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’m a lawyer!”
See, when I think of Harvey and TMZ now, I think of the light, goofy TV incarnation, where Levin seems like a fun, goofy mensch, perennially slingin’ about that steel coffee mug and doing double-takes over Max The Surfer’s lechery and the Margot Kidder Chick’s malapropisms.
However shady their methods, however scummy the papparazzi, that show (I don’t know if people outside of L.A. even watch, but at least to those who do) basically makes Levin look like the sunniest, swellest, most lovably zany boss you could ever have, and makes that rag-tag crew of catty gay guys, hot chicks, and bemused dude-bros seem like the greatest office ever.
Plus it helps that the way they intercut movie clips with the wacky narration is pretty legitimately funny.
So I guess when you hear TMZ, you hear shady papparazzi invading everyone’s privacy through questionable means, skirted by Levin’s lawyering…
I just think of my cool TV Friends like THE SMOKING HOT GLASSES CHICK who sits to Max’s left.
HOTTEST CHICK IN THE TMZ ROOM, HANDS DOWN.
(Of course no one here watches it, not even Poland…. why did I type that…)
Dave I really dislike your selective persecution of journalists. These were documents relating to a criminal investigation. This is information that could probably be obtained rather easily about you or me. This cop, if indeed TMZ had a cop give this info, would be a source and should she be protected. Say what you will about TMZ they bother to get documents and proof about 90 percent of their stories. Which is more than most legitimate news sources do these days. I respect that. He tried an all dry facts version of this called celebrity justice but nobody cared. This is juicer but no less factual
the tv incarnation of tmz is just goofy fun (and i’m sure several of those pretty faces were hired for a reason)….print/on-line: not so much… but, please explain the roman polanski ref, i think i missed something…
While we are on Mel Gibson, just watched the Edge of Darkness trailer and it reminded me that Mel does revenge movies better than almost everyone else in the business. With Ransom, The patriot, Braveheart, Payback, and even Lethal Weapon 1&2, taking a revenge slant, I wonder if audiences will take revenge on him at the box office with this offering or if all is forgiven.
Ironically Edge of darkness opens on the same weekend next year that Taken opened this year, and Taken seemed right out of Mel’s wheelhouse. Mel just has that edge that few actors can come close to when it comes to these types of films. Ransom went over very well in my neck of the woods a few years ago, and Edge of darkness just plays perfectly into that.
Also, the new Wolfman trailer is a vast improvement.
I watched five minutes of those jack-asses on TMZ and felt my soul leaving my body. Ugh.
Indeed. Just stalking the celebs is bad enough, but the TMZ crews go even further by asking them deliberately offensive and insulting questions, hoping to provoke an adverse reaction that they can then send out everywhere. Doesn’t that new papparazzi law apply to these bums?