April 27, 2024
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BYOB: 235 Years Of Relative independence
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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
AMC looks like it’s trying to catch Alice’s bluff on the DVD window. I can’t imagine Disney is in position to force their hand on this movie…
AMC is the biggest chain by far in New Jersey and Manhattan, so any “Alice in Wonderland” ban will hurt the Mouse House as far as theatrical revenue.
A ban by AMC would mean they follow England’s biggest chain Odeon in holding firm against Disney.
It’s the biggest in Most of the Mid-Atlantic as well…
It’s the second biggest in the U.S. It also has the most digital IMAX screens.
And if they want to boycott Alice? Their loss. Regal and all the other exhibitors will clean house on the movie’s $100 million opening weekend.
No way Alice goes anywhere over 60 opening weekend. The closer the release date gets the stronger the stench is getting. I would expect a Van Helsing type run, open around 50 top out around 120. And that is if they or AMC blinks on the boycott.
I don’t know Wrecktum. In my area of DC/NOVA(population: 3.5 million) AMC is really the only exhibitor with mega-multiplexes…National Amusements and Regal are in the area but are generally TINY by comparison.
Within 15 miles of my house alone you lose 5 theatres with at least 15 screens…5 of the 8 in NOVA/DC overall. It’ll have an effect Im sure.
Speaking of stink, if Shutter Island can open to 40m, then the sky’s the limit on Alice.
My friend’s 5 year old daughter is literally counting the days. Parents plus kids equals huge.
I am pulling for AMC to keep this up, because I just have no desire to see Alice – good for them.
Make this mistake – if this holds, there’s no way Alice is cracking $50 million. But honestly, EVERY AMC theater I have been to is advertising the hell out of this movie, I don’t think it’s going to stick.
If it does, then HUGE favor to Avatar, which will now have a shot at $800 million.
Speaking of Avatar, have seen it multiple times but when I saw it with the wife a week ago, it was the first time I stayed for the whole credits – wow, talk about using the right font to load up six or seven names per line so that they credits would not go on for 20 minutes! Never saw such a dense-looking end credits.
And imagine my surprise to see that both WETA AND ILM worked on this movie???? Really, had no idea, thought it was just WETA as it seems they’re getting all of the credit.
That’s why they’re digging in. Avatar is still making money for them.
Doesn’t hurt that “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Hubble 3D” (AMC and IMAX have a partnership) aren’t far off..
“That’s why they’re digging in. Avatar is still making money for them.”
Along those lines, Doug R, are we still in an environment where the exhibitors take a higher percentage of money back later in the release? Because if that’s the case, then AMC probably makes out pretty well with Avatar in it’s 12th weekend vs. Alice in its first. Not sure as I know that’s the way it used to be.
“Regal and all the other exhibitors will clean house on the movie’s $100 million opening weekend.”
Helena, is that you?
Reason 6,783,891 why I love Kubrick.
Watching FMJ again. Just noticed that when 8 Ball gets shot the first time by the sniper and everybody opens fire, there’s a quick medium shot with 3 soldiers firing. One of them, however, finds that his M-16 keeps jamming on him. It’s very easy to miss this, since the shot is wide enough and the other 2 are shooting. But on the second time we cut to this shot it becomes apparent that the soldier with the jamming M-16 is actually Rafterman.
Now, any other director would’ve cut closer to specifically show that Rafterman’s rifle is jamming. Why? To play up the irony that he saves Joker shortly after when Joker’s M-16 jams.
However, Kubrick just leaves this detail as part of the mise en scene.
Motherfucker.
ICE DANCING POWER.
Been bagging on the Olympics for MONTHS, but there’s SO much hot tail this year, I’m hooked.
TEAM BELBIN all the way, but this Canadian chick on right now is pretty smokin’ too. YEP.
Mutinyco, nice catch… I’ve seen FMJ roughly 70 times and never noticed that.
RAFTERMAN POWER. KEVYN MAJOR HOWARD POWER. Cool dude and good actor, also VERY memorable in Death Wish 2 and Sudden Impact.
DAMN. Tanitha edged out of the bronze.
No worries, BELBIE.
I’ll hook you up with a WHITE MEDAL.
^GOOD JOKE.^
“Parents plus kids equals huge.”
True, but would you consider G.I. Joe or Enchanted as huge? I can see this playing to almost the same age demographics, grabbing young kids and their parents but leaving out a huge chunk of the in between. There are going to be some teens and people in their twenties drawn in by Depp and the 3D wonder of it, but I can’t imagine this is going to play big across the board.
But why, hcat? You mention a stench. What stench? Seems to me you’re taking your personal disinterest in this film and projecting it on the marketplace. You are wrong.
Gee Wrek, kinda like someone insisting it’d have a massive opening even if a major chain refuses to screen it? Maybe projecting just a wee bit of your excitement onto it?
The fact that it’ll have a massive opening is what we call a truism. How massive? Well, if AMC doesn’t play, then it’ll obviously be less massive than if they do. Their loss, leaving money on the table like that. Maybe they assume that they’ll do awesome holdover business on their second weekend gross of The Crazies, so they don’t need the additional millions of dollars Alice will bring in.
Assuming it’ll do massive business if a chain with such a large marketshare refuses it – thus meaning many cities won’t have it at all – is my point. You are disregarding simple math because YOU are excited.
Sure, it would still make money – but you act as if it would have no impact, when, again, simple math indicates quite the opposite.
@storymark: Spats like these ain’t nothin’ new.
Loews (pre-AMC) never played Star Wars Episodes 1 or 2 in Manhattan. General Cinema didn’t open “Saving Private Ryan” for the original release. Regal didn’t open “Rush Hour 2”. All of those cases had to do with the cost of film rental.
The possible AMC ban on “Alice in Wonderland” is different. Does corporate synergy trump theatrical exhibition?
What percentage of 3D theaters does AMC have? With inflated ticket prices for 3D, that’s where it could hurt the BO, depending on how many 3D theaters they’ll lose if the boycott holds up. It certainly doesn’t have much competition though. I can’t imagine it’s competing against Brooklyn’s Finest for an audience. And even if AMC ends up not showing it, in major markets at least won’t people still be able to easily see it?
Wreck- It’s true I have no interest in the film, but my comments are not spurred by that as much as the marketing for Alice. I have no interest in The Last Song but I think that will be a larger relative hit for Disney based on its trailer.
The campaign for Alice, while everywhere, seems hamfisted to me. It seems like a cynical attempt to cash in a existing product without knowing what to do with the material. I conceeded that family films do strong business at the box office but that this will probably not be the gangbuster hit that people were expecting when the project was announced. Now, if I’m wrong and this gets either fantastic reviews or does $200 million domestic I am perfectly fine with admitting I am wrong and not backtrack my statements or try to explain away Alice’s success.
But this is the place toss off our opinions and projections and mine is that Alice will seriously underwhelm both the audience and the accountants.
Also, since they got Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to over $200 million domestic, I wouldn’t bet against Depp and Burton.
Charlie’s gross certainly made this seem like a good idea to Disney but Warners was able to sell the concept of that film, which was closer to a remake than this Alice version is, than Disney has been able to sell Alice. Maybe I just haven’t seen the same trailers or commercials that everyone else, but everything to me screams trainwreck. We’ll see.
The 20 and 30 somethings I know are really jazzed for it. In fact, I’m worried that it looks too dark and edgy for the kids. In any event, Alice has big hit written all over the smiley calico cat’s face.
Helena Bonham Carter looks SO RIDICULOUS and repulsive in that stupid makeup. Why would she agree to such a thing, and why would a man PUT HIS WIFE THROUGH THAT?
Women should be DEMURE, not look CAMPY AND EMBARRASSING.
why should women be demure?
Carter spent the first decade and a half of her career being demure, I’m sure she loves all the cutting lose Burton’s films allow her.
That’s so right, LexG. It’s like, when I think of Megan Fox, the word “demure” leaps right into my mind. Right after “wholesome.” And “virginal.”
“why should women be demure?”
Because it’s sexy. And no straight guy likes a loudmouth.
Also because (and I am just repeating material here, but whatever) I have a virgin/whore complex courtesy of early exposure to the toxicity known as religion, and as a result (for better or worse) my dysfunctional mind can only process and be attracted to women of two distinct categories: Earnest, non-threatening, demure (but hot) young chicks who seem vaguely wounded… and overt vixens.
Again, often wish it weren’t the case, that I could be casual around and accepting of women of various types and eccentricities, but as the GREATEST MAN OF ALL TIME hath said:
THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS.
Since you know that’s bullshit, why do you have to keep telling us as if we give a fuck?
it was a rhetorical question
The always pleasant and charming Big Perm…
Another busy day at the Maryland Film Commission?
Hi I’m Big Perm and I’m stupid and kind of boring but I’m busy making my own movies and I write them and direct them I’m so busy that I post on Poland’s blog all day long but I only log in to be negative and blunt because it makes my idol Jeff McMahon laugh. And everyone in the world despises Jeff McMahon but I’m JUST ARBITRARILY his biggest fan ever even though, NO, I totally didn’t go to USC with him.
And I’m much happier living in Baltimore the hotbed of the film world making industrial videos because I can fuck models here. Yeah, i fuck so many models and my life is SO GREAT that (and you can research this) I post on MCN EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT EVER from 8pm til 2am doing my dry snarky guy shit.
Like, WHY DO YOU WORK in the film industry? It’s obvious via your posts here that you don’t really know that much about film, you don’t have much to contribute creatively, and you aren’t very smart. I’ve asked before and will ask again, let’s see some of your work. Send a link. Hell, email it to me. You talk a LOT of shit but you just seem kind of dim and hateful.
And then of course you’ll just giddily chuckle, do another line, and opine that I fell for your prickish shtick again, which is fine, but honestly, why do you ONLY clock in to be an asshole OR to say “I WISH I HAD TIME TO SEE MORE FILMS I’M SO BUSY MAKIN’ EM I CAN’T GO SEE EM!”
Yeah, funny how QUENTIN TARANTINO finds time to hit the Vista, Arclight and Chinese two or three times a week in between flying around the globe and rolling with MELANIE LAURENT, but your little backwoods hick ass can’t slip out to the AMC on a lunch break from issuing parking permits to extras.
“I DON’T HAVE TWO HOURS TO SPARE WITH MY BUSY LIFESTYLE. NOW LET ME POST ON THE HOT BLOG FOR THREE HOURS TO MAKE FUN OF LEXG.”
Yeah, who’s the liar and the loser in THAT scenario? Fuck you.
“The 20 and 30 somethings I know are really jazzed for it. In fact, I’m worried that it looks too dark and edgy for the kids.”
Kinda my thought. I don’t know many kids jazzed to see this, but the Hot Topic crowd is chomping at the bit….like they do for everything Burtonesque.
Uh-oh, looks like Lex is off his meds again.
(I know, I know – he doesn’t and wouldn’t take any medication…..but he probably should)
Storymark, fuck you too. Clocking in on cue to bust my balls instead of coming up with something funny on your own.
Nah, just kidding you’re cool. I don’t even want to beef with Big Perm; After seeing INVICTUS and cutting down my drinking, I’ve been trying to be POSITIVE and let bygones be bygones; There’s no sense in carrying out a stupid grudge over some BLOG COMMENTING SQUABBLE. It’s fucking comical that anyone should get us worked up as I just did, or as Perm does, er, any and every time I post that it just annoys him THAT much that he need take time out from his busy day of shoveling snow and corraling extras and speaking in a stupid Baltimore accent, to log in just to tell me to fuck off.
I’m just TIRED of this motherfucker being like one of two or three people out of 2,000 or 3,000 between here and HE who JUST DON’T GET IT.
Like, once VANITY FAIR has run my rants THREE TIMES, *you* are in the wrong if you don’t find them funny.
See also VOYNAR AND POLAND’S RINGING ENDORSEMENT of what a nice, likable person I am. I’ve been feeling pretty good about myself in general since the start of the year, dropping these gems and getting props everywhere, then I gotta put up with “Ziggy Sobotka Perm” taking shots. Really, dude, you don’t have anything BETTER to do with your time?
Christ, at least hit up McDouche on Chat Roulette and have some cybersex or something, summon those memories and longings from the old days at USC.
Hey, LexG, have you ever seen some of the smokin’ hot models who appear in industrial videos? Choice stuff, dude.
Lex – I’ll give you this – I think you’re funny and/or insightful about 60-75% of the time. Once you start going into all-CAP rant mode, I generally just move on, but the rest of the time, I like what you have to say.
And this is a big step up from the maybe 10% (to be generous) I would have given you prior to your newer outlook.
On the other hand, while the grudge some folks have with you borders on obsessive (you and Murphy should get together to hate Jeff as a team!), I’ve never read anything from them that’s as downright spiteful and nasty as some of the stuff you used to write.
I agree with Joe, some of the How to Give the Heimliech videos can be downright erotic.
lex, i generally don’t find your (off-movie) rants funny, and i’m not ‘wrong’. again, if you’re gonna dish it out, you have to learn to take it without going ballistic. you’re deluded if you think you can’t say any type of tired shit you want on a blog and not have someone come back at you, don’t be a hypocrite
sorry, i meant ‘if you think you *can* say blah blah blah’, brain fritz
Leahnz…
Well, CRIKEY, guv’nor, I’ll try to make it more BONZA in the future for you. I’ll slip some A-grade material on the barbie for you and you can get some wee bonza laughs with your nippers, so much so that you can take a spot of time off from having sexual fantasies about your bonza superhero big jim cameron!
bonza power!
Shit, when your main detractors are the Hardon Patrol of good-time guys McDouche, Kamikaze, and Big Perm, with their distaff cheerleader Crikey In Auckland, you MUST be doing something right.
Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go heckle a Celine Dion movie with my “mate.” Must be nice to be so smugly superior at all times.
BONZA POST. No wonder I save my A-GRADE MATERIAL for Wells these days. Over there I’m a fucking NATIONAL TREASURE. Over here you can’t say two words without:
bonza bonza big jim, big jim bonza bonza, i love big jim and fantasize about a grey-haired 60-something old man like he’s brad pitt, bonza bonza big jim, big jim oh YES big jim, OH YES BIG JIM, MMMMM, big jim big jim did i mention i met big jim one time? i love big jim big jim is the best director ever he is god, he is like the almighty zeus and his bodily fluids glitter with bonza gold.
girl power! PLEASE.
“Over there I’m a fucking NATIONAL TREASURE.”
True. Over there you can rant Leykis style against women and homosexuals to an appreciative male audience of back-slappers.
aw, lex, you’re losing the plot
girl power? no DEMURE power!
you’re fun when you’re talking movies and not acting the jackass, lex luthor. i’ve only read HE twice now in my life, but being a national treasure there doesn’t strike me as anything to crow about
(and clearly you mistake me for an australian. get thee to a globe, stat! a few correctorials: i don’t live in auckland; i rarely cheer-lead — tho i did go as one for halloween; i don’t fancy big jim in the slightest (or celine, not sure how she came into this but whatever) but i do like most of his movies…and let’s see i rarely say ‘crikey’, but bonza is definitely me. see, i live in a different country and we have different expressions, and being as i’m not putting on an act 90% of the time and i tend to write the way i talk, the bonzas sneak in if i’m stoked about something. so…suck it! i think that’s quite an american saying, right)
Leah, if you want to hook up next time you’re in L.A., seriously, let’s do this thing. The chemistry is palpable.
I would be TOTALLY down, for real.
And to paraphrase the MIGHTY Andrew Dice Clay:
Australia, New Zealand… WHAT’S the fuckin’ DIFF-A-RENCE?
Plenty of AWESOME people from BOTH countries, and they all have ONE THING in common: They got the fuck out of there and came to America, the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. We get Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson, YOU get YAHOO SERIOUS.
Though you guys are more than welcome to take Alex O’Loughlin back.
what’s the difference between nz and australia? at least we know how to spell B-E-E-R rather than having to settle for four X’s on the can
(i can’t believe that’s the only ‘what’s the difference’ joke i can think of right now, sad. kam probably has some in reverse, god knows we give each other’s countries enough shit)
In my defense, I never said that I’m too busy to see all the movies out because I’m working on tons of movies. Sometimes I’m fucking models.
And one day you may upgrade from the model to the real thing.
I don’t think they could actually build the Death Star, could they?
“at least we know how to spell B-E-E-R rather than having to settle for four X’s on the can”
Zing!
Lex, see, I hadn’t even posted in this entry and I haven’t said shit to you in ages, but, of course, you’re angry and ranting and you have to drag me into it because you’re incapable of having a proper conversation with anyone without screaming and insulting people. Well done.
Leah and I use local colloquialisms, so what? You’re a grotesque manchild with an obsession with fake-looking underage girls who have daddy issues.
“…underage girls who have daddy issues. ”
WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
On a related note:
HAPPY 16TH DAKOTA FANNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TWO. MORE. YEARS. YEP YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
FANNING POWER 4 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVA.
I love it when somebody (in this thread, Big Perm) manages to get under Lex’s skin and launch him on one of his more stupid rants. Good work to one of the smarter and funnier people on this blog.
Also, Lex’s above post would be grounds for expulsion by any sane, non-enabling blogmaster.
Jeff, sorry man but I think Big Perm just might be hetero these days.
Yeah, sorry the other 99% of the world that isn’t you has a sense of humor.
FANNING POWER YEP YEP.
YEP YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
Sorry you JUST DON’T GET IT.
And, JeffyMac, why didn’t you say hi to me at the Arclight a few weeks back when I saw you and your Gaylord Posse there? I TOTALLY saw you; IO is right… either your vision is terrible, or you’re the least observant person ever to fancy himself some kind of artist.
RULE #1 TO BEING A FILMMAKER: You should be OBSERVANT at ALL TIMES.