Posts Tagged ‘incendies’
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Weekend Estimates: April 29-May 1, 2011
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% chng |
Theaters |
Cume |
Fast Five |
Uni |
83.1 (22,810) |
NEW |
3644 |
83.1 |
Rio |
Fox |
14.5 (3,900) |
-45% |
3707 |
103.7 |
Madea’s Big Happy Family |
Lionsgate |
10.0 (4,370) |
-60% |
2288 |
41 |
Water for Elephants |
Fox |
9.2 (3,270) |
-45% |
2820 |
32.4 |
Prom |
BV |
4.8 (1,770) |
NEW |
2730 |
4.8 |
Hoodwinked Too! |
Weinstein Co. |
4.1 (1,650) |
NEW |
2505 |
4.1 |
Soul Surfer |
Sony |
3.3 (1,650) |
-39% |
2010 |
33.8 |
Insidious |
Film District |
5.3 (2,530) |
-21% |
1584 |
45.62 |
Hop |
Uni |
2.5 (790) |
-79% |
3176 |
105.2 |
Source Code |
Summit |
2.5 (1,530) |
-51% |
1645 |
48.9 |
African Cats |
BV |
2.3 (1,900) |
-61% |
1224 |
10.6 |
Scream 4 |
Weinstein Co. |
2.2 (1,000) |
-68% |
2221 |
35.5 |
Hanna |
Focus |
2.2 (1,410) |
-58% |
1564 |
35.9 |
Limitless |
Relativity |
1.1 (1,300) |
-59% |
838 |
76.1 |
The Conspirator |
Roadside Attractions |
1.0 (1,480) |
-53% |
691 |
8.7 |
Arthur |
WB |
1.0 (810) |
-75% |
1251 |
31.7 |
The Lincoln Lawyer |
Lionsgate |
.85 (1,180) |
-53% |
719 |
54.9 |
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night |
FreeStyle |
.74 (850) |
|
875 |
0.74 |
Win Win |
Fox Searchlight |
.67 (2,220) |
-40% |
302 |
7.6 |
Your Highness |
Uni |
.61 (1,520) |
-84% |
402 |
21.1 |
Jane Eyre |
Focus |
.52 (1,770) |
-30% |
294 |
8.7 |
The Adjustment Bureau |
Uni |
.51 (1,840) |
106% |
277 |
61.7 |
Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 |
Rocky Mountain |
.41 (1,110) |
-53% |
371 |
3.9 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$150.50 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
54% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
15% |
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Cave of Forgotten Dreams |
IFC |
.14 (27,440) |
|
5 |
0.14 |
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold |
Sony Classics |
95,600 (2,660) |
-19% |
36 |
0.25 |
In a Better World |
Sony Classics |
76,700 (1,870) |
5% |
41 |
0.4 |
Incendies |
Sony Classics |
69,800 (6,980) |
38% |
10 |
0.14 |
Nenu Naa Rakshasi |
Great India |
45,300 (2,660) |
|
17 |
0.05 |
13 Assassins |
Magnolia |
40,100 (10,020) |
|
4 |
0.04 |
Chalo Dilli |
Eros |
38,400 (1,370) |
|
28 |
0.04 |
Exporting Raymond |
IDP |
35,200 (2,710) |
|
13 |
0.04 |
Vaanam |
Big Cinemas |
26,600 (2,960) |
|
9 |
0.03 |
The Robber |
Kino |
14,100 (2,8200 |
|
5 |
0.01 |
Sympathy for Delicious |
Maya |
8,600 (4,300) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
Lebanon, Pa. |
Truly Indie |
7,300 (3,650) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
That’s What I Am |
IDP |
6,600 (6600 |
|
10 |
0.01 |
Earthwork |
Shadow |
3,200 (3,200) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
The Arbor |
Strand |
1,600 (1,600) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – April 21, 2011
Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
Paramount (9) |
418.5 |
15.20% |
Sony (11) |
403.7 |
14.70% |
Universal (9) |
354.7 |
12.90% |
Warner Bros. (16) |
314.1 |
11.40% |
Buena Vista (7) |
263.5 |
9.60% |
Fox (8) |
235.4 |
8.60% |
Weinstein co. (5) |
165.9 |
6.10% |
Relativity (4) |
105.9 |
3.90% |
Fox Searchlight (5) |
87.9 |
3.20% |
Lionsgate (80 |
85.3 |
3.10% |
Focus (4) |
60.7 |
2.20% |
CBS (3) |
57.2 |
2.10% |
Summit (4) |
57.1 |
2.10% |
FilmDistrict (1) |
44 |
1.60% |
eOne/Seville (10) |
15.3 |
0.60% |
Roadside Attractions (6) |
13.7 |
0.50% |
Sony Classics (8) |
13.6 |
0.50% |
Other * (109) |
47.1 |
1.70% |
|
2743.6 |
100.00% |
|
|
|
* none greater than 0.4% |
Tags: 13 assassins, african cats, Arthur, Atlas Shrugged: Part 1, cave of forgotten dreams, Chalo Dilli, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, Earthwork, Exporting Raymond, Fast Five, Hanna, Hoodwinked Too, hop, In A Better World, incendies, Insidious, Jane Eyre, Lebanon, limitless, Madea's Big Happy Family, Nenu Naa Rakshasi, Pa., Prom, Rio, Scream 4, Soul Surfer, Source Code, Sympathy for Delicious, That's What I Am, The Adjustment Bureau, The Arbor, the conspirator, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Robber, Vaanam, water for elephants, Win Win, Your Highness
Posted in Columns, Klady, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Water for Elephants|Red||Yellow||
Incendies (NY, LA) |Green|Yellow|Green|Green|
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (limited)|Yellow|Green||Green|
POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (limited)||Green|Green|Green|
The Bang Bang Club (NY, LA)|||Yellow||
Stake Land||Green|Green|Green|
Tags: incendies, like water for elephants, Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, stake land, The Bang Bang Club, The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
Posted in MCN Critics Roundup, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Critics Roundup — April 22
Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Where Have All the Avids Gone …
Long Time Passing
The debut of The Roommate led an anemic field at the weekend box office with an estimated $15.5 million. Second ranked was another newcomer – the 3D adventure Sanctum – with a disappointing $9.2 million.
Anticipating steep Sunday admission drops from the Super Bowl both national and niche debuts were generally directed to strong single quadrant audiences. Opening day-and-date with Mainland China, the Sino version of What Women Want generated a dull $58,900 at 29 venues; the family oriented The Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec struggled to $51,300 at 27 screens in Quebec; and the inspirational Midway to Heaven was stuck in the middle with $42,400 at 10 playdates. Best of the new exclusives was American indie Cold Weather with a $14,800 tally on a single screen.
Continuing the first quarter cold spell ticket sales experienced double digit declines that have left both the exhibition and distribution sectors in a very blue funk.
The Roommate, a remake in all but name and credit of Single White Female, bucked recent viewing trend with exit polls showing strong younger appeal. Its 65% female crowd was not unexpected and its 61% under 21 makeup was encouraging … at least for an opening weekend gross that was largely predicted by tracking pundits.
Sanctum wasn’t as lucky with, again, a distaff skewing set of viewers, albeit largely plus 25s. The sizzle was all about its stereoscopic qualities and reviewers skewered its artistic elements. Still tracking indicated a bow of $10 million to $12 million that audiences weren’t willing to make come true.
Overall business fell short of $90 million for a 20% decline from the prior weekend. It was a slightly steeper 22% drop from 2010 when the $30.5 million opening of Dear John toppled Avatar’s reign with that film taking the bridesmaid spot with $22.8 million.
The industry is now inured to Super Bowl’s clobber but the more serious concern is the sudden disappearance of the avid audience that falls between ages 17 and 25. Recent movie releases are largely being blamed with no relief in sight for the first quarter of 2011 and certainly no possibility of Oscar fare bringing up the slack.
The official line is that the avids will return but somewhere in the dark recesses are concerns that a significant portion of that audience has opted out of the theatrical experience in favor of new technologies and platforms. Theater owners are buckling down for additional experimentation in “windows” that will cut into their bottom line.
Historically the majors have been slow to respond to change and if logically an aging population would suggest adopting more mature content, don’t expect that penny to drop for three to five years. Independents could move in to fill the gap though one can be certain their deep pocket brethren will out spend them to ensure market share dominance rather than address real business issues.
___________________________________
Weekend Estimates – February 4-6, 2011
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
The Roommate |
Sony |
15.5 (6,130) |
NEW |
2534 |
15.5 |
Sanctum |
Uni |
9.2 (3,300) |
NEW |
2787 |
9.2 |
No Strings Attached |
Par |
8.3 (2,730) |
-38% |
3050 |
51.7 |
The King’s Speech |
Weinstein Co. |
8.1 (3,150) |
-27% |
2584 |
83.9 |
The Green Hornet |
Sony |
6.3 (2,070) |
-44% |
3033 |
87.4 |
The Rite |
WB |
5.6 (1,880) |
-62% |
2985 |
23.7 |
The Mechanic |
CBS |
5.3 (1,970) |
-53% |
2704 |
20 |
True Grit |
Par |
4.8 (1,650) |
-36% |
2902 |
155 |
Dilemma |
Uni |
3.4 (1,340) |
-40% |
2545 |
45.7 |
Black Swan |
Fox Searchlight |
3.4 (1,710) |
-34% |
1977 |
95.9 |
The Fighter |
Par/Alliance |
2.9 (1,730) |
-27% |
1662 |
82.4 |
Yogi Bear |
WB |
2.3 (1,260) |
-28% |
1807 |
95.4 |
Tangled |
BV |
1.8 (1,330) |
-28% |
1369 |
192 |
127 Hours |
Fox Searchlight |
1.4 (1,510) |
-36% |
899 |
15.7 |
Tron: Legacy |
BV |
1.4 (1,320) |
-46% |
1040 |
168.8 |
Little Fockers |
Uni |
1.2 (910) |
-52% |
1355 |
146.5 |
Blue Valentine |
Weinstein Co. |
.79 (1,760) |
-33% |
450 |
7.3 |
From Prada to Nada |
Lionsgate |
.69 (2,640) |
-38% |
261 |
2 |
Biutiful |
Roadside |
.63 (3,560) |
38% |
177 |
1.4 |
Country Strong |
Sony |
.61 (640) |
-52% |
948 |
19.8 |
The Company Men |
Weinstein Co. |
.55 (2,380) |
-17% |
231 |
2.3 |
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader |
Fox |
.53 (1,030) |
-40% |
514 |
102.6 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
Fox |
.67 (1,030) |
-42% |
495 |
41.14 |
Another Year |
Sony Classics |
.48 (2,030) |
55% |
236 |
1.7 |
Barney’s Version |
eOne/Sony Classics |
.43 (3,570) |
-13% |
119 |
2.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$84.70 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-22% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
-20% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
The Illusionist |
Sony Classics |
.19 (2,850) |
46% |
68 |
0.77 |
Incendies |
eOne/Seville |
.14 (3,050) |
30% |
47 |
2.8 |
Rabbit Hole |
Lionsgate |
.12 (890) |
-32% |
131 |
1.7 |
What Women Want |
China Lion |
58,900 (2,030) |
|
29 |
0.06 |
Adele Blanc-Sec |
Seville |
51,300 (1,900) |
|
27 |
0.05 |
Midway to Heaven |
Excel |
42,400 (4,240) |
|
10 |
0.04 |
Cold Weather |
IFC |
14,800 (14,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Troubadours |
PBS |
13,200 (4,400) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
Waiting Forever |
FreeStyle |
8,700 (2,900) |
|
3 |
0.01 |
The Other Woman |
IFC |
5,800 (2,900) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
Top Domestic Grossers – 2010
Distributor |
Gross |
Market Share |
Paramount (7) |
163.5 |
20.90% |
Sony (7) |
130.7 |
16.70% |
Universal (4) |
103.7 |
13.30% |
Buena Vista (3) |
79.6 |
10.20% |
Warner Bros. (10) |
70.1 |
9.00% |
Weinstein Co. (3) |
66.2 |
8.50% |
Fox Searchlight (2) |
55.7 |
7.10% |
Fox (4) |
45.1 |
5.80% |
Relativity (2) |
24.1 |
3.10% |
CBS (2) |
15.1 |
1.90% |
Alliance (5) |
4.9 |
0.60% |
Other * (46) |
22.3 |
2.90% |
781 |
100.00% |
* none greater than 0.4% |
Tags: 127 Hours, Adele Blanc-Sec, Another Year, Barney's Version, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, Cold Weather, Country Strong, Dilemma, From Prada to Nada, Gulliver's Travels, incendies, Little Fockers, Midway to Heaven, No Strings Attached, Rabbit Hole, Sanctum, Tangled, The Company Men, The Fighter, The Green Hornet, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, The Mechanic, The Other Woman, The Rite, the roommate, Tron - Legacy, Troubadours, True Grit, Waiting Forever, What Women Want, Yogi Bear
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on The Weekend Report – February 6
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
A trio of new films was expected to duke it out for weekend bragging rights but Friday box office returns burst that bubble. The cops and robbers of The Town prevailed with an estimated $23.6 million while the high school angst and hijinx of Easy A took place position with $18 million; followed with a $12.5 million gross for the horror entry Devil.
The session’s fourth national bow was the family-targeted Alpha and Omega (in 3D) that ranked fifth with $9.2 million.
And despite the surge of new blood, weekend box office was no better than on par with 2010; albeit with fewer people buying tickets.
The frame was also chock-a-block with new additions in regional and exclusive play. The Toronto fest favorite Incendies had a solid bow in Quebec of $170,500 at 29 venues while another TIFF debut, the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, rang up a per engagement average of $29,370 from four screens. Also good in limited exposure were Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut Jack Goes Boating and the black comic Leaves of Grass.
Though The Town was clearly out-pacing its competition in advance ticket sales, tracking pundits pegged the latter day Ridgemont High antics of Easy A as the box office leader for the frame. Devil was expected to be very close behind the duo.
But some unexpected twists altered the scenario. The most telling wild card was the fact that Devil went against the grain of drawing in women (horror films generally draw a majority distaff audience). Exit polls revealed the horror film’s audience at 60% while The Town, which was expected to be predominantly male, had a better than expected 45% female buyers.
Conversely, Easy A’s composition was two-thirds female and whenever two films display comparable strength, the one that favors males usually dominates. Men out-weigh women among avid filmgoers.
Weekend revenues should top out just shy of $100 million for a sizeable 24% boost from the immediate prior weekend. However, that also translated into a 1% box office drop from 2009. A year ago the debuts of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The Informant held the top two slots with respective opening salvos of $30.3 million and $10.5 million.
Holdovers largely took it on the chin with last weekend’s chart topper Resident Evil: Afterlife going free fall by 63%. In general older titles saw their box office halved. The alternative hits of summer have pretty much run their course and specialized exhibitors are almost rabid about getting the deluge of film festival favorites on screen to bolster flagging sales.
Weekend Estimates – September 17-19, 2010
Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
The Town |
WB |
23.6 (8,250) |
New |
2861 |
23.6 |
Easy A |
Sony |
18.0 (6,310) |
New |
2856 |
18 |
Devil |
Uni |
12.5 (4,460) |
New |
2809 |
12.5 |
Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
9.9 (3,090) |
-63% |
3209 |
43.8 |
Alpha and Omega |
Lions Gate |
9.2 (3,490) |
New |
2625 |
9.2 |
Takers |
Sony |
3.0 (1,390) |
-48% |
2139 |
52.3 |
The American |
Focus |
2.7 (1,110) |
-52% |
2457 |
32.8 |
Inception |
WB |
2.0 (1,510) |
-29% |
1305 |
285.1 |
The Other Guys |
Sony |
1.9 (1,050) |
-43% |
1827 |
115.3 |
Eat Drink Pray |
Sony |
1.6 (980) |
-44% |
1668 |
77.6 |
Machete |
Fox |
1.6 (940) |
-63% |
1704 |
24.2 |
Going the Distance |
WB |
1.3 (660) |
-65% |
2007 |
16.7 |
The Expendables |
Lions Gate |
1.3 (720) |
-59% |
1854 |
101 |
The Last Exorcism |
Lions Gate |
1.2 (600) |
-64% |
2013 |
40.1 |
Nanny McPhee Returns |
Uni |
1.0 (600) |
-53% |
1588 |
27.6 |
The Switch |
BV |
.91 (790) |
-55% |
1158 |
26.6 |
Despicable Me |
Uni |
.86 (910) |
-48% |
944 |
244.7 |
Lottery Ticket |
WB |
.62 (920) |
-49% |
677 |
23.5 |
Get Low |
Sony Classics |
.57 (1,380) |
-34% |
421 |
7.8 |
Vampires Suck |
Fox |
.54 (560) |
-64% |
964 |
35.8 |
Toy Story 3 |
BV |
.43 (900) |
-44% |
475 |
410.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$94.30 |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
|
-1% |
|
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
|
24% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
Catfish |
Uni |
.25 (21,080) |
|
12 |
0.25 |
Incendies |
eOne |
.17 (5,880) |
|
29 |
0.17 |
Never Let Me Go |
Searchlight |
.12 (29,370) |
|
4 |
0.16 |
I’m Still Here |
Magnolia |
.11 (970) |
11% |
111 |
0.25 |
Jack Goes Boating |
Overture |
30,300 (7,580) |
|
4 |
0.03 |
Leaves of Grass |
First Look |
24,300 (8,100) |
|
3 |
0.02 |
Picture Me |
Strand |
6,800 (6,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
The Freebie |
Phase 4 |
4,400 (4,400) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
GasLand |
HBO |
2,800 (1,400) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
Kings of Pastry |
First Run |
2,250 (2,250) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – September 16, 2010
Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
Fox (15) |
1232.8 |
15.60% |
Warner Bros. (21) |
1229.4 |
15.60% |
Paramount (11) |
1227.5 |
15.60% |
Buena Vista (13) |
1086.8 |
13.80% |
Sony (20) |
967.9 |
12.30% |
Universal (14) |
718.4 |
9.10% |
Summit (9) |
424.5 |
5.40% |
Lions Gate (10) |
382.2 |
4.80% |
Fox Searchlight (4) |
70.6 |
0.90% |
Overture (5) |
67.4 |
0.90% |
Focus (6) |
62.8 |
0.80% |
Weinstein Co. (6) |
60.3 |
0.80% |
MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.60% |
CBS (2) |
50 |
0.60% |
Sony Classics (18) |
49.8 |
0.60% |
Other * (235) |
199.9 |
2.60% |
|
7880.7 |
100.00% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* none greater than 0.45% |
|
|
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Box Office, Catfish, Devil, Easy A, I'm Still Here, incendies, Jack Goes Boating, Leaves of Grass, Never Let Me Go, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Town
Posted in Columns, Klady, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on Weekend Box Office Report – September 19
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
The Town|8.2|2861||8.2
Easy A|6.7|2856||6.7
Devil|4.8|2809||4.8
Resident Evil: Afterlife|3|3209|-72%|36.9
Alpha and Omega|2.3|2625||2.3
Takers|0.9|2139|-49%|50.3
The American|0.8|2457|-53%|30.9
Inception|0.6|1305|-29%|283.7
The Other Guys|0.6|1827|-42%|114
Machete|0.5|1704|-62%|23.1
Also Debuting
Catfish|87,000|12||87,000
Incendies|44,000|29||44,300
Never Let Me Go|33,500|4||33,500
Jack Goes Boating|8,300|4||8,300
Leaves of Grass|6,900|2||6,900
Picture Me|2,900|1||2,900
The Freebie|1,900|1||1,900
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Catfish, Devil, Easy A, incendies, Inception, Jack Goes Boating, Leaves of Grass, Machete, Never Let Me Go, picture me, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Takers, The American, The Freebie, The Other Guys, The Town
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – September 17
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Twenty-four new feature films to preview in Festival’s main program, the ‘SHOW’
Claudia Cardinale, Colin Firth and Peter Weir to receive Silver Medallion Awards
Special revival programs selected by Guest Director Michael Ondaatje
Telluride, CO – Telluride Film Festival (September 3-6, 2010), presented by the National Film Preserve is proud to announce its 2010 Festival program. Twenty-four new feature films presented by their creators in the Festival’s main program; six programs curated by 2010 Festival Guest Director Michael Ondaatje; twenty-five new short films; plus thirteen documentaries screening in the Backlot program. Celebrating works from over twenty countries, Telluride Film Festival opens Friday, September 3 and runs through Monday, September 6, 2010.
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Tags: a letter to elia, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Another Year, bernard tavernier, Biutiful, carlos, Charles Ferguson, chico and rita, denis villeneuve, dmitry vasyukov, Errol Morris, fernando trueba, florin serban, happy people: a year in the taiga, if I want to whistle I whistle, incendies, Inside Job, justin chadwick, Ken Burns, lavinia currier, le quattro volte, lee chang-dong, mark cousins, mark romanek, Martin Scorsese, michelangelo frammartino, Mike Leigh, Never Let Me Go, of gods and men, oka! amerikee, olivier assayas, peter weir, poetry, Precious Life, shlomi eldar, Stephen Frears, Sylvain Chomet, Tabloid, Tamara Drewe, telluride film festival, the first grader, the first movie, The Illusionist, The King's Speech, the princess of montpensier, the tenth inning, the way back, tom hooper, Werner Herzog, xavier beauvois
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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