Wired Cola

So I'm rereading Evan Kirchoff's Oscar movie analysis (very good), mainly to remember why I didn't think much of "Good Night and Good Luck," since that was the movie of choice tonight. At the end of that bit, he suggests an alternate director: "John Milius, circa 1984."

I'll spare you the link-checking. That would be a reference to Red Dawn, which is a fun thought. But then I looked up the details on John Milius. He's not just some right-wing kook who directed Red Dawn, he's some right-wing kook who wrote Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian, Dirty Harry, and a bit of Jaws.

Whoa. And, er, also, 1941.

With a filmography that includes those highlights, you know he must have some stories. Does he ever! IGN has an old but excellent and very long, wide-ranging interview with him in which he dishes on Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola, and trashes Candace Bergen's acting ability. And that's just the tasty appetizers. I assure you there is more Hollywood meat in this article than a year's subscription to Variety.

And how can you not like a guy who was the model for the character played by John Goodman in The Big Lebowski?