James Woods makes the uncomplicated easy to understand.
Restaurants:
I like to use the metaphor of my buddy Dan Tana. At his (restaurant’s) 40th anniversary, somebody asked me, “Why do you think his restaurant’s successful?” I said, “It’s really very simple. He serves good food and it’s a comfortable place to stick your ass while you’re eating it.” It’s not rocket science. You know these places: You go in and there’s some froufrou guy has fixed everything and they spent five million dollars on the f@&^ing chandeliers and you’re eating some crap on a plate with a bunch of swirly crap on it. If they give you steak, French fries and a f@&^in’ booth, they’ll be in business for a hundred years. You think some guy wants to sit perched on a little wooden chair eating a sliver of somebody’s liver?
Movies:
I look at movies and they’re all so f@&^ing terrible. People ask, “Why aren’t movies more successful?” It’s really a simple answer: It’s because they stink. Three simple words: Because they f@&^ing stink. That’s four words, but you can’t write the f@&^ing word. They stink, they stink, they stink, what’s wrong with you? They stink. Do better movies. Finally, I saw a good movie : “The Departed.” And look what it took: It took Marty Scorsese, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, (screenwriter) Bill Monahan — and it’s based on another movie.
There is an amazing parallel between the movie and restaurant businesses though – good product and a comfortable place to park your keister while partaking. That might sum up a lot of businesses actually.
I’d love to hear how he’d uncomplicate women, but I imagine I couldn’t post it here.
Thanks to The Mayor of Television for the interview, and Libertas for the pointer.
