From Left to Right – Critic/Film Editor of the LA Weekly and Variety contributor Scott Foundas, Columnist/Blogger for Variety, Anne Thompson, and The Geek Culture Artist Formerly Known As Mr Beaks, Jeremy Smith.
Part I – Cannes & The Future Of Festivals
Part II – The Summer Movies
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movieman on: Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
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movieman on: Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
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movieman on: BYOB Fall Back, Film Forward
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Review: Little Women (no spoilers)
Why You Should Be Afraid Of The End Of The Paramount Decree
Review: Frozen 2 (spoiler-free)
Review: Marriage Story (spoilers only in the broadest sense)
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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
So if I were to call Smith and Foundas the film journalistreviewercritic equivalents of Bay and Ratner (which given their taste they would appear to be) that wouldn’t be an insult to them?
And let me say again how much I love the level-headed, good nature that is Anne Thompson.
Hey, Jeremy… so did David buy lunch or did you all go dutch? 🙂
Anyone notice how Poland prefers to make jokes and mock while Foundas, Thompson, and Smith are trying to more or less carry a serious conversation? Smith tries to make a serious, thoughtful case for Eli Roth, but Poland prefers to make jokes about his cum. MS. Thompson has to act as schoolmarm and make light of Poland’s crassness. It would be nice if Mr. Poland would try to engage the whole Hostel 2 debate seriously. Seeing the movie in the proper setting would be nice, too.
I kinda like seeing Dave display a sense of humor…it doesn’t always come through in his writings as well as it does in person.
We ditched, Ed. Who charges $16.00 a cookie?
Let’s not forget, Scott gave us Luke. I take everything he says with a grain of salt.
T. Holly, please elaborate.
I have to say, I don’t think Jeremy got as much face time as I would have liked… Scott and I did overwhelm at times…
“I have to say, I don’t think Jeremy got as much face time as I would have liked… Scott and I did overwhelm at times…”
I attributed that to Jeremy’s being so laid back and happy to listen more than interject. It wasn’t like watching Eleanor Clift squeaking for a word in edgewise on “The McLaughlin Group”.
True.
And shows like McLaughlin are set up for people to have their bits, often prewritten. We really could have done another 20 minutes once we got to the summer stuff and I would have been better able to do my job as a host and made space for Jeremy and Anne, who both have a lot more to say. It’s my first roundtable in this format, so there is a lot for me to learn about navigating.
The vid’s still more entertaining than anything I’ve seen on “On the Lot”.
Had I attended Cannes, I would’ve had a little more to say in the early going. But I thought David did a fine job moderating.
Thank you, Jeremy. Very kind.
just to point something out to jimmy the gent, the guy on the left that monopolizes most of the conversation was talking about the original ‘hostel’ NOT ‘hostel II’ (i double checked so as not to be drawn and quartered for posting an innacuracy by certain bloggers) and there is a big, big difference between the two films (even tho they’re both shite)
There’s not that much difference. Hostel 1 has a more streamlined story structure, but it’s more visually crude; also it’s less thematically complicated; you could say Hostel 2 is more rich.
But who wants to get into all that again.
did you just say ‘there’s not much difference’, as if correcting me with the facts? … you did indeed, i’ll be damned!
saying hostel II is thematically complicated is like saying george w. is the national spelling bee champ: laughable.
I assume that by the “bigger” alt weekly in Seattle you mean us. Just to clarify: When we quote reviews from the trades and the New York Times, that means SIFF wasn’t able to get us screeners before our print deadline, not that we didn’t have the time to see those films. (Unless by “time” you mean “time to attend all the big festivals and see all 405 features ahead of time.”)
–Annie Wagner (film editor, The Stranger)
Leahnz: Have you seen both movies?
Let’s not forget, Scott gave us Luke. I take everything he says with a grain of salt.
LOL. In fairness, so as not to sully Scott’s good name, I should probably clarify that he had nothing to do with hiring me.
He has been one of my favorite editors, though.
That Jeremy is sexy.
The kid’s all right, Devin. LOL, Luke, the movie editor didn’t hire you? Spin your story for us, so someone else doesn’t.
jeffmcm, unfortunately yes i have, back to back no less, as i wanted to see what all the fuss was about; i watched them with a friend in the film business here in nz, he has both on dvd and was familiar with the recent controversy surrounding ‘hostel II’ so we decided to give it a go (he gets given loads dvds and watches hardly any of them, he hadn’t seen either film previously; obviously his copy of ‘hostel II’ is not legit as it hasn’t even opened in the cinema here yet, so i don’t really want to say anything more about that, i know nothing).
T. Holly, no-one at LA Weekly hired me. I was hired by New Times in 1999. The NT merger with Village Voice brought me into the Weekly.
I don’t think Scott’s ashamed or anything, but I figured I’d keep his good name clear.
Thanks for the clarification, AW.
First thing I do when landing my hotel in Seattle is to pick up The Stranger and start looking for advice on selections.
Not the Seattle New Times Weekly, got it. New Times Luke, thanks, I’m going to read your award winning article if it kills me. Did Nikki pick up her award in person? She’s only like 54, I thought she was like 70. She and Dave go way back.
Nikki did not attend, alas. I do know a couple of editors who claim to have seen her person once.