Okay, see, this is how my mind works. I was channel surfing, and one movie channel was running "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and another was running "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." So I think they should do a sequel called "Mr. and Mrs. Smith Go to Washington."
It pretty much writes itself. The assassins are hired with the understanding that they're to test the Secret Service's "secure location" where the President is locked down during times of extreme danger. They manage to penetrate it and make a mock hit, except they find the president already dead, and discover they're now framed for a presidential assassination. Something like that.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at June 11, 2006 12:53 AM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingI just ejected "The Boondock Saints - Unrated Special Edition" from the DVD drive of this PC, so I'm in the perfect frame of mind to see "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" style shooting in the scenario you've just described. It would be fun, but doubtful that they'd bite on the cute title. (But hey, I'd like to be wrong about that, too!)
I think this is the first time I've seen the phrase "it writes itself" followed by something that actually sounds pretty good.
Peter, you do realize that the Secret Service will be showing up at your door, right?
And the movie will end with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie carrying out a 23 hour fillibuster, followed by a climactic gun fight in the Senate.
"Why did Mr. Smith kill everybody?"
"It was symbolism. He was mad."
"Peter, you do realize that the Secret Service will be showing up at your door, right?"
If that was enough to get their attention, they'd have had him in Gitmo a long time ago.
If you listen carefully, you can hear the hard drives on Carnivore spinning up to speed...
1This would be a rareity: The sequal would be better than the first movie.
FBI and the CIA have files on a lot of people for various reasons including when their close friends or relatives have to get a security clearance. I know I had one at one point because of a buddy who I think is still working for the Secret Service. Having a file on you is really no biggy in my book but I am sure there are others that are not too happy with it.
And Jennifer Aniston plays the assassin on the trail of Brangelina?
Why am I suddenly reminded of that Simpsons episode where they tried to do a Hollywood-violent remake of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington?
I have an FBI file - I worked for them exactly 4 days in 1972 and quit and went home. Couldn't stand D.C. Evn when it was a somewhat nicer twon...
This does sound really really good. just go for it! Write the script and let us astonish the world with your gift!
(and if it doesn't work, you can always rewrite it on star trek scale -- in those dangerous times of the Dominion shapeshifter's threath and section31 -- killing the president)
I'd pay to see that -- granted, I'd pay to see anything with Pitt and Jolie, but still.
Hey, PAD, why no link to your recent Sci Fi Zone Radio podcast? I enjoyed your thoughtful answers, cough and all.
Damn, PAD, that's...really good.
I realize that whoever created Mr and Mrs Smith is unlikely to step aside but why not use that plot in something else?
Peter, please start work on the screenplay right away. I think this could really be a blockbuster!
With CGI, there's the ability to retcon it with Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur as Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Jean Arthur in black leather....
Oh, a few years ago, the parameter to 'Area 51' was increased. The real reason? Harlan's FBI file.
So, how do you even know if the Feds have a file on you, anyway?
The easiest way to find out if the feds have a file on you is to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to see your file, assuming Bush hasn't attached a retroactive signing statement to FOIA stating he can ignore it whenever he feels like it.
Of course, if you make a FOIA request to see your file and it turns out you didn't have one, you do now. And the first entry is a sheet of paper that says, "Requested file on ."
Can't you see it now? An uber-sophisticated ultra-hip Secret Service agent that's behind it all, pulling the strings as though trying to loosen Angelina's spaghetti straps....
Played, of course, by Will Smith.
Now, the MARKETING CAMPAIGN writes itself....
Davinder: And the movie will end with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie carrying out a 23 hour fillibuster, followed by a climactic gun fight in the Senate.
Luigi Novi: Yeah, but despite being broadcast on CSPAN, no one will watch it. :-)
Bob: This is not even remotely funny
Luigi Novi: Who said it was supposed to be? It's a story idea. Not a limmerick.
Dude, please write this as an X-Factor storyline. It'll work! Really! I just wanna see how it plays out.
It's a nice idea, but don't you think they should finish the first movie before starting a second? :)
This is an excellent idea and would make a great, smart movie. Which is exactly why Hollywood would never make it.
Okay, people, it's not THAT great an idea. Peter doesn't need all this sucking up to (especially for a deliberately derivative, throwaway story idea that he wrote half-jokingly) and frankly it's beginning to disturb me.
This reminds me of a friend of the family who was pretty outspoken in the 60's, which is probably the most mild way I could put it.
Many years later, she decided it would be a lark to get her FBI file.
What she got was paper with a lot of stuff blacked out, though she could clearly read the final paragraph which said something to the effect of...
"Subject became a housewife in the early 1970's, and is no longer considered to be a threat."
Surprisingly, she did not immediately go on a rampage to prove just how much of a threat she could still be.
I dunno, it sounded like they added that just to piss her off.
NIce little idea, though it could use some more work.
I just had a thought.
Let's say someone did start writing a script right now that significantly involved the President of the USA. Would it have a much harder time getting approved now than it would have had a year ago?
I'm not really thinking of anything political, I'm mainly thinking that Bush's second term ends in in two and a half years. By the time a script got done, there might not be enough time to make the movie before the administration changed. So we may have a completely different President, or we may have a similar one.
Is that something that studios would consider?
Though completely unrelated...there is a documentary on the documentary circuit right now...to appear at Silverdocs on Friday, called: Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore.
HOLY ****! What an incredible idea for a movie! Wow, PAD, you should be, be....a person writes stuff! You know, like a...like a writer or something!
Sounds like a fun and great idea. Hope it doesn't get wasted. I mean, if nothing else, you could cast anyone of the various Marvel Femme Fatales (from the Black Cat to Silver Sable) in the role of Angelina; and your friendly neighborhood webslinger as the guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, holding the bag.
And the best part?????
The secret service would blame Joey Q, when word gets out that the Marvel Universe killed POTUS.