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
Aw, dammit. Means they’re gonna make another one.
I actually found things to like about the first two, but three was a huge bore…even in 3-D.
I have to admit, I’ve never seen an Ice Age movie, although the first one looked moderately amusing. Out of all the movies that group has done, Robots looked the most interesting visually. It looks to me like Transformers 2 will finish the weekend at around the $300 million mark, which for 2 1/2 weeks is really not a bad sum.
“Robots” was, indeed, the most interesting, visually (didn’t William Joy have something to do with it?). But the least interesting, narratively.
I’ve liked the Ice Age movies. When the Blu-ray comes out I’ll check out the third movie. They haven’t broken the bank like Shrek movies, but they’ll last longer since they don’t live in the moment with all the cultural references.
Possible Spoiler:
I was at first disappointed with the new weasel character, but later when he’s strangling his own foot after admitting he’s insane, he kind of grew on me.
LYT, the story for IA4 has already been dropped out there. It’s supposed to be about the characters being frozen, and being thawed in modern day.
I was told by my wife and my son that ads for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs quoting my Variety review were in heavy rotation tonight on ESPN. Seriously. I wonder if it’s because I mentioned the action in the film? Like, maybe this is Fox’s way of getting the word out to teen and twentysomething guys that, hey, don’t worry, this is a cool movie for you to see? Yeah, I know: Sounds like ego-tripping on my part. But if the toon does indeed end claiming the weekend win…
The first Ice Age was moderately amusing, but I never bothered with the second and the third – while visually better looking than the others two – will be another one I skip. Am I the only one annoyed at the fact that there are dinosaurs and the ice age has already happened?
They do explain that with a magical Lost World valley hidden away somewhere.