April 26, 2024
BYOB
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BYOB: 235 Years Of Relative independence
BYOB Weekend: Hop, An April Fool’s Gag?
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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
Saw VI is actually the best of the new releases this week. A strong comeback after two weak entries.
But please, fellow fans…wait till after opening weekend to see it. Much as I like the series, it needs to stop while it’s ever-so-briefly ahead.
SAW POWER.
Fuck that noise Lou. I’ll see it three times tomorrow alone.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE FOR SAW VI: 58 MIL.
GUARANTEED. TAKE THAT TO THE BANK.
Also, this is going to be important: Does “Antichrist” come out this weekend? Probably not, though Slant published their review for the 36th time the other day as if it were opening this weekend.
So my question is, how come Poland and Wells and the Super Movie Friends and Slant and every online publication in the WORLD has reviewed “Antichrist” as if it’s a wide release like 10,000 times, if it’s still a ways off? Even if it is dropping this weekend, what was the point of all those earlier reviews FROM EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD, if the regular people can’t see it yet anyway? I know it’s more of a critics’ movie/festival darling that NO ONE will actually go see…
But a lot of you guys have seen “In the Air” and plenty of other forthcoming Oscar bait flicks, but they haven’t been very publicly reviewed, dissected, spoiled and debated months before a single paying audience member has a chance to see them. To read MCN or H.E., you’d think it’s already come and gone and on its way to DVD.
Who would have thought Saw is one of the most profitable movie franchise in this decade?
I still remember seeing the first one at TIFF. I liked it, but didn’t think it would make much.
Lex, Antichrist opened today here in Boston, but BOM says it’s only at 6 theaters in the country. NY Times reviewed it, but it looks like the L.A. Times didn’t, so maybe none of the 6 are in L.A. That seems weird.
When the first film’s ad team was working with Stern on his first “Amputee Beauty Pageant” I just knew they would make a shitload on that first film. It actually opened so-so, around 18 mill, due to a genre clash that same weekend with I think Blade 2 or a Resident Evil movie. Had it opened on its own I think it would have done close to 30. Not surprised it’s at film 6 by now, but I can’t imagine they have more than another 3 or 4 before it starts going direct to DVD. Or is it going to be the James Bond of horror?
Antichrist opened in LA at the Nuart today.
And here’s the L.A. Times review, so forget my earlier comment.
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-antichristbox23-2009oct23,0,2717032.story
Reviewed by Betsy Sharkey. Shocker.
So were Cirque and Amelia.
Christ, what exactly does Turan DO at that paper? Can you imagine Roger Ebert sitting out 80% of the major new releases?
I love “Antichrist” and cannot WAIT to see it with a crowd. It’s much better than the 5 minutes that will freak everyone out and make the film truly memorable.
Also- I’m at the Austin Film Festival and man, once again these guys have put together an amazing fest that gets next to zero attention. The panels are outstanding and the movies are as well. This fest always snags a couple fest darlings from the year but is mainly new features and local ones that are all really varied. I don’t know what this fest did to get kicked off the cool kids table, but I think it’s time they got more love.
Saw 6 is going to make roughly 50% of what the other films in the series did on their opening weekends. This franchise is officially dying.
The rest of this weekend’s offerings are DOA. November can’t come fast enough.
um….saw vii 3-d is already in production and will be out next october regardless of what happens this week-end (at least that’s what i’ve been told)…….
Scooter, I can corroborate that (although my understanding is pre-production, not actual production).
Fuck it, SAW WEEKEND is basically LEX WEEKEND, so it’s time for SUPERMARKET STRIKEOUT!
Hey, SMOKING HOT CHICK with the CLIPBOARD outside of the grocery store: No I do not have a moment to discuss THE OCEANS, but if you’ll let me go down on you, you can babble all about it while your legs are covering my ears. ZING!
Also, inside the store tonight there was some SHMOOOOOOOOOOOKIN’ HOT, petite but ripped little asspiece with more ink than Kat Von D, all BADASS and SKINNY and HOT and being AWESOME. Brunette, wearing ass-tight jeans and flip flops. YEP YEP. So I ended up in the DETERGENT AISLE at the same time, coming right towards each other, and in a bit of business THAT WOULD MAKE JAMES BOND PROUD, I HALF-NODDED and gave a SHEEPISH, I KNOW I’M A DOUCHE SMILE before INSTANTLY BURYING MY HEAD, as she indifferent zoomed past me with the urgency of Cole Trickle making for Victory Lane.
But the laugh was on her because once she had passed, I TOTALLY turned around and ogled her ass. BOOYAH, RULES TO BE A MAN. Plus in my head I was imagining myself saying, “What’s up, vagness. Show me your tits.” GOOD IDEA.
Hey on CRAIGSLIST there’s a chick (or her handlers) advertising an open-to-the-public GANG BANG filming; Looks like the Lexman will be taking care of that ACTING and that pussy problem in one fell swoop. Is there ANY EARTHLY REASON NOT to be one of the 200 dudes slamming this chick in some video NO ONE will ever see?
YEP YEP.
P.S.:
SAW POWER.
LexG: “Show me your tits!” only works in my hometown of New Orleans. And even there, only during Mardi Gras.
I planned the syllabus for my Social Aspects of Film class long before Roman Polanksi’s arrest reminded folks of his somewhat, ah, checkered past. Tomorrow, I am showing my SECOND Polanksi film of the semester (Chinatown, after Rosemary’s Baby). I hope my students don’t think I’m trying to defend the guy….
CATCH THAT KID.
I wish I had money for yey tonight.
I’d be freebasing like JO JO DANCER.
Since I’m still sober, maybe I should just get in the car and just go get a streetwalker.
FUCK am I horny. Next time I get some vag (next never), I’m gonna go off like a fucking 1920’s Seltzer bottle.
mcmahon — i spoke with one of the producers last week who said they’ve got the script, the money, the greenlight…and bell has been signed (but mandylor wouldn’t cop to being involved…i guess not to ‘spoil’ anything)….so, i guess it’s kind of a post-pre-production period…but they did say it’s happening no matter the reaction to this week-end….
Don, the moment that actually got the biggest response from my (film festival) crowd of Antichrist was the title card that read “CHAOS REIGNS” since it basically implied the infamous stuff was coming soon.
To read MCN or H.E., you’d think it’s already come and gone and on its way to DVD.
It’s an IFC release, so for all intents and purposes it has
(OOOOOOOOOOOOO)
Scooter, all I know is a friend of mine has been offered a job on the production, but they aren’t shooting yet.
LexG, are you George Lucas? The way you write reminds me of the first star wars script.
Don…
I think the biggest problem with Austin Film Festival is timing. Coming on the heels of what for most critics is nearly a month of travel, post Toronto, post Venice, post Telluride, post Fantastic Fest (at least recently), AFF is a hard cost to justify, and if I want to catch up on titles that have played other festivals, I can stay here in LA and do that at the AFI Fest.
I don’t think it’s got much to do with the Festival itself. It’s just found itself in a position where it becomes a calendar afterthought.
DrewW: Quite true. Alas.
Yeah, totally Drew. And Fantastic Fest plopping down in late September/early October didn’t help matters either. I was talking to someone about the fact there’s no really great summer film festival but most cities are so oppressively hot it wouldn’t work to move there either. It’s a bummer cuz man, there’s some amazing stuff happening at AFF….he says after just waking up and sitting around for an hour…
The best summer film festival I’ve been to is FanTasia in Montreal. It’s three weeks of Fantastic Fest-style programming, and it’s a perfect time to be in Montreal. The Jazz festival is happening, the Just For Laughs comedy festival is going on, the outdoor World Music Festival is happening, and it’s always temperate and lovely.
“MILK” is on HBO right now; Anyone else notice this movie would be a lot more awesome if it was just about BROLIN the whole time, and maybe they threw in some HOT CHICKS instead of all these dorky looking dudes in fake mustaches?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an excellent story, Penn is good, and Van Sant is a great director… But the BROLIN STUFF sooooooo overpowers all the P.C., up-with-people earnestness of the sunny bulk of the narrative… then GVS gets to the Brolin parts and it has that queasy, unsettling Elephant/Gerry/Last Days quality that is BRILLIANT.
I’ve made the point before, but for such a good director, a LOT of the period detail seems bogus, a lot of the supporting players (Cross, Hirsch, Pill) seem fake and play-acting, and it’s FAKE WIGS AND STACHES AHOY.
Plus, ALL respect to my gay friends, acquaintances and fellow posters, but at least in the 70s, didn’t gay dudes notice HOW HOT VAG IS, especially when the alternative was a bunch of dorky looking dudes in MUSTACHES? Shit, the choice is between some CATHERINE BACH looking bomb-ass 70s chick and JOSEPH CROSS in a gay mustache? I don’t even understand WHY WOMEN have sex with men.
Where is JOE LEYDON when you need him… On Encore Westerns right now is some true “I NEVER HEARD OF THIS, EVER” shit called THE HUNTING PARTY, from 1971, with GENE HACKMAN in a WALRUS STACHE AND BURNS, and the first second I put it on, he’s got some SHMOKIN’ HOT ASIAN SQUACK in bed with him, with her ASS so naked you can pretty much see levels of A.H. you generally don’t get outside the Belladonna filmography, and Hackman’s threatening her with a lit stogie…. cut to Candace Bergin getting nailed by Oliver Reed… WHAT THE HELL is this? Never heard of it, EVER, looks insane and weird and kinky and violent, and apparently from the same year Hackman was sealing his fame as Popeye Doyle.
Keep watching Lex, THE HUNTING PARTY is as much fun as stomping on a sack full of kittens. But for some strange reason I really like this misanthropic miasma of a western. There’s lots of sweat, degradation and the ugliest bullet hits since THE WILD BUNCH. Actually they’re uglier, wherein TWB they’re operatic, in THP they’re fucking chunks of scotch fillet being torn from heads. Its one of the ugliest westerns ever made, right up there with CUTTHROATS NINE.
Pauline Kael called THP “loathsome” saying she had never used that word to describe a film before.
Serious question:
For nearly 30 years I’ve heard Pauline Kael floated about as some GOLD STANDARD of film criticism; You certainly see her influence all over most “serious” contemporary criticsm…
Did this chick ever have any detractors? Personally, I always thought he kinda blew. Yeah, yeah, I know — “but her WRITING is so rich!” Who cares. So’s mine, and everybody hates my point of view.
Kael and her devotees seem to be of the “it doesn’t matter if you agree with her taste, but her WRITING made you think about the film in such an interesting way” variety. I say FUCK THAT. She was just a blowsy, obnoxious, Betsy Palmer-looking hen with truly TERRIBLE taste in film. Go through her reviews and it’s an Armond White/Ed Gonzalez level of smug, pleased-with-self blathering and ridiculous opinions.
And you know what? I’ve never gotten that whole “their reviews make you think” bullshit. I love movie critics but basically I like to latch on to dudes I CAN RELATE TO. Both because our opinions GENERALLY match up, and because they seem like awesome dudes whose personalities have aspects of my own: Roeper, Lyons, JEFF “LEXG IN — YEARS” WELLS, Poland, Dargis, Lou, McWeeny, etc etc.
Life’s too short to read some reaching sociopolitical BULLSHIT from a point of view I don’t agree with just because it’s “interesting.” Movies are EMOTIONAL, not INTELLECTUAL, which is why 99.99999% of critics ANNOY THE FUCK OUT OF ME with their detached, smug, sit in the back row, “thrill me” bullshit.
You know how many movies I see? You know how many movies Quentin Tarantino sees? Or Scorsese? You ever hear a FILM FANATIC like Tarantino all BORED and POMPOUS in his KEN TURAN SMOKING JACKET, complaining about violence, or talking up some OLD-ASS CARTOONS like Len Maltin? You should ALWAYS be EXCITED to see EVERY MOVIE, or GO READ A FUCKING BOOK.
Which is why it is my STEADFAST ASSERTION that if I see 100 movies a year, I would rate 75 of them as “good” or at least entertaining, and even the other 25 are usually enjoyable, as in better than reading fucking Pauline Kael.
YAHOOOOOO, YA MOTHERFUCKERS.
Anybody ever HIRE a street walker?
IT’S DIVINE BROWN O’CLOCK IN LEXYLVANIA.
Hope she’s a she. YEP YEP.
Still waiting to hear about the gangbang video I responded to on THE LIST. I don’t know if I’ll be able to perform with 200 other dudes in the room.
I can’t even piss at a urinal if someone else is in the bathroom.
LET ME BE A CASE STUDY in the LACK OF SEX leading to depression, desperation, misery, and awesome self-destruction.
How much does that Bunny Ranch bullshit cost?
ISABELLA SOPRANO, here I come.
WASH THE SHEETS.
LexG FTW.
mayol: “who won?”
johana: “what, the asshole contest?”
“Movies are EMOTIONAL, not INTELLECTUAL(…)” Sounds like something Pauline Kael would say.
Seriously, I’m not a fan of hers, though I was when I was in my early 20s and first getting into film criticism. I even saw her speak once at my film school. But wasn’t she all about the visceral, low down dirty thrills of the movies? She championed a lot of genre stuff that other critics dismissed. Not saying she would’ve been a Michael Bay fan or anything, but she’s not exactly the poster girl for the kind of pompous, pseudo-intellectual criticism that you’re decrying, Lex.
This is likely not the time to bring up a conversation I had years ago with Candice Bergman about The Hunting Party.
Yes it is, Joe! What did she say?
She probably said “My name isn’t BERGMAN.”
You guys know who’s a SMOKING HOT PIECE? That chick from the AVEENO commercials. GodDAMN, that chick is a boner factory.
WANT. TO. DO. HER.
YEP YEP.
Not like any of you eunechs probably noticed.
“It’s Divine Brown o’clock in Lexylvania” is the greatest piece of writing in the English language since Shakespeare put down his quill.
FUN early L.A. memories for me; Actually WOULD like to hear other people’s similar anecdotes….
My first movie when I got to L.A. was either FARGO at the Century City AMC, or Executive Decision somewhere in the San Gabriel Valley for some reason.
Any other mid-’90s connoisseurs remember how all the Oscar bait, limited release movies used to drop in some now-strange venues? Long before we were spoiled by the Arclight, Grove, Landmark, etc….
I remember seeing LARRY FLYNT in its “Oscar qualifying run” in some shoebox theater, I think an ODEON, in Santa Monica… BOOGIE NIGHTS dropped at the AMC CC and, of all places… YES, the UNIVERSAL CITYWALK.
Just wrap your mind around, say, SERIOUS MAN or HURT LOCKER in its VERY SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT at the UNIVERSAL CITYWALK. But a mere 12 years ago that was a regular venue for limited release shit.
And of course the Sunset 5. Used to be THEEEEEE place to see the cool shit. I still LOVE this theater, and they’ve refurbished the seats and it’s still cool, plus I know LOU MET CHRISTINA RICCI THERE (YES), but that first theater when you go in?
Christ, can still remember seeing CHASING AMY in there, and NOWHERE, and TWO GIRLS AND A GUY, and HAPPINESS, and SLING BLADE, and THE APOSTLE.
1996, 1997, 1998 were the MOST MAGICAL TIMES in the history of L.A.
I used to drive around blasting WHO SUCKED OUT THE FEELING and LAKINI’S JUICE and EVERYTHING ZEN and SUMMERTIME by the SUNDAYS and FROGSTOMP on KROQ, all new to L.A. and open-hearted and earnest, some F.O.B. bumpkin living in a shitty apt. in NoHo and cruising around THE STRIP and imagining the MAGIC that the VIPER ROOM and the WHISKY would behold… then when I got to go in those places, thinking I’D MADE IT in life, walking up and down that strip, driving up and down it, all excited by BUSH and SAVE FERRIS and LIVE and BROTHER CANE and CHEMICAL BROTHERS, listening to the RIKKI RACHTMAN SHOW on KLSX and being SOOOOOOOOOOOO into living in L.A., the most exciting place in the world….
Going to the DERBY, going on game shows, having a full head of hair, doing extra work, standup, dressing up in STRUCTURE CLOTHES and ZOOT SUITS and being so HAPPY, all excited about TITANIC and thinking I was the NEXT SKEET ULRICH.
Happiest fucking years of my life.
Happiest I’ve ever been, and probably ever will be.
For other mid-90s connoisseurs, and endlessly appropriate to my now-disillusioned mindstate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2buLteYLwc
LexG; You are correct, sir. Bergen, not Bergman. That’s what I get for posting while watching a ball game. Yikes.
Oh, Christ, Joe, never use the word “ball” when Lex is around!
And dreadful punning “joke” in 5,4,3,2…
Saw A Serious Man, today…..FANTASTIC! Gotta get all hyperbolic, here, but best Coen Brothers film since Fargo! Sorry, I was a bit mixed on ‘No Country. Just a great, entertaining morality play….I’m Jewish and not so big on the heavily Jewish films, but I just loved it.
Good performances, good cinematography, great usage of score and Jefferson Airplane….certainly up there for my best of the year. Kind of reminded me of Crimes and Misdimeanors, which is my favorite Woody Allen movie.
Check it out!
SERIOUS MAN was BORING AS FUCK.
NO COUNTRY HAD SHOTGUN VIOLENCE.
SERIOUS MAN WAS BOOMER HIPPIE FUCKING BULLSHIT.
OOOOH, LOOK, SMOKING WEED! JEFFERSON AIRPLANE!
SICK TO FUCKING DEATH OF THE FUCKING BOOMER ERA and all the TIRED TROPES.
Plus — GOOD OBSERVATION TO FOLLOW — if the Coens made a movie about THE MINUTIA OF CATHOLIC RELIGION, every critic in the world would be appropriately bored. Religion is BORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING and I never want to hear about it in my movies, be it whatever the Coens were talking about, or some Hallmark Channel reborn shit.
YOU KNOW ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS JEFF WELLS IS AWESOME?
HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE has actual funny, fun posters with a sense of levity and perspective,
Unlike Cold Blog,
which is a handful of snippy gay dudes, a couple Socialist dorks, a handful of aging movie producers and hangers-on, and a Yenta single mom from Australia Jr.
But I’ll be back tomorrow when no one bans me.
Also, what was awesome was when that bitchboy douche James Rocchi and his fooling-no one PORKPIE HAT emailed Poland to TATTLETALE on me because I made fun of his LITHP.
ROCCHI, COME GET DEEZ NUTS, DOUCHEBOY.
The only good thing about Hollywood Elsewhere is seeing Jeff Wells constantly get cuckolded on his own site.
See you tomorrow, fatboy!
I’ve never posted on HE. Frankly, I am afraid to.
I would like to see Serious Man…will get around to it after all of the Halloween and day of the dead parties.