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 do like David Fincher as a film director and I loved The Curious CAse of BB, but I truly believe that Danny Boyle and Slumdog deserve the wins.
Maybe next time, eh, Finch?
Something tells me David Fincher doesn’t lose much sleep over lost awards.
Both excellent (and under appreciated as far as awards do) directors so I’m happy that they seem to be the front runners this year. Now if someone like Ron Howard or Daldry sneak a win I’ll be really disappointed with the Academy.
Do you have a screen cap from the close-up of PTA when Alan Ball won the screenplay Oscar for American Beauty?…
It’s so funny you mention that mutinyco, I remember that reaction shot very well. And as much as I admire PTA as a filmmaker, that reaction was uncalled for. What a brat.
I’ve got no sympathy for Fincher, pass the violin.
Yes, it must really hurt Fincher to have a hit film with multiple nominations. He looks crushed. Not.
While it is always nice to win awards, I sincerely doubt that a win (or otherwise) will have that much effect on their careers. I think both Fincher and Boyle are wise enough and talented enough to withstand the shocking thrill of winning. I reckon they will continue on doing what they have been doing.
david poland, may i ask: how do you figure this is ‘the year that was supposed to be theirs [fincher/ben button’s]’? where does that sense of entitlement – if indeed it exists – come from? (because the academy messed up so badly snubbing ‘zodiac’ that fincher and co. figure they will want to have make-up sex?)
also, i don’t see a ‘how did we become also-rans?’ expression on fincher’s face, i see: ‘sigh. yep, alrighty then (checks watch, turns to the others), what time is our flight out?’
‘slumdog’ is a uk production made by a beloved english director, written by an englishman with an english star and a largely uk crew, filmed in a former stronghold of the british empire…would fincher honestly go to merry ol’ england thinking ‘button’ had a snowball’s chance in hell of pulling off the upset over the homegrown juggernaut at the british academy awards? i would think not (and the american acacemy might give it to him now just to thumb its collective nose at the former redcoat rulers – ha, we’ll show them! taxation without representation my ass)
The sense of entitlement happens in more than one place every year… one by one, the expectations narrow into disappointments.
Button was the BIG movie with the GREAT director and STAR whose time had come and the mighty dragon has been slayed by a little film that one studio didn
gotcha, dp, thanks for the reply (i guess boyle isn’t nearly as beloved by BAFTA members as he is by the british public at large, tho i suppose one could argue that he hasn’t really directed any ‘awards bait’-type films since ‘trainspotting’ – with the exception of ‘millions’ perhaps – for which to be BAFTA nom’d, ’28 days’ being too ‘the-end-is-extremely-fucking-nigh’ horror genre for fancy-pants awards taste even just for best direction, which i personally think it deserved)
I don’t recall seeing PTA’s reaction to losing the screenplay award to Ball, but if he thought he had a shot of beating the Best Pic favorite in that category — well, he was the only one. Not talking quality here, just reality.
“But the underdog status of Button is not because it