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
Possible Spoiler!
Did anyone else think during the climactic battle in IM3, when Guy Pearce has his shirt off showing dragon tattoos and glowing red…
WOW! They could really make a kick ass Iron Fist film now!
(Or am I the only Danny Rand fan out there?)
I want a period ’70s Power Man and Iron Fist movie. Luke Cage with the fro and chrome head band and Iron Fist with the yellow slippers and big pointy collar.
Would love to see all these heros in films set in the time of their origins. Front Pageish Superman, Film Noir Batman, Fantastic Voyage Fantastic Four.
The shift in the depiction of the heroes over time is fascinating to me, especially how the upstanding young achiever spirit of the original Marvel comics gave way to the grimmier second generation titles of the 70’s (Powerman, Ghost Rider, New X-Men, and all their horror comics).
The rumor is the guy jumping out the burning building in the AGENTS OF SHIELD preview is Luke Cage, which means he may be slated for the small screen.
The early reviews for FAST & FURIOUS 6 are good…seems like critics decided to give in and enjoy the series just like with the last installment. Universal seems to have a boatload of confidence screening so early.
Man, I’m bummed about how quickly To The Wonder has vanished from theaters in NYC. Tree of Life played the Sunshine forever…I think it was there for six months or something. To The Wonder lasted about two weeks, now it’s been at a theater in Forest Hills and this Eleanor Bunim theater at Lincoln Center for a couple weeks and it’s gone as of Thursday. I guess I can’t complain, it’s been out a month…just been super busy and cannot fathom not seeing the new Malick in the theater…thought I had more time. This thing barely made a blip in the city.
So the existence of Khan in the new Trek film was supposed to be a surprise?
Who DIDN’T know?
I read a Luke Cage screenplay a few years ago when I was doing story analysis for Russell Simmons’ company. It had potential, but obviously never got off the ground. Too bad.
I feel ya, Breedlove. It was playing in ONE theater about an hour from me and I missed it. It’s on-demand though but that feels like the David Lynch “you can’t watch a fucking MOVIE on your PHONE” YouTube diatribe. “You can’t watch TERRENCE MALICK on your fucking TV!”
“The rumor is the guy jumping out the burning building in the AGENTS OF SHIELD preview is Luke Cage,”
Probably not. Some sharp eyed fan noted that the Marvel bumper before the SHIELD promo featured a character called Rage, a different black character with super-strength. One with zero prospects of a film of his own, too.
Random: i love that mcn is the same site on computer or mobile. The three column design works well horizontal or vertical and the mostly text layout loads quickly and makes it easy to skim headlines. I just tried to jump to AD from mcn on my phone and after twenty seconds of delays with all sorts of weird object blocks and other crap popping on and no text i had to force quit my phones browser because it froze
story, i just read that. Makes total sense. You use Rage instead of Cage, keep the cinematic prospects for Luke Cage open and use a third tier character for the TV show.
A third tier character who was once, technically an Avenger.
Which site is AD?
awards daily?
Ah, great, thanks. The internets give me acronym fatigue.
I have a couple of friends who have watched To The Wonder On Demand and the idea makes me cringe. I guess maybe I’ll have to watch it on tv at some point. Gonna try to make one of the last showings tomorrow.
So it’s mid-may, what’s the best movie of 2013 so far? The Place Beyond The Pines for me easy.
SHORT TERM 12…but I guess that won’t count until August.
PINES, UPSTREAM COLOR and LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE are way beyond the rest.
If I had to pick a mainstream release, I’d be in trouble. WARM BODIES? lol…
Here is a new idea for MCN. Malick is not a good filmmaker. If anyone else made his movies, they would be considered crap, and booed at Cannes. He made one or two good movies-40 YEARS AGO!!!! CONGRATS!! TM! Everyone will give you carte Blanche for the outlet.
Well I don’t want to speak for anyone else but Ryan has certainly convinced me. Fuck Malick. Fuckin’ hack.
Anyone reading the Friedkin book? I’m tempted to buy it but want to kinda know what I’m in for. Is it 50% Exorcist, 50% French Connection or does he write about Cruising and Sorcerer, and even that crazy killer tree movie back in the day. Granted I would read and entire book on The Exorcist but that’s not what I want from this one. Thanks in advance.
Friedkin only goes slim on THE GUARDIAN.
How much does he talk about Good Times and The Birthday Party?
Pines, Upstream Color, and Beyond the Hills all get solid As from me. I’ve watched Upstream five times already.
Lot of good stuff coming. Short Term 12, Ain’t them bodies saints, Fruitvale…
Mud is the best film so far in 2013, but Pines is close behind. Also honestly Spring Breakers has stuck with me too.
2013 is a pretty great year already:
Mud, Pain and Gain, Spring Breakers, Pines, Trance, Side Effects, I’d even throw in Oblivion… And on the B-movie tip, Iceman, Evil Dead, and even something like Snitch were considerably above the call. Respected To the Wonder and Gatsby which are at least singular visions. Really need to see Upstream Color, speaking of stuff that isn’t sticking around even in arthouses.
And speaking of THE GUARDIAN, Friedkin’s commentary on the old DVD of that is amusing; They pair him with some DVD site geekish “moderator,” and Friedkin just seems vaguely annoyed and in great blowhard form the whole time. At some point the poor guy asks about the TV cut which aired on NBC pseudonymously without the ending (USA still shows this cut sometimes), and Hurricane Billy goes apeshit in his loud voice all I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT and jumps down the dude’s throat.
I actually love that movie, wish Friedkin wasn’t so tough on it.
Weird – after Ryan’s post I made an obviously sarcastic, joking comment saying yeah, F Malick, he’s an F-n hack, and the post got deleted. What’s that about? Never had a post deleted before. If whoever deleted that post reads this I’d love to know why, I’m honestly baffled. Seems kinda lame. Very very tame, obviously joking comment…although even if I had been serious I wouldn’t have expected it to be deleted either! Don’t get it.
Best of 2013 so far, only rough order:
Frances Ha, The We and the I, Prince Avalanche, Stoker, The Great Gatsby, Side Effects, Gimme the Loot, Trance, The Place Beyond the Pines.
So that’s almost ten movies I really liked, plus some more I respected or enjoyed a fair amount (Mud, Iron Man 3, To the Wonder).
High expectations in the coming months: The Bling Ring, Only God Forgives, Gravity, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inside Lleywn Davis, American Hustle, Anchorman 2. And, of course, Star Trek tonight. Actually, my expectations for Fast and Furious 6 are rising and rising. Never cared a lot for the series before Fast Five, but loved that one and this one seems to be getting similar notices.
Hoping they come out with 2013 release dates: Her, Joe, Labor Day, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Agreed on Loot and Frances Ha. Saw both of those and enjoyed them immensely. Should have put Frances Ha on my list of best things I’ve seen this year, for sure. Enjoyed Mud. Wife thought it was one of the best things ever.
Good Times, about 15 pages, Birthday party, about 11.
2013 started pretty rough (A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD is instant worst of the year material) but it got excellent by March. SPRING BREAKERS, STOKER, SIDE EFFECTS, PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, NO, PAIN AND GAIN, and SUN DON’T SHINE (anyone who hasn’t checked this out yet should go to their VOD service of choice pronto) are all great, and I also really liked TO THE WONDER and IRON MAN THREE.
I still need to check out GATSBY, FRANCIS HA, and MUD, films I’m excited for based on the directors’ prior work, and the rest of the year looks very promising. I’m curious if 2013 can top 2012, which I thought was probably the movie year since 99.
OK they put it back, so my second comment doesn’t make sense.
Just saw GATSBY, dope, love Baz. Edgarton and Clarke steal it. Jason Clarke is simply the shit, sick actor, just knocking it out of the park for Mann, Bigelow, now Baz.
The one movie I’ve seen this year that I really hated, I know there are people with good taste who liked it, is TRANCE. Total bore. Rosario Dawson as a hypnotist…the whole thing felt like some Skinemax movie from 1993. Love Vincent Cassell in French movies but not so much in the English language stuff he’s done thus far.
Finished the Friedkin book. Nothing on Guardian or Deal of the Century (!) Cruising, exorcist, french connection and sorcerer get the biggest chunks. Lots about his early career (pre French connection). Still wish there was more inside dirt though, although a few of his shenanigans were jaw dropping.
There’s a nice piece on HANNIBAL over on Badass Digest about how great a show it is yet, no one’s watching. I totally echo that sentiment. I watched it out of curiosity and was immediately hooked by the excellent acting, kick-ass imagery and all around disgustingness of the blood and gore. It’s more nasty than DEXTER ever was and it’s on NBC.
I highly recommend the show and it’s only like 6 episodes deep. Not too late to jump in but you should start at the beginning as there’s some plotlines that will be confusing and some plot devices that are weird to come into cold.
Good show!
I like Hannibal too Don. I am about 4 episodes in. Thankfully I believe NBC renewed it, so I’m not wasting my time. Started watching Vegas, Guys with Kids, Whitney, Last Resort, Zero Hour, and they’re all gone.
Zero Hour served a particular fetish of mine for these biblical end of times prophecy type stuff. It wasn’t all that great but had stuff that showed some promise.
On the upside, Robin Williams has a new show, so I’m interested in seeing what that will be.
Has NBC made a decision regarding a second season of Hannibal? I didn’t think they had. I am also a big fan. As Don said, the acting is great and it’s really well-directed. I’m sort of amazed by the gore thus far. I remember someone at Fox said that The Following was gory in an effort to compete with the likes of The Walking Dead. I wonder if the same applies to Hannibal. Either way, it’s off to a very good start.
I’m also enjoying Bates Motel, even though it’s ridiculous and trashy a lot of the time. Or maybe that’s why I’m enjoying it. And I really like the leads. It’s always nice to see Wynn Duffy.
You guys are right. No decision on Hannibal yet.
Under the Dome looks interesting too. Then again, I always give Stephen King a chance. Most times to disappointing results, but I always give him a chance.
Hannibal is off the hook. Best directed and shot show I’ve ever seen on network TV. Would watch a feature starring Mads as Lecter.
Just got out of STID. A great deal of fun, but I can’t wait for a spoiler space to ask a couple of “what the fuck?” questions
Yeah…I don’t know how I felt about it.
After thinking about it for a few hours, i still have some issues with it, but it was a very entertaining adventure.
My biggest non-spoiler complaint is how earthbound the whole thing is. And apparently in the new Trek universe, everything is five minutes away. They warp back and forth between planets in seconds. It feels oddly disconcerting. And i think the entire movie unfolds over about a 24 hour period where basically they zip back and forth between several planets. The universe has never seemed tinier.
Since a thread seems increasingly less likely due to DP’s CANNES commitment….
STAR TREK SPOILERS AHEAD
I had trouble with this film. Yes, the travel was ridiculous (Captain Picard took days to get to Klingon space…and he’s from the “future”). The Earthbound thing also. I watched it paired as a double feature with the 2009 film, which really works to me, but this one does not. JJ Abrams makes no secret of the fact that he’s a STAR WARS nerd, and harbored disdain for Trek before making the movies, and I think it shows here. He directs
the action like SW instead of ST.
It’s also like a fanfic version of a blockbuster, littered with throwaway references to the original series (a Tribble, the “Mud incident,” the mention of which makes no sense even in this reconstructed timeline, and KHAAAANNN just to name a few), an entirely self-referential and reflexive piece of work that forsakes Roddenberry’s vision for its own quips and cleverness for cleverness’ sake.
The acting is uneven. Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchich give the worst performances of their respective careers, Pine and Quinto never really connected with me this time around, and Cumberbatch is largely wasted. Loved Simon Pegg and Karl Urban.
There were also plot holes big enough to drive a Borg Cube through (why do they need Khan’s blood to revive Kirk when 72 of his genetically altered buddies are on the ship?), and the “Klingon reboot” was HORRIBLE. They look….HORRIBLE, like a typical villain of the week. At this rate they’re going to have to fight the Ferengi next movie, just to have an interesting species adversary.
I am glad that Abrams is done with this series and I hope the writers are too.
Okay, rant over.
Ethan, I am with you most of the way, but the cast are the only saving grace of the entire movie. They make it as Star Trek as possible, but everything coming from JJ is hokey nonsense. Every shot in the movie is stolen from better sci fi movies. Things that exist in trek and should be there, are no where to be found, and this is pretty much why the finale is such bullshit.
There should be people on the moon, people in Lunar Orbital stations, and earth should have a defense grid. What happens in that finale, should have never happened, and that it happens is the greatest fucking plot hole of it all.
I hope someone replaces JJ, who gives a fuck about Star Trek, and treats it like an awesome property not an also-ran. The opening ripping off Raiders, is just… the movie is completely devoid of an originality and why everyone involved on the creative side of this series… needs to leave and for good.
ETA: On a random note, anyone doubting Pacific Rim’s earning potential after that trailer, should stop doing it.
STAR TREK SPOILERS…..
I agree with you on a few points. In no particular order:
“I am glad that Abrams is done with this series and I hope the writers are too. ”
Seeing Damon Lindeloff’s name on a script guarantees unexplained nonsense. He may be the worst high profile writer working today. The man is all setup and no follow through.
“It’s also like a fanfic version of a blockbuster, littered with throwaway references to the original series (a Tribble, the “Mud incident,” the mention of which makes no sense even in this reconstructed timeline, and KHAAAANNN just to name a few), an entirely self-referential and reflexive piece of work that forsakes Roddenberry’s vision for its own quips and cleverness for cleverness’ sake. ”
Fan service gets in the way of storytelling. Once you know this is Khan, you know they’re just going to rearrange the same basic elements.
The one moment that just made so little sense was when they are floating near the moon and both ships are disabled. Spock uses his communication to contact…. New Vulcan?? How about calling anybody in the area to help you blow up the other ship? Fan service. Getting that moment where the audience claps even when it makes zero sense. The entire crew’s life is on the line and you use your one phone call to call a guy from an alternate timeline to tell you what you already know: Khan is a bad man. Great. How about you use that quarter to call for back up.
The “Mudd thing” is in reference to the comic book Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness. It’s a bit of fan service for the comic nerds and anyone who read the prequel comics.
It is difficult to argue that JJ Abrams is a very competent director who can make something fun, but he’s so busy riffing on past themes and kept the two movies so insular that it never really feels like youre watching a crew of universe exploring travellers. When your finale involves two guys running through future London in a fist fight, it feels like someone has missed the point of Star Trek.
After watching this, i feel like i know exactly what im going to get from an Abrams Star Wars: fan service. And damn is that boring.
I liked so much of Into Darkness: Pine, Quinto, Urban, Pegg, and to a lesser degree Cumberbatch. I like the core characters. But when you take away the epic feel of space from Star Trek, you’ve missed one of the pillars of what’s so great about the series. At one point Scotty says “I thought we were supposed to be explorers”. I thought so too. And that’s what makes the two Abrams Star Trek films feel like candy coated outsides with nothing in the middle. I have two films that might as well be called SPACE WARS, because that’s what i got.
Last weeks HANNIBAL (which I finally caught last night) was particularly awesome. Super disgusting (that dinner party turned my stomach) and directed like a really well done art film. It’s network TV for “intelligent” people but can also hit the “everyman” as well because it’s so, so gory and insane. Such a great show.
I too am hooked on BATES MOTEL but for allll the wrong reasons. It may very well be the best done most stupid show I’ve EVER seen. The dialogue is so, so, so bad. Every week there’s a line that just cracks me up it’s so stupid; and NOT in an ironic way, just in a badly written way. It’s also just so over the top dumb in almost every way. I’m shocked it’s doing so well, frankly. It’s just bad TV and I have trouble believing it means to be as schlocky and dumb as it is. Maybe the jokes on me.
Love ya Don but Serial Killer Heroes = gross!
Anghus, right the fuck on about fan service being boring… as fucking shit. There’s only so much winking at the camera that I can stand.
Christian… RIGHT THE FUCK ON.
Gotta love how Christian, a mentally disturbed dude who stalks people online, finds serial killers “gross.”
“Christian, a mentally disturbed dude who stalks people online”
Gotta love this snippet of paralogic projection from the repeatedly banned resident proto-pedophile who cluttered my blog with disturbing sexual insults. Get Help, kid.
When, 2008? Get over it, Fisher Stevens. You’re still on H-E trailing my every post like a fucking creep half a decade on.
I don’t post on HE at all Father Paranoia. And the irony of you coming on here to j’accuse stalking on a post that mentions you naught says it all.
Get Help.
You say “j’accuse” too much. Really, you need to retire it
And I only come here to give Ray Pride the unpaid wonder something to do in his loser loft.
What’s the shelf-life on your FEET SUICIDE HOOKER POWER schtick?
It’s timeless, bitch.
three words for the new trek babies: needs more Karl (so that’s it for Abrams with the trek, but will there be more installments with someone new at the helm? if so, see the three words above. and what is lindeloff’s fucking problem, why do people allow him near their screenplays, i find this utterly baffling)
Lindelof is the GOD OF ALL SCREENWRITING and I love that it makes so many people furious. HE GETS PAID, he makes THE MOST MONEY, he is the guy EVERYBODY WANTS TO WRITE THEIR STUFF.
He is the best writer in town. BOW.
Agreed on both counts leahnz.
“he makes THE MOST MONEY, he is the guy EVERYBODY WANTS TO WRITE THEIR STUFF.”
Wrong. I guarentee you Steve Zaillian commands a higher salary (at least if he wants to), and probably David Goyer, Brian Helgeland, Akiva Goldsman, Dave Koepp, Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot.
In terms of film Lex, all he’s written is COWBOYS AND ALIENS (terrible), the re-write of PROMETHEUS (awful compared to the original concept supposedly) and a mediocre STAR TREK sequel.
LINDELOF
Lex, you write a more coherent narrative than Lindelof at 3:30 in the morning when you’re drunkenly bemoaning your existence.
He’s everything wrong with the craft.
In Lindelof’s Citizen Kane, they never would have told you the name of the sled.
In Damon’s defense, he’s usually doing what JJ wants or what Sir Ridley wants. He’s also no where near as bad as JJ with the MYSTERY BOX bullshit.
is he, jf sebastian? or has he cast some kind of voodoo spell making them – or the powers that be – think they want their stories weighed down with a bunch of convoluted, nonsensical flawed bullshit masquerading as what…art? my ass
Back when Lost was on, there were a few online film types who were always defending the infinite red herrings and endless jackknifes saying ‘it never mattered what the island was’ or ‘it doesnt matter if they dont explain everything (or anything)’. And i think the success of Lost on the realm of sci fi and geek cinema/tv has calcified the idea that ultimately all you need is a good set up and some compelling characters, and everything that happens between title and credits can make no god damn sense at all.
Prometheus is a master class in senseless cinema. And people will spend countless hours defending the film screaming things like ‘you just need to be spoon fed everything’ or ‘you just dont get it’. But when you look at a film like Prometheus, it’s not that people didnt get it: the filmmakers didn’t get it. They made a movie with so many gaps and blanks building a narrative on these lofty questions that just never ever get addressed again, and by the film’s final twenty minutes when they start killing off the remaining cast, you realize that there was never a plan for the story or narrative. There was no sense of self containment. It was the cinematic equivalent of question marks forming into ellipses. It was merely two hours of nonsense, cool images, and the promise of something smarter. Like a college professor standing in front of a lecture all asking everybody there “where did we come from?” “Who created us?” and then lights off some fireworks. When the smoke clears, he’s gone. Some people will think it’s genius, but most people walk away feeling confused and wondering what the point of it was.
When they brought in Lindelof to rewrite the end of World War Z, i think i laughed for a good thirty seconds. The guy whose entire career is based on lofty ideas that require no resolution is being brought in to resolve something? I don’t know the guy from Adam, but i know when i see his name on a screenplay i can guarantee something that sounds cool when reduced to a basic idea, but will be extrapolated into nonsense.
yeah it takes something really special to be able to transform nonsensical non-explainable bullshit without a lot of answers or proper resolution into art, there has to be some deeper aesthetic – some meaning or subtext or examination, or even just raw intuition – infused into the madness to make it work somehow without it feeling like a cheap cheat, David Lynch for example = yes, lindelof = NO. go away.
a) LOST is one of the awesomest and MOST BELOVED TV shows of the modern age. LINDELOF.
b) PROMETHEUS got almost unanimously great reviews and everybody loved it… for about a week, till every SCIENCE GEEK WAH WAH WAH type IMDB MESSAGE BOARD nerd started dissecting it. None of you had any of these complaints on opening weekend. Also IT RULES. And made a fortune.
c) When did this retroactive idea that ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ is TERRIBLE come about? It’s one of the more fun bad B-blockbusters of its summer, NO dumber than any fucking Marvel movie, and certainly not as goddamn boring. Ford and Craig and Dano are all in great form and until it becomes just a bunch of idiots in the desert punching at a cliff for nine hours, it’s a FUN WESTERN. LINDELOF.
d) If he’s so bad, WHY DOES HE KEEP GETTING HIRED? Why is he a millionaire many times over? Why does he have more TWITTER FOLLOWERS than any other screenwriter?
He is THE GOD OF SCREENWRITING
A. Lost was three good seasons followed by three lousy ones. It follows the Lindelof arc well.
b. Obviously first impressions are all that matters. Further analysis is a pointless.
c. Cowboys and Aliens is fine.
d. By your logic, that makes Justin Bieber the greatest musician the world. Success is an indicator of trends, not quality. Lindelof is what is hot right now. At one point Joe Ezsterhas was the highest paid screenwriter in the world. Things change.
Also HOW DOES ANYBODY WRITE A SCREENPLAY?
That shit is LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE. Well I wrote four of them when I was 21 or 22, all AWFUL, arrived in Tinseltown with a suitcase full of faded-ink scripts done on an ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER in 1995… But that was when I had NO SELF-AWARENESS. Have been writer’s blocked as a motherfucker since ’98, can’t write more than 2 or 4 pages before I remember I DON’T HAVE AN AGENT and DON’T KNOW ANYBODY so why even bother, I could write some FAULKNER level shit (well, I couldn’t but) and NOBODY would read it and definitely not by it.
Plus they say producers and agents and shit want CLEAN PAGES. The ONLY ONLY thing I can do well is SET THE STAGE VISUALLY, describing images and film stock and key lighting I have in mind, and whoosh-pans and soundtrack cuts… and they say you shouldn’t put ANY of that in a script, just the bare minimum.
Also since I’m functionally retarded and fully socially inept, I suck at dialogue because I generally don’t speak to people ever.
I kind of like Damon Lindelof. Am I uncool now? Cowboys & Aliens is OK, a Syfy Channel movie with a way bigger budget and better acting. It’s definitely as good as Marvel stuff, which is way overrated. I like Prometheus a lot. I get some of the criticism but it does not prevent me from enjoying it. I find plenty to admire and watch it every time I’m flipping and it’s on HBO. And if World War Z ends up being a total disaster, is that really going to be Lindelof’s fault? What about the three or four other screenwriters who worked on it, or the director that (allegedly) was in way over his head? Or the studio?
Lex, you know more people than I did when I got started. And your posts usually have far more pop than a lot of scripts I read. And I read a lot of scripts.
and I’m not faulting anyone who likes Lindelof. Its just my opinion that his writing is often all set up and bereft of logic. Some people like the sizzle, some like the steak. Lindelof is the sizzle.
IM3 hits $1 billion worldwide. $1 billion certainly ain’t what it used to be, as it’s the 16th film to reach the milestone, but I only think one other film is likely to reach it this year. Four seem to have a realistic shot.
4) FAST & FURIOUS 6. Seems like a long shot until you realize the foreign take from 4 to 5 increased 100%. That’s not going to happen, but if it were to rise 75%, which it could do IF it’s the first in the series to get a Chinese release (unconfirmed still) it would be within striking distance. Universal is the only major studio without a billion dollar film. Odds: 3 to 1
3) CATCHING FIRE. The international take from TWILIGHT to NEW MOON rose 113% in just a year. If this film follows the same pattern and treads water domestically, it would be verrry close. Odds: 2 to 1
2) MAN OF STEEL. No superhero origin story or reboot got all that close, but the buzz is so big, it could make it. Odds: 3 to 2.
1) THE HOBBIT 2. The domestic haul is guaranteed to fall at least $50 million I would think, but not much more, and the growth of the international marketplace should pick up the slack. Historical examples: PIRATES 4 and ICE AGE 4, two of the 10 highest grossing international films of all time, which were franchise low points by wide margins domestically. Odds: 2 to 3
“A. Lost was three good seasons followed by three lousy ones. It follows the Lindelof arc well.”
Really? Even the writers admit season 3 was mostly just padding (fish biscuit, anyone?). I though the very tightly plotted time travel stuff in seasons 4-5 was the high point, myself. 6 fell apart, sure…
Did anyone catch the series finale of “The Office”?
As someone who’s been somewhat disenchanted w/ the show ever since Carell’s departure, I was delighted at how they wrapped things up.
It was probably the most satisfying climax to a long-running network sitcom since “Cheers” said adios.
Loved the Office finale. Perfect blend of funny and sentimental. Best American series finale since. MASH.
was it as good as the finale of the original ‘the office’ series (which was only 2 seasons, say what you will but the brits know how not to beat a dead horse), aka ‘the christmas special’?
Also enjoyed The Office finale. I watched the retrospective before it as well and it was a reminder that not much worthwhile happened in the last 2-3 seasons. I’ll miss the show it was during those earlier seasons.