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
I won’t bother with the actual article at hand, because it isn’t shocking. The end is nigh and people in the campaign feel better and better about conveying stuff like this to the press.
But I agree on Sullivan. 100%.
I thought that was pretty obvious on her first introduction to the country by McCain, afterward he tried to kiss her and she looked like she wanted to jump off the stage. She may not have school smarts or know much about running the country, but she does have street smarts and knew from day one the McCain bandwagon was not going to be her ticket to the White House, she would have to make it happen on her own.
She’s got balls.
If she does, who really had all those kids?
Jon Hamm rocked SNL tonight. I have hated that show for so long that I didn’t even want to watch htis, but as a rabid fan of MM, I had to and glad I did. He pwned the whole show, loved the MM sketch, especially his great speech about the hula hoop. That reminded me of the greatness SNL once had so easily in its grasp. Even the cheesier stuff was funny: the pedo sketch, the Jon Hamm’s John Ham sketch, Finger in Butts. Stupid? Juvenile? Yes, but funny because how he sold it. I have no interest in Coldplay at all, so I gladly turned up the second Kinks album when they showed up(4 times??? Geesh). Let me know when he hosts again.
Mad Men is already one of the greatest series of all time, each episode worthy of multiple viewings and multiple interpretations…. Love it.
I have no idea why, but I got this weird feeling while watching SNL tonight. Hamm was born to play a superhero. If they were going to make Iron Man next year. Hamm would be better than Downey.
If they seriously want to make a great Superman movie. Cast a Superman that has some age, that has natural gravitas, and can convey the emotions of Supes very few actours can.
So… John Hamm for the new Superman film.
The Vincent Price sketch was the best; Hamm’s James Mason was dead-on.
Why Cousin Sal kept John Hamm out of his fantasy league, is beyond me.
Fellas, as he said on SNL: My name is spelled Jon without an H and Hamm has 2 m’s. How dumb do you feel now? Great stuff. And yes, he’d make a great superhero (Green Lanterm?). He really is a great actor, last week’s MM was his completely. the way he can be both of his personalities, go between them effortlessly with just a change in his voice, body language is almost breathtaking.
I have said for awhile that Jon Hammm is the only choice for Captain America, especially one who existed first in the 1940s. But yes, he could easily play any super hero who needs a possess a certain manly gravitas that so many of today’s male stars lack. He wouldn’t be right for The Flash, but he’d make a kick ass Steve Rogers or Green Lantern.
Scott: Hamm might look a bit odd with Steve Roger’s colouring, but I can definitely see him pulling it off even with the blonde hair. I could also see him being a phenomenal Hal Jordan. He does pull off a guy that can handle fear really well.
Jon Hamm is one of the few actors who could effectively play Superman *and* Batman, he can do charming, stoic and he can do brooding, complex and ruthless.
Now BATMAN is already taken and thriving (even though I am not 100% sold on Christian Bale’s take), so I would love to see a retro or period piece SUPERMAN with Hamm.
“I have no idea why, but I got this weird feeling while watching SNL tonight. Hamm was born to play a superhero.”
Are you telling me there are people who DIDN’T think this the very first time they laid eyes on Hamm in Mad Men?
Err … who has the incentive to badmouth their own campaign ten days before an election? Most likely disgruntled campaign advisers who were sidelined after their tactics failed. It was made public early in the week the campaign was taking a different approach with Palin, letting her off the leash, after attempts to control access failed so miserably.
Thanks for saving me the trip to IMDB to figure out who the hell Jon Hamm is, everybody.
It’s not our fault that you do not watch a show that’s better than most movies to come out this year.
It’s pretty telling how thin the talent has been for years at SNL that so many of the actual actors from MM had to be tapped to play their parts.
Years past, the show had a nice backfield of 2nd and 3rd tier actors, but now it’s just extras.
Also, anyone else get the feeling the writers spend a lot of time on punditkitchen.com? The bit about licking the sandwiches was used on a McCain pic this week.
IOI, why it’s nobody’s ‘fault’ and I don’t know why you find it necessary to get angry.
James Wolcott isn’t a fan either IO:
“At its draggiest Mad Men is like some square’s idea of Douglas Sirk, a graduate thesis with its head stuck in a fishbowl. “
Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchens tears Palin a new one.
http://slate.com/id/2203120