tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post5068222035363874276..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Reader question: 9/11 scriptsThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-55158594030508506532013-03-04T11:32:28.102-08:002013-03-04T11:32:28.102-08:00I feel like you have to ask yourself: is it really...I feel like you have to ask yourself: is it really necessary? Is it adding anything to the script, or is it a gimmick?Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634357013795422788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-70995603099088934332013-03-04T10:57:54.958-08:002013-03-04T10:57:54.958-08:00During and right after the attacks, there were all...During and right after the attacks, there were all kinds of rumors sweeping the East Coast: that dozens if not hundreds of airplanes had been hijacked, that the Air Force was shooting all airliners out of the sky, etc.<br /><br />The urban legend that I found most amusing (though at the time you couldn't crack a grin at anything related to 9/11, witness the incident I saw at Providence Public Library, where some guy making a sarcastic comment about "day-trader martyrs" was almost assaulted by others waiting in line to check out books): a janitor at Windows-on-the-World, when he saw what was happening, jumped in a dumpster and RODE THE COLLAPSING SKYSCRAPER DOWN, dusted himself off, and walked away never to be seen again.<br /><br />If that seems crass after almost twelve years, imagine what it seemed like at the time ...<br /><br />As for using 9/11 as part of a movie: I don't think it has the legs or the drama of the Titanic sinking, which is its closest end-of-an-era disaster equivalent. In any event, who would use the Titanic sinking, (or 9/11) as "part of" a movie scenario? The weight of the event itself would tear a hole through your script.Jack Dawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284738545713910943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-86069712748198989312013-03-04T07:43:02.806-08:002013-03-04T07:43:02.806-08:00I can see where 9/11 could be used in a thriller, ...I can see where 9/11 could be used in a thriller, perhaps as a backdrop in the same way. For example, The Eiger Sanction used a treacherous mountain climbing expedition as the backdrop for a thriller. Perhaps the killer is going after a target in one of the Towers, and is prevented from getting to the target because of the attack. A chase takes place as the two characters are trying to stay alive during the disaster. And of course, you've got cops everywhere, mobs of civilians, phones cutting out, and so forth.<br /><br />But as you pointed out, using 9/11 itself as the backdrop the story is going to color the entire thing. The writer would be better off manufacturing some other kind of fictional disaster and using it, rather than something so emotionally charged.Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.com