probably be better off just watching sitcoms.
Another weird thing is that it is not an intelligence thing (though in some cases sure), but I remember a college friend of mine, who is literally one of the smartest people I’ve met and probably will ever meet. What movies does he like: Jackass, Bond movies and Adam Sandler.
This might set off a bad string, but I do sometimes think it’s a gender thing. Some movies females will just refuse to admit there is any quality to what-so-ever. Men are just as bad. “notes on a scandal” has several oscar nods and gotten great reviews…but I’m still seeing Smokin’ Aces this weekend.
Let me give Notes on a Scandal two thumbs up, it’s really entertaining and not at all a chick flick, if that’s what you’re thinking.
I’ll give your friend the benefit of the doubt, Hopscotch. Maybe he just wants to tune out when he sees a movie. I can understand that. Assuming he’s getting his intellectual fill elsewhere. That’s why I don’t assume some deficiency of character based on movie choices. (Though I knew someone who made sure they had everything starring Chris Kataen and Rob Schneider and I found it hard to connect after I found that out.)
I think there’s an interesting paradox because I definitely think there are people that refuse to watch anything fun so that their rather snobbish adherence to high-tone material is properly broadcast. I like to think of myself as (and prefer talking to others who are) pretty omnivorous when it comes to movies. I love smart and subtle, but I also need big and loud sometimes. I would never give up horror movies even if they are cheesy. So, I’m a little all over the place.
Oh man, my mother loves Patch Adams. I’ve never purposely sat down to watch it, but over the years, I’ve probably seen most of it, and I keep telling her it’s too obvious, and she should be ashamed to be liking it. Oh well. And to think she’s the one who took me to R rated stuff when I was too young to see it on my own – like LA Confidential and Heat.
At least she’s wise enough to acknowledge that Pulp Fiction is a great film, even if she doesn’t care for it when it comes to rewatch value…
I will hopefully see Pan’s Labyrinth for a second time this weekend, and maybe Smokin’ Aces during a matinee.
Patch Adams
HELL for me would be me tied to a chair forced to watch Patch Adams on an endless loop, forced to listen to The FInal COuntdown song on an for eternity with a pint of gelato and william holden(or someone else in my hotness list) in his prime, both just out of reach…forever
I think Patch Adams makes me more mental than Forrest Gump, I don;t know what it is about that movie.
I wish I saw that with Ed Norton. Maybe someone f-ed up somewhere and it will come out shortly so thus he did not know what to say…or only felt half-hearted about the support it got.