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
Live snark this thing, Dave.
Live snark the fuck out of it.
And please please please post tons of photos.
K-STEW.
Polamd, this is built for your Twitter twitch.
And what’s the past tense of Tweet?
K-STEW SO HOT. YEP YEP.
The guys who are angry with the female Twilight fans is fucking hilarious. It’s mind-blowing to me that some of those guys are so angry about this, but I care so little now about understanding people. So, yeah, fuck them, and LONG LIVE THE PATTINSON!
Clearly the mood is not taking Poland too much today.
I just read AICN’s report on Avatar footage. Granted, it’s impossible to judge from poorly written fan wankery, but I was very underwhelmed by what I read. I was reminded of Cameron’s Aliens of the Deep when reading about the Pandora landscape (Aliens of the Deep sucked), and the description described a heavy reliance on obvious CG environments, which I really don’t care for.
I was hoping this project would be more gritty…The Abyss shows that Cameron can effectively meld the fantasical with his typical clangy realism, but Avatar seems nothing like this.
Plus, 3D sucks and it seems to view this picture properly, you’ll be forced to don those infernal glasses.
Wrecktum: Truer words…
3D SUUUUUUCKS, it gives me migraines, it barely works, those glasses kill, plus I can’t see movies with contacts in or they get smeary, so I have to wear regular glasses under those STUPID-ASS clunky 3D glasses. Not to mention it’s so disorienting, one can barely pay attention to such narrative niceties as plot and characterization, you’re so distracted by “Hey, look at that forced perspective.”
Can’t believe how many smart guys are so wrong about this 1950’s-ass gimmick.
Does less studios at Comic Con this year mean less interest in Comic Con, or less interest in Comics?
Martin-Prime – What Dave’s alluding to is, like the majority of companies right now, the studios opted to put any costs into whatever flicks they are promoting and to forgo buying floor space. That doesn’t match up with Dave’s earlier WOM comment about SDCC turning away buyers because they apparently had the room. I trust Dave’s reading on this, so he’ll know if the show is lighter.
FWIW, I’ve been told that merchant sales are weak. While it’s still too early to call, this could be a case where the 40th anniversary and a number of spectacles broke a lot of people just to get through the door. For the sake of the comic guys, I hope that’s not the case. IIRC, You’re looking at a table cost of anywhere between 600-2,500.
Yeah, talked to a handful of merchants who second what Martin S said – weak sales yesterday, but Thursday was the big, big movie day, so they’re hoping for Saturday.
And I actually hung with a bunch of “Twilight” fans last night – kids of friends from work and their posse. It was funny because the way they talked about online “Twilight” detractors was PRECISELY the way I used to feel about those “old thirty- and forty-year olds” in Cinefantastique and elsewhere who bashed on the “Friday the 13th” franchise when I was a kid, which I thought was just about the greatest thing ever. Scary old nerds disliking (the oldest kid there was around 14) their Most Favorite Thing was really empowering to them and made them even more proud to be into something that oldsters just didn’t understand.
That said, “Twilight” is a gateway horror drug for them. They all talked about going to PG-13 horror films (they had ZERO interest in “My Bloody Valentine” or “Friday the 13th,” but were all about the forthcoming “Nightmare on Elm Street” remake – scariest movie ever? A cross between “The Grudge” and “The Unborn”), reading a slew of “Twilight”-sounding YA novels that, to me, were just cynical cash-ins, but to them, were just as interesting as the Meyer books, etc.
Naturally, I gave them all copies of my horror comic (having met Kristen Stewart a few times due to “Messengers,” I was deemed ‘acceptable,’ it seems) and told them to read comics. They said they did and listed off a bunch of manga titles I’d never heard of.
Holy shit, Rubinstein, you met K-STEW?
AWESOME. Were you like trembling and shaking in her presence? I’d probably pass out and have to be revived but that is literally the greatest thing anyone has ever posted here.
I can’t believe like Poland and Voynar and Rubinstein have all met her. Like if I met her the rest of my life would be devoted to detailing the meeting in EXACTING DETAIL. Kinda like how Spalding Grey milked like seven books and one-man shows out of his two days on the set of The Killing Fields for twenty years.
MEETING K-STEW, A MEMOIR. It would be like speaking to God. Except better.
I want you to try and give her a flower.
If you’d only come to the L.A. Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention in Jan. of ’07. She was sitting there signing autographs for at least an hour after a “Messengers” panel while Eva Mendes hosted a “Ghost Rider” panel up on stage (two birds – one LexG).
For those that care, sales dramatically improved yesterday. Hope that’s the case for SJR and company.
Hah! I was coming in to say that exact same thing. That said, what’s selling are a ton of mid-range bits, very little expensive stuff, very few “back issues.” Fewer bin divers, though, equal fewer times I trip over people on any given day.
SJR – exactly. Nothing high-priced. I should talk to someone from CGC and see how business is doing.
I’d like to say I really didn’t mind passing on SDCC this year – until I read Shinya Tsukamoto was in town promoting his recently shot English-language Tetsuo sequel, Bulletman. Now, I’m sick. The odds of meeting this guy are slim-to-none and I had no idea he was in town.