A long and rewarding day today, but when I hit the homefront, a bevy of pleasures was waiting for me.
In one envelope, the Blu-ray of Superbad… a film that I felt would be cool enough from early on to go out and make a unique purchase…
But first
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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
Was that obnoxious junket interview the one with Edgar Wright as the interviewer? That one was pretty neat.
David, wasn’t it you that said HD/Blu-ray home discs were already obsolete? 😉
Exactly why I’m not on the download bandwagon. Not only will downloads not maintain the quality of disks due to file size, you can kiss the extras goodbye…
Ummm… that “obnoxious guy” is Edgar Wright, director of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, Dave, and Jonah and Michael were in on the joke.
Jonah’s so good you bought it completely, but shame on you for not knowing Edgar at this point.
Consider me shamed.
this may, eventually, become a problem….ups arrived at 11 this morning and i was compelled to ‘revisit’ ‘into the wild’ and ‘margot at the wedding’……. consequently, my day didn’t start until about 4….. this could turn into an issue…. jus’ sayin’…..
Hey, Scooter-
What critics’ branch are you and D. Poland in?
I’m a BFCA member and the only screener I got this week was frigging “Elizabeth 2.”
All P/Vantage shipped–to me anyway–was a couple of cds (snooze) and the “Margot” screenplay. No “ITW” or “Margot” screeners here, dammit.
David Poland of Movie City News gives the HOT FUZZ THREE DISC DVD SET a hilarious “Some annoying guy directed a movie with a lot of explosions and gores. It’s alright.” HOT FUZZ! OWN IT AGAIN A WEEK FROM THIS TUESDAY BECAUSE UNIVERSAL ARE A BUNCH OF MOOKS THAT JUST HAD TO DOUBLE FREAKIN DIP.
movie — check the bfca message board for deliveries and contact info….
Thnx, Scooter. I’ll have to check the m.b. out.
I sincerely hope Ratatouille ends up with a best pic Oscar nom. It’s still the best movie I’ve seen all year.
I would be over the moon if Ratatouille pulled a shocker of a best picture nom out of its had. or Brad Bird for best director? That’d be crazy and historic.
Gotta say though Dave, there have been other movies with the features you have mentioned for Hairspray.