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Xanthon gives us a peak at MINORITY REPORT's Shooting Draft!!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey folks, Harry here with a damn fine report on MINORITY REPORT's shooting script by way of XANTHOR. Now many would probably want to know Xanthor's identity (No Steven, I won't tell you) but all I can say is that he is not a pre-cog or a head agent. Rather he's a Spy Mole... on deep deep deep cover... From time to time he might sneak up and spill some beans, but overall.. he remains... as always... Coooool...
"Moriarty" here. Just wanted to say that I'm not sure this guy actually read a shooting draft of the script. Harry's been cut off from the world, so I don't blame him for not knowing what he's talking about. No, wait... yes, I do. He's supposed to know. I'm afraid this back thing has turned the poor boy's brain to oatmeal. Normally, he would have called me and asked me to check this story out since I'm one of the few people outside the production with intimate knowledge of the revised shooting script. The setup is right in the review below, but one detail sounds to me like this guy read the old pre-Scott Frank draft of the script, the one that's been bouncing around the Internet for a while. Then again, he got the page count right... 153 pages of insane SF goodness. I will say this... I adore MINORITY REPORT on the page, and I am dying to see the film. If Spielberg shot what was written, it could be a classic SF film on par with BLADE RUNNER, but without borrowing from it as so many films shamelessly do. It's sad, it's exciting, and it's a genuine head game. Here's XANTHOR with a decent look at the film's basic premise...
Minority Report takes place in and around the D.C. area. Tom Cruise plays Jon Anderton, an ex-cop turned head agent of Pre-Crime. Pre-Crime is an organization that has been running in D.C. for 6 years, and it's been 6 years since a single murder has occurred.
The supreme court is about to vote on an amendment that would make Pre-Crime a legal form of making arrests throughout the whole country. Pre-Crime uses a tribunal of 3 psychics who predict murders... however as far as Anderton understands these psychics are not fully human... they are just future-seeing-beings who are not conscious, plugged into a computer to display their thoughts. These beings can see crimes anywhere from 8 minutes to several weeks in advanced and up to 400 miles away.
The problem with murders is that they are generally crimes of passion and thus can only be seen a short period of time in advanced... that's how the drama is created in this film... nothing makes drama like a countdown.
Anyway, why are they able to see murder but not other crimes? Well... murder is such a tragic event that it sends out waves through the space-time continuum... yes.. that's right... ok... I buy it... lets move on.
So after the initial red-ball alarm that gives us all this back story and what-not we establish that Pre-Crime is being looked over by a man who will advise the Supreme Court about Pre-Crime... I cannot remember his name but he becomes the primary man chasing after Cruise.
Let me just say here that this script does kick ass but it really really really is a lot like Mission: Impossible (the first one). It sort of is Mission: Impossible plot meets fugitive, meets blade runner, meets Matrix.
Ok... back to story. After the first redball, where they tear the roof off a building and arrest a man for almost killing his wife who was sleeping with someone else, there is another red ball... they go through all the procedure in figuring out all the info about the crime (the psychics... or pre-cogs as they're called, only get bits and pieces in a sort of jumbled collage) and golly gee it comes up as Jon Anderton...
Cruise see's his own name on the red-ball alarm and quickly sneaks out of the Pre-Crime headquarters (which incase ya wanna know is the Ronald Reagan building in D.C.) before anyone notices him. So... this becomes a very public chase. Can you see the shock... one of pre-crimes finest is going to kill someone? So now... Cruise is conflicted... if he gets caught, Pre-Crime will pass nationally which is what he wants... but if he commits the crime... or if he doesn't Pre-Crime won't pass nationally.
Cruise tracks down the maker of the Pre-Cog system and discovers that not all of the pre-cogs always agree... that sometimes one will disagree and that's called a minority report. Oh yeah... the one that always disagrees is the smarter of ! the three (i.e. the girl). So she tells him if he goes back to the headquarters he can find his minority report and prove his innocence. The problem with this, is that if they don't always agree than pre-crime is not a legal form of arrest and so it's his inner struggle again, but he does decide to go back and find the minority report.
I'm in about 30 or 40 pages of a 153 page script now... and I won't ruin anymore except one thing... Anderton does not have a Minority Report.
This is an amazing script, and after reading it I am unbelievably psyched to see it. I really rushed through things here and there is alot more going on ofcoarse, such as Cruises son that went missing years ago right before Pre-Crime and he's divorced... and blah blah blah... but this is an amazing script that will without a doubt be one of the better films of it's year (current release is June 2002).
Enjoy and maybe I'll give some more away later
-Xanthor
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This film has a very strong possibility of being supremely cool.
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Fugiive is one of my fav films, and there's something about a guy on the run trying to prove his innocence that I think is really cool. Plus....first!
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... and was offered teh evil turn... he rejected it, because he didn't want to be another evil latino. But, he said the movie is going to rock.
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Not only that, but even what he revealed of the plot was much of a spoiler, since I could barely comprehend the reviewer's grammar. BOY, that Spielberg!
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...for this story is a fantastic short story by the late Phillip K. Dick. I remember reading this a couple of years ago when the project was still rumored to be in line for production and thinking it would make one hell of a movie. It sounds like they're staying pretty faithful to the origional story (much the same way "Screamers" did with the P.K. Dick short it was based on) so I have a lot of expectations for this movie. Let's hope it works out.
Cheers,
??Pseudo??
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yada yada yada shooting script. i read a fairly recent version a little while back that i got from a friend and it SUCKED! and i'm sure spielberg will keep the style of it just as plain, dull, recycled, and SAFE as it is in the script. the premise is sorta interesting, but the execution (at least in the script) is absolutely lame.
as for mr. spielberg, i'm sure no one would disagree that he needs to take a chance or two. talk about whores. i'm sorry, you don't have enough money yet? -
So A.I. wasnt taking a risk? Remember, no one liked it. It was, after all, one of the most ambitious movies of the past several years...
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I think it was the original script...before the other writters jumped in. In that script, Cruise's character DOES have a minority report...which I thought was a major plot point...if he doesn't have one then....how does he solve his mystery? that doesn't make sense...how much could they have changed the main plot? The orginial was a real fun read, I hope they still keep some of the stuff in there, it would be cool. (The only reason I'm not a skeptic of the movie is because I read the script, the hype on this sight didn't at all get me excited...)
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spielberg took a risk in making AI? gimme a break... just because a lot of people didn't like it doesn't mean he was taking a risk.
he should try a project that doesn't pander to what he thinks people want to see... but of course he seems to be wrapped up in being a mogul and all.
he was off the artistic rolecall a while ago i suppose. -
The original screenwriter on this, Jon Cohen, said that he basically threw out everything except for the premise. I take it, then, that the rewriters have gone back and put all the original stuff back in? I really wanted to see Cohen's take - I'm a big fan of his novels and on top of that, I grew up in the town where he lives (population: 5,000). Oh well.
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Must we badmouth something we haven't seen?
Just for the simple reason that Steven Speilberg is directing?
I'm looking forward to this movie.
I'm a big fan of Phillip K. Dick, who wrote the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep- which the movie Blade Runner was based on. This man wrote some very smart and intriguing stories and I always thought that Minority Report was one of his best.
But that's just me. -
that this film begs for. Sure, he did Duel and Jaws, but those were both more about suspense, where this story is more about action, both in mind and body. I loved the short story by pkd, but then again, will this movie live up to its inspiration? Remember, his stories were the inspirations for such films as Screamers, Total Recall, and Blade Runner. What do all these films have in common? They all should have been much better, given the source material. I'm also not sure what this guy means by it reminded him a lot of "Mission: Impossible," other than the fact that both stories have mixed allegiances, and both films star Tom Cruise. Oh well..as always, here's expecting the worst, while quietly hoping for the best.
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Sep 15, 2001 2:03:41 PM CDT
Spielberg still hasn't proved he can direct action? What do you
by pumpkinsboy
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Perhaps already out of time but:
A.I -Minus:1.It was defently to long,perhaps that was the reason some people left before ending.
2.The story remained
me to the mid 80's movie where
also a robo-Child had the lead...
the name of the movie I ve forgotten ..sorry.And the end
where the kid where saved..
a bit to (the end) -
..the kid was saved...
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S t E v E n S p I e L b E r G.
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Sep 15, 2001 6:19:47 PM CDT
"In this lame ass world does the Supreme Court write law now?"
by docbosch
In our world they do! It's called setting precident. The cops of the time have probably been making arrests based on Pre-Crimes, and somebody files suit, and now the Supreme Court has to vote if it's contitutional or not. It's been done before. (see, Roe v. Wade)
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... the Supreme Court DOES have advisors.
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vanisher-
i didn't see anyone saying it sucked.....i stated that spielberg didn't take any risks in making it. and just because someone writes negative words about a director's work that makes them a "no talent hack?"
excuse me? i agree that some people go overboard critizing something that hasn't even come out, but regardless, your arguement doesn't make any sense. only other well-established, "talented" artists are able to critize other work?!?
i'm sorry, but spielberg's making the movie for me (as an audience member), not for himself. and as an audience member it is important that i express my opinion (praise or criticism) so as to give feedback to the artist or other audience members.
that fact has absolutely no bearing on my talent as a filmmaker. -
...if Anderton doesn't have a 'minority report', you might want to go read the original Dick story before you make asses of yourselves further. Bitching about something which does in fact make sense, when ten minutes in a bookstore would have cleared things up, just makes you look like an idiot.
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Yeah, of course not. After all he has ONLY made Jaws, Indy movies, two JP movies and Saving Private Ryan, among others. Those films have some of the best action sequences ever committed to screen and Spielberg is one of the best action directors ever. Period.
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I live in Norway, so I still haven't seen A.I yet, but the reviews in Europe have been mostly spectacular. It is also regarded by everyone as the biggest risk in years, and Schindlers List, Empire of the Sun and The Colour Purple were anything but safe. I study film, and even in theoretical film studies, Spielberg is held in ever higher regard. For some reason AICN-readers seem to criticise him, which is strange. He is not only the director taking the biggest risk and making the most innovations in mainstream cinema (I repeat, mainstream, so there's no confusion), but he is also the most naturally gifted filmmaker of his generation. Respect is due, and many of the movies you are all getting excited about are made in his image. So there...
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anyone familiar with the 2000AD series and in particular the Judge Dredd comics (not the shitty film) may draw some parallels; law enforcers with total power; future set, and even a psychic named Anderson that predicts crimes before they happen. Still sounds pretty good, though (the only downside being that the diminutive arse-bandit scientologist is in the lead)
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I live in the UK, and went to the advanced preview of AI the weekend just gone. It was amazing, I really believed Spielberg couldn't cut it anymore after the debacle that was Private Ryan, I was wrong. Osment is a wonder to behold, and Law put in some good support. I listened to you guys and I thought the ending would suck and the film would drag, nein and nein. This movie has instilled in me a new belief in spielberg and I think Minority Report will be another great movie, lame sci fi or not. If it can be one third as good as all the movies it conjures up ie Bladerunner, M:I, then it will be a v. good movie indeed. Spielberg knows how to direct action aswell: Duel? Jaws? Private Ryan?
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One GREAT thing from "A.I." was "The Beast." Online game doen for Spielberg by a team at Microsoft. Never underestimate MS.... *****
Well, is this team "The Hive" doing another game for "Minority Report" ? Any little spies in the far Northwest ??? ****
When's it coming out ? Is there a CD component ? Sean Stewart's in there, too. Wrote "Galveston."
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