May 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
yeah, thought that no open thread seemed strange….. anyway (as i posted on another site) i loved that a normally three-hour award show wrapped in 32 minutes….. not crazy about the reporters chosen to present and hated the ‘jungle drums’ before each announcement but….. 32 MINUTES!…. i think i’m now hopeing that ampas doesn’t get the wga waiver…..
Like a dumbass, I watched the awful, padded NBC telecast for the first 10 minutes. Am I the only one who was horrified by the repeated showings of that video of Nikki Blonsky knocking over the coffee table?
Atonement’s Oscar fate could have been sealed tonight. Or it could be on it’s way to OSCAR GOLD! Who freakin knows? I am just pissed that EXTRAS won for best TV COMEDY. What other ridiculousness.
Utter ridiculousness, but OTHER RIDICULOUS has a sort ring to it. I do like that Depp wins an award, and does not get a ceremon around it. This seems some what apt on my part.
Anyone else found it weird that, during the hour-long NBC “announcement” show, a few winners — most notably, Best Song, Best Score, Best TV Movie or Miniseries and Best Foreign Language Film — weren’t announced?
BTW: Scooterz, I have to agree — this streamlined version of awards bestowing isn’t half-bad at all.
Didn’t the original Oscar ceremony take 10 minutes or something?
yep…. i’m thinkin’ they replace the ten vapid hollywood reporters (of the gg’s) with ten (vapid?) hollywood stars and knock those oscars down to an hour……tonight worked out pretty well….
David, I’m assuming you’ve written an essay in the past about why you give awards so much attention. I get that you’re a professional and awards are on your beat, but I’m always surprised by how passionate you seem about the season. Should I go digging for it? Anybody remember such a thing?
For me, the farce of the press conference showed how truly these awards are. If we were in a world where Crash and Beautiful Mind weren’t considered best picture, I could understand it more, but we’re not. It’s like covering a dirty political campaign without real stakes and it seems decisively un-fun. I’m really starting to hate winter in Hollywood.
Ok, Sloanish, I have to ask: “how truly” what?
Heat, the Ghost are only entertaining if they are lively. These ghost were the regular depressing kind. Nevertheless; the strike might be on it’s way to being over. Or this could just be the beginning of grander pithy freakin shenanigans.
Uh, what is exactly so surprising about Atonement’s win? Most nominated film? Of course it was going to win.
Anyway, I think Schnabel’s win is the most surprising. That’s about it. Maybe Blanchett.
And I don’t think there’s anything “overstated” about paying attention to the nominees from groups that cross over with AMPAS.
that was terrible and the NBC version (was their another one I could have watched) was an abomination. Imagine if ABC did an hour long for the oscars, cut all the technicals from the broadcast and over the clips in the men’s categories they simply read the names rather than letting the audio play. Ugh. Bring back the pageantry and the speeches, and could two worse ‘hosts’ have been found if NBC tried? and how crass is it to talk about frontrunners, upsets etc during the show, much less from the podium?
Billy Bush is the human incarnation of EVERYTHING that is wrong with Hollywood.
Can the WGA put a concession in their negotiations for a visual and auditory ban on Billy Bush?
Tonight looked like a visual representation of the “Nervous Breakdown” people have been predicting for Hollywood over the last 10 years.
Wasn’t there also a link to an article on MCN that discussed how essentially the star system has crashed and there were disappointing returns on many of the major star vehicles?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
I’m enjoying the critical beating that NBC is getting for stretching the results to an hour, when the CNN and E! telecasts were over in 35 minutes.
Lowest point occurred when the AH duo asked David Karger for his predictions on Best Drama, pretending the results were not already known.
Kris, while I don’t think Atonement‘s win was surprising in the slightest – it was totally up their alley and last year they gave it to Babel over The Departed – but most nominated does not reap the ultimate awards. Just ask Anthony Minghella.
Oh, and when is somebody of stature in the industry (and not just obsessive bloggers) going to call complete and utter bullshit on Marion Cotillard winning the best actress musical/comedy awards (let alone being nominated) for a performance that is neither comedic nor musical, in a film that is neither comedic nor a musical.
It happened with Jamie Foxx in Ray, but that film was about music so I don’t particularly mind. But La Vie en Rose is just an ordinary drama about a woman who occasionally gets on stage and lipsyncs.
Utter.Bullshit.
I feel sorry for Amy Adams and Ellen Page especially. They don’t deserve to be beated by Cotillard and her stupid wigs.
“But there wasn
im glad atonement won, even though this is truly the bargain basement of awards shows.
javier bardem feels like a no brainer for best supporting actor at the oscars.
will the best pictures now be Atonement, No Country, There Will Be Blood, Juno, and Michael Clayton.
I could live with that lineup. Personally, that seems like the best 5 pics i saw this year. Even if Into the Wild takes one of the spots, i’d be happy.
This is the first year in a long time that feels like the awards could be more about the celebration of film than an annoying competition and political fight for the awards.
Maybe downgrading the award shows is a good thing. It certainly doesn’t feel like the massive day after slugfest than it usually does. And with all the WGA strike stuff going on, the focus seems to be elsewhere.
I would love to see a downplayed Oscars where the awards are handed out and the scripted bits are kept to a minimums. I can’t be the only one thinking that maybe this is a good thing for the industry. Maybe not financially, but creatively speaking, not sitting through a 3+ hour oscars would feel like a win to me.
KCamel, we all know you hated the movie but how is La Vie en Rose less ‘about music’ than Ray?
For the last few years those films that got nominated by both DGA/PGA/WGA all ended up been Oscar best film contenders. So here are the four potential nominees:
*Living bell & the butterfly
*There will be flood
*No Country for old men
*Michael Clayton
The 5th contender will be either Into The Wild (good chance since it’s also DGA nominee), Juno, or Atonement.
RoyBatty,
Yes, the King comments showed his usual “research”. Especially when the Best Actor Musical/Comedy nominees were announced and he commented that he couldn’t believe Day-Lewis wasn’t in the running. Wrong category, King, wrong category…