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 may have asked this before, but: Is this a remake/expansion of a Twilight Zone episode that featured Lee Marvin?
I don’t believe this is a remake of Battling Maxo, Joe. Though it certainly seems to have some of the elements.
By all logic this film should be crap, but the trailers keep surprising me. Personally I’d be more motivated to go if it was more adult oriented, but it does look like a fun film.
Two words: Shawn Levy. Pass.
They just polished a turd into the Star of motherfucking India.
All bets are off. Sleeper of the summer has arrived.
Strangely appealing.
It seems like, even if it’s bad, it’ll be entertainingly bad, so it’s got my money.
http://blog.growingtreetoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Rock-Em-Sock-Em-Robots.jpg
from the ‘who knew?’ files:
rock’em-sock’em robots kicks battleship’s and monopoly’s first-to-live-action-adaptation ass
“Real Steel” the movie is based on the short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson, who adapted that short story into the “Steel”/”Battling Maxo” episode of The Twilight Zone.
when we spoke with producers rapke and starkey at the ‘mars needs moms’ press day, they were pretty proud of the fact that ‘real steel’ would be using the same tech…i’m willing to hope for the best but……….
so joe L was correct re: the source material
(‘steel’ aired in oct ’63 on ‘the TZ’, rock’em sock’em robots debuted in ’64…maybe a case of ‘games imitating art’. or maybe not)
There is a frequent commenter on this board who happened to produce the movie who could probably answer the question, though he’d probably find a way to take a few shots at DP in the process.
Please don’t misunderstand — I wasn’t trying to accuse Don or anyone else connected with Real Steel of plagiarism. I was just curious about whether this is an adaptation/remake.
Just as I’m also curious about Mama Mia — did the people behind the musical (and the movie version) ever openly/officially acknowledge Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell as an inspiration?
This just in from Don Murphy in Exile: “Not sure I CAN answer the question, since I think I was banned but what was the question? Yes of course it is based on the Twilight Zone episode and of course Kingo is wrong again. He probably could have googled the answer in 1 minute but was too busy patting himself on the back for being a genius.”
Yeah, but what about Mamma Mia? Someone? Anyone?
Funny… Nikki Whisperer was right. And Joe took the opportunity to include the shot at me while being able to put the responsibility on Don. Nice.
Oddvark already answered the question last night.
good looking trailer. sells the movie better than i would have thought possible.
In October though? Feels like it’ll die quick.
Joe, Anne Thompson said so in 2008 but she may have just been assuming.
http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/07/mamma-mia-meets.html
I also found a 2001 Observer pan of the play that brings up the comparison.
The Facebook page for Buona Sera says the plot was lifted for Mama Mia…
Here’s a clip from a TimesOnline interview with Catherine Johnson:
“I ask if she ever saw Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell, a Gina Lollobrigida movie about a woman who lived on maintenance payments from three GIs. She hasn’t, but people have told her about it. She wonders, rather, if she was influenced by a play called Filumena Marturano, which she thinks she saw in Bath. Since she then spends ten minutes googling on her phone to identify its author (Eduardo De Filippo), its influence must have been marginal at worst.”
I wonder if this is a case where the writer saw Buona Sera on TV when she was very young — remember, we’re talking about a 1968 movie — and simply forgot about it. Or at least forgot about actually seeing the film, but retained on some subconscious level the basics of the plot. Or read a review of the movie a long time ago, and then forgot about it.
That, or she’s lying.