April 25, 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
Fess up, I’m not the only one who read that “..a live horse & Miley Cyrus…”
Can someone tell Disney that Tr2n wants to be pronounced Tartan or Tarzan or anything but Tron Two?
Strictly speaking, of course, it should be Twon.
And now I’m salivating for Black Hole 2: Maximilian’s Revenge.
Are you sure it was really Depp and not just the guy who dresses up like him at Disneyland (or the guy from right outside on Hollywood Blvd.)?
Also, re: a Jerry Bruckheimer live-action Sorcerer’s Apprentice set in New York starring Nicolas Cage – kill me now.
But Jeff, then something much worse will come along, and you’ll have already squandered your demise on this. Don’t do it!
David, was there no mention of Disney BD Live?
Three things:
Johnny Depp is going to make a phenomenal amount of money in the coming years.
Secondly, is the Tr2n footage that was shown the same proof-of-concept stuff that was shown at Comic-con?
Finally, AICN is reporting that Depp will be Tonto, and not the Lone Ranger.
Pirates 4? So is it going to be 6 hours long and have lots of pointless fighting?
I think it might be too soon for a Tron 2.
Would be nice to see another try at the Lone Ranger, much as I wanted to like the Clinton Spilsbury picture, it just didn’t really work.
Well, there goes what little credibility Depp had left.
“Finally, AICN is reporting that Depp will be Tonto, and not the Lone Ranger.”
Great, so he can trash both The Lone Ranger and my lingering affection for Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man at the same time.
Actually — for what it’s worth — Depp is part Native American (Cherokee maternal grandfather), so Tonto might not be such a reach.
Why do I have a hard time believing Johnny Depp’s people would allow him to play second fiddle? Who’s playing Lone Ranger, Mike Myers or Adam Sandler? Eisner’s not still pulling any strings, is he? Seems like one of his golden ploys to chase money already on the table? “Hmmm, Dark Knight made a lot of money…is there any kind of comic book we can exploit who won’t tell us to go f- ourselves? Hmm, dark knight wore black, had a mask, worked alone…I know, the Lone Ranger has black mask just like Batman! How soon can we blow this into production?!”
Either that or it’ll look like a Zorro knockoff, which swap out Catherine Zeta for Kiera Knightly, switch a burning barn to a burning ship and you’ve got the same movie.
Hey was there any mention of a live action version of Snow White and the Seven dwarfs? Possibly reconfigured?
No mention of BD Live.
My thinking is that they are planning on launching for real when they Blu-ray many more of the disney classics next year.
But the exit gift was the Blu-ray of Sleeping Beauty, whose box promised all the features I wrote about a couple of months ago. I will try them soon.
Interesting report about Depp. When I asked, there was no clarity from Disney. But he did hand Dick Cook the mask and gun… but then took back the gun… we’ll see.
Depp was also wearing a feather in his hair, which made the announcement ambiguous.
that brings to mind ‘the brave’…depp plays the down-on-his-luck native american who agrees to be in a snuff film for a price, so that his death will free his family from extreme poverty; i remember it being very grim and rather bizarre, i think brando’s in it as well (might make for an interesting ‘depp double feature dvd set’ paired with ‘dead man’)
i think depp would make a terrific tonto
“and that there will be a Pirates 4.”
Why do they make a big deal out of movies being trilogies only to take on a fourth film when it is unnecessary. Ugh.
The Tr2n thing makes no sense, considering the letter O and the number 2 look nothing alike except for the curve at the top. I hate spelling movies titles like “thr3e” for “4our” but, like Se7en it just looks silly when the number replacing a letter is just superfluous.
“We watched Bolt in 3-D in its entirety (about 90% complete).”
Does nobody else find that line hilarious?
How fucking depressing!
A 4th “Pirates” and 3rd “Nat’l Treasure;” Depp donning Indian drag to play Tonto; Cage whoring himself out for yet another Bruckheimer CGI orgy. Crap, crap, crap.
And can someone please explain to me why nobody has purchased the rights to Chelsea Cain’s “Heartsick” yet? It’s the best serial killer thriller since Thomas Harris lost his mind (sometime after writing “Silence of the Lambs,” I suspect), and would make a “Lambs”/”Mahunter”/”Se7en”-worthy thriller with the right casting (Jon Hamm; Lauren Ambrose; Gretchen Moll?) and director (Joe Carnahan?).
P.S.= Does anyone know the status of “The Abstinence Teacher”?
The last I heard it was being directed by Dayton/Feris and Perrotta was penning his own adaptation. Or did it all fall apart when Warner Independent went belly-up?
Casting suggestion(s)?
Aaron Eckhart and Toni Colette.
How fucking depressing!
A 4th “Pirates” and 3rd “Nat’l Treasure;” Depp donning Indian drag to play Tonto; Cage whoring himself out for yet another Bruckheimer CGI orgy. Crap, crap, crap.
And can someone please explain to me why nobody has purchased the rights to Chelsea Cain’s “Heartsick” yet? It’s the best serial killer thriller since Thomas Harris lost his mind (sometime after writing “Silence of the Lambs,” I suspect), and would make a “Lambs”/”Mahunter”/”Se7en”-worthy thriller with the right casting (Jon Hamm; Lauren Ambrose; Gretchen Moll?) and director (Joe Carnahan?).
P.S.= Does anyone know the status of “The Abstinence Teacher”?
The last I heard it was being directed by Dayton/Feris and Perrotta was penning his own adaptation. Or did it all fall apart when Warner Independent went belly-up?
Casting suggestion(s)?
Aaron Eckhart and Toni Colette.
“Heartsick” is an entertaining airplane read, but there’s no way for it to be perceived as anything other than a “Silence of the Lambs” knock-off and I can’t imagine anything in it that would attract a director of the caliber of Fincher or Mann. (Aja? Maybe.)
“And can someone please explain to me why nobody has purchased the rights to Chelsea Cain’s ‘Heartsick’ yet?”
You’re assuming most studio execs read books.
‘Would be nice to see another try at the Lone Ranger, much as I wanted to like the Clinton Spilsbury picture, it just didn’t really work.’
I do remember that it had a great scene in the end where a floating box of dynamite blew the doors off a fort and the calvery came riding in to the rescue but otherwise it was boring even to my easily impressed 8 year old self.
And the Sorcerer’s Apprentice would be what, a Night at the Museum clone where some hapless dork battles the household appliances in a penthouse that he accidently brought to life?
And did they mention if they are asking Bloom and Keira to return to pirates as well or are they taking this chance to start a whole new storyline?
how is bolt? i’m curious?
The slate looks ok…but I still think Disney’s days as a major are near an end…voluntarily. I think they will just stick with fewer releases per year and go with blockbusters….their behavior this year shows that. No major non-Pixar releases since May, (Swing Vote and St. Anna certainly don’t qualify, even on paper) and by FAR the weakest Summer 09′ slate.
They’re headed in a different strategic direction.
What’s with all the Depp hate?
I think you’re shortchanging “Heartsick,” Chris. It’s a solidly crafted thriller with solid characterizations and smart dialogue.
And Cadavra: doesn’t every studio have an entire plethora of Ivy League interns whose only job is to read books, select magazine articles, spec scripts, etc. for potential development purposes?
It seems inconceivable that somebody, somewhere didn’t see the commercial potential of Cain’s book. It’s a movie-movie natural.
So nobody knows anything about the “Abstinence Teacher” film?
‘depp donning indian drag to play tonto’…i can see it now:
‘the ranger’, an epic adventure and moving drama of unrequited love set against the stunning vistas and land wars of the old west; depp plays ‘tonto’, a sensitive, cross-dressing indian secretly in love with his long-time companion and righteous defender of the innocent, skilled horseman ‘the ranger’ (bill pullman). together, they fight injustice, namely the evil land-grabbing cattle baron ‘mr. steele’, jeff bridges in the role of a lifetime.
will the ranger and tonto thwart the villainous steele? will tonto finally win the ranger’s affections? will their unconventional, interracial partnership survive the ignorance of the bigoted local cowboys once they realise that ‘tonto’ is, in fact, a man?
‘the ranger’. december 2010
(from the writer of ‘war: what is it good for?’, directed by john sayles)
‘brokeback meets zorro!’ says variety
‘a really great movie. johnyy depp was great’ – ben lyons
(obviously i’m in a really weird mood!)
Bolt is solid kid’s entertainment. Not exactly Pixar level, but perfectly enjoyable.
And EthanG… they have 4 movies this month, big movies in Bolt and Bedtime Stories in Nov and Dec, and 13 scheduled for next year. Not sure what you are on about.
“And Cadavra: doesn’t every studio have an entire plethora of Ivy League interns whose only job is to read books, select magazine articles, spec scripts, etc. for potential development purposes?”
Yeah. In 1962. Apart from guaranteed blockbusters like DA VINCI CODE and the Harry Potters, the major studios nowadays make very few films based on novels. Comic books, yes. Literature, not so much.