Original Email Dated: 2-16-08
To: Rick
From: Ben
Subject: Cap
Rick,
I was driving to Albany recently and I got so excited about a film concept, I almost pulled over to write it down. I was just listening to the Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack and Captain America came to mind. So I started musing and really liked my ideas. I finally got to sit and write a few pages last night and just had a blast. I actually started writing it in this email and ended up staying up well passed by bed time to finish it. If you'd be willing, I'd love for you to read this first draft (only 6 pages) and tell me what you think. I'd also love to tell you where I think the story could go next.
THANKS!
Ben
PS I hear they just killed off Steve Rogers again. Such silliness.
Original Email Dated: 2-20-08
To: Ben
From: Rick
Subject: Re: Cap On, Cap Off - Cap On Cap Off Cap On
You can't kill Steve Rogers in the same way that steroids can not kill baseball.
Got a chance to read your Cap mini drama.
Make sure that the British forces are totally out numbered and penned in with no hope of attacking or even lasting the night. They are out of supplies, THERE IS NO TEA, taken heavy casualties, and the field soldiers have no hope. When Bucky appears as a messenger, they must be on the verge of surrender. Will the Americans send help? Will it be in time?
If this is the first scene that Cap and Bucky appear, give them both a slower/more mysterious roll out. It seems like Cap is parachuting forever. Cut that down and wait patiently for the reveal shot. Don't show all of Cap until the British flare turns night for day and then he is standing there like a granite statue only to disappear quickly. Until that time, just give us shadowy glimpses, part of a glove, part of a star, some stripes. At times he will appear in silhouette taking action and then disappearing. My suggestion is not to show too much combat off the bat so you can save it for later.
The Legend of Captain America
Who is that soldier? Cap is used in specific situations by his handlers. He is the subject of rumor and conjecture by the Allies and has become mythologised by the Germans. He rallies the troops by bolstering their patriotic fighting spirit. To the Germans he is like a ghost, a wraith, an unstoppable force said not to exist but causing even hardened generals to pause. Field troops want to surrender to him personally.
THAW IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
In the comic, Cap is frozen in an ice block and is returned to modern times long after the war is over. It is a different world with compromised ideals.
Rick
Read the script!
Please note that this was a quick draft meant to give myself and Rick a feeling for how I would introduce Cap in a film. Later in the writing process actual names, dates and places specific to the needs of the screenplay would have been added. Essentially, this was our first beach head in the uncharted territory that was Cap's character. -Ben
Download the PDF or click an image below!
Ben Alpi starts the discussion with a quick six page jaunt showing the first appearance of Captain America in battle. For the purpose of what is to follow, this is significant in two ways. First, until that time, Ben and I had merely traded quips, one liners or brief descriptions. It wasn't until Ben made the leap to presenting something in script form that the notion of taking any of our musings seriously or even continuing to email about Cap took on new proportions. Second, Ben is a pretty funny guy but serious minded when it comes to filmmaking.
ReplyDeleteBy presenting a script for film instead of straight prose or a comic script, Ben immediately molded the rest of the conversation in a film backing. I found it quite easy to shift gears from thinking of Cap as simply a comics character to being flesh, blood and digital magic wrapped around some good old fashioned storytelling. I think even early on we had a notion to write a few scenes or even a full script based on Cap's character. I, for one, looked forward to the challenge of collaborating, writing and editing a comic character for a film. What better way to avoid all the disappointments of having "strangers" craft a script than by doing it yourself.
With only conversation as our guide, we set off on an adventure into character that would take us through more than three years of emails. Along the way, I asked myself many times: "When can we write this? When can we film this?"
RICK