Thursday, July 03, 2008

Hollywood couldn't have written a better script

I wonder if the Hollywood bidding war has begun on rights to the story of the 15 hostages who were just freed in Colombia. It's already the best movie I've seen this year...even though it's an article...and oh yeah, a true story.

It's an unbelievable story: The Colombian National Military spending months to infiltrate the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or FARC), posting as rebels themselves, and tricking the real rebels into handing over 15 hostages, including 3 American Contractors and a former Colombian Presidential candidate who was kidnapped by the rebels 6 years ago while campaigning. This is the kind of stuff movies are made of...or the kind of stuff Hollywood screws up with a movie. Because let's face it: Hollywood messes up a lot of movies, and this story pretty much stands on it's own already as the feel-good...anything of the year.

The script is already written. Hollywood wouldn't have to change a thing. (Even wardrobe is taken care of. Some of the Colombian security forces posing as FARC rebels on the helicopter that picked up the hostages were wearing Che Guevara shirts.) It's perfect... Yet, I've seen firsthand (make that, heard about firsthand, then seen on the screen) what studio development departments can do to potentially good films. They start to over think things, bring in way too many writers to "fix" scripts, and even, once the film has gone into production, let star actors take over films and practically rewrite them on set. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. But the process is flawed, in my opinion. And since William Goldman said, "Nobody Knows Anything," in his book published in 1983, I'm guessing things aren't going to change.

So all I can say to Fox, Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, New Line (what's left), CAA, ICM, Endeavor, William Morris, Gersh, ABC, NBC, CBS, Viacom, Clear Channel, Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner is: PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS UP.