April 26, 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
Thanks. The West Coast telecast doesn’t start until 8pm so good to know you are going to be revealing the winners early…
I can’t remember when it was but I believe it was AFI was giving a lifetime achievement award to Mike Nichols and of course Elaine May was one of the ones who spoke. She was nothing short of brilliant! She read a letter that was supposedly written by Einstein to Nichols that was not only scholarly brilliant (yes, that word again) but comic gold! I didn’t really her story, like if there were some personal reasons why we weren’t being constantly fed from her mind, but I just shook my head over what coulda or shoulda been.
Very happy about Sam Mendes’ “Ferryman” win.
Mendes is this generation’s Mike Nichols: a master in both film and theater.
Bravo.
Bryan Cranston seems like a shoo-in for an EGOT. The Grammy would come from reading an audio book. And unless he decides to quit films, an Oscar feels like a matter of time.
So AWAY WE GO is Mendes’ DAY OF THE DOLPHIN.
movieman, have you ever read the Arthur Laurents biography where he trashes Sam Mendes, who directed the Bernadette Peter’s Gypsy? He goes in full hater mode calling him untalented and difficult.
Why not, Ray?
I love “Day of the Dolphin” and “Away We Go.”
Nope, haven’t read the Laurents book, Glamour.
I absolutely love Away We Go, some of the supporting perfs are a little much, but Mendes has never shown that much warmth or humanity before or since. Krasinski was playing very much to his type at the time, but Rudolph was a delight, I had never really noticed her before then.
(sideways glance) Mr. Pride, Pashaw.
I recently watched “Day of the Dolphin” again on TCM: hadn’t seen it since 1974.
I’d avoided it for decades, fearing that it wouldn’t hold up to the warm and fuzzy memories I had for it as a 15-year-old.
But it was every bit as good as I remembered.
“Fa loves Pa” still gives my tear ducts a workout.
As for Mendes, I don’t think he’s made a bad or uninteresting film yet.
I always said the same thing about Nichols, although “Regarding Henry” IS a terrible movie. (I’ve always blamed J.J. Abrams’ horrible screenplay.)
Curiously, “American Beauty” might be my least favorite Mendes.
“Revolutionary Road” is definitely the most underrated. “Spectre” and (especially) “Skyfall” are hand’s down my favorite 007 movies.
Day of the Dolphin might be his most notorious flop, but Nichols has certainly made worse or at least less interesting films. I hardly remember Dolphin, but I remember the laborious What Planet Are You From, or the lackluster Biloxi. When someone of Nichols stature fails he should fail BIG. Catch 22 big (not that 22 is a poor film, best that could be expected really).
I agree that RR is underrated, its about time for Kate and Leo to find another project. Never liked Titanic but they are dynamite together.
Looking over Nichols filmography you can easily point out the jobs taken to pay the bills.
Fortune
Heartburn
Biloxi
Regarding Henry
What Planet are You From
all of them feel sort of generic assembly line pictures. Heartburn is really not that distinctive of other Paramount movies of that time, same goes with Henry. Working Girl and Birdcage were certainly studio projects but they crackled with an energy that set them apart. Colors and Charlie Wilson were a little on the shaggy side but had a strong pulse underneath, while not perfect you could tell they had true talent in front and behind the cameras.
I could make a reasonable defense for all of those Nichols movies (excepting “Henry,” of course), Hcat.
For my money, “Biloxi” is the most successful of Simon’s stage-to-stage adaptation because it’s the only one that actually feels like a movie rather than a filmed stage play.
Nicholson, Beatty and a shoulda-made-her-a-star Stockard Channing performance? Priceless.
Nicholson and Streep’s first pairing (at a time when Streep still could do no wrong)? Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. And the supporting cast is gold-plated.
“What Planet?” had the post-HBO Shandling and a positively glowing Annette Benning: hardly a masterpiece, but pleasurable nonetheless.
On paper, “Wolf” looked like a director-for-hire gig. It’s anything but. Probably in my top-tier of Nichols movies.
I like everything of Mendes that I’ve seen (haven’t seen Spectre), but Jarhead is the movie of his I’ve seen the least and the one I saw least recently. How does it hold up?
Wolf is a fun flick. They don’t make them like that anymore.
Benning carried Planet completely on her shoulders, she was fantastic in it. No matter how ill conceived a film she can always deliver a fantastic line reading (see Running With Scissors, or actually just take my word for it on that one).
I found Heartburn rather choppy, and given the stellar cast and the heavyweight priciples behind the camera, I just expected something more. A Terms of Endearment or Children of a Lesser God type experience.
I agree that Biloxi breaks its stagebound restraints admirably, much better and spoken more naturalistically than Brighton the previous year. But the material it delivered seemed routine.
And it has been so long since I have seen The Fortune I should have left it out of my comments. It is possible that I am remembering it in one lump with Harry and Walter Go to New York and Nickelodeon.
Its been decades since I have seen any of the films I am marking as routine so, grain of salt and all.
“They don’t make them like that anymore”
A big budget summer tentpole with a libido matured past the seventh grade? Imagine.
Concur re: Bening. Running With Scissors is a good example. Don’t like the movie or remember much about it, but I remember her and the way she delivers the line about giving her husband a medal.
Still holding out hope that Bening will receive an Oscar one day.
Still can’t believe she wasn’t nominated for “20th Century Woman.”
Hey, don’t knock “Nickelodeon” (another Bogdanovich masterpiece in my book) or “Harry and Walter,” Hcat.
I spent 10 days in NYC in June 1976–it was my post-high school graduation trip (by myself!), ostensibly to check out NYU where I was enrolled for the fall–
and saw “H&W” twice (yes, twice) at Radio City.
Of course, I was head over heels in love w/ Diane Keaton at the time, and her “We’re robbing this bank in the name of decency!” line positively slayed me.
Still chuckle thinking about it today. Although, truth be told, I haven’t seen it since then. Probably worried (pace “DOTD”) that it wouldn’t hold up to my rose-colored memories.
Btw, that same trip I also saw “The Man Who Fell to Earth” twice. Still my favorite Nic Roeg.
P.S.= I’ve always felt that “Mad Men” (which premiered six months beforehand) stole “Revolutionary Road”‘s thunder. Maybe if Mendes had rushed it out for Xmas 2007 (which was entirely possible: the film was shot in the summer of ’07) it would have made the impact it deserved to. Or perhaps it might have seemed unfinished/rushed. Who really knows?
Haven’t seen “Jarhead” since its original release, but remember liking it very much at the time.
Am a bit younger movieman, my love of Keaton came a bit later. Was wondering if you’ve seen I Do I Do for Now? Its Keaton and Gould I believe, I was thinking of trying to track it down somehow but want to know if it is worth it.
It is entirely probable that your seeing these in the theater as opposed to my watching them on pan and scan encore on a rainy day years down the line contributes to the different level of enthusiasm we feel for these films. Jealous of your whole trip. That must have been extraordinary.
Stella, that is exactly the line I was thinking about. The one I remember from Planet was the “I have to get myself in a better place emotionally before I have a child because I have seriously messed up my cat.” Delivered with that wonderfully subtle head nod that she does.
Just perfection.
And what do we do with that talent now? Supporting role in a comic book movie.
Not even my Keaton-worship could make me like “I Will! I Will!,” Hcat.
Can’t recommend it unless you’re as much of a Keaton completist as I am. (Hence my seeing “Poms” at first-run admission prices last month. Yikes.)
Recall seeing it–guess I’m on a memory lane trip today, lol–back to back w/ “Next Stop, Greenwich Village” on a Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon in March 1976.
Loved the Mazursky; recoiled at the Gould/Keaton pairing.
The thing that stood out to me at the time was how repulsed I was at the prospect of Keaton canoodling with Paul Sorvino.
Re Biloxi Blues: Casting Christopher Walken as a drill sergeant was incredibly counter-intuitive, but it worked like gangbusters.
“The Fortune” is better than anything Mendes has ever made besides “RR”
“Regarding Henry” is worth it for the Ritz crackers and awful JJ cameo.