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
So what would be your idea of a killing Dave? Not asking for a prediction here as first weekend predictions are nuts in my book.
I think anything above $500m is a killing. Will it get to that? Doubt it. The fans like it more than the critics, but even the fans are divided. Next weekend will be very interesting. But based on this opening, $400m is a sigh of relief for the studio.
They did save some face by opening bigger than the low budget Deadpool. If it ends up grossing less, then that’s embarrassing. Even if Deadpool is a surprise overachiever.
They have laid down a good gauntlet for Captain America, which should really be Avengers 2.5 anyway, as like Superman, Captain America is not the highlight of his own story. Hell they could’ve even named this Ironman vs Captain America if they wanted.
Curious what happens if BvS doesn’t outgross Deadpool ( or even Zootopia which is holding like a champ with 300 guaranteed and more possible). This combined universe pie in the sky is going to cripple studios. When do they learn that they make money by playing to their strengths. Universal lost tens of millions trying to be fox and WB with battleship and cowboys and aliens, then they go with neighbors and nurture f&f for years and make bank. Now everybody wants to be Disney and is Investing hundreds of millions in this universe nonsense gobbling up all their tentpole real estate planning half a decade in advance all for properties they have no clue will work. Let Disney be Disney let Warner’s be Warner’s and let columbia be Columbia (cause that MIB 21 Jump Street hybrid is one the the worst ideas I have ever heard, of course with recent trends they will all find Jesus by the end or we won’t know it’s a SONY product). The big guys should go big the small guys small everyone makes money and we all get better movies
From where I’m sitting, WB seems to have wound up with DC movies that look something like the Transformers movies on its hands – loud stupid movies that perform well enough (but not as well as they’d like) and that almost nobody remembers five minutes after they leave the theater.
The people have spoken and told critics to shove it.
I would have never guessed an audience existed for a “Greek Wedding 2.”
Yes, the original was a freak outlier, but I don’t know anyone who’s even referenced it–in any context–since 2002.
An $18-million-plus opening weekend has to be considered a huge win for Universal and Vardalos, esp considering the micro budget.
Crazy, crazy times.
Saw BvS a second time and it was much more palatable. Guess it was due to actual movie vs expectations.
I had a conversation with my nephew tonight. He’s nine. I asked if he was gonna see B v S and he asked me who would win. In that Warners et al advertised this concept from the start they totally failed to deliver. all they had to do was make a movie where the final battle was b v s. but no. they fucked the bed.
Yuge WWE title in the year of WWE/Trump. Lotsa bozos put out for stupid crap.
Who cares if it tops DEADPOOL domestically, which is maybe an even-money proposition. It needs to hit $1 billion worldwide at least to be as profitable. That seems like a very tall order.