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
Why can’t geeks appreciate Telluride? I’m a “geek” blogger and attended Telluride this year. I really love that fest… I think geeks are starting to warm up to it, especially with films like Paranormal Activity and Up in the Air and Bad Lieutenant showing there this year.
Either way, I agree that this a great early marketing plan for Paranormal Activity (which I saw outside in Telluride and loved), I just hope it really takes off like they want it to.
Paranormal Activity may not break the box office like Blair Witch did but in many ways it’s actually the better film. The characters are much more likable and thus, easier to care about. But it takes a damn good director to turn your average bedroom into a funhouse of terror. Peli has serious chops. I was always bummed that guys like Sanchez and Myrick didn’t make it bigger, while others like Bousman, etc. continue to get big studio gigs. Hopefully Peli will capitalize on his heat and get his next one going soon (i know he’s been forced t sit on PA for a while because of the remake). He should take a page from Dunstan and do something like The Collector, which was really good earlier this summer.
Pretty sure PA is not being remade now, as it was a redundant idea to begin with from Dreamworks. The idea of remaking this low fi exercise and attempting to polish it up and then degrade it back down to retain the ‘home movie’ aspect was just idiotic. The addition of some CG in the new cut is fine but unnecessary. I guess Spielberg just wanted to add one more ‘Boo!’
The execution is rough in places and some of the performances (yes you professor) are damaging but overall it’s the simplistic nature of capturing those ‘what was that?’ moments that makes it great entertainment.
It all comes down to this. If you can still get scared in a house by yourself, then this film is going to work like magic for you. But if you’re never scared by unaccountable noises in your house and you never leave a hall light on then you’re probably just going to think it a silly film.
Once again proof that Brad Grey and Rob Moore are the best in the business.
“Paranormal Activity may not break the box office like Blair Witch did but in many ways it’s actually the better film. The characters are much more likable and thus, easier to care about.”
dang, insneider, that’s what makes ‘blair witch’ so unique, believable and epic, because it’s about three ‘real’ people who are annoying and inept! pretty, bland, likable people are far more annoying (case in point: the cast of ‘cloverfield’. the sooner they all died horribly, the better) but damn if you are ROOTING for that ‘blair witch’ threesome to SURVIVE!
oops, that should be: but damn if you AREN’T ROOTING for that threesome to SURVIVE
True horror geeks saw this at Screamfest two years ago, prior to Telluride.
There’s a moment in “Paranormal Activity” that made me jump higher than pretty much anything I’d seen in a horror movie for years. After that, I was completely sucked in and walked out of the thing thinking it was pretty bad-ass. Like “Blair Witch,” it’s ordinary people, documentary-style, but you’re also post-“Blair Witch,” so you’re expecting certain kinds of low-to-zero budget indie scares. So, when the movie kind of “announces itself,” you realize they have you in the palm of their hand.
I’m definitely a fan.
Wow, that movie looks good! That’s the kind of stuff I like to see…I get tired of Hollywood horror thinking with music cues constantly shrieking and big pounding noises, like those are scary. Gotta see this one.
Reminds me a little of the English tv show Ghostwatch, anyone seen that? Unfortunately it looks like it’s not on DVD, and I’m not saying I downloaded a torrent of it or anything, because that would be wrong. Just so, so wrong. But it was very good!
@BigPerm.. Pipes! Crikey did I shart a wee bit when I saw that sequence in GHOSTWATCH eons ago. PA is like that one crazy sequence (you know the one) in GW amplified by 10 without the cheesy intentional humour. Its staggering that no one has made a PA until now. It was such an obvious setup and style to execute amongst the boom crash opera that is modern horror. I look forward to seeing it again with a primed audience.
That trailer audience cracked me up because it looked like every horrible Universal Citywalk audience EVER, full of fuzzy-stached, visor-rockin’ thuggish teen couples of unknown origin, all mugging and overreacting to shit with no manners. They should’ve laid in the vocal track where EVERY KID IN THE AUDIENCE shouted, “DUUUUUUDE, THIS FUCKIN’ SHIT IS ALL FUCKIN’ FUCKED UP AND SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK.”
Damn JBD, if it’s like Ghostwatch BUT amped up AND missing the humor (which I didn’t mind, but still)…sign me up for this flick!
So Hollywood was going to do a remake? Good thinking, H’wood, you dream factory, you! That’s not a stupid or worthless idea at all!
Perm you’re going to dig it. When I say amped up I’m referring to the spookiness not the chaos that happens at the end of GW with ol Parky’s hair getting rustled.
Speaking of distribution. AICN has a real chance to prove their clout by pushing the little known BLOOD CREEK and seeing if they can make a dumped title take some coin. In the past they’ve claimed a fair amount of kudos for success of certain genre titles, so wouldn’t it be interesting to see them experiment with this ‘power’. Harry likes Schumacher’s nazi horror and is giving it a helping hand but I’d love to see him really champion it, give it free banners and show us what AICN has always claimed – That they put bums on seats. Would the Emperor don his robe and take another chance or did the utter failure of Six String Samurai put a reality stamp on the true power of geek webfluence. The risk is high versus the payoff but any success would instantly deflate any future argument DP could throw at them.