Forum / Machine Gun

• 
  Chris Okum

  May 06, 05:13pm

  Dennis Hopper, May 6, 1970:

  "Young white American men aren't going to like this movie, man. You know why? Because no one's getting tortured, man. No one's getting beaten or strangled. No one's getting pissed on. Except for me, man. And that's not something I'm going to show you. No, what I'm going to show you is two young people making love. That's all. For three hours, man, some guy and his old lady making love in front of a swimming pool. And the swimming pool doesn't belong to them. The house doesn't belong to them. The outdoor furniture they're getting freaky on doesn't belong to them. Nothing belongs to them, man. It's all rented. And not on their dime. Some old son of bitch sprang for the spread and they don't even owe him. You know why? Because the old son of bitch did it out of the goodness of his heart. That's what this movie is about. That's what all my movies are about. How people lose that goodness and how they can find it and what they do with it when they find it. So this guy and his old lady are making love on a chaise lounge and you can see some palm trees in the distance and a hint of the ocean and that's all I'm going to show you, man. Because that's all you deserve. You think you deserve a story, man? You think that's your right? Story ain't your right, man. When you were born no one said to you, here, have some story. When you were born all you were given was the right to breathe, and even that, in the long run, is conditional. Just like my ability to make movies. That's not a right. That's a privilege. And it's my privilege to make a movie where I show you what I want and what I want to show you is two people making love. That's why the cinema was invented. The rest is nothing more than shits and giggles, man. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going to call the movie. Shits and Giggles. I'm going to make this fucker and then I'm going to name it and then, you know what, man? I'm going to get rid of it. I'm not going to show it to anyone. Because I don't need to show it to anyone. No one needs to see this, man. No one's going to appreciate it anyway, man. They're not going to get it. So the don't get to get it. I'm going to take this movie and I'm going to shove it in the closet and I'm going to forget about it and then some day, who knows when, I'm going to find it and say to myself, Oh, yeah, I remember this, I remember making this. And then you know what I'm going to do? You think I'm going to watch it, man? I'm not. I'm not going to watch it. Because in the end even the man who makes the movie doesn't deserve it. It doesn't belong to him. It belongs to no one. Movies belong to themselves, okay? Now you better step back. I have no idea how to shoot this machine gun. Which is exactly why I'm going to shoot it. And you know what I'm aiming at, man? Everything."

• 
  Gary Hardaway

  May 07, 12:53pm

  Interesting.

• 
  eamon byrne

  May 08, 10:47pm

  Awesome obituary. Awesome guy.

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