April 19, 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” — 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
So, Bazzer’s still finishing AUSTRALIA (per the LAT). What, he’s going to hand deliver our print next Wednesday eve?
Actually, I think he has to lock by Ssturday and ship two prints by Monday, hand delivered.
:Scene to be inserted:
Saw Transiberian last night and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to rent this week. Woody Harrelson is quite good in a low key role, nothing fancy but a strong aww shucks performance that was perfect for the movie as that he would be one of the last people you would want to be stuck in a suspense movie with.
1) Dammit, THE PASSENGERS is gone from every L.A. theater? Already??? I know it got middling reviews, but big fan of Hathaway and kinda wanted to see it.
2) Jeff (I’m sure you’ve been on pins and needles), I saw “Repo” the other day and… kinda liked it. Sort of exhausting and sometimes embarassing, but did like the cinematography a lot (particularly some of the blues and the sort of hazy, fuzzy lighting of faces), as well as the production design. And not sure what or who “Ogre” is, but the mask design for that character was genuinely unsettling. Thought Hilton and Sorvino knocked it out of the park, performance- and singing-wise. But Vega’s voice seemed all too obviously messed with in post. Biggest problem was the music seemed caught in some unmemorable limbo somewhere between high theater camp and 1999-style industrial dirge.
Ha, Lex, it sounds you and I liked completely different things about it. I thought Alexa Vega, Anthony Head, and Sarah Brightman were by far the best performers, and Head’s vocals put Sorvino’s to shame, in my opinion.
I’m not a Paris Hilton fan, so the best I can say is that she’s better-suited to a movie like this (where she’s playing a grotesque, pampered rich girl) than her part in House of Wax (where she was supposed to be playing a normal person).
And I don’t know this for a fact, but I think the ‘fuzzy lighting of faces’ was done in the online as an effect, and for me it tarnishes what is otherwise good work (I like things to be in focus, and to have visible texture, so sue me). But that was the director’s choice.
But I thought the production design was strong as well. As for the songs, I thought some worked, and some were just flat-out dumb. Rhyming “a little glass vial” with itself three times? Come on guys.
Yeah, Head and Brightman I kinda consider pros at this kind of thing, but I should’ve included them too as things that were good; Vega’s acting was was fine, I just thought I could hear the actual digital tweaks they used on her voice on certain notes.
When the lighting went sharp red during Vega’s punk rock number, that strangely felt like one of the more conventional and un-messed-with color patterns, but it worked for that number. The desaturated flashback stuff also maybe seemed a little standard, but overall a lot of strong colors and images.
I think something about Bousman, in the Saws and in this, is he has all this believably grungy DP work and production design, yet other than his actually montages of circular camera acrobotics, a lot of his shots look cramped and like the performers are nailed to the floor. I’m sure in all cases it’s budgetary, but if he ever gets more money for a project, wouldn’t mind seeing the guy open up his action a little more and letting things breathe.
Anyone see last night’s Craig Brewer-directed episode of The Shield? Pretty intense stuff. I’m really excited AMC is working on a show for Walton Goggins. He could be a great character actor in movies. His wonderfully hateful in Miracle at St. Anna.
Not sure who or what Ogre is?
Dude…check out some Skinny Puppy CDs. I’m pretty sure some of them will own.
Lex, again, don’t quote me on this, but I think the ‘cramped’ feeling you’re getting has more to do with not really knowing how to stage a scene or block camera than any budgetary limitations. Of course, they were shooting 70 songs in 30 days or something like that, or so my friend keeps telling me.
Jimmy: Walton Goggins is quite good in Robert Duvall’s The Apostle. I regret to say I’ve never watched The Shield, except for part of the first episode. It interested me; I just never managed to fit it into my viewing rotation. That’s why God made DVDs I guess.
HUGE Shield fan (shocker, I’m sure), and every year it boggles the mind how Walton Goggins misses out on any sort of Emmy consideration; Never even seen his name bandied about in entertainment rags, despite his clearly being one of the most, if the not THE most, riveting actor and character (VENDRELL OWNS) on both the show and, hell, TV in general.
Hopefully he’ll have some prolonged character career pitched somewhere between badasses Warren Oates and Gregg Henry, but considering how the Emmys just kinda recycle the same network hacks for the same roles year in and year out, it’s practically an embarassment they’ve never even thrown Goggins so much as a nomination.
And since there’s some TV chatter in this BYOB, can I ask two HBO questions?
1) Is Stellan Skarsgaard’s character on the current ENTOURAGE an explicit take on Wolfgang Petersen and Wahlberg’s experiences on “Perfect Storm”? Often Vinnie’s fictitious projects reflect real points in Mark’s career, and between Jason Patric in a Clooneyesque role, the German director, and the natural disaster milieu, have to ask, is Petersen really that awesomely nutty? The Skarsgaard character seems like some absurd mix of Petersen, Werner Herzog and Uwe Boll.
2) Did HBO get a discount rate on a slew of annoying BRITISH COMEDY? Seems every time I flip on HBO and by some miracle TRUE BLOOD *ISN’T* playing sixteen times in a row, I get LITTLE BRITAIN USA or some wack-fuck British animation or, tonight, some (mock?) doc about British high schools and British flamboyant drama teachers. Because, yeah, the latter is some original shit. And now I see a Ricky Gervais concert is forthcoming. Nothing against him, but did they get some discount on British hand me downs? HBO is turning into BBC East or something.
Someone explain.
Walt Goggins is a funny dude; I hung out with him a lot one year at Slamdance, and he’s always so low key and quiet. Then I see him in a film and he’s usually some kind of maniac.
GREGG HENRY OWNS!!!
Single best episode of Moonlighting ever, Body Double, and Slither. But like, where did he go in the 90’s?
Lex, I think the drama teacher thing you’re talking about is actually Australian, if that makes any difference.
Gregg Henry popped up in a guest role on the CBS series The Mentalist this week. He’s still tops when it comes to playing smiling a-holes.
Yeah, Gregg Henry, at least on screen, is awesome as the walking embodiment of “smarm.” He’s so entertaining at it, one doesn’t even really mind that he’s basically played the exact same role about 200 times since “Body Double.” And it never gets old, watching him OWN Not Bill Maher in that movie. I guess no one really considers that a “great” DePalma, but it’s certainly one of his most rewatchable, perfectly pitched somewhere between his “classy”/chic suspensers (DTK, Obsession) and his deliberately junky ones (Raising Cain… which also features Gregg Henry.)
Apparently he’s also a cocktail lounge musician, and has a nightclub act alongside BRUCE GREENDWOOD (!).
That’s a pretty awesome duo. Too bad CHRIS MULKEY doesn’t sit in sometimes.
Lex, I consider Body Double to be one of my favorite DePalmas, behind Carrie and Blow Out, but I’m also a reputed DePalma freak.
‘carlito’s way’! (for the best sean penn performance thus far in his career – here’s hoping he can pour ‘milk’ on top) aslo a huge sucker for ‘the untouchables’, possibly my fave de palma. such a distinctive look and feel, a true crime classic
Lex, the show you’re talking about is Summer Heights High, it’s Australian and it is fuckin’ GENIUS. “How random!”
But, then again, the show is mocking adults who act like children so it would probably offend your character more than anything else.
kam — hbo sent me eight eps of ‘summer heights high’….was that all that were done?…was there more than one season?….i’d never heard of it but loved it, of course……
Scoot, there were only eight episodes and – as of now – it was a standalone series. However, try and find his earlier series We Can Be Heroes (or, as it was known in American, I think, The Contenders) which was also written and acted by Chris Lilley wherein he played five characters in contention for Australian of the Year, one of which was Ja’mie who, as you surely know, was the spoiled rich bitch in Summer Heights High.
But, honestly, any show that has a line about Tsunamarama the story of the tsunami tragedy set to the music of Bananarama, is pretty much solid gold in my books.
Glad to know you liked it. I once quoted “thank god you’re hear, grandma just got raped!” in public and people around me either laughed in recognition or were shocked and appalled, which I think is quite apt considering what Lilley was trying (and succeeded) to do.
omg! (well, that was unfortunate)…. i think i have ‘the contenders’ (and that would explain why lilley seemed so familiar)……it’s all coming together now…thanks for the reply….
Gee, that’s a knee slapper, kamikaze!
it is. it’s called black humour.
It’s more like JACKASS humor.