April 19, 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
Wow, that is kinda sad. Shouldn’t his movie at least make the independent circuit?
I saw this some time ago and was truly shocked at how shoddy it all is. It appears to be a film made underwater in a foreign country where Pacino didn’t understand the script and was working off direction from the makeup woman. Please see it if you get the chance. Its fascinating in the way that you think it’ll be one of those mediocre thrillers that gets by thru the sheer force of Pacino’s charisma. Unfortunately the decision to make this turkey into a real time thriller just escalates the usual whodunnit inanities inherent in the genre into monumental ‘WFT?’ moments.
Didn’t People I Know go straight to DVD as well? I saw 88 Minutes and I thought it was one of the strangest films I’ve ever seen because it’s like this mediocre DOA remake, except Al Pacino is in it acting all Pacioesque.
People I Know got a week or so of release on a couple of screens in NYC.
I had heard that this was due more to legal issues than any artistic deficiency.
Certainly Al Pacino still has a great box office draw and I know some people who have enjoyed this film for what it is in the regions that it has already been released.
Is Dave actually saying it is going straight-to-dvd or just that the poster looks like a straight-to-dvd design?
People I Know was bad if I remember correctly. But, truthfully, I don’t remember much about that movie except that it had Pacino, Tea Leoni and Kim Basinger.
The film has been completed for quite a while and has no US theatrical distributor.
I’m assuming Ocean’s 13 will re-establish Pacino as a box office viable individual.
one can start a debate on his last good performance.
I vote Insomnia as his last good one, Donnie Brasco as his last amazing one. AND, Two for the Money as a reason he should be forced into retirement.
Pacino didn’t bother me in Two for the Money, probably because most of his scenes are with McConaughey.
“Brandon Lang still lives with his MOMMY! You gotta be…. JOHN ANTHONY!!!!”
“I don’t want your money…. I WANT YOUR BOOKIE’S MONEY!!!!!”
“THE MILLION DOLLAR MAN WITH THE BILLION-DOLLAR PLAN!!!!!”
It astonishes me that people don’t see the genius of TWO FOR THE MONEY. It’s so endlessly entertaining, both an a real and an ironic level. That scene where McC gets the gamblin’ fever and is all sweaty and flipping coins on the bathroom floor is worth the price of admission alone.
Okay, I sorta wanna see Two for the Money now. The video store put Casino Royale discs in my Children of Men box so I haven’t go back there tomorrow anyway…
For what it’s worth, the deplorable PEOPLE I KNOW also played in L.A. I know. I actually paid to see it. I figured, WTF, it’s Al. Unfortunately bad Al of CITY HALL and yes, SCENT OF A WOMAN. Not good Al as in INSOMNIA and GLENGARRY GLENN ROSS.
It was just a matter of time for Al. Hes been doing so much schlock the past 10 years it was bound to happen. Check out his resume post 1995. Its tragic.
I know it
Al was great in ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, good call. And of course INSOMNIA, great film, better than the original IMO.
For Pacino, now would be the perfect time to stop taking those big money for bad movie deals and actually do a couple smaller pictures where he could actually do some good work.
TWO FOR THE MONEY was just horrendous, a terrible film that’s title says it all….
God I hated Any Given Sunday. Could not wait for that crap to end.
God I hated Any Given Sunday. Could not wait for that crap to end.
Sure, but Al was great.
With Ocean’s 13, Pacino looks to finally be trying to plug the gaps between small dramatic roles with straight comedy — i.e. taking the path Nicholson, De Niro, and Hoffman went down a while back — rather than crappy crime dramas. Let’s hope it works for him… I don’t want to see Al go away.