May 4, 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” — 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
I was supposed to see Black Snake Moan last night at Chicago’s AMC River East. The power went out and they cancelled the screening. That’s never happened to me before. Anyone else see it yet?
As someone who lives in the rural flyover boondocks, I can get movies only on DVD, so here are my delayed reactions to the films most of you saw six months ago.
“Babel” is a mess. Were we seeing flashforwards during flashbacks? I don’t begrudge the supporting actresses their nominations, but I followed it with “For Your Consideration,” and I wish Catherine O’Hara could have gotten a nod. The woman is just too brilliant for her own good. And the extra 40 minutes of deleted scenes are great.
I was ready to dislike “The Departed,” but I got very involved in it, and I was amazed at how good Mark Wahlberg is. I’m glad he, not Nicholson, got the nomination.
“Marie Antoinette” is horrible. I can understand a Best Costume award, but I wanted to boo each time we switched from Baroque music to modern rock.
Ryan Gosling deserves his Oscar nod for “Half Nelson.”
I was very impressed by “Infamous.” I actually had the reaction of “I’m not watching Sandra Bullock act; I’m watching Harper Lee.” And Daniel Craig was excellent. It’s a shame the movie died such a quick death.
“The Prestige” is good great fun. After watching it, I went to a spoiler site and read a detailed explication of the twists and secrets. I had missed one major point, so I appreciate how clever it is.
I didn’t care for “The Science of Sleep” at all.
To all of you lucky people who live in big cities, enjoy it and please continue to see as many new movies as possible the weekend that they are released, because someday, you might be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to feed the hunger except DVDs.
My fiance and I saw Marie Antoinette in the theater (literally WE are the only people I’ve met to do so) and i bought her the DVD for V-day. And I sat through it a second time.
It’s not a great film, but I did find it fascinating in a really weird way, but it definitely loses steam about 2/3 through. I’ll call it an interesting failure.
The more I think about it the more I think Gosling gave, by far, the best performance of the year. And the more I think Children of Men was just robbed. Let’s hope it wins Cinematography.
What will be the big Surprise win Sunday night?
Abigail Breslin.
I saw Marie Antoinette in a dollar theatre, it’s the most overlong film since Pearl Harbor. It’d be a great short film concept, but it just goes on and on and on, I couldn’t wait for her to lose her head.
But the point that the wealthy ruling class of France were an awful lot like the average teenager today is a very astute one, but it’s too easy to make the comparison of superwealthy young adult of yesteryear to superwealthy teenager of today, so the subtly of the point is lost, imo. Of course teenagers as a cultural concept didn’t exist in the 1700s and certainly not in France, teenagers didn’t really occur in the upper classes until after the industrial revolution, and not in the lower classes until the child labor laws and high school building boom of the 1910s allowed for a large proportion of society of a certain age to be absolved from social responsibilities, cares or worries yet paradoxicaly be in possession of disposable income and vast quantities of idle time.
I was enormously disappointed with Half Nelson. Yet another extremely typical indy film, fraught with the IMPORTANT indy film issues, Little Miss Sunshine, Akeelah and the Bee were so much more interesting in today’s environment of indy films because they’re not exactly like every other indy film. I was tired of Half-Nelson’s sort of filmmaking with You can Count on Me, and we keep getting more of the same, year after year, it’s the same frustration I have with Hollywood Blockbusters all being so similar, just in the opposite direction.
Gray Matters is another film hurt by this. The third act twist (played out in the trailers) that Gray is 100% gay and it’s a black and white either or issue betrays the earlier subtlty of the filmmaking, and the strongest relationship in the film (her and Alan Cumming) and it transforms the film from a charming romantic comedy into an overwrought message movie. The movie opens by pointing out the problems of meeting people in bars, and closes with her satisfying her new gay urges by meeting people in bars, suddenly her new identity is satisfied by meaningless sex rather than the actual relationships she’s craved the entire movie (and we’ve seen and loved with the other four main characters), it’s as big a betrayal of character development as I’ve seen; all to make a typical indy message movie point that ‘it’s okay to be gay.’
Hopscotch, I’ve been seeing that as the sympathy vote for LMS after it gets passed up to Babel on picture and screenplay and Departed takes director, editing and screenplay. How strongly do the actors feel about Hudson’s acting anyway?
Adorian,
The funny thing about living in a city is, you often wind up too busy to see the films you’ve waited so long for. For instance, I still haven’t made it to Inland Empire or even Children of Men. Anybody else have this problem?
(Wait, I’m talking to a crowd that stays glued to this blog all day. Obviously, time is not an issue for most of you.)
Stella,
I saw Black Snake Moan at a preview screening Monday night. My first impressions were that it was a tad overlong, but otherwise fanastic.
A truly original piece of work that is humorous without being trite and serious about its subject matter with banging the viewer over the head with its message (and it definitely has a message).
Some people are calling it a romantic comedy. I disagree. I think that misses the point of the film and even trivializes it. Perhaps it will be an easier sell that way. Kind of like selling Bridge to Terabithia (another great film) like Narnia, which it is not.
Jackson is genuinely compelling in a role that could have, oh so easily, veered into mockery and parody but it does not. You are on the character’s side until the end and even though his method may be unsound his motivation always is.
Ricci is sexy but also vulnerable and human in a role that could have veered to exploitation. It does not.
Timberlake also acquits himself with dignity and while he can still seem a tad wooden, he certainly does not embarrass himself.
The blues music is superb and there is one scene where Sam plugs in his electric guitar on a dark stormy night and explains the title, that is riveting. Pure cinema.
See this film in a theatre with great sound and a big screen.
One of the best I’ve seen in a while and better than any of the Oscar nominees these year. It is deliciously politically incorrect and feels more genuine than many films.
The filmmakers obviously had great affection for the characters and do not mock them. Great follow up to Hustle and Flow even if it does not have a wide audience. Will definitely have a cult following on DVD.
No Frank, but thanks for asking.
Thanks Nicol. I wasn’t looking forward to it at all but now I wish the power hadn’t gone out.
Anyone seeing Reno 911 tomorrow?
ThinkFilm will be releasing Tony Kaye’s Lake of Fire. Limited release in October.
I saw Marie this weekend, too. I didn’t think it was that bad, it was just that afterward I realized that as a historical figure, if you take away all the propaganda and try to cast her in a sympathetic light, there is really no meat to her story whatsoever. She was born, she partied, she eventually had a kid and then the mob killed her.
Then I watched Brick again (man, I love that movie) and was blown away when I heard the director say in his commentary that he made that movie for $500,000. Can’t wait to see his new one, Brothers Bloom, next year.
Marie Antoinette lost steam about two thirds through because the story that Coppola was telling was over. The relationship was consummated.
The historical and social context is intrusive in the final third because Coppola had resolutely settled on a story to which that context was irrelevant. Maybe, when it came time to find an ending, she lacked the courage of her convictions.
It was disappointing for that reason, but the movie still gave me more to think about than most others I saw last year.
I saw BSM as well. Ridiculous (the critics will not be kind) but also very entertaining. Brewer is a real talent. Jackson is great and the music alone makes it worth seeing.
(SPOILER WARNING!!!! – added by DP)
Brewer loses his boner in BSM when Samuel L. Jackson’s “cure” actually starts having an effect on Christina Ricci. A chaste Ricci is clearly not what this film is interested in, and things get decidedly limp.
Recapitulating the film’s basic premise is a spoiler?