johnjcoe9198

This user has not updated recently.

50 0 5 7
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

Thanks to Babs' Encouragement, HERE'S.....My Captain America Take

 
 
 
<---Roger's original WWII-era costume               
 
 
                                                                       Modern Costume ---->

   I think Marvel's got their collective s**t gether in regards to the Cap' movie, besides getting over the largest hurdle in the whole process....namely CASTING Captain America.   Someone suggested Jason Lewis (the guy blonde guy from Sex and the City).  Sounds like a good idea to me.  He has the looks, and I THINK he has the talent.  Another name I keep hearing mentioned is Matt Damon, who, honestly, is by far the best candidate, but it'll be hard to look up and NOT see Jason Bourne.  Which I find extremely ironic, since Bourne, "Vita-rays" not with standing, is almost a duplicate of Steve Rogers.  The one issue I have with Marvel's direction so far is they're dead-set on placing most of the movie in WWII.  For me, it should be about half-and-half.  Either way, this will probably be 3-hour movie, if they really want to get it right.  So, here goes.....See     So, the opening scene in my mind consists of Steve standing outside the recruiter's office, ready and eager to enlist in the service.  Army or Marines, I think the audience probably doesn't differentiate between the two.  But since Millar's Ultimate Steve was a Marine, and so was I, I'm biased!  Deal with it!  Sorry...anyways, Steve's outside the recruiter's office, ready to enlist.  This is shortly after Pearl Harbor, when FDR was finally able to motivate the American populace to join the war.  I see him kissing Gale goodbye, as she goes off to work.  Now, it'll be hard to buy someone as too frail for service, per Simon and Kirby's original plotting.  It always seemed like a very vague and flimsy excuse, even then, so we'll have to come up with an actual ailment to keep Steve out.  Actually, it seems more realistic to me to go ahead and have Steve pass the physical, only for the brass to realize he's got a dissqualifying condition during basic training.  This is actually far more accurate to the experience, especially since it happened to me.  But, the kid's got heart, so someone in the upper chain of command on-base decides to make him the guinea pig for Brankin's experiment.  I also want to note that Bucky Barnes is right alongside him, ready to serve his country, even if he is lying about his age. S     For those out-of-the-loop on Barnes' backstory, the most recent version paints him as an Army brat who grew up around the base, only to be orphaned as a teenager.  Since its the only lifestyle he's ever really been exposed to, he hitches a ride to another base where no one knows him, and enlists at 15 or so.  Sounds good to me.  I'm picturing Steve and James meet in the line, and become fast friends, a bond that only strengthens during their time in Basic Training.  Unfortunately though, Steve has....severe asthma, yeah.  Its never been a major deterrant before, but all the physical training makes it glaringly obvious to his Drill Instructor that he's not gonna make it on the battlefield.  The news hits the whole platoon hard, especially since Steve has been Squad Leader from the get-go.  So, someone from Central Command makes Steve the offer of a lifetime:  to become the world's first super-soldier!     Now, we introduce Dr. William Brankin, the pioneering scientist behind the whole process.  One thing I think its important to establish that Brankin is actually a German defector, just like all the rocket scientists that defected whenever the Nazis began to outright persecute the Jews in Europe.  He speaks with a think accent, and probably isn't  trusted by CentCom anymore than is necessary.  His team outlines the whole process, and I want the audience to understand exactly how painful and grueling this procedure will be for Rogers.  Think of the cringe-inducing shot of Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) getting those spinal injections from THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but about 20 times worse.  And it doesn't go smoothly, either.  There should be at least one shot of the surgical team having to recessitate Rogers on the table.  Just to show the audience just much danger Steve is in, and he VOLUNTEERED for it!  Also, this is a BLACK BAG operation, so no one, not Gale, not Bucky, even Steve's family is told about what Steve is training for.  The brass just gave Barnes a vague story about "special training" during his exit from boot camp...and Bucky doesn't buy it, but keeps quiet about the whole thing.  I'm also picturing a voiceover form Rogers, as he's reading the letters he sends to Gail about where he is and what he's doing.  Bucky might be in this as well, but its clear Bucky thinks Steve's official story is total bulls**t, but he just casually laughs to himself at Steve's VERY bad lies.  But the juxtaposition between the montage of Steve's transformation and the loving letters he sends to Gail will make for some solid audience sympathy, and probably room for a good joke or two.  Besides, it'll be important for the plot later on.  I'm also envisioning some serious Black-Ops training, CQB, sniper-training, etc.  I'm very conflicted about whether Steve should be alone, or going about this in a platoon, with other test subjects, simply for the fact that the military never tests out new gear, etc., flying solo.  The simple fact is, they would never do this with just one soldier.  However, those soldiers all suffer debilitating side-effects, with Steve being the only candidate to complete the whole process.  It just proves how rough this science really is.
     Now, Steve's weeks later, Steve's finished, and we see him in all his shirtless, badass glory.  During Steve's "unveiling" for the Top-Brass, the hammer drops.  One of Brankin's team goes nuts and brutally guns the rest of Brankin's team down, cursing his name in German while he does it.  Steve breaks through observation glass with little effort, and royally kicks some ass.  He stops just short out-right killing the man, but realizes, with no small amount of terror, just how powerful he's become.  But with Brankin's team dead, no other viable candidates ready, and most of the data lost, the commanders decide to salvage the only remaining asset from this very expensive failure.  So, they air-drop Steve into France before the Normandy invasion, to take out infantry nests on the beachhead prior to D-day.  And they assign him to the same platoon as Bucky, no less!  They don't inform Steve of some of these details, hoping they can try and pick-up again after the campaign is over.  Meanwhile, Bucky's turned into quite an efficient killer in his own right, even though Steve is pretty sure he can't be more than 16 years old.  (as a side-note, wherever there's room to fit it in, I'd like to establish that Bucky was abused by his dad, prior to his death.  It could even be insinuated that Bucky's the one responsible for it, but in a murky way, like tampering with his Jeep on base, causing a fatal crash.  But it needs to be keep from being clearly stated, at least in the beginning of the movie.)  Bucky's a troubled kid, raised by a savage man to be a savage fighter.  But, Steve loves the guy like a brother, as he's a really good guy at heart. 
     Bucky sees Steve's inhuman battlefield prowess in Normandy, but keeps his suspicions to himself.  Meanwhile, Steve is somewhat unnerved by how easily Bucky kills the enemy, and really isn't bothered much by the carnage inflicted on his fellow soldiers.  Nonetheless, Steve's reputation among the soldiers on the frontlines quickly becomes almost mythic.  (The commanders issued Steve the uniform he wears in Ultimates vol. 1, when he's still fighting WWII.  Meanwhile, word of this UBERMENSCH reaches Hitler's command in Berlin.  They quickly deduce that Brankin must've finished work on at the super-soldier program, despite their best efforts.  Their intelligence can't verify whether or not Brankin's dead, so they assume the worst, and that the U.S. must be field-testing their newest weapon.  So, they devise a diversionary mission specifically designed to draw this soldier out:  A test-launch of a ICBM, heavily fortified, stationed not too far away from where Steve's fighting.  You can guess what comes next:  the missle launch, Bucky's death, and Steve ends up on the damned missile, trying to reprogram the coordinates to make it splash over the Atlantic, instead of striking its intended target:  London!  The platoon is KIA, and CentCom assumes the mission is a total loss.  Since the whole super-soldier program was quasi-legal to begin with, they decide to cover it up.  Before we move forward, I want everyone to understand the battle scenes must be realistic, and very SAVING PRIVATE RYAN-like in their accuracy.  Not to be gruesome, but to show how much all this stuff is messing with Rogers and Bucky, but yet Steve still doesn't hesitate to risk his neck to help out his fellow soldiers.  They also begin to have suspicions after Steve is injured several times, only to rapidly heal within days/hours.  (It can't be instantaneous, or it'll be too similar to Wolverine's Origin movie.)  But, its also a good opportunity for soldiers to name-drop Logan here, remarking that they've seen something similar from these two wild Canadians who keep popping up all over the place-remember, Creed AND Logan were pretty close-by while all this is going on.  It'd just be too expensive to pay Hugh Jackson for screentime on a throwaway cameo scene at this point!) 
     I'm picturing a shot of Steve's frozen body, his hand just barely sticking out of the ice, and the shot pans out to show the surrounding landscape (it establishes just how remote Steve's location is).  But, against all odds, in the present day, a zoological team affliated with Stark industries stumbles across Rogers' body while doing research on polar bears.  (the bears keep knawing Steve's fingers, but they keep growing back-this could be stated by one of the researchers, rather than shown, as one of them wonders how the exposed flesh hasn't succumb to frostbite, or been consumed by the aforementioned polar bears).  So, they dig him out, and inform basecamp about their VERY unexpected find.  They keep him frozen, wanting to preserve the body for later analysis, and transport him back stateside.  The local news station reports on the story, and the name Steve Rogers is immediatey flagged by the S.H.I.E.L.D. database (this effects-shot could be almost a carbon-copy of the same shot from THE INCREDIBLE HULK-admit, that scene was smooth!). 
     And, Nick Fury immediately swoops in to claim the body.  Whether or not Henry and Janet Pym make cameos as part of the analysis team, I'll leave to Marvel Studios.  It would make sense, though.  Also, General Ross should be there, too, as the Hulk project was originally his baby to begin with.  They arrive to begin their analysis, thawing out the body, so as to facilitate collecting blood and tissue samples (remember, the guy's been in the TUNDRA for decades, so he's basically immobile in his present state).  However, while he's on the operating table, he wakes up, and, understandably, freaks out.  This scene could probably be an exact copy of the same scene from the first animated ULTIMATE AVENGERS movie.  Steve doesn't takes a hostage, he doesn't believe them, and Fury walks in, introduces himself, and Rogers replies "Nice try, soldier, but the highest-ranking soldier in the Armed Forces is Lt. Colonal, and I happen to know him personally!"  Rogers busts out of SHIELD, making his way into modern-day New York City, and almost faints at the sight of all this stuff he's never seen before.  Then, he sees a newspaper, with the current date listed right at the top.  Once he steadies himself after almost passing out again, Fury catches up with him, explaining how it is he's suddenly woken up naked on a lab table, 70 years in the future.  The shot pans out, with this look of utter loss and disbelief embedded on his face.  We have the boardroom scene with Fury, Ross, Henry, and Janet.  (Maybe Stark is there, too, since it was his science team that found "the body" in the first place)  They have the expository dialogue, explaining to Steve and the audience just how-in-the-hell Steve survived all this.  Later, as Steve is busy catching up on all the things he's missed, via computer, the team marvels out just how fast he's processing all this information.  Days into his "resurrection", he's already typing like a court-transcripter, and is becoming familiar with all the technology in the digital age.  But, Fury grants Steve a visit to Arlington National Cemetary, to visit the graves of his platoon.  (there should also be a quick scene where Steve does a Google search on Gail, learning of her fate after his "death".  She remarries, has kids, etc.)  Fury, befriending Steve in this brave new world, tracks down Gail's surviving relatives, and collects a photo album for him to look at.  (this should happen off-screen, so as to surprise Steve whenever they visit the gravesites of his platoon)  He sees the monument erected in his honor, noticing how it only bears his first name "For Steve" .  There's a GREAT scene from Ultimates vol.2, where Steve visits this monument with the still-living Bucky.  I hope Mark Millar doesn't mind me "borrowing" this scene, as its far too moving NOT to use.  Just replace Bucky with Fury, and the same scene is still more or less intact, with the speech about how they used to have a memorial ceremony "fit for a President, man!  Every year up until the 60's, when the anti-war protesters started to ask questions...."  Rogers and Fury sit down at the bench, and Fury hands Steve the aforementioned photo album, and Steve begins to flip through it.  He smiles, laughing at some funny pictures of Gail as Fury explains what happened to her after the war.  And the voice-over fades into the background as Steve finally breaks down.  And its brutal.  This is the most important scene of the whole movie, so sorrow and desperation in Steve's voice has to sound GENUINE.  It starts small at first, almost like when Forrest Gump finds out about his son in that movie.  His eyes well up, and he can't hold it back anymore.  He quietly, in a very haunted voice, says to Fury  "Everyone he's ever known is gone."  "I mean, the whole WORLD has passed me by, Nick!"  "It should be ME in these pictures, playing with MY kids!"  "Dammit, I should've been there when she died!"  "Why didn't you just leave me in the ice!"  He collapses back onto the bench....and Fury finally says what's he's been itching to say ever since Rogers woke up.  "I've thought about how to pitch this to you for days now, and I think I'll just wing it...."  "Nick, I don't even know what the Hell that means..."  "Well, I'm sure you've come across some news articles talking about mutants, and Stark going public about the Iron Man thing.  Did you also happen to notice the part about the World Trade Center?"  "Yeah, about, uh, what'd'ya'callit, 911?"  "Yeah, well, I know its all that shocking to YOU after Pearl Harbor and D-day, but it ruffled the feathers of everyone around here somethin' fierce..."  "The fact is, we've been trying to recreate your results from Project Rebirth for the last 20 years, ever since we became officially aware of mutants."  We never made this public, mind you, but we've known for a while now that we need an infantry force capable of matching that kind of power."  "Our results so far have been....mixed."  There's a rapid flash of scenes with Spider-Man, Green Goblin, the Hulk, etc., to show the audience just how deep all this goes.  "So what're you saying, you want me to re-join the Corp.?  Aren't a LITTLE past the age requirement?"  "Oh, I think we can make an exception this ONE time!"  "I mean, what else're you gonna do?"  "Hell, you don't even know how to APPLY for your G.I. benefits anymore!"  So....they share a laugh, and we flashforward to a press conference where the Pentagon goes public with Rogers' story.  And they publically introduce him, in his new combat uniform.  And....that's the end.  I think they mention the Avengers Initiative, almost in passing, much like Fury did at the end of IRON MAN.  The credits roll, and cue the "reveal" after the credits...A man, calmly watches the news broadcast, and a cold, evil smile slowly forms across his face.  A subordinate, speaking Farsi, with English subtitles, pronounces "Mr. Schmidt, your flight to New York is ready, sir."  "Of course...I have some some long-overdue business to finish..."  And the camera pans out to reveal a terrorist training camp, somewhere in the Middle East, as the troops shout "HAIL HYDRA!" in the background.... 
     On a side note, I know it'll piss off all the purists, but I think, for the purposes of the film, if the production crew DOESN'T use Cap's shield in its current design.  It'll look TERRIBLE onscreen.  Just look how out-of-place it looks in the background during its cameo in Iron Man.  No one would've noticed it unless it looked so garrish and brightly colored.  No, I think having the stars on the outline, like Wonder Woman's shield in her comic, still blue, obviously,with the stars being white.  Then, with an eagle motif in the center. 
 
 
 
 
 
<---Something along the lines of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logo, which could also explain the origin of their logo.  That would be a neat little tie-in.
1 Comments

Thor Movie Script Idea


 
 
 
 <---Early, flashback costume, for when Blake is "dreaming".  As for the chainmail in his current look?  It works either way, personally.
 
         Well, I know Kenneth Branaugh is probably deep into pre-production on the Thor movie, and they probably already have a script in the final stages of revision, but I can't help but put my two cents in.  From what I understand, most, if not all, of the movie takes place in Asgard.  I can't help but wonder if that's a bad introduction to the mythos of Thor, when considering most people really don't alot about Marvel's version of Thor.  I have had an idea brewing in my head for a while now, and I think its good enough to warrant posting it.  Let me know what you guys think about it! 
     Now, the opening should focus on Thor himself, doing battle with the forces of Ragnarok (Ymir, Ulik, etc.)  The focus, however, should be squarely on the Midgard Serpent.  Make it Godzilla-size, and have Thor in his old duds, from when Steve Dillon drew him.  Its echoes his classic costume, but its old-world and realistic enough to pass in a movie.  Maybe with the chain-mail;  I'm open-ended on that.  The point is, to show the audience the power of Thor, the brutality of combat, and the awesome forces at play here.  The battle goes on, Thor battles the Serpent.  He then screams in agony as he watches Odin die at the hands of Surtur, who himself perishes in the battle.  Ultimately, true to the source, Thor falls to the wolf, Fenrir.  I'm not sure that's how the original myth plays out, but if its wrong, please let me know.  It may not actually HAVE to be Ragnarok itself, given that scenes to follow will be, chronologically, taking place before these events.
     Now, Donald Blake wakes up in his apartment, sweat dripping down his face.  It was all a dream....wasn't it?  He gets up, goes to the bathroom, and checks himself in the mirror.  Its not looking good.  He's disheveled, and there are dark patches around his eyes.  Knowing sleep isn't coming again, he gets up, and starts his day. 
     Now, that's first few scenes in the movie.  What follows is much more rough, mind you, but I think you'll get the idea.  Donald is suffering from an extreme lack of sleep.  He's having these dreams, dreams so vivid that he's often awakened in the middle of them.  They're so real, they alsmost seem like...memories.  However, he IS a doctor, and its beginning to affect his work!  On a sidenote, I see great potential for a cameo by Dr. Strange, before the accident, as he's still a world-renowned surgeon at this point.  I'm not really sure what Blake's area of medicine is, but I'm sure there's a way to work good ol' Stephen in there!  However, the main point is to show how ordinary his life is (as ordinary as a doctor's life could get, anyway!).  Picture it almost like House or Grey's Anatomy in its hospital setting.  Its very real-world. 
     However, Blake himself can't sleep due to these terrible dreams.  Its beginning to affect his working life.  So, desperate, he sees a psychiatryst.  Maybe we could work Doc Sampson in there as the therapist, too.  I'll bet Ty Burrell would be up for it!  Moving on, the therapist recommends he take some time off.  Stubbornly, Blake refuses, so the review board forces him to take an extended leave.  I'm thinking he either falls asleep, from sheer exhaustion, during an operation, or he hallucinates during a consultation, forcing the staff to take action.  I'm also thinking Donald's having difficulties with Jane Foster, either because of a past relationship ending badly, or conflict due to the fact she's dating Dr. Strange (maybe change Stephen's last name to something less obvious, like Stranislov).  The point is to show the damage these nightmares, hallucinations, or whatever, are having on his life. 
     I'm also imagining a dream sequence almost verbatim from JMS's current series.  I can't remember the issue number, although I'm sure in was somewhere in the first 10 issues.  Anyway, the scene itself deals with Odin attempting to pay Thor a visit, and he walks in on Thor in a compromising position with 2 ladies.  It doesn't have to be explicit, it just establishes that Thor's strength and battle prowess has made him a little arrogant, to the point where he's turning into a d**k.  If anyone remembers this scene from the comic, you'll know that Thor comes off as a real jerk in this sequence, and really shows the conflict and tension between Thor and his father. 
     Now, since Donald has to go somewhere for this "vacation", he decides to go to the Netherlands, the place from whence his grandparents emmigrated from during WWII.  I'm thinking he might actually blindly throw a dart at the map, and a strange fear or tension comes through, as it almost seems like fate is driving him towards this land he has only a distant connection to.  Think of an eerie musical sound or score right here, to foreshadow WHY exactly, out of all the random places that dart could go, it lands there.  I'm also thinking there's room for a good joke here, as he was hoping for a tropical destination.  Conversly, he could spin a globe, his finger landing on that spot.  Either one works fine here. 
     Well, he boards the plane without much fanfare.  When he gets there, though, he decides to tour a museum to take in the culture.  He's startled to see mosaics and statues bearing an uncanny resemblance to the figures he's been dreaming about.  He comes across an old tome, which is written in Runic, and to his astonishment, he can undstand the writing.... From there, he stumbles upon a warhammer, bearing similar runes, and, per the instructions on the hammer, he grabs hold of it, and the fans all know what happens next.  He transforms, and he's the exact figure of his dreams, the mighty Thor! 
     From here, I imagine it can take on of several directions.  It could turn out that Odin, wanting to teach his arrogant son some humility, cast a spell on him, banishing him to Midgard in the guise of Donald Blake.  That loophole is what allowed him to survive Ragnarok.  It could also transpire that Loki has cast illusions to make Thor believe Blake is his true identity, in order to take his place at Odin's side.  Or, it could be a mixture of both.  I'm still working on it, okay?  Anyhoo, the point is to get  the audience to genuinely doubt Blake's sanity.  This really all COULD be in his head, but its so compelling, he can't just let it go.  Now, if you're wondering WHY Blake never realized he was dreaming about Norse gods, its because, like the rest of us, they don't address everyone by name during most of the dream sequences.  Like everyone else, they're so familiar with eachother names aren't used that often.  They're just people to Blake, even if theyr'e people he doesn't recognize.  However, he DOES realize that these people MUST have existed at some point, because they're too fully realized in his mind to be simple hallucinations.  Hence, he goes to the Netherlands to see if he can find some answers in his ancestral homeland.  The climax, I'm still fuzzy on.  It may be something simple like an oversized bar patron who bullies Blake at a pub in the Netherlands, vaguely resembling Ulik from the opening scene, and later Thor comes back to lay the smackdown on him.  Ulik could be superimposed over the big ruffian, but only for a moment, to imply that Blake may still be dreaming, or he could realize what lies beneath the person accosting him.  I'm not sure if he's convinced that his old allies and enemies are still out there, waiting for him to appear, even if few of them are aware of it.  I see a small subplot, where some local denizens treat him with mild disdain, discouraging his research at the museum, as some of them are enemies in disguise, and kept watch for a stranger looking for answers, just like Blake does when he's on vacation.
     Also, various Asgardians will appear in the modern scenes, dressed contemporarily, a la THE ULTIMATES (vol. 2), where Bryan Hitch placed Loki in the panel backgrounds, showing he was always manipulating reality to make Thor question his sanity.  I see the same thing happening here, where Volstagg, Hogun, etc. appear in the background, much like Tyler Durden did in Fight Club.  Now, I want to have vivid contrast between Thor's scenes, and Blake's.  The dream sequences should be slightly hazy, insinuating that this could all be in Blake's head.  By contrast, Blake's life is seen as very mundane.  I also think that his father, recently deceaced, was also a doctor, and Blake simply followed in his Dad's footsteps.  The therapist implies that these dreams are the result of Blake's desire to have a more exciting, meaningful life.  I'm also picturing that his relationship with Foster ended due to infidelity on Blake's side.  This ties back into Thor's arrogance and lack of humility in dealing with friends and family.  He's impulsive, and doesn't think things through, much like his nightime alter ego.  We should establish that the two are very much alike, even if they're played by different actors in the movie itself.   Regarding Thor's modern costume, I think it should mostly be the Ultimates version, as it will look much better in a modern backdrop, and it reflects the changes in Blake/Thor himself.  I'm really not sure how Mjolnir should appear, though.  Historically, warhammers were usually made of metal, not stone, since stone could easily by broken by medieval steel in Europe.  I'm thinking it should look like Perun's hammer, from the Ultimates 2:  metal, but without the axe-blade on one end, as that might not look right on camera.  But instead of steel, it has a bronze coloring, so its not so shiny on camera it distracts the audience from the actors themselves.
     I also want to lift another aspect of JMS' plot:  the Asgardians are all reincarnated in the guise of modern people, and they don't realize it.  Thor would have to unleash their true forms, just like in the comics.  Since Odin died during Ragnarok, the Odinforce passed to Thor, and it is his task to restore them all.  However, this could be saved for the sequel, as might need its own film to really establish the whole reincarnation concept.  Now that I think about it, it could be the premise for the entire second movie, if not the third as well.  The lead-in to the second movie could be that Thor is becoming proactive, like in Millar's run on the Ultimates, but everyone thinks he's nuts because no other Asgardians or even their enemies have reappeared since Thor came back on the scene. 
     Anyway, I know its all very rough, but remember, I'm not a screenwriter, but this just seemed like something that could really draw in a film audience, done properly. 
 
 
 
<---You can't really tell because the image is cropped, but Perun's hammer is much like Thor's 1610 version, except it has a hammer on BOTH ends, as opposed to the axe-blade on Ultimate Thor's.  To me, the blade's lower mass would make the hammer feel EXTREMELY unbalanced and difficult to wield effectively.  Then again, it is a big-ass WARHAMMER, so that could be semantics on my part, but I digress. 
1 Comments