We were talking about his new film, the crowd-pleasing pure action piece with Denzel, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson as The Humans (as the train and Scott’s virtuosity are the real stars),Unstoppable. But along the way, we also chatted about some of this other films, including True Romance. Here’s that clip in anticipation of the rest of the chat, which will post later this week.
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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
Nice.
I’ve always considered Tony Scott an underrated filmmaker (been a fan since sitting through “The Hunger” twice in a row during its original 1983 theatrical release).
And very sweet hearing him riff on one of my favorite TS movies–hell, one of my favorite movies period.
I dunno, Movieman. Part of me likes some Tony Scott pictures (well, some bits and pieces). But then again, he is not a narrative director (hence my only liking sequences). A lot of them time, he is much more interested in form; pushing film stocks, grades, editing against the music rhythm etc (I loathed Domino, but it would be an example of what he is more interested in).
I think Ridley summed it up best when he said “Tony is rock ‘n’ roll, and I’m after something else.”
Only, Lord knows what Ridley’s “something else” is now. He has not directed a complete picture since Matchstick Men.
Pope- Maybe I should have said that I’ve always considered T. Scott an underrated visual stylist. Certainly on those terms he rocks (to borrow his brother’s apt description).
But except for a few phoning-it-in-misfires (“Beverly Hills Cop 2″ and ‘Revenge” immediately come to mind), I’ve enjoyed most of his films. “True Romance” is definitely at the high end of his ouevre; and shoot me, but I really, really like “Domino”–even if “Man on Fire” did many of the same formal tricks better.
“Top Gun” remains one of my top guilty pleasures of the past 30-odd years.
I think my favorite post-“T. Romance” T. Scott is ’98’s “Enemy of the State”
(talk about underrated!) which has Scott’s coolest overall cast since….well, “Romance.”
Top Gun looks really good in HD. I’ve been wondering, when did movies start having like 50% of their shots be medium close or closer? It’s there in Top Gun. Was T. Scott a pioneer of this look?
So glad he picked Unstoppable over the Warriors remake that he’s been threatening for years. No matter what his last one was like I always look forward to a new Tony Scott film.
I don’t know how Domino got away from him but it was easily his most ambitious film and ended up being a glorious glorious mess. It reminded me of something a reviewer said about Boyle’s A Life Less Ordinary, “only someone of great talent could make a movie this misguided.”
Domino wasn’t misguided. It’s an out-and-out masterpiece, the Toniest of Tony Scott movies.
Jeffrey L. Kimball’s work with Tony Scott is simply the best looking cinema ever burned onto film. Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Revenge, and True Romance. That smokey mixture hitting the setting sun just cannot be topped, and Micheal Bay has tried for his entire career.
Movieman (et al), my turn to say I should have said… Tony Scott is a rock ‘n’ roll director. I always go into his films knowing I will enjoy something. Almost every time I do. He is an avant-garde director working within the mainstream and, let’s not forget he was part of the troop hired in by Simpson/Bruckheimer to lead the charge on MTV style movies.
Torpid Bunny, Scott certainly was one of the pioneers for that look. Straight out of TV advertising, using the long lens for a close-up (of all things). Really made the face “pop” in a way it had not done since Lee Garmes lit Marlene Dietrich.
Scott’s use of colors can be beautiful and I agree with Tofu, it is something that Michael Bay has tried to emulate his entire career (and let’s face it, Bay uses beautiful colors too).
I’m looking forward to the complete interview. Tony seems to laugh a lot, while Ridley is always so bloody glum.
Tony Scott is such a great guy. The predecessor to Danny Boyle. And like Boyle, he’s a wonderful person and such a joy to be around. I’m SO excited that people are finally beginning to realize how influential a filmmaker Tony Scott has been. Can’t wait for the full interview, David!
Tony Scott’s movies, on the whole, blow. He’s certainly worked with some very talented people. I don’t want to be the asshole in the room, but we’re really kidding ourselves if we think he’s an under-rated meastro.
I like True Romance and Enemy of the State, Denzel’s performance in Man on Fire is certainly quality. I’m 29, everyone my age grew up loving and quoting Top Gun except for me. I can’t actually “watch” that movie anymore.
Hopscotch,
Who said anything about “watching” Top Gun? You don’t “watch” Top Gun. No one “watches” Top Gun. You feel it. You feel the need. The need for speed.
just curious, but how is tony scott the predecessor to boyle? boyle began his career in UK tv before scott even began his directorial career (i believe, i’d have to check that to be sure) and boyle’s specific visual style and sensibility has developed over time and his more intellectual bent is quite different from scott’s; i don’t see the connection (unless one considers using a lot of hand-held shaky cam in ‘slumdog’ as being indebted to scott, i haven’t seen the franco arm slice movie yet)
my bad, boyle began directing tv movies in ’87, scott began directing in earnest in ’83 (wow tony is much older than i’d thought, maybe it’s that hat he always wears that makes me think of him as ridley’s super baby bro but they’re only 7 years apart)
I don’t know if he was just sucking up, but hearing Poland tell Scott that TRUE ROMANCE is still the best Tarentino, and that he (QT) doesn’t have the visual chops…Jesus!
KILL BILL, not visual brilliant? Sorry, but both PULP FICTION and INGLORIOUS BASTERDS are better than anything Scott has done.
And while I like some of Scott’s films a lot (esp. CRIMSON TIDE and MAN ON FIRE), DOMINO is an outright embarassment.
Dave.
You’re killin’ me here.
When / where is the rest of the Tony Scott interview??
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