April 20, 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
HOLY SHIT, this might be the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen on this blog.
Poland, I was RIVETED to this for like 20 minutes, then it started to sound like The Mick was getting into spoilers about the movie so I had to bow out, but this was the working definition of ownage.
SO happy to see Rourke engaged and seemingly excited about acting again; CANNOT WAIT for this movie; The parallels to his own career are heartbreaking just in theory. Excellent beats in the interview where he talks about Aronofsky taunting him about the dog and ERW, and that line about how his idols/peers would never have fallen that far to begin with; GodDAMN. Also loved his props to Cimino, who directed him three times, two of them very memorably.
To me Rourke is every bit as iconic as those guys– hell, as ANYONE. Remember seeing snippets of BODY HEAT on cable in like 83 and thinking, WHO THE FUCK IS THIS GUY? HE OWNS; Then the roll-call of ownage familiar to any budding Gen X film geek — Rumble Fish, Pope, Diner, Year of the Dragon, Angel Heart, Barfly, 9 1/2 Weeks; Even the quirky shit no one remembers, I was down with, ROURKE all working with great, interesting directors on oddball shit– Johnny Handsome, Prayer for the Dying (HODGES!), Homeboy, Eureka (ROEG!). This guy was like DeNiro x Dean; Remember once seeing an interview with Brad Pitt where he gave props to Mickey and said how any and every actor coming up in classes back in the day wanted to be like Rourke.
So obvious from this sit-down that he’s energized about the biz again and so grateful for this second chance; It’s been building since Domino and Sin City… Even if it’s just that this one role is so perfectly tailored, it would be so moving to have him both back at the top of his game and maybe even in Oscar contention.
Really, I can’t say enough how much this ruled.
Mickey is officially one of my favorite interviews of all time.
LexG – he pretty much gets past those spoilers around the 20:00-24:00 minute mark. You need to jump back in and watch those last 3-4 minutes of interview…absolutely priceless and reason enough to get this man on the Oscar stage.
Absolutely amazing interview, DP!
A great interview. And kudos for staying out of his way DP. I could listen to this guy talk for hours.
Fantastic interview. Got goosebumps at the end. Talk about redemption.
Please can You translate for me this interview? I’m italian. If not can You write the text
Neve, he’s a serious Actors Studio actor, who had abandonment issues and avoided therapy, thinking he’d rather seek the help of a priest, until he happened to find an analyst who got him to lose his “bad men” friends and change into an accountable person. Aronofsky had a nice directorial control over him and mutual respect. Axel gave Rourke a song for free, and Rouke introduced Darren to Bruce. He doesn’t mention it, but I’ve read that Darren said Nick Cage stepped aside to let Mickey come into the role. Rourke says he’s gotten a last chance and chokes up that his exwife, mother, and especially brother, aren’t around, but he loves that little dog, and he thanks Wim Wenders, spreading something between a veil and no new light on his statement, “I will never be on a jury again.”
Mickey Rourke, if you’re going to win Best Actor for this, you owe it to to the wrestling (which you discuss) and the scenes you dramatize with Marisa Tomei (which you don’t), not the “hi, I can act” performance of Evan Rachel Wood, which at least doesn’t derail the movie, but which doesn’t have nearly the texture and depth of what was worked out between your character and Marisa’s. So give it to us like you gave it to the director, conception to execution, page to screen, rehearsal to argument.
That is indeed a great interview, and it certainly whets my appetite even more for the film.
Re the background sound: Is one of his neighbors practicing the french horn or something?
In Italian.
I was down with, ROURKE all working with great, interesting directors on oddball shit– Johnny Handsome, Prayer for the Dying (HODGES!)
Blog boy, kudos on mentioning PRAYER FOR THE DYING; HODGES OWNS and Alan Bates OWNS and Mickey was excellent in this completely forgotten flick.
The Mick was HUGE to me growing up, as I think I said up above. In addition to the big ones like BARFLY and 9 1/2 WEEKS and ANGEL HEART and RUMBLE FISH that still get talked up, wanted to encourage anyone who’s back on the Rourke train to check out some of his more forgotten movies, like PRAYER or EUREKA or HOMEBOY.
Even a movie like Cimino’s DESPERATE HOURS is worth a look. It’s a fascinating mess, and certainly not Hopkins’ best hour; Torn between being a genre movie and Cimino being unable to resist some crazy indulgences… I wouldn’t call it “good” by any stretch, but it has that overheated insanity that only an artist trying in vain to be on best behavior can still manage.
And Rourke damn near holds it together with what might be the last performance he gave with his original “look” and style.
I always thought Mickey’s supporting turn in Body Heat is one of his best pieces of work.
And he and Ellen Barkin are really the only reason to watch Diner. Once.
And my wife insists that Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man is underrated, although I’ve never seen it.
Fuck, Lex, just read your first post again, and as usual, you already said it all.