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
Sorry… There is some mistake in Klady’s box office chart….
“Exiled” opened in two theaters(Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Angelika Film Center), not one theaters…
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/movies/mlistings/m57127.htm
I don’t really understand box office analysis…
and I don’t know if it means anything…
and I am probably just cheerleading because I love the film…
but Stardust seems to be holding pretty well. Having forced a bunch of people to go see it (all of whom liked it quite a bit), maybe word-of-mouth is helping this little film out.
Stardust is holding about as well as any other late summer movie. It really doesn’t matter in terms of its final gross…as Cyrano Jones would say, “Twice nothing is still nothing.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have $35 million than $30 million. It’ll find its audience on video.
Well, $30 is only about half of its budget. Though, didn’t Dave say something about it being made for overseas markets and dumped in the U.S.?
That’s my understanding.
It was certainly underpublicized.
Ratatouille crossed the $200 million mark!!!! I am certainly celebrating the occasion. As for the remark that Stardust is made for international audiences, I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen a single ads for it in Thailand. It does have a release date, October 4th.
For the remark that Stardust is made for international audiences, I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen a single ads for it in Thailand. It does have a release date, October 4th.
Wasn’t the word on Halloween a $20mil opening? What with the odd release date and the fact that horror films have been dying brutal (one might say, tortorous) deaths at the box office.
On the contrary, late August is a traditional time to release a horror movie to a relatively big opening. Halloween is opening to a bigger number than comparable movies from the last few years (the two Jeepers Creepers, Wicker Man) which is a sign of the franchise name and of an underserved audience.
Early or mid-summer is when you release horror movies to poor openings, as we saw this year.
“And yes, for those who seem to think that my earlier comments were equal to a nuclear disaster of some kind, it is clear that The Bourne Ultimatum, which continues to hold remarkably well, is going to hit $200 million, getting to about $198 million by Monday night.”
Thin skin much? I had already explained to you that my comment was meant only to point out that the film was holding better than most had thought it would, including you. Now get over it.
Btw, according to BOM 3-day estimates, it will have 199.6m as of Sunday night. It’s looking like it’ll hit 220-230 by the end of the run.
Ployp: ditto on the happiness for Ratatouille hitting 200m! Brilliant and deserving film.
I just can’t help but think that if they released Halloween closer to, oh let’s say, Halloween it could have done even better. Perhaps even knocked Saw 4 down a peg or two.