April 26, 2024
BYOB
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BYOB: 235 Years Of Relative independence
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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” ā 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 ā 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 ā he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” ā and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging ā I was with her at that moment ā 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 namedā” “Yeah, sure ā 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 Iām on the phone with you now, after all thatās 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 didnāt seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. Thereās not a case of that. He wasnāt using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had ā if that were what the accusation involved ā 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. Iām not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, āYou know, itās not this, itās thatā? Because ā let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. TimesĀ piece, thatās what it lacked. Thatās 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
Drew McWeeny,
That was some Clone Wars “review”.
Wow.
Going by your writing, I knew something juicy went down behind the scenes.
While I understand your reasons and desires not to comment about Star Wars on AICN, I hope we can still get you to shed a light as to your opinion on new SW content over here away from your audience, as I for one enjoy your writing on the subject.
After all those great roundtables you guys did before the Sith release, I am a little sad that this is your call, even though I understand your reasoning.
Though, I feel it will hold more weight if that blackballing of all things Star Wars becomes more than just from you, but company policy at AICN. No Alexandra DuPont, no Harry, nada.
like I said, hopefully you can shed some light as to what you went through to make that decision in your review, but I understand if not.
At least maybe you will still dish your opinion on new relevant new Star Wars here?
and I don’t mean to offend, but I feel Harry should have just waited on the review. It didn’t service anyone but his ego.
Cheers.
Drew McWeeny,
Could I borrow some of your persecution complex? You seem to have more than enough to go around.
Cheers.
I thought that article pretty much explained what happened and why he’s off The Warz. In regards to the “persecution complex”: I think anyone who was a big fan of SW feels persecuted at this point.
Cribbed from the interview linked to on MCN mainpage.
“The problem, according to Del Toro, is that the studios are becoming more conservative. “I don’t mean politically but creatively, which I guess is a political act,” he explains.”
…
“I can feel Del Toro’s anger rising. “It’s almost like good manners at Hitler’s table in today’s politics,” he says. “There is a politically correct fascism racing on the horizon in Europe and America, everywhere, and it’s very disturbing.”
I have very little time for Del Toro because he is, well, a romantic flake with little grey matter in his head. All image, no brains.
This interview seals it for me. Last time I checked, political correctness as he describes it as racing across Europe and America in the arts is a result of the progressive left. It’s roots are not in fascism of the right, but in Marxism of the left…y’know, the kind of Marxism he celebrated in Pan’s Labyrinth.
Perhaps if more artists would actually take the time to understand what political correctness is as opposed to making knee jerk comments like this, we might get some challenging films for a change.
For his penance, I sentence the lapsed Catholic Del Toro to watching every season of South Park until he understands what political correctness actually is.
That’s my grumpy man act for this Saturday morning.
About half an hour ago, new world record 9.69 seconds in 100m. Hint: he’s not American š
That run was something else – imagine if he hadn’t have opened his arms wide and started partying with 15 meters to go !
Is anyone else as bummed out as I am about the announced TIFF lineup so far? When the most exciting film announced so far I’d Zack and Miri make a Porno, you’re in trouble š
WOW! A lot of self-abosrbtion going on over at AICN. Who knew realizing that there’s more to life than Star Wars was worthy of an ENTIRE column?
The sense of entitlement among fanboys is staggering. I mean, you grow up anticipating the release of a major event movie, waiting to see where the story is going to go, and decide to take part of an organization that goes out of its way to “SPOIL” the surprises of upcoming event movies.
Can you imagine if sites like AICN had existed back in 1981-1982? They would’ve happily posted script reviews of Star Trek II and Rocky III, spoiling the surprises of those summer event movies.
Was that record sprint on NBC or any of its sister Olympic stations?
I’d love to see Drew discuss this once he’s calmed down a bit. I loved his comments on the George Lucas raped my childhood bit. It seems like Drew is offended by the use of the rape imagery so he sidestepped the obvious dig, which is to say “yeah but you fans were asking for it”. There is a great story to be told here I’m sure. What’s funny is all the geek anger directed at this stupid cartoon. I’m not sure of all the economics behind Clone Wars, I’d love to know, but it seems like it had a TV budget and as it came together someone said “let’s through it up on the big screen”. It’s a good idea, being total crap Clone Wars is good for an easy 50 million, if it had a shred of quality to it, it could have easily done 100. Why not?
In a way the fact that fans are so vocally pissed over a crappy cartoon shows how ravenous the audience is for actual product. 7-8-9 anyone?
Relax Nicol. An American Carol is right around the corner.
Random tidbit – After taking my daughter to Gymboree, I was planning on taking her to a 10:00am Star Wars: Clone Wars screening. As some of you know, the AMC before noon screenings on the weekends are $6 (in LA) and usually pretty empty (besides, even if there were lots of people, most of them would be slightly older kids who would be much louder than my daughter). Frickin’ movie was sold out. 10:00am. Sold out! And since there wasn’t a single person in line for it, I can only assume that it was mostly fanboys who bought their tix online last night. There was another father there, with two 6-ish year old boys who were quite dissapointed.
So do I read the Friday estimates correctly? A Star Wars movie may not make $20 million on its opening weekend?
Apparently “looking like crap” doesn’t sell.
I think in that Del Toro interview, he definitely overstates his case, because the two Hellboy movies are pretty uncontroversial and mainstream – so that means I can only ask, Nicol, what planet do you live on?
Wow…Drew realllly outdid himself in that Clone Wars article. What an amazingly egotistical, self serving and self centered, well, moron. Like if *he* doesn’t cover Star Wars stuff the Star Wars money machine will stop rolling along. “Embargoes work both ways too.” Fucking classic.
Is it just me or when you are supposed to run a site that like, covers movies, isn’t it bad form to find yourself constantly banned from places? I was always under the impression that a journalist works with a company to get news out to his/her readers…not to cry and stomp their feet till they piss off the company. Whatever.
Hey, thanks for the totally adorable, unwarned spoilers about the Olympics on a thread where a reader would have no reason to think he was going to run into them.
The new Entertainment Weekly came…with its Fall Movie Preview. Among the films that are not mentioned are Young Victoria and Grey Gardens. Does this mean they’ve been bumped into 2009? Or do they just not have a distributor yet…like
Che/The Argentine/Guerrilla?
The films they spotlight which I am most anticipating are Doubt, Revolutionary Road, C Case of B Button, Defiance, Milk, The Duchess, and Miracle at St. Anna.
Grey Gardens has been hanging around that limbo land for a while now. Not sure about Young Victoria. Seems like an easy pickup for somebody, really, so I’m not sure why no distributor would have it on their plate yet.