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
Disney has been on a roll since Chicken Little in late 2005. Helps those of use long DIS stock as the alwasy feared tough comparisons aren’t turning out be trouble so far.
On a different subject, anybody hearing anythign aobut Reign Over Me? It looks sort of interesting. And who knew that Adam Sandler could look so much like a young Bob Dylan!
god there are so few good movies in that top ten it seems (seen 7/10).
I chose to skip an invite to Wild Hogs tonight since I am/was a bike-owner/rider and the trailer made me cringe…I rather see Torque again (well not really, even though the leathers were nice)
AND
I really wanted to see Fatty (Tyra) on her show tonight having missed it earlier in the week…I think Jail…I mean Jael, can win it if she gets some PMA and stays away from that viper Renee.
good for Terebithia & Ghost Rider was silly (because Cage was a block of wood) but I like comic stuff. Could they both hit 100M?
Getting excited about Iron Man with Jeff Bridges (yay!) + Robt Downey jr…
Ugh, Wild Hogs sounds repulsive. Parents are taking kids to that movie?
Shame about Black Snake Moan.
Yeah, if I had kids I’d really want them to see William Macy’s butt and learn how to be homophobic from Disney.
Pan’s Labyrinth hit one last milestone, overtaking Amelie in box office, to trail only Crouching Tiger, Hero and Life is Beautiful amongst foreign language films. (not counting Gibson’s) Amazing run for a foreign language fantasy horror.
And it IS a shame about Black Snake Moan. Three times as many people were willing to sit through a 3 hour seriel killer movie….
GHOST RIDER should hit $100 mill this weekend; BRIDGE is looking to end up more like 80.
REIGN OVER ME is sort of the 9/11 version of FISHER KING: Sandler went nuts after losing his family in the attack; Cheadle is an old college buddy who tries to bring him back to normalcy.
“And it IS a shame about Black Snake Moan. Three times as many people were willing to sit through a 3 hour seriel killer movie….”
Possibly because Zodiac is a better movie? Just a thought.
Nobody knew if it was going to be better when they bought their tickets to Zodiac (although it does have a better pedigree than BSM).
“And it IS a shame about Black Snake Moan. Three times as many people were willing to sit through a 3 hour seriel killer movie….”
sorry for choosing a 2 hour 40 minutes serial killer movie (dont know what 3 hour seriel killer movie is playing now) over the sexploitation of BSM. however, if you ever give me a choice between a new Craig Brewer movie, and a new David Fincher movie, one of those guys is gonna get my vote every time.
i think its more of a shame Wild Hogs was made and delivered so well financially. Here’s to Wild Hogs 2: Hog Heaven
The Oscar bumps are pretty much inconsequential.
“The Lives of Others” hit the national top 20 thanks to its Oscar win.
I’d love to see the AMC and Regal megaplexes near me pick up “The Lives of Others” this week. Unfortunately the US distrib is Sony Pictures Classics, which has a half-fast attitude toward putting its films in megaplexes.
teehee “half-fast”.
Eh, Zodiac was well done but dreadfully boring. BSM was just mis-marketed…great movie.
And I loved The Lives of Others.