Benito-
All the ideas you mentioned are good ones. I think we should explore this further to see if we can come up with a powerful enough thread to make a movie treatment. So far we have a bunch of disembodied scenes that look nice and with a little bit of a feeling. What will we be writing about? I like the idea of letters. The reading of the letter in Saving Private Ryan is a particularly dramatic and important moment.
"What are these?"> > > > >
"Letters, Cap. You have lots of them. They just keep coming."
"I don't understand..."
"Word about you is reaching everywhere, even stateside. Go on, open one."
Cap picks up an envelope and examines it. It reads: Send to: Captain America c/o U.S. Army. From: Martha J. Higgins of Battle Creek, Michigan. Postmarked a month ago. He opens it and unfolds two neatly spaced hand written sheets.
Dear Captain America,
I am not sure if you really exist or if this letter will find you. It was important to write this letter to say thank you for all you've done...
...I lost two sons in this war and both of them wrote about the action you took to lift the spirit of our fighting men in dark hours.....
...do not despair. There is only one fight worth winning. Our church group is praying for you....
Cap takes another.
Dear Captain America,
Many young men here at home have been inspired to join the services to help you in your fight....
...you are not alone. Please bring about an early end to this war...
...may God protect you and guide you...
Dear Cap,
...All the way to Berlin and back....
...You are not forgotten....
...God Bless.
The stack of mail numbers twenty or so. Cap sets his jaw and picks up the remaining letters, seemingly overwhelmed.
"There's more Cap..."
A soldier comes in and plops down a huge duffle bag brimming with letters. Some marked simply to: Cap.
These people had been given a glimmer of hope in the bleakness of war. Cap was becoming a symbol, a beacon of freedom to light the darkness. He must not fail.
"You could have been part of the master race. Healthy, tall, blond hair and blue eyes. I know that you are no ordinary man. Allied scientists have tampered with you in an effort to create some kind of Super Soldier. Surely there will be others of you. Fast, strong, resistant to injury or illness, dedicated to the cause of freedom. I too have been tampered with to create a superior being. Just look at my face. It is all the perfection you will ever need to gaze upon. I am stronger than you, faster, smarter and my dedication is to an even more pure ideal. There is only one race which is worthy enough to breathe the air of victory. One race which shall triumph, shall crush, shall bury all others in the pyre of history. I am only the first of many. Our numbers will soon be legion. You can not stop our march..."
"I will fight you Red Skull. With the last of my breath I will fight you."
"Very well."
I guess we could come up with an outline.
RICK
1-23-09
Rickster,
Cool. Let's test the idea and see if that through-line can be met. I think the notes we've been passing are good ones-- if nothing more than to get us excited and keep the creativity flowing.
I like your letters. Would be tough to place them in, but I'm sure there will be need of a quiet time in the WWII portion. Perhaps we can use them as a transitional devise? They might be better than news reels?
Here's the article I told you about "The Founder's Great Mistake" http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200901/founders-mistake/ which explains the problems we've seen due to their weirdness with defining the presidency.
Rock on,
Ben
I could be just a writer very easily. I am not a writer. I am a screenwriter, which is half a filmmaker... But it is not an art form, because screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.
-Paul Schrader
If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.
-Thomas Paine
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