ADDED: Kathryn Bigelow, director of "The Hurt Locker," has been working on a movie called "Kill Bin Laden." The idea there had been the failed effort at Tora Bora. So that's one place you could begin a movie: the battle at Tora Bora, when we thought we had him and then lost him. The center of the movie could be all the years of trying to find him, and the ending we all know very well.
That title, "Kill Bin Laden," reminds me of "Kill Bill" — which had "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2." That title was interesting, in part, because so much else happened before "The Bride" eventually got around to Bill. I think a movie called "Kill Bin Laden" shouldn't be mainly a reenactment of the raid, much as we feel we'd like to see the movie we already see in our heads. It should have all sorts of other things about the people who worked on getting bin Laden. Show us some things we haven't been thinking about.
We have heard so many versions of the kill bin Laden. There could be a "Rashomon"-style movie, showing the raid multiple times, inviting us to think about what really happened and whether everyone is lying.
IN THE COMMENTS: Lincolntf said...
Start with a shot at the bottom of the ocean, slowly panning over a cast of crabs dispersing after finishing off what looks to be the remains of a canvas bag.The body in the water... that's the "Sunset Boulevard" beginning.
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47 comments:
"This is where you start the movie about Obama being a one-term president".
As much as I enjoy reading details of this raid, I am going to suggest that the White House should have said: "We killed OBL, we buried him at sea, no comment beyond that."
As for the movie, apparently Kathyrn Bigelow is doing a OBL movie now about missing OBL, and now has the challenge of changing the ending during post production.
It's starts with the enhanced interrogation that allegedly gathered the courier's name then segue thru the Dem opposition to our using this technique. Because without that name.........
Fred:
I agree but that's not how you spike a football. Heh.
The opening scene should show a young Osama prostrate worshiping the black rock idol inside the Kaabah at Mecca, when a voice speaks to him and offers him a high position in Satan's Kingdom if he will lead Islamic worshipers everywhere in murderous attacks upon the strong ally of the Jewish State which had recently taken Jerusalem in 1967. Then a scene follows in the same year and day showing William McRaven in high school in San Antonio Texas accepting Jesus as his Lord, who then tells McRaven to join the US Navy and await further orders.
"It's starts with the enhanced interrogation that allegedly gathered the courier's name then segue thru the Dem opposition to our using this technique. Because without that name........."
Opening shot...a tub of water with bubbles coming to the top...all of a sudden the head of a long-haired Middle Eastern male bursts from the water ...gagging and gasping he cries "My lawyer Eric Holder will hear of this outrage." The hands of an out of frame individual grab his shoulders and submerge the writhing protesting figure to the bottom of the tub.....
It started innocently enough, just a board and some water...
inviting us to think about what really happened and whether everyone is lying.
Whether?
BUHWAHAHAHA!!11!
It starts with James Baker presenting a petition to SCOTUS to overturn the FL court's decision.
Lars:
Good one!
It starts with raiders crashing through the door and a startled Bin Laden dropping a bacon cheeseburger.
Start with a shot at the bottom of the ocean, slowly panning over a cast of crabs dispersing after finishing off what looks to be the remains of a canvas bag.
This movie sounds great. I love fiction,
You realize, of course, we would not be having this discussion if Dubya or McCain or even Miss Sarah were responsible for the raid.
After the opening film credits, these words appear on the screen...
Hawaii, August 1961
(we've got the long-form to prove it)
I don't think I've ever seen Sunset Blvd. I'll start keeping an eye on the Turner Classic Movie channel. (A great channel, by the way. All classic movies, no commercials)
"I don't think I've ever seen Sunset Blvd."
It's great! Did you watch the linked clip? Fabulous storytelling. Completely entertaining.
William Holden (the dead body in "Sunset Blvd") narrated the movie. Would you want the "Kill bin Laden" one from his point of view?
OT, Gloria Swanson who played the over-the-hill actress Norma Desmond in "Sunset Blvd" was 50. I used to think she was old. Now I realize she was just one of the first Hollywood cougars.
You know what bothers me is that there is no focus by women (in developed countries and in Muslim countries) on plight of women under the power of terrorists. Now, Bin Ladin's (may be rot in hell) wives were almost like prisoners. We are learning that his fifth wife never left the top floor for five years. What is this life like? How can a Muslim woman who is educated and living in West defend this? Why are poor Muslim women in third world not realizing that this kind of life is bad? This incident should be a wake-up call about women lives in the Muslim world.
You do realize that the DNA test only proved that they killed Osama's other brother Darryl? Just sayn'
Kathryn Bigelow? Too bad. "Hurt Locker" was dramatic but extremely unrealistic in its depiction of military procedure.
How could a devout Muslim like Osama bin Laden have a fifth wife?
I thought Muslims were only allowed four? At a time, anyway?
Let's talk about casting.
President Obama -Jaleel White.
Michelle Obama-Michael Dorn
Leon Panetta-Rick Moranis
Hillary Clinton-Kathy Bates
Valerie Jarret-Marla Gibbs
Navy Seals-Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez.
Osama Bin Laden-Jaye Davidson
No, not crabs, hagfish. Hagfish are deep water scavengers.
And Ann, not Sunset Boulevard. Too favorable to OBL. Think Titanic with the sub going down, down, down to the dark cold wreck.
An Expert's Thoughts
"The knotting behaviour of hagfishes is truly fascinating. It probably evolved to facilitate their feeding.
While these animals possess several rows of teeth, they do not possess any jaws; so how do they remove chunks of flesh from dead fishes?
After they firmly sink their numerous teeth into the soft flesh of decaying fish, they loop their bodies into a simple knot close to their head region and slip it back progressively towards their tail. The backward movement of the knot somehow tears the flesh as if the hagfish had true biting jaws."
Claude Renaud
Research Scientist
Canadian Museum of Nature
I love nature films. President Obama's decision to dump OBL in the ocean was really brilliant!
The circle of life is really a beautiful thing.
Trooper - you gonna make us google Michael Dorn?
If I were making this movie, I'd start with 200 taxi cabs plying the streets of Abbottabad. And, getting into a pattern ... so that the neighborhood was really free and clear on the "night of arrival."
While back at the White House, I'd have Jarrett doing everything she could to get the bamster to cancel the orders. (He goes to play golf. Lots of scenes with him swinging his club.)
Panetta gave the order. And, then, with everyone called into the Situation Room, I'd have this set up for comic relief.
I'd have the taxi cabs ready to remove the dog that bit Bin Laden.
And, I'd show how the Navy Seals did their work in 5 minutes. With all the time left over to fill the waiting cabs with material. That then has drivers shooting off in many directions.
I also think Bob Woodward's "tape measure" joke would be made up at the end. Bringing on someone like Seinfeld, to deliver it.
I like the idea of starting from the phone call and then having the movie break into three interspersed threads.
Flashbacks from Bin Laden's life--Childhood, fighting against the Soviets, terrorist activities and ending with his escape from Tora Bora. The second thread would also be flashbacks of the detective-work that lead-up to the phone cal--interrogations, capture of subjects, finding patterns in data etc. The third thread would be the prep-work for the assault--some background history on the individual service members, building and using a mock-up compound, the people in the safe house nearby etc.
It starts with the media reverting to type as they realize the OBL bounce will do their guy no good, so they might as well return to their usual attitude towards the military.
"The Assassination of Osama bin Laden by the Coward SEAL Team Six".
Or they could go courtroom drama - join Lt Kh'afi (Tom Cruise) and his former adversary (Kevin Halal) as they continue to prove that all of America's fighting men are criminals in "Fewer Good Men".
Speaking of Aaron Sorkin, maybe he could take another look at Afghanistan and discover once again there was only one person in Congress who focused on it since the start of our involvement, and darned if he didn't have a 'D' after his name:
"Joe Lieberman's War".
He was Worf in Star Trek AJ.
I thought everyone would miss the Jaye Davidson joke.
Since the mission rebounds to the greater glory of Obama, there is a good chance that the SEAL team will not be portrayed as dupes or louts. Perhaps the electronic surveillance of the courier will be characterized as the skillful use of technology rather than as the stark reach of the police state. The Kathryn Bigelow movie was notable not for its quality but for the fact that this was the first and only Hollywood movie that portrayed our serviceman in a sympathetic and, occasionally, heroic light....America's Politico has a good post at 11:30. If you wish to dramatize this story with a few victims, you could start with Osama's teen bride. She was given as a gift to the great man and forced to endure years of captivity, boredom, and foreboding. There was a Darkness at Noon quality to her plight. Her field of vision was so limited and distorted that she did not even realize how tormented her life was.
Start with Clinton's lame attempt to drop a cruise missile on OBL after the WTC bombing...
Actually a montage starting with the Russian pull out from Afgahnistan, until the USS Cole bombing like the start of the Watchmen.
Hey if you want to get an audience why not start it with Clinton pulling out of Monica Lewinsky mouth while he is on the phone cancelling the first hit on Osama.
Now that's entertainment.
"President Obama -Jaleel White.
Michelle Obama-Michael Dorn
Leon Panetta-Rick Moranis
Hillary Clinton-Kathy Bates
Valerie Jarret-Marla Gibbs
Navy Seals-Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez.
Osama Bin Laden-Jaye Davidson"
Uproarious laughter at this end.
'Michelle Obama-Michael Dorn'
Post of the Month
Just watched the clip. Looks like a good one.
I can't emphasize enough how much I like having TCM on my cable tier. Combined with DVR capability it's like having a library of hundreds of great movies that I would have never otherwise seen.
Michael Dorn.
Michelle Obama.
You make the call.
I get it now - thanks Troop.
No, the movie should start in a congressional sub-committee hearing where someone is required to explain why all SEAL teams are required to carry specially designed tape measures, that cost the Pentagon $3,500 each. The questioning is cut short when someone realizes that the tape measures are made in the committee chairman's home district.
OSAMA bin Biden 2012
Starts like "You Only Live Twice" where two divers retrieve the cloth wrapped "body" of ObL ... Cuts to a bright light in a dark room where unseen enhanced interrogators tell a bloody, beat-up ObL "Nobody knows you are alive ..."
While back at the White House, I'd have Jarrett doing everything she could to get the bamster to cancel the orders
or someone running with a ipad on his hand to tell the President that wikileaks blew it. Kind of The right stuff, the movie
"Kind of The right stuff, the movie"
Davos, we've got a problem...
@Trooper
Osama Bin Laden-Jaye Davidson
Snert.
Trooper,
Michelle Obama-Michael Dorn
I'm glad I wasn't sipping my tea when I read that!
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