April 25, 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
Incredibly random comment of the day: I’m disappointed that Aaron Eckhart didn’t get more of a bump from The Dark Knight. The guy nailed a crucial leading role in one of the best and biggest blockbusters ever, he’s very easy on the eyes and he can act. Why did he not get a shot at the A-list after that? He did like a Jennifer Aniston movie and now he’s in direct to video shit. Dude’s awesome, love him in Brockovich too.
My favorite Eckhart is Thank You For Smoking.
Saw “Before Midnight,” don’t think it’s the best of the three (the first one is for my money, maybe just because the situation is much more resonant for me), but it’s certainly one of the greatest trilogies of all time, and I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. The movie itself is great, and it does get you in the gut more than “Sunset.” It deserves a screenplay nod, and it’d be great to see Linklater and Delpy get some love, thought it probably won’t happen. The 14, to me, classic trilogies that weren’t upended by a crappy direct sequel:
14. Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy
13. Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy
12. Mad Max
11. Matt Damon’s Bourne trilogy
10. Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” trilogy
9. The Infernal Affairs trilogy
8. Toy Story
7. Linklater’s “Before” trilogy
6. Godfather trilogy
5. Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy
4. Yamada’s Samurai trilogy
3. Jackson’s Lord of the Rings
2. The Dollars Trilogy
1. Star Wars
I’d have Yamada and Coppolla as the top 2 if it weren’t for that dang 3rd movie…
Interesting list. And a great discussion starter.
Not a bad choice on the list. But man, seeing Star Wars above stuff like Godfather, Chan-wook, the Dollars trilogy…. that feels crazy. Hell, i think LOTR is a far better trilogy than Star Wars. Star Wars as a cultural thing is inarguable. But the movies seem pretty thin when you hold them up real movies, they look pretty weak.
You rightfully bemoan the third Godfather, but Return of the Jedi wasn’t exactly the strongest third installment either.
Objectively I know Star Wars is inferior…. but…I’m not objective when it comes to Star Wars. And hey, I’ll take a band of Ewoks and Leia’s slave-girl costume over Sofia Coppola any day:)
No comment about Nikki Finke here yet? If she’s fired, that’s news. If she isn’t, I wouldn’t mind reading an analysis of why rumors like that keep cropping up around her.
Finke as a social phenomenon baffles me. I know of nothing of value that she provides to anyone, and she is abrasive and nasty to people, too. So why is she able to do what she does? Because everybody’s scared of her? What’s there to be scared of? Because she can ruin people’s careers? But the only reason she can do that (if indeed she even can) is because people are scared of her in the first place, thereby imbuing her with the gravitas it takes to have power worth fearing. Catch-22. It just takes one person to tell her where to go, and it’s all over. Or if enough people just stop paying attention to her, it’s all over.
Maybe it’s all over now, if the story that she was fired is true. Either way, why the hell wasn’t it over years ago?
I like Eckhart as well but it just seems like he is destined to be a Greg Kinear level- below the title player, not that its a bad thing. Both Harrelson and now McConnaughy have found plenty of work and more interesting roles after losing thier chances at superstardom. If not being in contention for big studio leads means fewer moist eyed widower roles taught to love again by the flower shop owning Aniston (who also seems to be having more fun in supporting roles these days)….well thats not really something to lament.
Etguild, in your criteria, is it just that there were no crappy sequels in the first three, or that they didn’t continue making them later ie would Indy make the list without Crystal Skull, or would Die Hard make the list without the last two entries. And are you figureing the Star Wars prequels and Hobbits to be different franchises?
Doesnt Finke own Deadline?
EDIT – Nope. She does not. And apparently the story is false, according to Penske Media.
Nolan loves to use every actor over and over and even he hasn’t worked with Eckhart again…would be awesome if he was the lead in Interstellar instead of McConaughey. And speaking of, McConaughey may still get that shot at superstardom, getting the lead in Nolan’s next. Has anyone figured out yet how he got that part or what kind of part it is? I thought the heroes of that movie were like Cal-Tech theoretical physicists or something. I was stunned by that casting. Just assumed he would cast more of a heavyweight like a DiCaprio or Bale. Is the lead a pot-smoking surfer? (I mostly kid, huge respect for the way he’s turned his career around, but still…)
hcat, yeah I’m thinking direct sequels that continue with the same story/main stars/director’s vision of a trilogy and work as standalone trilogies. So Indy and Die Hard would qualify without the latter sequels for sure. It’s hard to justify including TEMPLE of DOOM without SKULL due to Karen Allen’s involvement in the latter plus direct references to the Ark, and there’s nothing that really separates the first 3 DIE HARDS as a trilogy.
STAR WARS and LOTR, I guess, could be considered one series, but I think there are two distinct trilogies that take place in different times and revolve around different primary characters (although some supporting characters are shared). Good thing Ratner screwed up X-Men, because there’s no good way to define that series with spinoffs, a prequel and now a…presequel?
McConaughey can still do some heavy lifting. He was good in the Lincoln Lawyer, and reminded me why I liked him so much in A Time to Kill and Amistad. I hope his days of romcoms are behind him.
All this Finke stuff made me dust off a screenplay i started writing two years ago. The basic premise is that a Finke like character leaves working for a folded newspaper media empire and starts a website. She hates the entertainment industry and the website becomes popular because of her snark. She hates people and becomes a shut in. The only person that amuses her is a failed stand up comic/writer who works in a film transcription house, gets drunk and posts really funny things in her comments section. She tracks him down at a comedy club open mic night and sees his act. She’s amused by him. He’s funny, and incredibly self destructive. The two of them strike up a friendship. Two kindred spirits linked by their shared disregard for people, epic levels of self loathing, and general hatred of the media. Eventually, they start fucking. Things get intense.
Then, right as the guy starts thinking he’s got it all figured out, that life might offer him something other than misery, she has an aneurysm and dies right as she’s writing some snarky post. She’s still logged into her computer. Emails and Instant Messages are coming in. Her entire enterprise run from a laptop. So he dumps the body and assumes her identity. And no one notices that Hollywood’s biggest website is now being run by a smart, self destructive, perpetually drunk alcoholic who never achieves his dreams of success in the entertainment industry, but now gets to be a player tearing down movie stars and executives.
Title: Misery Index
I was thinking Cate Blanchett for Finke and Patton Oswalt for Lex.
it might be easier just to track lex down to one of the local junior highs where he’s lurking outside in his car and blow him.
for the greatest trilogies of all time, i’ll add QT’s ‘res dogs’, ‘pulp fiction’ and ‘Jackie Brown’, not a sequential trilogy in the conventional sense but in the ‘same-time-and-place-90’s LA-urban-crime-saga’ sense
See, this is why the whole ‘trilogy’ argument gets ridiculous. Thematic trilogies throw the whole argument off, because they are in essence individual stories with complete story arcs. You don’t need to see Oldboy to get Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. You could see Pulp Fiction and not need to see Resevoir Dogs.
Thematic trilogies should be excluded from the trilogy argument. There have to be rules.
To me it’s a subjective argument. To be fair, you’re probably right about Vengeance, as Chan-Wook Park didn’t intend for them to be a trilogy, just as Oliver Stone doesn’t intend for his Vietnam movies to be a trilogy.
On the other hand Yamada went into making the movies with the intent for there to be a “Samurai Trilogy” and “Three Colors” should definitely count, as seeing all three movies enhances the experience of each one by quite a bit as they are meant to be chronological in theme, and all three were released within a year.
All this will become irrelevant when the third LOST SKELETON movie arrives and leaves all the other trilogies in the dust.
You are to be commended for showing amazing restraint, David.
Eagerly awaiting your perspective on The Finke
Penske might be saying the story is false, but it’s pretty interesting that Nikki hasn’t posted a single thing on Deadline since that Wrap story went up, as far as I can tell. There’ve been a lot of “Deadline Staff” stories going up, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s written a bunch of those in the past when she didn’t want to use her name for whatever reason, but none of the recent ones sounded like her.
Should be an interesting few days, regardless.
Edit: Also, can I just say that I find it hilarious that Sharon Waxman manages to use that awful picture of Nikki (that she apparently hates in a weird Terrence Malick-ian kind of way) in every story she runs on her?
There is a 1974 photo of Finke from a NYTimes engagement notice.
Star Trek 2-4, yo!
For what it’s worth, Matthew, she did say she’s on vacation.
greatest trilogy: The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home … each one of these films begins where the other left off …
Not sure if it counts, but I’m a big fan of Spielberg’s Running Man trilogy – A.I., Minority Report and Catch Me if You Can. AI is the weakest, and yes somewhat misunderstood, but it’s got its flaws. I think MR has some of Spielberg’s strongest scenes in there. and Catch me if you can is just one helluva an enjoyable movie (plus early Amy Adams).
Etguild2,
I agree with you, but I would still like to second Kieslowski’s Three Color; Blue, White and Red. Since we’re in Europe and talking art house, how about Bergman’s triple from the early 60s; Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light and The Silence?
I know it’s greedy, but all eight of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe adaptations.
watched Behind the Candelabra (2013) – i had no idea who Liberace was … but dude was crazy. good acting all around. really like Matt Damon with awesome makeup and Rob Lowe did a good job too . this probably could have used a dp30 for the acting or makeup.
I’m shocked Dave hasn’t weighed in on Finke’s alleged firing. He could have gotten into a good back and forth with her since, according to him, she’s threatened him with lawsuits in the past. That said her site is always and interesting read and it does break news.
tril·o·gy
/ˈtriləjē/
Noun
A group of three related novels, plays, films, operas, or albums.
We’ve gotten real loose with the idea of what ‘related’ means.
I can get behind the idea of Blue, White, and Red as a trilogy because the whole thing was conceived and executed as a grand idea. Taking three films Spielberg did where people run and calling it a trilogy feels kind of spurious. As does taking three films out of a larger series and calling it a trilogy. Like, if someone said Night of, Dawn of, and Return of the Living Dead were a trilogy but leave out Land of the Dead or any of the others ones Romero has made.
And you consider Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, and Voyage Home a trilogy? Does the Motion Picture not exist in your world? I understand the argument. Thematically, Star Trek 2-4 tell an interconnected story. You could make an argument that it’s a three part story and thus could technically be considered a trilogy. But, there are three other films you’re leaving out. It’s a six film series, not a trilogy. You can’t call Indiana Jones a trilogy just because people would rather forget Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The same rules apply to Star Trek. Final Frontier and Motion Picture didn’t really contain anything that impacted 2-4. However, Undiscovered Country had a lot of its emotional weight impacted by the events of 2-4. Can you just pick and choose films in a larger series and call them a trilogy?
Can we grab the three best Dirty Harry films and call it a trilogy? Or how about three Spike Lee movies. Take Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X and call it ‘The Race Trilogy’. Is there a trilogy to be found in the Police Academy movies?
Poland is a great dude but he threw in the towel wholesale on his writing when he had a kid. Can’t blame him, but he lost the eye of the tiger 3, 4 years ago and NEVER writes anything more than eight words unless it’s about his IPhone or some other Westside White Guy privilege riff.
“how about Bergman’s triple from the early 60s; Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light and The Silence?”
That would be the best artistic trilogy of all-time. But I don’t know that Bergman was ever on record saying it was meant to be a trilogy. I think it’s a fan-created thing, like with Stone, Park and others. If an auteur like Kieslowski, Yamada or Bergman is on record saying it’s meant to be a trilogy, they get their say.
Star Trek…different writers/directors, part of a broader story with the same primary characters…. and how is it not a 4 part series related to “Space Seed?” You could argue that “Star: First Contact” is part 3 of a series that began with the episodes “Best of Both Worlds” and “Family.” You could shoehorn in the “Generations” movie since Picard’s family dies and this is essentially a “Picard soul searching” quadrilogy involving his search for family and the Borg’s attempt to assimilate him into theirs;)
FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET
CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER CHLOE MORETZ BOW TO HER
“Here’s a trilogy:”
sounds more like a sextuplet.
I love Chloe Moretz SO MUCH
CHLOE.
CHLOE.
CHLOE.
I mean this SO INNOCUOUSLY but Chloe is like how 2005 K-Stew was: SO Beautiful and perfect.
Re: Finke, there’s almost CERTAINLY something going on because the (multiple) refutations shouldn’t even be necessary. The only thing Deadline needs to do to prove that Finke hasn’t been fired is for her name to keep appearing at the top of articles. It’s not like they’d even have to go out of their way to refute Waxman’s story – it should happen in the normal course of operations.
Instead, the aggressive circling of wagons (not even initiated by Finke) suggests that, at the very least, there’s some business deal going on that rumours could potentially damage. Whether that “deal” is getting Finke to stand aside so Penske can run Deadline his own way or something else entirely is pure speculation. But that shouldn’t be a normal response (even for Hollywood) to an easily disprovable rumour.
Hey Lex, on an episode of the new Arrested Development you get to see Cloris Leachman’s feet. Just FYI.
COOL
@ Etguild2,
If memory serves, Bergman referred to those three films as his trilogy of faith… in which he exorcised God from his life (great phrase!)
But yes, strictly speaking they are not a trilogy. Neither the plots nor the characters are contiguous, but Bergman put them together to work thematically.
MORETZ
Not that I pay all that much attention, but my vague impressions:
Selena Gomez – smoking hot 20 year old
Anna Sophia Robb – smoking hot 20 year old
Chloe Moretz – little kid, looks about ten years old in every movie she’s been in, has she even gone through puberty yet? I am as attracted to her as I am to my kitchen table.
Just got back from “The Internship,” and I kind of liked it. It actually kind of seemed old-fashioned, especially in lieu of the Apatow “rat packs” as David says. But the jokes mostly landed, and Wilson and Vaughn still have chemistry. Rose Byrne continues to be one of the most underrated actresses out there, and Max Minghella was surprisingly good. Only problem I had was what seemed like became an attempt to brainwash the audience into toppling the government and replacing it with with Sergey Brin and the Google Board of Directors.
When does the Man of Steel embargo end?
And the Finke stuff went eerily quiet today….
Screenings Thursday night, anghus, which may mean they end then for some (supposed long-leads and trades?).
Three Colors trilogy would be way up there for me. Chan-wook, sure and Toy Story, though I think for me, if I’m remembering correctly, there was a bit of dip in the second films of each but still enjoyable.
Would the Jack Ryan films count? I’ll pretend the Ben Affleck movie didn’t happen. I wasn’t that hip on Patriot Games, but Hunt for Red October and Clear & Present Danger, despite different leads, were more than good enough to pick up the slack.
I’m not much of a horror guy but I’m pretty sure the first two Halloween movies were pretty darn good. Was there a distinct conclusion to Halloween III? At some point it becomes a franchise and I don’t know how fairly systematic one can start dividing them out.
I did enjoy Dark Knight Rises but it’s a bit pedestrian by comparison. X-Men is even more so of the #3 deal breaker.
I feel like I’m missing a really obvious one that hasn’t been mentioned. Maybe not too obvious but something I like that’s probably sitting on a shelf at home.
You need to watch this clip from Flashdance before you see THE INTERNSHIP this weekend
http://youtu.be/Y3BJlOpayWw
@Triple Option, I personally think TOY STORY 1 ages a bit more due to the animation quality….I always thought #2 was on par anyway thanks to the brilliant arcade sequence, but maybe that’s just me.
Does Hunt for Red October connect to the Ford films in a way Sum of All Fears doesn’t? I forget…regardless there’s another one if a few months with Chris Pine I think? I think that knocks it out of trilogy territory as it’s rumored to overlap Patriot Games with the same primary characters (just different actors). The same’ll happen with the rumored Greengrass/Damon Bourne 5 for that trilogy, as well as THE EVIL DEAD 4 if they really happen.
Halloween 3, unfortunately, is the only Halloween film not to feature Mike Myers. It’s the one with a witch…so no trilogy there. I feel ya that I’m missing one also….
lol berg.
Not asking you to disclose who you write for if you don’t want to (fair enough), but this Etguild2 guy is ALWAYS seeing movies early and he’s some kind of critic? Seems like a great dude, but then he’ll make some throwaway comment like “Yeah, I was in 5th grade when Munich came out, I was in college when I saw Up in the Air”…
Is this guy like 21 years old? How’s he get paid to write reviews? I bring a perspective and visual and nostalgic approach to writing about film that is wholly original and a “voice”… I have more Twitter followers than a LOT of “paid movie critics.”
How come NO ONE will pay me my 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR, direct deposit, full medical and dental salary to make me a writer for a REAL MAGAZINE?
anghus — wb is trying to embargo ‘mos’ until the 14th but with last friday’s press conference going up on their press site today and the all-media screening on thursday, that isn’t likely to happen…the press conference was a total fuck-up with moderator chris hardwick turning it into an episode of ‘the nerdist’ and questions ranging from ‘how does superman shave’ to ‘what would superman have on his ipod’……
SINGLED OUT POWER. Hardwick rules.
that sounds fucking painful. there are guys like Hardwick and Henson who seem to end up in these low rent hosting gigs, and i cant for the life of me figure out why they would have a D lister moderating the press conference.
Surely they could do better.
@Lex…LOL. you knew me under previous names on this blog like EthanG dating back to 2005 (you pegged me as a possible protege after a drunken rant of mine back in 2009). I’ve never written such jackass comments you accuse me of. I was just out of high school when “Munich” came out and in college with “Up in the Air” and I dare you to find a claim that challenges that.
Also, what cities DIDN’T screen “Internship” today? Shall I scan the info booklet in for you to slob over?
I write for Richmond Style Magazine, and previously for George Mason U’s paper, which you read (probably drunk) and appreciated once on this blog. This is my part time job, unfortunately, as I work as a patent attorney, and this is an outlet, that yes, with Style I talked myself into, as a 27 year old white male, so there you go I guess?
Thanks though, for continuing to be your moronic, infamous self. And oh, I’ve had sex with girls who are a lot hotter than Kristen Stewart or Chloe Moretz. And I’m gay.
I know Los Angeles based film/tv journalists are loath to participate in Los Angeles Film/repertory culture, but I wish someone would write a story as to why for the first time since Randy took over there is no Monday night Summer Movie series at the Academy Samuel Goldwyn theatre.
Sure there’s Oscar Outdoors on the weekends now, but that’s a poor substitute for the incredible programming/film culture I’ve been feasting on every summer for over a decade.
I presume it has to do with the politics of whatever idiots are currently in charge of the Academy, they probably built/thought up the Oscars Outdoors venue and since it’s their baby, they killed the other film series at the Samuel Goldwyn.
That’s a shame since the Samuel Goldwyn seats 1000 and Oscars Outdoors seats only a 100.
Would Back to the Future make anyone’s list? I know it’s pretty much one classic movie saddled with two sequels that had mixed reactions, but the sequels have stuck with me through the years better than I’d expected. Hell, when I first saw the trailer to Star Trek Into Darkness, my first thought after watching it was, “Kirk, you bozo, those boats don’t work on water!”
My favorite would be the initial Indiana Jones movies, though I do like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull even if I’m more aware of its many flaws than the poor babies who put 2-hour videos on Youtube about how Lucas destroyed their childhood (You can dislike the hell out it. I’m simply saying if that’s the worst thing ever done to your childhood, count yourself lucky). Three of the best damn action movies made with countless iconic moments, lines, and sequences. I like Star Wars just fine, but as a kid who had an Egyptology phase when I was a kid, Indiana Jones did it more for me.
Here’s why Chris Hardwick moderated the Man of Steel press conference:
Legendary owns Nerdist.
I wouldn’t characterize the conference as a fuck up at all. The shaving thing is a huge meme right now and addressing it has a lot of traction. If your outlet’s not online I would understand it being of less interest.
Also, my embargo is the 10th.
David saves a lot of the stuff he used to do blogs on for Twitter now. Had a whole dustup with Joe Carnahan today when he brought up the old video of Joe trashing Nikki, and Joe insisted that was the past and he didn’t want it brought up again just to fight one of David’s battles.
Seriously, follow DP on Twitter.
Here you go Lexie, girl that also saw it in Richmond today. If you want my writing, fly on over:
[ed.: link removed]
John Byrne answered the ‘how does superman shave’ question back in ’86 in the aptly named “Man of Steel” miniseries that rebooted the whole franchise.
(And for funsies, here’s the Bill Nye ad from Gillette, posted just last week; they also have theories from the Mythbusters, Kevin Smith, and Mayim Bialik.)
And Howard Chaykin answered the ‘what would superman have on his ipod’ question around the same time when “he pitched a story about Superman flying over Metropolis listening to “I Believe In You” on his Walkman.”
You’re welcome.
No way the embargo holds.
Way too much to hash over and everyone is going to want to get the conversation rolling on sites like this before twatter takes a dump on it.
But Sam, those answers only work if the movie is 100% faithful to those writers. It’s fair to ask how he does it in the MOVIE, which isn’t written by them.
samlowry– without going into any details, a lot of things we all thought we knew get rejiggered in ‘mos’…
…and after seeing that there are several songs titled “I Believe In You,” here’s the one that’s the obvious answer. (Gratuitous shaving included for free.)
Yes, Clarkie likes show tunes.
As for “What if the movie changes things?” I’m prepared to ignore the movie, since it already seems eager to dump Superman’s iconic appearance, just as I ignored Abrams’ first Trek long before it premiered when the teaser showed the Enterprise being built on the ground.
Not enough hours in the day to suffer fools.
“Seriously, follow DP on Twitter.”
Pass. Twitter is a pain in the ass to follow and severely limited. Entertainment types and journos love it because youre barely required to make an effort. It’s the death of discourse. If that’s where everyone wants to run to, to the ad revenue free gutter of twitter, so be it.
It’s a nose dive into an empty pool. And everybody’s lining up.
I still come here for most of my film news…or Sasha Stone’s remnants of a site….for the next few hours at least:)
A new …what?….. of film at the Academy: don’t defend young analysts as intellectuals any more…make them take a test.
Young people HATE FILM. They want digital shooting, franchise storytelling, and group characterization.
They are different from any other group of film students in history: disrespectful idiots who don’t understand how to advance the medium.
______________________
Please
The fact that Amanda Bynes remains a “celebrity” merely for Tweeting bizarre crap shows how pointless it really is.
There are three sites i frequent.
This one.
The one i write for.
and a very niche site called Bleedingcool.com which is half comics, half film/tv
lyt — i’m a huge fan of hardwick’s (and have been for years) but his incessant ‘joking’ and stepping on lines was infuriating… i’m aware of the ‘shaving’ reference but it’s been done and the questioner was trying to be funny (not very successfully, in several people’s opinion)… the whole dog-and-pony-show was staged primarily for the international and television press with domestic print and on-line being just a throw-away…. for a lot of people there it was a fuck-up but good to know someone was entertained…..
@SamLowry a celebrity made into being by people over 30. Amanda Bynes is an affectation of 30 somethings desperately trying to remain relevant.
I leave for Europe for 2 weeks today. If yall have an issue with me, and think im making shit up in print and on this site, it’s been a great 8 years. Ciao.
They don’t have the internet in Europe?
They had an Internship screening near me too, which I took as a sign the studio believes it to be more than a 90-minute Google commercial. (“Not since Mac & Me or The Wizard…”)
If you’ve ever wondered what a Luc Besson remake of My Blue Heaven would look like, but swapping out Steve Martin and Rick Moranis for Robert DeNiro and Tommy Lee Jones, check out the new trailer for The Family. It looks like it could be all right, but I’d place higher odds that it’s bad. Like Surviving Christmas bad.
Etg, I don’t really understand what’s happened in this thread (derp) but jts i’ve never felt like you’re ‘making shit up’ or have an issue with how you are here, you seem pretty good natured and up for an open discussion with people who both agree and disagree with you…well anyway like i said i don’t know what’s going on, so, yeah
Was this a “LexG rant that got deleted” thing? Cos I can’t seem to find half the conversation.
Either Etguild2 misunderstood my post, or something by someone else got deleted, but I thought I was being complimentary saying he was a good dude, was just curious, again, how people make money at writing about film. I was exaggerating about the age issue, but wasn’t anything malicious about it. Sort of confused…. always like Etguild’s posts and he’s a box-office authority above Poland and just shy of the MASTER GITESH.
I think this was a misunderstanding? I didn’t say anything about him making stuff up (?). And that weird post he quoted about young people liking franchises… what’s that about? Either a batch of this thread got axed, or seriously mixed wires.
I will offer to take the “I hate Etguild” role if it includes dental.
I’ll admit i was a little confused by the exchange. None of them read as malicious to me. And im not sure how the Amanda Bynes twitter comment was any reflection on Etguild.
So color me confused.
Bleeding Cool has too many views to be considered “niche.” Also, bringing up ROTJ in comparison, makes me wonder why people still act as if “Return of the King” is not a bloated “The Hobbit” like mess. I enjoy the LOTR films, but “Return of the King” is just a bloated slog unlike the four movies that proceed it. It’s extended edition, only makes me movie more dragged out and ridiculous. It’s a fine trilogy, but the third movie has problems like third movies usually do.
Oh yeah, the BTTF trilogy is a fine trilogy. Why people still get huffy about BTTF 3, with it’s awesome ending, is still baffling to me.
BTTF is an amazing trilogy! I third that!
As far as defining a trilogy, I think intention counts more here than just the mere number three. You can’t call it a trilogy if the director/writer hasn’t made it clear that the three films are connected. If it’s a direct continuation of the story (Star Trek 2-4), then yes, it’s a trilogy. If it’s a thematic connection (Three Colors), then yes, it’s a trilogy. If it’s a label that fans slapped onto the work by a director (Spielberg’s running man theory), then no, it’s not a trilogy.
Likewise, if it’s just a well-liked movie with two sequels that don’t have much connection to the original, then I’d hardly call that a trilogy…
And having a part four crop up doesn’t somehow negate the integrity of a trilogy. You can’t retroactively untrilogize something. Like if another Back to the Future movie came out, that doesn’t somehow disqualify the original three from being a trilogy.
‘It’s a fine trilogy, but the third movie has problems like third movies usually do.’
I would say that Bourne has the same problems that Rings and even star wars does, that the third installment instead of expanding the story like the second did plays more like a greatest hits reel calling back to all the big moments of of the previous films.
Palmtree, so under your criteria, the three craig bonds should be considered a trilogy?
Yeah, this is weird. Clearly, Etguild mistook the comic exaggeration of Lex’s post (e.g., “Yeah, I was in 5th grade when Munich came out”) as some sort of accusation that he’s been lying about his age or something. Then maybe he had a few drinks? ‘Cause his last post is a bit of a head-scratcher. I think maybe he’s quoting someone’s condescending comments about film students, but it’s hard to say.
Ha, yeah, was thinking the same thing….Etguild you’re not making any sense, man….
“Etguild mistook the comic exaggeration”
Of course!
…and then he linked a picture of his fuzzy crotch. Eww.
(Okay, it was one click away, but still….)
And the Amanda Bynes comment was a reaction to comments insisting how great Twitter is. If she can remain a celebrity merely by Tweeting her wasted-ass brain farts, then the service isn’t much better than standing on a soapbox with a bullhorn.
BTTF?
ROTJ?
TWINE?
PotC?
WoK?
MoS?
There are so many, because we are so lazy.
This Man of Steel embargo feels weird. The 10th? I thought the feedback has been universally positive.
I keep thinking about The Bling Ring. This might be the most meta movie ever and a prime example of what is wrong with our storytellers. It’s the story of a bunch of entitled morons who idolize the idea of celebrity and steal their stuff directed by the kid of a very famous director. I’m not saying Sofia Coppola is talentless. But it feels weird seeing a movie about entitled children being made my an entitled child. This story is the spunk by product of Los Angeles. Conceived there. Born into it’s culture. Made by a member of Hollywood’s most famous families.
It reminds me of that scene in the Player where Peter Gallagher is reading from the paper. This is not something we should be aspiring to.
I predict the movie will ultimately not do well because it seems almost narcissistically insular.
hcat, yes and no.
Suppose Craig never made another Bond. Then I guess they would be a sort of Craig Bond trilogy by default. And they certainly have elements of a trilogy with references to the other films embedded and the same actors and the same sensibility.
But to me a trilogy implies that it was intended to work as a three-part structure. Just having three episodes doesn’t really fulfill that. Ideally each of the episodes should be contributing to the overall arc of what the larger story is.
By contrast, I think if it’s true that Sam Mendes is onboard to direct two more Bonds, I have a feeling those under his direction will indeed be intended as a trilogy and function as a cohesive arc.
This weekend at SIFF I was chewed out by two little old ladies for having the audacity to eat popcorn during a film!
I talked with another friend who confirmed having had the same thing happen to them a different screening.
Is this a new thing, some form of crazy left coast art house protocol that I’m unaware of, or just a couple of grumpy old women who are upset because LexxG isn’t chasing them anymore?
‘This Man of Steel embargo feels weird. The 10th? I thought the feedback has been universally positive.’
well, i’m betting that’s going to change….
man will I feel like a chump if it does, went from being lukewarm to hesitant to excited to nearly euphoric with anticipation for Man of Steel, it would be crushing for it all to have just been marketing hype. Haven’t been this uberexcited for a summer movie this far out in years, and though it is a little unfair to hold Supes responsible as a personal referendum on whether Hollywood can still make a Great Summer movie, this seems like the one they should be able to knock out of the park. I am in need of a ‘yes virginia there is a Superman’ experience at a theater.
Don’t abandon all hope hcat. Pacific Rim could be that great summer movie. Guillermo > Snyder.
Hoping for greatness from Snyder…
Umm….
Del Toro is entirely too asexual to be better than Snyder.
GDT’s movies are cool, but it’s that “earnest humble” geeky thing that doesn’t do much for me; The Pacific Rim ads seem to feature NO chicks, and GDT isn’t the kind of dude to objectify them anyway. What’s the fun in being a director if you’re not projecting your sexual desires? All he seems to fetishize is insects and clockwork machines.
fwiw — i spoke with charlie day last week-end and he was pretty stoked about how ‘pacific rim’ turned out… granted, he’s pretty close to it but he seemed sincere….
Do Coppola’s three “Godfather” films really constitute a proper trilogy?
There were 16 years between two and three, and wasn’t three something of an afterthought: Coppola’s attempt to reclaim his mojo after a series of expensive ’80s b.o. flops (“One From the Heart,” “The Cotton Club,” etc.)?
Don’t get me wrong. I love all three “Godfather”s (yes, even three; yes, even Sofia’s unfairly maligned performance).
I’m just not sure if anyone (Coppola included) ever envisioned them as a “trilogy” back when he put the finishing touches on two.
If anything, he seemed to want to get as far away as possible from the world of the Corleones…until essentially saying, “WTF?,” and making “The Godfather, Part III.”
I’d take GDT’s worst movie over anything Snyder has ever done, and I sure as hell trust him to deliver a great summer blockbuster more than I do Snyder.
Sucker Punch is a seriously undervalued film, in its embrace AND critique of THE MULVEY GAZE…. It has sickly, diseased, Satanic quality, on par with Fincher’s video for Janie’s Got a Gun in queasily depicting sexual abuse. Its depressing quality, its visual scheme, the actresses, the futility of the big setpieces; It’s a nightmare movie about molestation– unclean, oppressive, intentionally so.
I guess on some level it was billed as a popcorn escapist movie so maybe it fails on THAT level if that’s what your looking for, but as a mood piece it’s more intimate and personal and again, queasy, than GDT’s dorky insects and robots.
Lex I’m not at all surprised that Snyder is more your speed than GDT. I’m not even a huge GDT fan. I just enjoy his movies far more than I enjoy Snyder’s and believe he is a way better filmmaker.
You know, all the hype… all the good marketing… Nolan helping steer the ship. It could all be bluster… because it’s Snyder.
If you ever listen to the commentary on Sucker Punch, every motivating creative decision is based on the word ‘cool’. It’s about as inspiring as hearing a 7 year old describe an episode of Pokemon.
I think Snyder is the most boring guy out there. ‘Visually interesting but completely hollow’ describes almost every film he’s ever done. Watchmen – mediocre. 300 – average. Sucker Punch – dumb.
Like a lot of filmmakers, his early stuff with more financial constraints ending up being his best work. Dawn of the Dead is really good. Once he was given the keys to the digital toolbox, he got visually interesting and less interested in a cohesive or engaging narrative.
So if Man of Steel comes out and it gets hammered, i will be disappointed, but not surprised.
Oh, and i think GDT is the most wildly inconsistent and wildly overpraised guys working today. Hasn’t had one big mainstream hit. Hellboy films are big stupid cartoons. I can get into stuff like Pan’s Labrynth, but when he makes studio movies he paints too broad. Im betting Pacific Rim will be the most crazy, ridiculous two hours this Summer filled with amazing visuals and some characters that come across like they were written by that same seven year old screaming ‘cool’ every other sentence.
Don’t worry anghus if the movie is good people will praise Nolan not Snyder
It says a lot that the one character in SUCKER PUNCH that I couldn’t stand, the one I wanted to see die the most when the movie started turning into TEN LITTLE INDIANS, was the one who survived to the end.
Hated it.
(Whoa, I shouldn’t have started reading up on TEN LITTLE INDIANS–now I feel a need to buy a copy of CASINO ROYALE. Ohhh, Daliah Lavi….)
“Don’t worry anghus if the movie is good people will praise Nolan not Snyder”
Man are you right. That’s gotta be frustrating. He can take the blame if its bad. And he’ll get only a smattering of the praise if its good.
Del Toro has never made a movie anywhere near as good as WATCHMEN.
I wouldn’t feel too bad for Snyder. All signs point to it being a hit. If it is in fact good and Nolan gets more praise he can take comfort on his bed of money.
“I wish someone would write a story as to why for the first time since Randy took over there is no Monday night Summer Movie series at the Academy Samuel Goldwyn theatre…I presume it has to do with the politics of whatever idiots are currently in charge of the Academy, they probably built/thought up the Oscars Outdoors venue and since it’s their baby, they killed the other film series at the Samuel Goldwyn.”
The Summer series was supposed to be the touring program of Hitchcock silents, but the new people upstairs (well, one new person upstairs) loathe “old” movies and the series got booted over to LACMA.
ETA: But on the bright side, at least there’s one month where LACMA won’t be running those goddamn Kubrick movies.
I harbor greater doubts than others about Pacific Rim (though Charlie as a maddish scientist is pretty great casting). Some of it is no matter how strong the execution I am not sure if there is enough depth in Big Robots Bigger monsters to appease me. Superman, in my mind, simply has inherently more potential as a story and I am hoping for a Raiders of the Lost Ark one for the ages experience that I can’t really see Pacific Rim delivering even at its best.
‘There were 16 years between (Godfather) two and three, and wasn’t three something of an afterthought’
As much as I love Godfather Part 2, isn’t it almost an afterthought as well in a big hit make a sequel type of way? Absolutely masterful, but it doesn’t really add a massive amount to the story. At the end of the Godfather Micheal had the whole world at the cost of his soul. That was still true at the end of 2. So his progression from Monster to bigger Monster certainly isn’t the same journey he took in the first.
Again one of the greatest films of all time, but only really reinforces the narrative of the first without adding a whole lot of new stuff.
MOS one for the ages? I guess anything is possible. I’m certainly not expecting much depth from a movie featuring giant robots battling giant monsters in order to save mankind, but I do think it will deliver the summer goods. I have more faith in PR being a fun summer movie than I do in MOS being “one for the ages.”
Just to be clear my rooting for Man of Steel is more hope than expectation.
Nothing wrong with that. It’s always nice to be excited about an upcoming movie.
“Just to be clear my rooting for Man of Steel is more hope than expectation”
you have no idea how prescient that line is…..
Is it me, or does PACIFIC RIM look like a big-budget version of GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA?
If you’re talking Speilberg trilogies, I think a real case could be made for Close Encounters, ET and War of the Worlds.