May 18, 2024
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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
The box office “disappointment” that is Dark Knight Rises outgrosses The Dark Knight worldwide and gets over the billion dollar hump.
It will finish in the top 10 all-time worldwide, and #7 all-time domestically is a lock. But it will always be viewed by some as a disappointment…
Poor Oogieloves!!
EDIT:Whoops bulldog missed your comment! Haha
Look at that “Intouchables”! Even factoring in the Canadian millions, that’s remarkably good for a foreign lingo flick that most U.S. critics shrugged off.
And congrats to “Southern Wild” for reaching–well, almost–the $10-million mark. Sometimes good things happen to little movies.
The combined success of “SW” and “Marigold Hotel” should take some of the sting out of the combined 2012 FS catastrophes of “Ruby Sparks,” “Lola Versus” and “Sound of My Voice.”
But “Celeste and Jesse”! Ouch; too bad.
Still keeping my fingers crossed that “Moonrise Kingdom” ultimately surpasses “Marigold Hotel”‘s domestic cume.
Apparently I’m in the minority but I thought “Lawless” was terrific. It has three wonderful weirdo performances from Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman (brief) and, beaming in from another world, Guy Pearce. The movie feels like an art house version of a drive-in movie. I don’t know how serious it means to be as “art”, but as entertainment it really crackles.
With this, Nolan becomes the only director in history to release two movies that both hit one billion without the aide of 3D.
MADAGASCAR 3 will pass MADAGASCAR 2 tomorrow to become the top film in the franchise worldwide. It also will shortly top MIB 3 worldwide, meaning 5 of the top 6 films on the planet this year are superhero movies or animated sequels.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN had a boffo Chinese opening, and might finish ahead of SPIDER-MAN 2 worldwide. It’s already the #7 superhero film of all-time worldwide.
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ reaches $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Mission Accomplished?
The one thing this summer seemed to lack when compared with last summer was the laughs. Only Ted broke out, and The Campaign is a minor hit, but nothing compared with the Hangover/Bridesmaids/Horrible Bosses/Bad Teacher combo last year.
The top 5 comedies, ironically the top 4 were R rated, grossed more than $700M last year. This year, we’re looking at just above $400m for the top 5.
2012 Animation kicked 2011 animation’s however, even though there were three major releases this year with less room to breathe than the major two last year in Cars2 and Kung Fu Panda2 that both underperformed. And the Smurfs was outperformed by Ice Age4, which has experienced less depreciation domestically from its immediate predecessor than the 2011 releases.
And as for comic book movies, well Avengers total is almost identical to the combined totals of Thor, Captain America, Xmen and Green Lantern combined.
Totally agree about the failure of comedies…and the slate is bare in that genre for practically a whole month.
FUN SIZE coming October 12th.
Comedy and hotness, something for everybody.
How did DP resist titling this thread “Klady’s 3-Day Possestimates”?
Lawless was fucking AWESOME.
Speaking of awesome, “Celeste and Jesse” is an absolutely amazing film that should be doing a lot better than it is.
“C&J” might even be this generation’s “Modern Romance.”
And being the world’s biggest Albert Brooks fan, I can’t think of a higher compliment than that.
To this day, my wife and I can quote lines from Modern Romance to each other. Like when Brooks looks at his Rolodex. (“Look at all my friends!”) Or when the phone rings. (“Mr. Popularity!”)
Or:
“You’ve heard of a no-win situation, right?… No? You’ve never heard of one? Vietnam…? This…?”
I actually used that line during a break-up in the early ’80s.
The fact that my ex didn’t even realize I was quoting Albert Brooks (and/or “Modern Romance”) probably explains why we weren’t meant for each other, lol.
the ‘ludes kicked in!
(sorry not exactly pertinent but I couldn’t resist, my fave scene in ‘modern romance’, albert brooks kills)
Another thing about Modern Romance: We’ve occasionally posted here about the frequency of casual nudity in ’70s and ’80s movies. Indeed, I think it’s safe to say that, at the time, we pretty much took it for granted. But I must admit: Even back then, I was (pleasantly) surprised when Kathryn Harrold matter-of-factly bared all in a throwaway scene while co-starring as Albert Brooks’ on-again, off-again girlfriend. It’s the kind of scene that I bet you’d never, ever see today, even in most R-rated flicks.
The closest equivalent to that type of “casual nudity” (I love that phrase: frequently use it myself, lol) was Olivia Munn in the opening scene of “Magic Mike.”
While hardly “essential” to the film, it didn’t seem remotely gratuitous either.
Just like the copious bare flesh in so many New Hollywood movies.
Movieman, I wonder if it’s less studio prudishness than actors knowing their nudity is destined to inform the seasoned masturbator. (And even the nights-and-weekends masturbator.)
Ray: I suspect you are correct. I have raised this issue during interviews with certain actresses — delicately, so as not to come off as, well, creepy — and all of them were resigned to the fact that still photos film clips of their nude scenes (even fleeting nudity) were widely available on line. And they weren’t at all happy about it.
Joe, you should never ask to their face. Just drop a line to James Mangold, like a seasoned pro.
Plenty of Helen Hunt casual nudity in “The Sessions” (a title so drab it practically seems to guarantee no casual nudity). Only one film, obviously, but I can’t decide if I buy this bygone-era-of-casual-nudity argument that keeps popping up-. Maybe it’s more of a casual-nudity-has-become-the-province-of-indies deal?
Chris: You could be right about the indie thing. Funnily enough, this won’t be the first time Helen Hunt has bared all for her art. Not even the first time she’s bared all in an indie about an incapacitated guy. Anyone else here remember The Waterdance? (And in the unlikely event Ms. Hunt reads this: No disrespect intended. I look forward to seeing your next directorial effort as eagerly as I await seeing your bodacious ta-tas again.)
Ray: LOL. Such is the stuff of legend. I fear when that fellow passes on to that Great Screening Room in the Sky, at least half the obits will reference that story.
nudity on cable tv series is very common .
first time nudity gets way more attention like Sarah Silverman – Kristen Stewart – Kristen Dunst –
they are all shocked but thats what they signed up for .
plus some girls get paid the big bucks to get into Playboy like Lindsay Lohan …. can we discuss Playboy pictures in a byob … ?
out of dozen movies playing right now – think Lawless is the only one with nudity .
over 800 comments on here …
What celebrity are you just dying to see naked?
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/gee91/what_celebrity_are_you_just_dying_to_see_naked/
Yes, “Waterdance:” a very good movie.
I’d almost completely forgotten it: can’t believe it’s been 20 years.
Weren’t Hunt and Eric Stoltz an item back then?
And what ever became of Neal Jimenez? He practically fell off the face of the earth after co-directing that fllm.
Even without “Waterdance,” Jimenez would continue to get major props from me for scripting Tim Hunter’s “River’s Edge” (speaking of lost directors!)
I’m not sure if “fell off the face of the earth” is a phrase I would use in regard to Neal Jimenez.
Neal Jimenez. – last film in 1995 … haven’t watched most of his movies.
more nudity talk – some women can’t ruin the brand – Jennifer Lawerence – no way .. got more hunger games.
was surprised with K-Stew. LexG is probably going crazy over that.
Shannon Elizabeth in American Pie – really got noticed after that but then didn’t get noticed for acting …the new American Pie movie – Ali Corbin… could end up the same thing.
nothing from Mila Kunis – got close in Black Swan and Friends with Benefits – which kinda required it .
plus there is sometimes too much – Charlize Theron in a lot of movies. Emmy Rossum in Shameless … Morena Baccarin in Homeland … Lena Dunham in Girls …
again – cable tv. actresses will risk it but not that much iin Entourage…
Louie had an episode which could have had nudity – the one with Mellisa Leo but it didn’t have it … still made for a funny episode – given the crazy thing Louie had to do.
Hmmmmm.
Do tell, Joe.
Do you know something about Jimenez’s whereabouts that IMDB isn’t sharing?
I’d like to think that he’s teaching screenwriting at UCLA.
OK, now I fear I’m going to sound snarky at best, insensitive at worst. You do know he’s paralyzed in real life, as a result of a climbing accident, and drew upon his experiences to write The Waterdance, right?
Yep, I seem to recall reading that at the time.
And found it refreshing that neither Jimenez (or anyone else for that matter) seemed to make a big deal of it.
Also sort of curious that his “Waterdance” co-director Michael Steinberg has also been conspicuously MIA since the mid-’90s, too.
Strange.
Actually, I recall liking Michael Steinberg’s Bodies, Rest and Motion. And I think he’s done some writing and producing stuff since then, But, yeah, he’s sort of drifted off into Movie Limbo, too.
Speaking of “B, R & M,” whatever happened to Bridget Fonda?
I really loved her back in the ’90s (“Singles,” “Single White Female,” “Point of No Return,” “B, R & M,” etc.)
And wasn’t she also partnered w/ Eric Stoltz once upon a time?
(I guess Stoltz must have been quite the stud back then, lol.)
While they were together, Stoltz once joked to me that he couldn’t travel with Fonda as often as he liked because, hey, she was the one pulling in the big paychecks, while he was doing indies.
At least, I thought he was joking…
Joe – tiff started are you there …hanging out with the big actors and stuff.
I thought Bridget Fonda married Danny Elfman and was doing the wife and child thang?
And “seasoned masturbator” just brings up all kinds of gross images. Nice going, Ray.
Actually, TIFF doesn’t start until Thursday. But I will be there early. Lock up your daughters. And your mothers. And your grandmothers.
Joe – i figured out i’d be the wrong person to hang with any celebrity actors cause i wouldn’t have anything cool to say to them that they haven’t heard before like 1 million times before.
maybe i can hang out with you and DP for like 5 minutes.
that’s about it. you movie critics are super super busy watching super important films.
Sanj: I can’t speak for David, but trust me: I’ve been in round table interview situations and press conferences where alleged professionals asked questions that immediately marked them as the worst kind of uncool starfuckers.
Joe – i figure your going to be watching 4 films a day …
so meet up time must be limited to everybody …
also would like behind the scenes with DP for dp/30 …lets see how these get made. probably not going to happen but it totally can.
i have no acesss to anybody at tiff while you and DP have
way more access than most critics.
also somebody should fly LexG to tiff and let him interview actors ..
I loooooove Bridget Fonda and miss her so much. Yeah, she’s doing the mommy thing with Elfman, but I hope she comes back soon. If the producers of this project of mine ever happen to get it off the ground, I’m gonna beg them to try to cast her.
I loved seeing Bridget Fonda in Kiss of the Dragon opposite Tcheky Karyo — who, of course, was the trainer in the original La Femme Nikita, which Fonda remade as Point of No Return.
Michael Clarke Duncan dead at 54. I really liked that guy.
Coming across this news I read that his fiancee was Omarosa from The Apprentice. I really did not like her much.
MCD was awesome in The Green Mile, Armageddon, and even the forgettable Daredevil.
His booming physique and voice will be missed.
Yikes, had no idea Duncan was engaged to Omarosa. I was actually introduced to her once by a mutual friend. She didn’t even pretend to be friendly, which I thought was a bit odd, under the circumstances. Not that meeting me is a life-changing moment or anything. But if a friend intros you to another friend, you at least act polite, right?
Michael Clarke Duncan was one cool dude.
http://www.movingpictureblog.com/2012/09/rip-michael-clarke-duncan-1957-2012.html
I must be totally out of the loop, but I hadn’t realized that Noah Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh had split. And that Greta Gerwig (the star and cowriter of Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”) is his new “companion.”
Always thought Baumbach and JJL made an unlikely couple–possibly because she’s 7 years his senior, a rarity in H’wood where wives are invariably younger than their husbands.
Kind of wish I was still doing TIFF (11 years was enough), if only to see the new films by Malick, Baumbach and Olivier Assayas. Ironically, only the latter currently has a U.S. distributer (IFC, natch) in place, but probably won’t be opening until 2013.
I’m fairly confident, however, that Malick and Baumbach should have no trouble wrapping domestic distribution deals before TIFF concludes. Yet chances of either film opening this year are probably thin and none.
Every interview K-Stew gives for the next month, she should find a way to casually bring up Greta Gerwig.
Indeed. That “Greenberg” set must have gotten a little awkward.
Movieman: Don’t feel bad about not keeping up with gossip. Back when I was doing TV, I interviewed Emmanuelle Béart during the Mission: Impossible junket. I asked her what it was like working with one of my favorite actors, Daniel Auteuil, in A Heart in Winter. She very politely told me that it was difficult for her to be objective about the guy, since (a) she had lived with him for quite a while, and (b) had a child by him. Now keep in mind: She’s saying all of this while the cameras are rolling. And while she’s talking, you can see all of the blood rushing out of my face. I still have the video — but you can bet your ass I’ll never post that one on YouTube.
That “Greenberg” set must have gotten a little awkward.
I was thinking the same thing, Chris.
” Jimenez would continue to get major props from me for scripting Tim Hunter’s “River’s Edge”
Still Canoe’s best performance. He diluted it with Bill & Ted, but he’s so damn believable in River’s. Everyone was. The quintessential Crispin performance.
Like Sheen in Boys Next Door.
movieman wrote: And congrats to “Southern Wild” for reaching–well, almost–the $10-million mark. Sometimes good things happen to little movies.
The combined success of “SW” and “Marigold Hotel” should take some of the sting out of the combined 2012 FS catastrophes of “Ruby Sparks,” “Lola Versus” and “Sound of My Voice.” ”
Sorry, no sympathy for a company losing money when it puts out sh#tty movies, which Ruby, Lola and Sound were. The only catastrophe is that more life-sucking films don’t suffer the same ghastly fate and not fool people w/deceptive marketing campaigns.
The title “Lola Versus” would’ve worked a lot better as a sequel to “Run, Lola, Run”
Triple- I agree that “Lola” was crap (it’s a 10-worst list candidate for sure),
but I really enjoyed “Ruby” and greatly admired “Voice.”
While the latter would have made more sense going out through a micro distrib, “Ruby” could have banked serious bucks w/ a pair of more recognizable faces/names than Dano and Kazan, both of whom were excellent here. I admire screenwriter Kazan for having the cojones to pull a Stallone (“If you want my script, you’ll have to take me and my boyfriend”), but it probably cost the film at the box-office.
And I’ll take “Ruby” and “Voice” over “Marigold Hotel”–FS’s top-grossing 2012 release (so far)–any day.
That’s funny, I did think Ruby may’ve had a chance if they had re-cast it. Obviously a big name adds drawing power but it’s a role that needs to come alive off the page, like, and I hope I’m not embarrassing myself for writing this since I saw it as a kid and it really worked for me, but I’d say Daryl Hannah in Splash. Can’t say I’m much of a fan of her but Kill Bill, Splash and Bladerunner I’ll say she really rocked it.
I said before I thought Ruby missed some obvious beats. Voice was too short storyish for one thing. Boring for another. With not fully developed characters, for what it was, for a third. At least I didn’t want to shoot myself like sitting Mary Martha Murder Me or Another Earth.
If I ever have a garage sale, I’m sending personal invites to the acquisition dept at Fox Searchlight. Thanks for saving me a trip down to the dumpster, guys!
Admitting you loved Daryl Hannah in “Splash” hardly qualifies as an embarrassment, Triple, lol.
Hannah WAS pretty damn great in that film.
Yet an even better actress (Emmanuelle Beart) fared considerably less well playing a similar role in “Date w/ An Angel” three years later.
Of course, Beart had the disadvantages of (a) working in an unfamiliar language, and (b) w/ a really dreadful script.
I remember Date w/an Angel! Thought that was great, too.
Wow, my posts make no sense now that the posts from Lex’s alter ego have been removed. Please disregard all comments regarding “issues” and “Kristen Stewart”.
Although the two kinda go together right about now, huh?
So… how about that Cowboys/Giants game?
Really, Triple?
You’re the first person I know who’s admitted to liking that film, lol.
Even w/ Beart and the adorable Phoebe Cates, I found it pretty insufferable.
I seem to recall that it was a colossal b.o. dud back in the day (November ’87 to be precise), too.
Beart didn’t make another H’wood movie until “Mission Impossible” nine years later. (And, sadly, her English hadn’t really improved any.)
I like to walk around the house saying “Best Exotic Hotel Marigold” in a mongoloid voice. It keeps me going.
Best Exotic Hotel Mongoloid?
Better hope the p.c. police don’t overhear you, Don, lol.
Good thing there was no product placement, lest it have become “The Best Western Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
Bridget Fonda being cute
Love love love love love her. I don’t think Rosie had come out at that point, but she sure takes an interest in the level of nudity Bridget has done on film.
Does Lex have another youtube user name? This comment rang a bell:
“I love Bridget she’s so hot and has one of the hottest feet and soles in hollywood. I’d lick her soles and bite them all day and night mmmmmmmm”
Wait, only ONE of her feet is ‘hot’?
Bridget in Shag:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8g3XXLTUpo
Jackie Brown clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs24OKv0uHo
I’ve always felt like Point of No Return would be more well liked if Nikita didn’t exist. It’s Hollywood yes, and Bridget isn’t as poetically sad as Parillaud, but she has charisma, and the ending is at least somewhat ambiguous.