May 1996
Volume 9, Number 5
Exchang~
Kill the Mockingbird!
by Jesse Walker
Memo
To:B.
From: R.
With the O.J. trial over, 1 think the time is finally ripe for the To Kill a Mockingbird project
we've been talking about. Here's a rough outline of the movie, as I see it:
We open with a shot of Gregory Peck close to the end of To Kill a Mockingbird. Then cut
to him today. (I figure his character should still be alive. When was Mockingbird supposed to
take place? Let's figure 1959 or so - there was segregation then, right?) He's old but tough,
with a sour look on his face. Through flashbacks, we show the great tragedy of his life: in
1975, Scout was assaulted and killed by a gang of black toughs - who got off scot-free,
thanks to crook-coddling liberals in the justice system. He turns his back on his liberal values and dedicates himself to one end: "Putting every nigra criminal behind bars."
Jump back to the present. A black athlete has just killed his wife. (We should use a
made-up name for the athlete, of course - but could we get O.J. to play him? At the very
least, Kato should get a cameo.) America is outraged, and Peck offers his services to the
prosecution. They rebuff his offer and blow the case. Outraged, Peck makes the final step
over to vigilantism - "Law? Who needs the law? I stand for justice!"
At this point we move into familiar Charles Bronson territory. In the end, Peck leads a
group of other enraged citizens in capturing the athlete and hanging him.
I think we should call the movie Kill the Mockingbird! What do you say?
Memo
To:R.
From:B.
Unfortunately, I think To Kill a Mockingbird was supposed to take place earlier than 1959. I'm
sure we can find some way around that, though - maybe something about cryonics.
Anyway, that's not the biggest problem 1see with your idea.
As you know, the studio has a firm policy against making films that are insensitive or
racist. Your story may cross that line when it employs the word "nigra." Can we cut it?
Also, one of the toughs who kills Scout should be Latino, and one should be a white guy
wearing his baseball cap backwards. The rest can be black, but should not be given many
lines.
The biggest problem, though, is that I'm not sure Gregory Peck is still a bankable star. In
fact, I'm not sure whether he's still alive. How about Jim Carrey?
With those changes, I think this may be ready for development.
48
Liberty
May 1996
Volume 9, Number 5
Memo
To:B.
From:R.
Good suggestions, except that I don't think people were wearing their baseball caps backwards in
1975. Someone should check this.
Rather than cryonics, why don't we use time travel? Jim Carrey and his daughter are suddenly,
unexplainably pushed into the future. Almost immediately, she is killed by a gang, and then ... etc.
In fact, why don't we push this completely into the future - say 2010? Then we could have them
pursued by a Terminator-like creature from the further future that wants to stop some important thing
they do in the year 2010. Ideally, 0.1. would play the Terminator character.
We'll keep Scout alive in this one, and make her a cute, spunky, wisecracking kid. Let's drop the
justice stuff and make it a straight chase movie - O.J. coming to kill Carrey and his daughter. We'll
call it Kill the Mockingbirds!
Interested?
Memo
To:R.
From:B.
Of course I'm interested! But it needs a little more work. What, for example, is 0.1. trying to keep them
from doing? And why are they in 2010 to begin with?
My people have spoken with Carrey's agent, and he seems interested. Is there any way we can
rewrite this to make better use of his comic talents?
Memo
To:B.
From:R.
Naturally. Let's say he's brought to 2010 because the people of the future have forgotten how to laugh.
Someone reads an old book about Carrey's zany courtroom antics and decides he's just the man they
need - and they pick up his wisecracking daughter as well, by mistake. (I must admit 1 haven't actually seen the original To Kill a Mockingbird - are there any zany courtroom antics in it? Even if there
aren't, we might dig up some in the original book - I'll have one of my readers check it out - or else
we'll just come up with some flashbacks of our own. 1seem to remember a great scene in the original
My Cousin Vinny script that was never filmed; maybe we could use it.)
Instead of 0.1. coming back from the future to kill our heroes, let's say he's already there in 2010,
and that he's responsible for the grim state of the day. We could add an environmental message as
well: he's trying to wipe out endangered species for some reason or another (I doubt we'd have to
explain it) with a terrible flying machine, "the killing bird." Our heroes' eventual mission (and our
movie's title): To Mock the Killing Bird.
To:'R.
From: B.
Memo
Bad news - Carrey's getting cold feet. Says he wants to be "taken seriously as an actor" and won't be
doing any more comedies after his upcoming sci-fi project, Ace Double. While we're searching for a
new lead, I thought you might turn your attention to the Amadeus followup we've been kicking
around. I'm thinking we should go for a horror angle - say, a summer camp haunted by the spirits of
dead composers.
Did they have chainsaws in the eighteenth century?
Q
Liberty
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