Merrick here...


I'm usually not 100% comfortable posting about auctions on ebay; doing so gives someone's item-for-sale a ton of immediate exposure & opens up all kinds of other considerations. However, in this instance, I thought a particular auction was worthy of note.

Anyone whose read MY SCRIPT REVIEW of the impending ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake knows what I fan I am of early John Carpenter, with an emphasis on Snake Plissken's first adventure.

I waited and waited for the inevitable sequel, wondering what form it would take & if "the edge" of the first film would still be present. The arrival of ESCAPE FROM L.A. was bittersweet (for me, at least). It felt a little heartless...a bit lackluster. I did enjoy some of its social skewering. I liked the revamped theme song. And Russell as Plissken...can't be matched. But the movie never grabbed me, and always felt like it was pushing too hard to get too little back.

Interestingly, Carpenter's script for the film was not the first written sequel for ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. A write named Coleman Luck (THE EQUALIZER) was, at one point, commissioned to draft an earlier version of ESCAPE FROM L.A. - when the sequel was at DEG (De Laurentiis Entertainment Group). DEG bellied up. That version of the sequel never got made and was subsequently re-scripted by Carpenter when the project was resuscitated.

If you are looking for a rare opportunity to own a piece of movie memorabilia, then, this is it. In late 1986 John Carpenter approached a Hollywood writer named Coleman Luck about the possibility of writing the sequel to his hit movie "Escape From New York" to be called "Escape From LA." At the time, Luck was a writer/producer on the hit CBS television series "The Equalizer." Contrary to the Carpenter mythology, he did not bring any kind of story to Luck, only the basic concept that LA had become a "prison city" of sorts as in his previous film and Snake Plissken had to go in to bring someone out. That was it. The first draft was written and turned in very early in 1987. Almost the same week it was finished the studio involved, DEG, went bankrupt. Instantly, all work stopped. No meetings were held. No notes were given on the script. No other drafts were done. The project went into limbo for close to a decade. Finally, Carpenter got control of it again and made the film that he did. For years, fans and critics have heard of "the Coleman Luck" version of "Escape From LA" and wanted to see it. Until now it has not been read by anyone other than Carpenter, Russell and a very few others. The copy that I am selling is signed by the writer and is the only one I know of in existence. How do I know all of this is true and the script is authentic? I am Coleman Luck and this is my only copy.

...says THIS AUCTION ON EBAY, where (apparently) writer Coleman Luck is selling his "only copy" of the ESCAPE FROM L.A. sequel he wrote for Carpenter & DEG back in 1986.

I've never read Luck's script, thus I have no sense of its quality or content beyond "Snake goes into a screwed-up L.A. to rescue ____". I'll admit to being a tad disappointed that the "let's send Snake into the same situation again" mentality reached so far back...I think the character and his shtick can support far more versatility. Although, there's a group of fans who believe that EFLA is more of a remake of ESCAPE FROM NY than a sequel...so I guess it makes sense (begrudgingly) if viewed from that perspective.

So, there's an interesting...and extremely rare...bit of Geek history for you to ponder. I'd LOVE to get a look at that script, although my luck winning things on ebay is staggeringly, incomprehensibly bad. If anyone reading this ends up winning the item, DROP ME A LINE and perhaps we can coordinate coverage?

Thanks to Evan for pointing me towards the auction. Appreciated.