MOVIE FIX

The other day, I put up a long post about fixing a bad movie. I think I could turn this clunker into a blockbuster. Here is a shorter version:

"The American,” plot summary:

Jack, an anonymous hitman, is running from unknown killers. His boss sends him to hide out in the hills of Italy. He falls in love with a hooker, and he builds a sniper rifle for a sexy female killer. She tries to kill him with it. His own boss, who sent her, kills her as she is trying to kill Jack. He gets into a shoot-out with the boss, and he dies as he is about to run away with the hooker, who has a heart of gold. 

I know, WTF? It is ridiculous and nonsensical. But the movie looks good, the scenery is lovely, and the star, George Clooney, is handsome and strong. He looks like he could kick a big man's ass. Almost. Or outsmart him.

So let's keep the hero and fix the plot. I'd give it structure, meaning and a point. In other words, add story, mix and bake.

First, I’d give the strangers a reason to kill him. Make them part of a shadowy organization. Big steel and glass building. Men in suits. Whispered conversations. Money changes hands.

Jack has an ally on the inside who tips him off. A woman. She is brutally murdered. At home. While sleeping.

What are the bad guys after? The McGuffin, of course. You know, diamonds, or a secret map, or a nuclear device. Doesn't matter. People kill for it. Could be fake, like the statue in "The Maltese Falcon." Could be a mystery, like the weird briefcase in "Pulp Fiction."

We need two or three new suspects, so it isn't obvious who the big bad guy is. Guys in suits. Maybe. Or innocent looking workmen.

Drop the hooker from the story and have the gorgeous hitwoman seduce Jack and fall in love with him. She refuses her boss's orders to kill him. Her boss sends someone to kill her.

I’d have the two contract killers, now our heroes, battle other hitmen at the end. They blow up the steel and glass building. They find the big bad guy and expose him, so he is ruined.

They win and get away. Jack gets the girl and his freedom.

I think that would work.
What do you think?

Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle