I frequent other forums as0 'Snake Plissken' so to me this is an untouchable. Can you really see anyone else as Snake other than Kurt? Although could have been worse It could have been Ben Affleck as Snake...

Terrible, horrible, shocking news. Considering Snake Plissken is pretty obviously a huge inspiration to my favourite character in anything ever (Take a guess who), a remake could potentially ruin the character forever.

Kinda like in the same way that I can't ever watch Reservoir Dogs properly again without thinking that Mr. Orange would have been so much better with James Woods playing him.

Well, it looks dead and buried as the Director looks set to do Gears Of War now.

But I came across a script for the new movie on AICN. SO I thought we would post it here:

HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD!!!




EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THIS MAY CHANGE BEFORE FILMING, SOME OF IT MAY NOT BE CHANGED!!!




TURN BACK NOW TO REMAIN VIRGINAL ABOUT THE EFNY REMAKE!!!





Okay, here we go


Who wrote the new EFNY?

Ken Nolan. BLACK HAWK DOWN.



How similar is it to the original film?

Extremely.

Structurally, thematically, and in many details - this is nearly identical to Carpenters 1981 movie. Much original material has been broadened and enhanced (more on this below). Script is notable not for whats missing, but for what has been retained (and expanded). Many sequences are identical to original film including the same dialogue.


When's it set?

Around / after 2024. A title card reads "NOW". Gotta love it.

I wish SF films would stop attaching a firm "time". Doing so means they'll automatically "expire", and invites annoying scrutiny ("Hey, 2001 has come and gone & the movie was wrong about a lot of things, wasn't it?!?")




What characters appear in this new version?

Most of the characters in the original are present serving the same functions. Hauk, Rheme, The Young Doctor who injects the exploding capsules into Snakes neck, The President of the United States, The Duke of New York & his sidekick Romero are all there. Other familiar subordinates & archetypes also appear.



Who didn't get ported over from the original film?

There is no Cabbie character in this version. His function has been assumed by Squirrel. Squirrel is (more or less) an assistant to Brain & feels like a John Leguizamo role. Squirrel drives around a Brinks truck, which crushes people real good.

Maggie (Adrienne Barbeaus role), Brains squeeze. No counterpart.

The Chock Full O Nuts Girl. Missing, no counterpart for the character or her sequence.

Brain is not already known to Snake in this version. Their interactions are quite similar, though.

There are probably others, but these spring to mind immediately.


Merrick, you say some of the original sequences have been embiggened. Give us some examples, you asshole!

The hijacking of Air Force One is now presented in greater detail; how its captors got on board & whatnot. The seizure of the plane is fully dramatized via a fevered firefight between the hijackers & Secret Service, explosive decompression of the plane, etc.

The actual CRASH of Air Force One is shown much more fully & spectacularly. We see many shots of NYC denizens looking skyward as the disabled plane powers between the city's skyscrapers, evoking 9/11. Air Force Ones final demise is actually seen on-screen this time (it was confined to a computer simulation in the original) and recalls the object lesson sequence in DIE HARD 2.

Many scenes with the Crazies (whose presentation suggests FIREFLYs Reavers - i.e. savagely disturbed, deranged, and cannibalistic) have been boosted significantly. Scenes describe HUNDREDS of them on-screen at once. Fighting, chasing, dying, etc. The Crazies are a source of constant irritation and jeopardy, and also serve as generic cannon fodder throughout.


You say ideas have been expanded, elements added. Tell me more!

** The protracted opening narration of the film takes us through the immediate future history of the United States visualized via documentary footage, news snippets, and snapshots . We see the wall being built, initially to keep out rising sea levels. Ultimately, nation-wide discord (and NYC becoming increasingly unlivable) results in the wall being wrapped around Manhattan as part of a social experiment / new approach to criminal justice. Manhattan Island Supermax is born.

** We see numerous FLASHBACKS of Snake Plissken running Black Ops overseas. These recur throughout much of the movie. They tie in to some new twists and turns involving the President, but I think Plisskens character is undercut by having elements of his background / the seeds for his contempt over explained. Mysterysimplicityis a potent device for storytelling and character. The overall essence of Plissken remains intact, but feels a touch diluted. Not knowing him was a bit more fun, more pure, and a lot more dangerous.

**The Duke of New York broadcasts Snakes gladiatorial match to a mortified outside world during primetime.

**One sequence gives us mass carnage of prisoners; incredible casualties. Hundreds and hundreds are slaughtered before our eyes, unapologetically.

** Ever wonder what it would look like if well-outfitted Government Forces clashed with thousands of armed inmates on the streets of NYC?

By the way, Plissken is no longer a warrior who surived combat in Russia / Soviet Union. Hes now served time in the Middle East (Afghanistan). The Middle East, Americas involvement there, and how what were doing there affects our place in the world more or less drives this films political commentary. I dont know that I like this: I think EFNYs overall relevance comes from its societal perspective - which certainly includes, but doesn't necessarily emphasize - political relevance.



Merrick, what are your favorite NEW elements?

** Snake pausing for a quiet moment to appreciate the tragedy of New Yorks downfall.

** A sequence (intercut during a lengthy opening narration) showing the arrival of a prisoner called Clarence Dukemajian. He arrives with a barge load of convicts, pauses to survey the NYC skyline before him. All the other inmates around him see struggle and uncertainty. Clarence seesopportunity. When we see him again later, hes The Duke of New York.

** Theres much more external involvement in Snakes rescue operation this time: including lethal (and spectacular) air support!!!.



Whats are the biggest new elements in the film?

**LOTS of detailed military stuff; many kinds of planes put to various uses & a great deal of tech. All help to ground the film in a sense of reality.

** There are many new action sequences (including a rather large road chase that feels like an homage to THE ROAD WARRIOR).

** More substantively: theres a government conspiracy injected into the second half of the film (involving whether or not the President should even be rescued at all). It dramatically changes our perception of the story, and brings a bit more substance, angst, and edge to Plisskens begrudging cooperation. Part of this involves a bad-ass Navy SEAL team thats inserted when The Powers That Be feel Plissken is taking too long to bring out the President.


Merrick, is there anything about this script you didnt like?

The end is too over-the-top, involving a big, effects driven set piece that comes from out of nowhere, starts in an almost comical way, and doesnt feel entirely congruous with the tone of the film up to that point. A hint: imagine an extremely similar sequence to the scene in which Snakes being pulled up the wall at the end of Carpenter's filmthen mix it with the watery finale of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. Its kinda weird.

The AMERICAN BANDSTAND theme is (disappointingly but understandably) replaced here. A more iconic substitute should be found. What's there is a little silly.

"I heard you were dead", one of my favorite conceits from the original film, is absent. Although, it's replaced with a recurring line that's almost as amusing.







Believe it or not, Im leaving OUT many, many detailsand havent even scraped the surface of the notes I took when reading the script. But, I think all of this gives you a really good sense of what this new ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is all about. Where its coming from, and how it thinks.

What impresses me most here is Nolans almost slavish devotion to Carpenters original material. Its not a begrudging devotion, either. Its respect.

In fact, teeny, tiny details from the original were not only detected, but augmented here. For example, while Plissken is being processed in the opening of the 1981 version, theres a background announcement offering inmates the option to "terminate" instead of getting shipped to Manhattan. This nuance actually becomes a set piece in the new script. It's an "immolation chamber"!

There's little here that undercuts anything the original film was trying to accomplish. The screenplay's greatest missteps are already enumerated above:

1) The finale feels way out of place with the film around it. It's a classic case of a storyline consistently ratcheting up its jeopardy to the point where the writer has no choice but to become unhinged. But, it's excessive & seems a little disingenuous in its tone.

2) Seeding EFNY with constant references to America's Middle East activities / policies certainly brings the film a sense of relevance...but it makes it too relevant, too immediate. Approaching this element more allegorically (and less literally) would smooth things out a bit, I think.

3) Grounding Snake's past / America's (future) crises in the Middle East strips EFNY (and the Plissken character) of a substantial part of their mythology. Middle Eastern conflicts are real, and happening now, and might still be going on when the film's date rolls around. There's nothing mythological about a real scenario that's already happening. Resetting the flashbacks / war references to a more esoteric, abstract locale (a la the original film's references to Leningrad and Siberia) might imbue the rewrite with a sense of breadth and myth that it's missing.

So, there you have it. The possibility of hope for a project that many (including myself) had already set out to roundly condemn. Snake & Co. still face many pitfalls on their way back to the screen, not the least of which are pesky little considerations like the choice of director. Find someone too slick, for example, and the script's grit and raw vitality will be severely undercut. Find someone too tepid, for example, and its visceral abandon will be both meaningless and ineffective. That's tricky as hell.

Some damn fool announcement may come down soon that makes me hate this project all over again. For the moment, however...if this remake HAS TO HAPPEN...it feels like The Snake abides. And not only does he abide, he's kicking a little ass, too.

Escape from NY is a classic, it's actually worth tracking down MiB, the sequel however...