A Day to Die
Last night, I started watching the movie, A Day to Die, starring Bruce Willis. After ten minutes, I stopped. They loaded this terrible film with plot holes, character flaws, physics mistakes, improper media (public) reactions, and a lack of common sense.
The experience made me want to ask the screenwriter, “Why are you trying to tell this awful story? Aren’t there enough ‘mega cop goes rogue’ stories? Did you show the script to a friend to get their honest reaction? Have you ever spoken to a police officer to understand their job? The police do not issue missile launchers! So what the heck went through the movie executive’s minds? Films still cost money? Right?” I wished I had not wasted those ten minutes.
Yet, there is another perspective. I am a small-time author who does not have a team of advisors. Who selects my book and blog topics? Only me. How do is select a topic? I write stories and blogs of a type that I would like to read.
Therefore, it is logical that the screenwriter of A Day to Die enjoyed unrealistic police movies. However, I think there is more to it. A talented writer will step back and ask themselves, “Is this a good story? Is there some aspect to hook a reader or viewer?” My guess is that many people messed with a good script, resulting in terrible “group results.”
Have I ever made a writing mistake this big? Well… Sort of. For 30 years, I have been thinking about a story. When I started my writing adventure, I planned to make this my fourth book. Actually, I envisioned a big-time movie. However, this project never got off the ground.
The main character (modeled around a “spirited” version of myself) gets rich by exploiting the banking system. Readers would consider this character to be arrogant and selfish. To put it into simple terms, his only positive aspect was intelligence. However, for 30 years, I did not figure this out. Then, one day, I thought about writing priorities and making this story into a book. As I envisioned the entire plot, I realized readers would not like this story. What’s worse is that I would not want to read a book of this type. Bummer!
Why did I think positively about this story for so long? From my perspective, a bold character overcame all odds by making intelligent decisions. So… He uses his mind to get rich, and this mental edge allows him to act like a jerk. Fortunately, I saw the issue before wasting a lot of time.
It is a shame that so many people put effort into A Day to Die. There are so many fantastic stories that they could have worked on. What an excellent non-fiction story to make into a blockbuster movie? Six WWII German prisoners escaped from American prisons. Easy money.
It is super important to take a step back and reevaluate our path. Sometimes we have to make course corrections, firm decisions, or stay the course. Unfortunately, everybody involved in A Day to Die failed to take this critical step. Yet… I read a few positive reviews about this film. Hmm. What were the fans thinking? Perhaps the police secretly issue rocket launchers. But that is a topic for a future blog.
You’re the best -Bill
March 30, 2022
The experience made me want to ask the screenwriter, “Why are you trying to tell this awful story? Aren’t there enough ‘mega cop goes rogue’ stories? Did you show the script to a friend to get their honest reaction? Have you ever spoken to a police officer to understand their job? The police do not issue missile launchers! So what the heck went through the movie executive’s minds? Films still cost money? Right?” I wished I had not wasted those ten minutes.
Yet, there is another perspective. I am a small-time author who does not have a team of advisors. Who selects my book and blog topics? Only me. How do is select a topic? I write stories and blogs of a type that I would like to read.
Therefore, it is logical that the screenwriter of A Day to Die enjoyed unrealistic police movies. However, I think there is more to it. A talented writer will step back and ask themselves, “Is this a good story? Is there some aspect to hook a reader or viewer?” My guess is that many people messed with a good script, resulting in terrible “group results.”
Have I ever made a writing mistake this big? Well… Sort of. For 30 years, I have been thinking about a story. When I started my writing adventure, I planned to make this my fourth book. Actually, I envisioned a big-time movie. However, this project never got off the ground.
The main character (modeled around a “spirited” version of myself) gets rich by exploiting the banking system. Readers would consider this character to be arrogant and selfish. To put it into simple terms, his only positive aspect was intelligence. However, for 30 years, I did not figure this out. Then, one day, I thought about writing priorities and making this story into a book. As I envisioned the entire plot, I realized readers would not like this story. What’s worse is that I would not want to read a book of this type. Bummer!
Why did I think positively about this story for so long? From my perspective, a bold character overcame all odds by making intelligent decisions. So… He uses his mind to get rich, and this mental edge allows him to act like a jerk. Fortunately, I saw the issue before wasting a lot of time.
It is a shame that so many people put effort into A Day to Die. There are so many fantastic stories that they could have worked on. What an excellent non-fiction story to make into a blockbuster movie? Six WWII German prisoners escaped from American prisons. Easy money.
It is super important to take a step back and reevaluate our path. Sometimes we have to make course corrections, firm decisions, or stay the course. Unfortunately, everybody involved in A Day to Die failed to take this critical step. Yet… I read a few positive reviews about this film. Hmm. What were the fans thinking? Perhaps the police secretly issue rocket launchers. But that is a topic for a future blog.
You’re the best -Bill
March 30, 2022
