April 19, 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
I already have an IMAX ticket for The Rise of Skywalker at 8am on 12/20.
(Guess that’s more winter than autumn though.)
First day of winter this year is December 21 so you’re good Pete. We’ll allow it.
Well, based on the lackluster reviews for the new Terminator film that are trickling in, that’s off the list of anticipated films. My giddiness was already shaken after Alita reminded me that Cameron’s producer only gigs never did pay off, But I held out hope.
and by the way, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MOJO1111
As soon as the incredibly enthusiastic fanboy reviews of Dark Fate dropped last week it became clear that reviews from the rest of critics wouldn’t be good. Over and over they said “best since T2” and yeah that’s a pretty low bar and doesn’t bode well. Those reviews reeked of fanboy early screening over-effusive praise. I have absolutely no interest. They just need to stop with these movies. We’re getting The Lighthouse here tomorrow so hopefully seeing that soon.
Mojo has lost its…mojo.
Still working on my 1969 project and moved they shoot horses to the top of my list per your recommendations. And can’t even get my mind straight to talk about it now. Just KABLAMOO!
Watched They Shoot Horses with my mom way back around 1980 when I was a kid. That movie wrecked me, even as a kid I could not really handle how harsh the movie was, how cruel life would have been and it was only 50 years earlier. Watched it again during uni and it still hit hard. Might give it a go again because of you since it has been 30 years but I will really have to find a time that I am ready for it.
It was really one of the most desolate things I have ever seen. I almost had to watch a Mad Max movie after as a pick me up.
And it was an additional shock coming from Pollack, I have always thought of him as more of an eager to please Labrador, and here is a bleak descent that I would say is even harsher than Midnight Cowboy or Wild Bunch. I’ve always liked Pollack for his modernized Lubitschs (Horseman, Tootsie) his mini Leans (Jerimiah, Africa) his clockwork thrillers (Condor, Firm) and Way We Were is probably the greatest romance ever between a camera and movie stars, and though this film is constructed in an identical way it leaves us in a very different place. But for all the despair this wasn’t a cynical film. These people weren’t inherently bad, just forced to struggle for scraps like dogs.
I talked about seeing Climax a few weeks ago, and Horses was a much more impressive example of tap dancing into oblivion. Just an all time movie from an all time year.
Not sure whether I mentioned it before when recommending some 1969 movies, Hcat, but another title worth checking out is Jacques Demy’s “Model Shop.”
I re-watched it over the weekend, and it holds up beautifully.
You can definitely see its creative inspiration on how Tarantino shot “Late ’60s Hollywood” in “Once Upon a Time…”
How deliciously ironic that it was produced by (and released by) Columbia Pictures at the same time as the studio’s “Wrecking Crew” w/ Sharon Tate.
Thanks Movieman, put it on the top of the queue. Shoplifters is in the mail so I will check back on the Demy when it comes next week. Luckily If…. and Paint Your Wagon (alright maybe not so lucky) are streaming on Amazon while I wait for my Netflix delivery.
And speaking of Paint your Wagon, I have always been a big fan of Gulf and Western era Paramount so I am saddened by the news that the man who kicked the whole thing off has passed on. RIP Robert Evans.
Haven’t seen “If…” since college, but I remember digging it at the time.
Gotta confess to having enjoyed “Paint Your Wagon” as a kid, but have never revisited it.
Gave “Shoot Horses?” another look earlier this year, and agree that it’s held up beautifully. I definitely appreciated it more as an adult than I did as an 11-year-old.
A pleasant surprise for me was Michael Sarrazin who I’ve often disparaged as a Canadian zero.
But he’s really, really good in this. Guess maybe he was too straight-looking to launch a serious Hollywood career in an era when male movie stars looked more like Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino than…well, Michael Sarrazin.
Yep. Evans passing definitely feels like another major brick in that “End of an Era” wall.
If… was alright. I can see how it would feel explosive at the time, but it has certainly aged. Interesting as a piece of film history, but as a film, sort of bland now.
Speaking of bland Englishness, Yesterday might be my biggest disappointment of the year. All the talent is there on and behind the screen, but the movie just wanders listlessly. It wasn’t all that romantic or that comic. It reminded me of Woody Allen films from this century that have a decent premise and a worthy cast, but they just forgot to write the jokes.
Maybe it’s best for me not to revisit “If…” then, Hcat.
I tend to avoid certain favorite movies from my youth for fear they’ll dissipate in the cold light of my adult years.
‘certain favorite movies of my youth’
Let me tell you a little story about ‘The Pirate Movie’….
Also I would love to know if anyone has seen Frisco Kid as an adult, I would like to revisit that sometime but am cautious about staining its ethereal presence in my memory.
Nope, haven’t seen “Frisco Kid” since 1979.
Liked it OK as I recall, but I was an Aldrich freak at the time.
I remember writing an effusive 11-page review of Aldrich’s “The Choirboys” for an NYU movie-review class in which I proclaimed it as a masterpiece (in the same year as “Close Encounters,” “1900,” “Annie Hall,” “The American Friend,” “3 Women,” “New York, New York,” etc., etc.).
Oy.
The perils of youthful enthusiasm.
Needles to say I’ve been petrified at the prospect of rewatching “The Choirboys” ever since.
“All the Marbles” holds up beautifully, though.
It’s from the year after your 1969 survey, Hcat, but I just gave “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” another look, and was shocked to discover that it’s the gayest Hollywood movie from the year of “Myra Breckinridge” and “The Boys in the Band.”
The funniest/most ironic thing is that “BTVOTD” was actually the fruit of two hetero-horndogs’ loins (Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert). I wonder if they even realized just how flaming gay it was while making it.
Also interesting was how proto-“Showgirls” it is.
I will have to give that a check on January 1st!
Plus that’s the day recreational gets legalized in Illinois so I can make an evening.
It may not be a fair determination or at least not progressive but I would have to say the ‘gayest’ movie I think I’ve seen is Thoroughly Modern Millie. Just camp overload, wonderful energy and beautifully shot. And of course Ben Hur is somewhere on that list, I had heard the jokes and such but was amazed at how accurate the snickering was. You could honestly splice some hard core sex scenes in there and it would not feel out of place or interrupt the narrative at all. Watched the entire first half thinking that Quintus really loved his rough trade.
Hcat- I never get tired of mentioning that the X-rated gay phantasmagoria combo of “Myra” and “Beyond” were produced and released by big Fox a mere five years after their musical blockbuster “The Sound of Music.”
The mind still reels.
Also worth noting is that DP Fred Koenekamp shot Oscar-winning Best Picture “Patton” and the Meyer film..the same f***ing year.
That’s even more Ripley’s Believe it or Not bats**t crazy than Robert Surtees shooting “Dr. Dolittle” and “The Graduate” back to back a few years earlier.
Haven’t seen “Millie” in awhile: remember thinking it held up OK when I watched it on TCM a few years back.
One of my 1970 holy grails (John Frankenheimer’s “I Walk the Line” w/ Tuesday Weld and Gregory Peck) is awaiting me at the library. Goody-goody.
Patton, I am going to have to give that another look soon too. Thought really highly of it the first time, and have been meaning to rewatch ever since. Still not convinced it is not a sly comedy.
I haven’t seen “Patton” in decades: liked it a lot at the time, but my idea of a “war movie” as a precocious 11-year-old in 1970 was “M*A*S*H” (aka “The Movie That Changed My Life”).
The fact that both were Fox releases–opening within a month of each other, no less–says everything there is to say about The New Hollywood.
And lends credence, even moral authority to William Goldman’s famous “nobody knows anything” dictum.
And they made almost the exact same amount!
I actually prefer Patton to MASH. You should give it another look, it might be the difference on when you watched in your live compared to Strangelove, but I am not sure you are to take his bombast seriously. Scheafer (sp?) directs the character like he was going to invade southern Europe whether there was a war on or not. The opening flag scene looked iconic as a kid, but looks much more absurd as an adult.
I know everyone took it seriously and older fans probably ate it up, but just as Apes is a scifi adventure that can also be read as a Swiftian tale of Dogma vs. facts, Patton might have quite a lot more going on under the surface than given credit for.
Plus there’s Malden.
It was the sheer, unmitigated gall of “M*A*S*H”–its go-for-broke mix of bloody operating room scenes and ribald humor, plus its whole “F**k the Establishment!” attitude–that delighted me as a kid.
Robert Altman was the first movie director I identified as “A Movie Director.” After “M”*A*S*H,” I vowed to see every movie he made. And Altman sure made a lot back then. My entire critical ethos in which the director is the star began with Altman and “M*A*S*H.”
I’m sure that I’ll get around to rewatching “Patton” again someday. I actually tried watching one of the few Schaffner movies I haven’t seen (1965’s “The War Lord” w/ Charlton Heston). Unfortunately, the library DVD froze on me and I couldn’t get past the 40-minute mark. And the back-up I reserved from another branch wound up being a frigging VHS tape! Besides the fact that I’d be terrified of the damn thing crumbling to dust, I don’t even have a working VHS player anymore. Maybe sometime down the road I’ll locate a non-defective DVD copy.
“I Walk the Line” is beautifully directed by Frankenheimer (a solid Alvin Sergeant script, too) with wonderfully pungent regional flavor (a specialty of New Hollywood movies) and a top-notch cast (Tuesday Weld is dependably fantastic, and it was a kick seeing a youngish, thinner Charles Durning). But a miscast Gregory Peck nearly sinks the film.
Besides the fact that I found old dude Peck having an affair with pretty young thing Weld distasteful, Peck practically sleepwalks through his role. Maybe he was just tired from all the crap (“Marooned,” “The Chairman,” “McKenna’s Gold”) he made the previous year.
Or perhaps I’m just guilty of bringing 21st century thinking to a 50-year-old film.
Loved the brazenly downbeat ending, though.
I have been trying to find War Lord as well. I saw someone posted a full version on YouTube, but that has to be pirated right? Or at least not authorized?
You never know about those YouTube things, Hcat.
I watched Tony Richardson’s “Laughter in the Dark” on YT the other day: the print was shitty, and it seemed like there were reel changes intermittently scattered throughout. But it was the entire X-rated 102-minute 1969 release print.
Also found a few other things on there that I’ve been searching for (futiley until now): Visconti’s “The Stranger;” 1970 Canadian benchmark “Goin’ Down the Road;” Peter Medak’s 1968 “Negatives” (w/ Glenda Jackson); Joseph Strick’s “Road Movie;” etc.
Even their current version of “The Mother and the Whore” looks like a huge improvement over the (unwatchable) previous YT print.
Are we done trying to reboot Terminator now? The return of Cameron and the original stars and they might not even top the weak Genesys opening. Yikes. Let it die. No one cares.
I got my wife to watch Nobody’s Fool last night. Not as old as what’s being discussed here but I just love that movie. Newman was the best.
Count me in as a “Nobody’s Fool” fool as well, SB.
It’s indisputably Robert Benton’s last great movie, and one of his all-timers.
My favorite Benton remains his 1972 directorial debut, “Bad Company,” which I rewatched earlier this year. A damn near perfect movie that deserves to be a lot better known than it is.
1 – Terminator: Dark Fate Paramount Pictures $10,600,000 – – 4,086 $2,594 $10,600,000 1
2 – Harriet Focus Features $3,900,000 – – 2,059 $1,894 $3,900,000 1
3 1 Joker Warner Bros. $3,840,000 +103.5% -30.2% 3,519 $1,091 $289,526,992 29
4 2 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures $3,135,000 +127.2% -36.2% 3,820 $820 $75,284,711 15
5 3 Zombieland: Double Tap Sony Pictures Releasing $2,015,000 +67.9% -40.6% 3,337 $603 $53,972,162 15
6 4 The Addams Family United Artists Releasing $1,989,000 +74% -29.7% 3,607 $551 $78,785,000 22
7 5 Countdown STX Entertainment $1,600,000 +53.8% -49.5% 2,675 $598 $13,516,036 8
8 6 Black and Blue Screen Gems $1,130,000 +123.2% -63% 2,062 $548 $12,522,478 8
9 – Motherless Brooklyn Warner Bros. $1,055,000 – – 1,342 $786 $1,055,000 1
10 11 Parasite Neon $735,000 +279.1% +29.3% 463 $1,587 $5,659,256 22
11 18 Jojo Rabbit Fox Searchlight Pictures $702,000 +895.1% +106.5% 256 $2,742 $2,587,236 15
Nobody s Fool is an all time favorite of mine. Absolute perfection, now that the weathers turned cold we should be putting in a viewing pretty soon. It turned me into Russo”s novels which I love and am surprised they don’t get adapted more, Empire Falls went to HBO but suffered from that made for TV clunkiness. They tried to make the Risk Pool for a number of years with Hanks, and that would have been a great change of pace for him to get to play a role without a halo.
Couldn’t agree more in Terminator. Nuce opening for Harriet. Completely forgot it was opening.
Perfect time of year for Nobody’s Fool. I remembered it as a cold weather movie but forgot that it’s set between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And agree that it’s perfection. I feel so warm and happy after watching it. And I should check out Bad Company. Not the Laurence Fishburne one though I remember liking that one.
Wow that is a good opening for Harriet. Didn’t expect that.
$934m without China, and that’s no joke.
Mojo must still be working out the kinks.
No PSA’s today, and the chart is listed backwards.
Sigh.
Anybody else watch “The King” this weekend?
I thought it was damn good.
Chalamet, Pattinson, Edgerton and Lily-Rose Depp are all terrific.
David Michod is a director I’ve respected previously without ever truly loving any of his films.
I think this is maybe the best thing he’s done since “Animal Kingdom.”
Sad that it’s getting lost in the Netflix/”Irishman”/”Marriage Story” conversation.
Considering how well Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob reboot is doing in its unorthodox “roadshow” release, I’m puzzled that no legit distributer elected to pick it up.
Could a more conventional Lionsgate, NEON or A24 style rollout have banked even more bucks?
Or did Smith want it this way?
Was the exclusivity of the release pattern the key factor to its success?
Anyone else?
I detest Smith and his movies and the new Jay & Silent Bob has one of the worst trailers I’ve ever seen. Astoundingly bad and inept. The movie looks dreadful. But, he definitely has a devoted fanbase, and quality doesn’t seem to matter. His fans wanted to see this regardless. So I’m kind of surprised, too. Similar thing happened with 3 From Hell. Supposed to be terrible. But people showed up for the three nights it had screenings. Zombie also has devoted fans.
Planning to watch The King soon. Looks pretty good.
I’ve run hot and cold on Smith.
I don’t know what was worse: his foray into the mainstream (deplorable “Cop Out”), or the indie retrenchment (rancid “Zack and Miri”) that followed its failure.
But I kind of liked Smith’s recent-ish horror movies.
Believe it or not, I actually dug “3 from Hell,” SB.
Thought it was Zombie’s best (well, his only really good) movie since “The Devil’s Rejects.” The final third was like grindhouse Peckinpah (e.g., “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”).
Curious to hear your thoughts on “The King.” The general critical reaction has been largely so-so, but I loved it. Of course, I’ve always had a lot of affection for the Falstaff/Prince Hal mythology.
My friend said 3 From Hell was the worst movie he’d seen in a long time. And even many horror nerds and Zombie fans said it’s real bad. But I haven’t seen it and either way it made some good money in limited release. He has dedicated fans. Just like Smith. That his latest and Zombie’s latest didn’t receive a more typical theatrical release is curious though since their fans showed up. Enough to change how their next movie gets released? Was a return to their greatest hits the only way they could get a movie funded?
“The worst movie he’s seen in a long time”?
Yowza.
I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining and stylish it was.
Are they horror and/or Zombie fans?
Reminds me of the friend I brought along to “The Witch” who said it was the worst movie they’d ever seen. (And that person sees a lot of movies, largely thanks to me, lol.)
Yes he passionately loves The Devil’s Rejects. That’s why he paid to see during those three nights it was in theaters. But I saw a lot of horror and RZ fans say 3 From Hell is no good. Mixed reception at best from the horror crowd. Not sure how Smith fans have received the latest Jay & Silent Bob.
That baffles me.
Figured Zombie fans would have eaten it up.
I thought “3 from Hell” was the best-directed movie of Zombie’s career, with style (albeit mostly second hand style) to burn.
Was expecting a barely releasable fiasco, but I wound up having a really good time.
P.S.= Did you see the Variety article in which Scorsese says he flirted with directing “Joker” for several years before finally passing?
I personally don’t think he needed to direct it: he already did.
Twice.
They’re (PSA’s) back; and so is the weekend chart.
November 1-3, 2019
1 – Terminator: Dark Fate Paramount Pictures $29,000,000 – 4,086 – $7,097 $29,000,000 1
2 2 Joker Warner Bros. $13,925,000 -27.7% 3,519 -417 $3,957 $299,611,992 5
3 1 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures $12,175,000 -37.1% 3,820 +30 $3,187 $84,324,711 3
4 – Harriet Focus Features $12,000,000 – 2,059 – $5,828 $12,000,000 1
5 3 The Addams Family United Artists Releasing $8,499,007 -29.2% 3,607 -495 $2,356 $85,295,007 4
6 4 Zombieland: Double Tap Sony Pictures Releasing $7,350,000 -37.8% 3,337 -131 $2,202 $59,307,162 3
7 5 Countdown STX Entertainment $5,850,000 -34% 2,675 – $2,186 $17,766,036 2
8 6 Black and Blue Screen Gems $4,050,000 -51.7% 2,062 – $1,964 $15,442,478 2
9 – Motherless Brooklyn Warner Bros. $3,650,000 – 1,342 – $2,719 $3,650,000 1
10 – Arctic Dogs Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures $3,100,000 – 2,844 – $1,090 $3,100,000 1
11 12 Parasite Neon $2,625,000 +43.7% 461 +332 $5,694 $7,549,256 4
12 15 Jojo Rabbit Fox Searchlight Pictures $2,401,000 +130% 256 +201 $9,378 $4,286,236 3
13 8 The Lighthouse A24 $2,021,410 -33.3% 978 +392 $2,066 $7,000,545 3