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
Small correction: The Hannover House’s deal for Joel Schumacher’s “Twelve” is a theatrical deal. Hannover House has even bought in Tom Ortenberg to oversee the domestic distribution of “Twelve”; Hannover House wouldn’t do that if they don’t want to give this film a serious theatrical release.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i662cd5cc93e73343c278b11ff453011b
Tom Ortenberg is definitely a smart guy, so “Twelve” would have chance to become an indie box office hit.
Sundance sales in 2010 may not be excellent, but it is definitely better than what happened in last few years; it deserves some hypes (especially considering that there were too much bad news for indie market).
When IFC even paid $1.5 million to buy a day-and-date theatrical/VOD release, sellers definitely have good reason to be happy.
“Precious” is not Little Miss Sunshine or Blair Witch at all, but it doesn’t have to be; like what Tom Bernard indicated, not every film has to be as big of a hit as “Juno”.
Twelve is one of the worst novels I have ever read, if not the worst. I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe how truly awful it is. Hopefully the movie is better.
Dave, I’ve answered my own question on another thread re: Kids Are All Right. Director Cholodanko put budget @ 3.5 mil (versus IMDB’s inflated $10 mil), which makes sense as its the SAG low budget agreement ceiling. But WOW! Look what level of star power now needs to be delivered under that contract to eek out a profitable sale! Oh well. At least financiers re-couped.