April 23, 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
A glorious freakout of a movie!
Jordan Peele has definitely studied the work of Michael Haneke.
My screening companion wasn’t as impressed: he picked it apart for logic gaps/plot inconsistencies the whole drive home. (I hate when people are such literalists.)
*********** MASSIVE SPOILERS ********************************************************************************************
hands across america
(only the olds will actually remember that whole thing as it happened; i was thinking it would have been a good alternate title for the movie but maybe having the ultimate clue in the title would be frowned upon. once you ‘see’ it re the line of doppelgangers then the clues/deductive reasoning lead to only one possibility; i suspected the switcharoo but for some reason it wasn’t until jason come out of the locker down in the subterranean world that i was convinced – and weirdly that’s not even a clue per se, just something about the way adelaide says ‘look at my face’, her behaviour… very well performed and cleverly constructed, a movie that works almost entirely in hindsight. i think the relationship between the awkward jason and his imposter mum – he’s very much his mother’s son, his ‘comfort’ mask a brilliant clue in plain sight and bit of narrative foreshadowing – is perhaps the most fascinating and satisfying aspect. thinking about it in its entirety makes the final ‘look’ between mother and son that much more profound. i need to see it again to get other bits of nuance i no doubt missed, and there’s a few things i don’t understand so i’m not sure if i missed something or perhaps some things are simply not explained.)
Great take on the movie leahnz. There’s a lot going under the surface, obviously. I definitely need to see it again considering the twists, which believe it or not I figured out from jump but not in how it would work, so that to me was handled well.
have many people not had a chance to see it yet? it’s always interesting to get different impressions and thematic interpretations here, hopefully some more will share their thoughts.
i haven’t had time to really dive into a lot of the post-movie reaction and interpretation yet, which from what i’ve seen so far focus on a ‘reckoning’ for the garish 80’s reagan-era consumerism/materialism and economics that’s metastasized like cancer into the current culture creating a discarded underlass with the ever-widening gaps in wealth and status, which on an intellectual level seems entirely correct, but personally
******************** SPOILERS ************************
adelaide’s reckoning feels more intimate, the notion of wealth and status seen as our worth and the rising up of the discarded underclass as a backdrop to a deeper exploration of identity, the concept of a ‘soul’ and ultimately what makes us human.
adeliade’s ‘humanity’, as it turns out, is performative – she carefully watches and learns how to act like a human being and makes the ‘right’ moves, filling her stolen life with the ‘right’ mate and 2 kids for the right size family and the right nice houses/cars/material possessions and the right friends, thus achieving the right status as society dictates, but in spite of all this she’s anxious and lost, because the hole inside her can’t be filled with all this right stuff, and deep down she feels like an imposter.
leah, the whole relationship between the mother and Jason is even more interesting when you realize…
————-SPOILER—————-
*****That the reason she’s so protective of Jason and that Jason is acting so weird throughout the entire movie is that Jason is a tether. Like his mother, at some point he was swapped out, probably because the mother didn’t want to raise a boy with burn marks on his face and wanted a perfect family image, etc. I know it’s crazy, but if you think back, it checks out. ********
————————————
oh!
***************** SPOILERS *************************
i actually wondered about this possibility given jason clearly has his mother’s ‘gift’ re his unusual connection to his doppleganger (among other things the mask, the eventual ability to control him when he backs his dopple into the fire using the hands-across-america power stance, and the knowing look between mother and son at the end) but the gears in my head started to smoke trying to parse it out logistically and remember all the details in the movie since i’ve only seen it the one time…i’m seeing it again this weekend with a group so given the already incredibly spoiler-y nature of this thread, is there anything specific i should look out for in the way of clues/interpretations for this theory, ’cause i’m liking it
leah, read on…
————-SPOILERS—————————–
There are so many clues. The way he has no idea how to snap his fingers and the mother tries to get him to do it but they are both horribly unrhythmic. Seems unimportant until you remember Pluto can snap his fingers perfectly. The fact that they say he changed when “grandma” died and that mysteriously changes mom into agreeing to go to Santa Cruz. The fact that he says weird things and everyone is shocked at his new vocabulary in the car. The fact that he trying to dig tunnels on the beach and that he hides in the closet for fun. The fact that when the tethers first enter their house, he’s the one who says immediately with recognition “it’s us.” And then there’s his kidnapping which of course because he’s actually Red’s son so she wants to bring him back. There’s a lot more, but you get the picture. There are a few details I can’t explain like why Pluto moves in such a weird way, but that’s what a second viewing will be for. And on that note, enjoy your second viewing!
—————————————-
yay
(i got some of that the first time but a few went right past me so now i can really focus on certain aspects)
************************ SOILERS *************************
assuming jason is also a switcharoo – and it would explain some things – then that also kind of changes the complexion of the unveiled narrative re adelaide and assumptions the viewer is led to make….i guess i should put a cork in it until i can see it again instead of just spinning my wheels.
Had the worst theater experience of my life last night. Chain here does $5 Tuesdays so every Us screening was sold-out. Most of crowd was large groups of young people. Half walked in late and made no effort to be quiet. Phones rang from start to finish. People texted from start to finish. They shouted and swore at the screen from start to finish (“drive the car bitch!”). People laughed uproariously from start to finish including during scenes that aren’t supposed to be funny. It was absolutely miserable. I don’t think I could possibly assess how I feel about the movie and definitely need to see it again. Preferably at home or in an empty theater. I love the theatrical experience but wow that sucked.
Yikes! Also, it’s impossible now to see a movie without someone taking out a smartphone just to text or look at something. It’s as if they think it’s okay because it’s quiet even though a movie works by directing your eyes to the light and if there’s a competing light source, then why did I pay so much friggin money for a darkened room in the first place????? Seriously, the only place phones don’t regularly interrupt is at industry screenings, but those aren’t really practical until awards season (and only if you know some people in the industry).
Jordan Peele “”The way I look at it, I get to cast black people in my movies. I feel fortunate to be in this position where I can say to Universal, ‘I want to make a $20 million horror movie with a black family.’ And they say yes.”
“I don’t see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie. Not that I don’t like white dudes. But I’ve seen that movie,” says Peele.”
The level of racist comments to what he said is striking and yet unsurprising.
Agree w/ everything you said, Palm.
It’s been a HUGE problem ever since the introduction of smart phones.
Happens in the classroom, too.
Nothing pisses me off more than students who use “Movie Time” (i.e., when the lights are turned down for our weekly film) to text, check their email and/or Facebook page, etc.
stella’s boy your cinema experience sounds positively dystopian (marty failed to get the almanac back this one time and the alternate timeline is the paradox we’re stuck in, i’m convinced of it)
“The level of racist comments to what he said is striking and yet unsurprising”
crikey note to self: never read the comments section if you want to maintain even the barest faith in human sanity. (i’m totally digging peele’s aesthetic; there’s an article on the design/choreography of the doppelganger’s
– or tether’s as would appear to be the popular nomenclature – movements that’s really instructive; such creative film-making)
meanwhile:
“NIXON TO KEEP TAPES DESPITE RULING, WILL GIVE OWN SUMMARY; COX DEFIANT”
the sane world watches in baited-breath horror this brazen cover-up in the return of the iran-contra fixer with his executive version of the idiotic devin nunes memo abetted and protected by the mad syphilitic king and banana republicans while the dems persist in bringing Q-tips for a polite powder-puff joist to a psychotic rendition of ‘the running man’ murderball by a criminal kleptocracy as US corporate & murdoch cable ‘news’ infotainment media continues their capitulation as useful manipulated idiots and lickspittle propagandists to an administration of proven pathological liars while still in the recent long and dark shadow of their own catastrophic failure reporting on the GWB iraq WMD fiasco, as the minutes tick down for our species’ survival on our planet due to hubris and greed.
wash rinse repeat
(but maybe not, not this time)
at least you can go down with a fight for what’s right
It definitely felt that way leah.
I’d be perfectly fine with Peele’s comments if white actors could find other ways to get leading roles in Hollywood. Living through peak white victimhood.
White people need to examine why they’re offended by a black director hiring exclusively black leads when white directors do it all the time and even whitewash POC roles in the process. It’s probably ok because they’ve never said they would only hire whites, but that’s what ends up happening overwhelmingly. They need to realize the correction to the problem isn’t the problem.
leah, the current state of affairs, as bad as it’s been, is now unbearable for me. The report is right there, and one side is deciding to hide the report to obstruct justice to protect a crime family. House of Cards seems quaint.
I’m beginning to think the Mueller Report will become the new “Trump’s taxes” and/or “Warren Report.”
We had to wait–what, 50 years?–for the latter.
The former will never, ever be made public.
Wouldn’t it be fan-f***ing-tastic for Bob Mueller to pull a Daniel Ellsberg right about now?
But why dream the impossible dream? That’s why so many hearts (including mine) were broken on Sunday afternoon.
I’d be wiling to forfeit my health insurance–which I have Obama to thank for–if it meant defeating that orangutan bastard in 2020.
But could anything REALLY wake up his (very) base base of FOX News-imbibing deplorable lunatics?
ugh i feel for you guys
(ftr re above: “the dems persist in bringing Q-tips for a polite powder-puff jOUST”, not joist, clearly typing fast i didn’t proofread very well and the spellcheck overruled me)
talking to my uncle in texas yesterday – a lovely guy and quite a character, not exactly a shrinking violet, been through hell and back as a 2tour vietnam vet and still feisty as heck – and he told me he’s never felt so helpless and despairing and angry at what’s happening to america. retired now so he’s headed to el paso in his RV to see if he can help out, apparently there’s a concentration camp (his words) there under a freeway overpass packed with migrants – including children – and he’s mad as hell, so he’s turned to activism at the local level as his way of fighting for his country, go uncle. i guess the moral of the story is, do anything you can for as long as you can to fight consolidation of autocracy because as multiple experts have told, once an autocrat takes power and is normalised, they’re extremely difficult to remove. democracies end; so to those who think it can’t happen there still clinging to norms to save you, too late — the brazen stick in the eye to democratic rules and the embrace of cruelty against the marginalised and vulnerable is the entire point, a feature not a bug. fight against it as long as you can, every little act helps and you are strong in numbers.
Calling Jordan Peele racist hilarious. He’s far from it. He’s in a place of power and influence, and despite the increase in non-white filmmaking lately, it’s still very lacking. Who cares if he won’t cast a white guy lead anytime soon? Like there’s not a role for them in every other movie.
Right? Like Mark Harmon has ever wanted for work. Any number of bland middle of the road white guys get to carve out long term and well paid careers but the minute somebody speaks for any type of diversity it is reverse racism.
And would like point out Peele made US for 20 million after his previous film grossed 180 domestic. In a time where guys get their indie to 12 million and are tapped on the shoulder for a 100 million franchise film it is remarkably refreshing to see Peele continue to work small to maintain creative control.
Leah, between Mueller and Brexit this has been like waiting for Christmas and just getting coal. I have needed some cathardic Schadenfreude where people get their just deserts for following these slimy xenophobic con men, and both have been punted down the line.
Punting down the line…that’s literally the latest justification for destroying the environment. Apparently we have a good 50-75 years of planetary destruction before we have to clean it up…ugh. That’s the idiotic head of the EPA saying this. The Republican motto is now “let’s make America great again…75 years from now.”
so depressing. (ETA meant to say why americans just stand by and continue to allow a mega-rich australian dickhead’s propaganda outlet help destroy your country is inexplicable)
and it’s really hard to talk about with your offspring because as a parent you want to shield them from the bad out there in the world and tell them the future is bright and what they make it and they can make a real difference in this world and there’s wonderful adventures just waiting to be had with unicorns and rainbows with pots of gold and dragons (not wyverns, what’s with the wyverns now, fuck that, proper dragons) and then they’re like, “aw fuck it mum we’re awake in the matrix now, in the sunken place and everything’s dying and fucked up and we’re all gonna kark it horribly so who cares?” and you’re like, “oh”
********************** SPOILERS ***********************
palmtree if you see this re: Us and jason ‘is he or isn’t he one of the tethered’ (or a tether, whatever):
after a second viewing (i liked it even more the second time), adding to all the stuff you’d mentioned previously in favour of this scenario is when adelaide gets out of the car to supposedly kill apollo toward the end her reaction to him is disarmingly sympathetic as she reaches out to him and does not move to harm him even as he intends to blow them up in the car, and she appears genuinely distressed, repeating ‘no’ as jason backs him into the fire to his death (because she knows on some level he’s her real son?). also that jason can physically control his supposed-tether apollo, this would mirror fake-adelaide’s ability to control the real adelaide/red down in the subterranean world through dance, which ironically is what leads to her being seen as ‘special’ and their subsequent great escape.
on the ‘nay’ side, it seems that logically if jason/apollo were switched at some point because of his ‘flaws’ (facial scars) when he was already a child, wouldn’t the scars being gone then be obvious to everyone else in the family and of some note in the narrative? that it’s goes completely without remark of any sort seems weird – so is it possible jason and apollo were switched at birth instead after what ‘red’ notes is a difficult cesarean birth?
that jason simply takes very much after his doppelganger/imposter mum genetically and is thus ultra connected to his ‘tethered’ also works i think, such as his ability to physically control apollo like his mum did red in making her dance, it could be an inherited trait. jason’s identity certainly seems ambiguous, though. (also, adelaide comforts zora’s doppelganger as she’s dying in the tree so that makes her reaching out to apollo seem somewhat less incongruous – she’s trying to comfort her own at the moment of their deaths)
i don’t know, but it’s a cool flick — more of a really clever, intellectual, thematically complex zombie-apocalypse feeling the second time
Finally saw it…loved it. Love all the layers of it…and I’ve enjoyed reading lots of articles with all of the theories…..but I do feel like a film must work on a basic logic level as well. Here are my questions (after just one viewing)….
SPOILERS
So the government started an experiment and just left millions of tethers in the passageways across the country? If the travel to the Santa Cruz underworld is less of a trek than the parking structure at the Grove….why don’t the tethered come up more often? Rob people and buy some real food to take down below? So Red started a movement across the country with all of the tethered? Did she walk the length of the country underground and communicate her plan with everyone? Do they keep calendars down there–how did they all keep track of the specific day? Where did all the red suits come from and who paid for them? So the tethered are forced to mirror the images of what their doubles are doing above the ground (the forced ballet sequences, for example)…how did they break free and gain their own free will?
Did anyone else notice that P.T. Anderson was thanked in the end credits? I imagine it is for borrowing the concept of plastering the movie with a Bible verse from Magnolia and using 11:11 (or just 11) throughout US.