Talk about strange coincidences, after ignoring this thread for months you can imagine my surprise to come across an actual reply. I’ll try to respond below to each of your comments. For openers, I think the idea of “seeing” an invisible person on-screen is a contradiction in terms, as well as, a double edge-sword. Yes, it was cool to see KB in steam and water but it after the first time it raised questions about how come we were seeing this so much? In the old days, they used to show the invisible man brushing alongside plants & curtains, bumping into trash cans & chairs so viewers could follow his movements. Yet, this made him seem inordinately clumsy. So the question is how often should we expect to see someone whose supposed to be invisible? Clearly, (no pun intended) Paul Verhoven (and to some extent John Carpenter before him) have raised the bar substantially for films dealing with invisibility. Consequently, audiences today seem far less tolerant of simple voice overs, point of view shots, and objects obviously dangling on strings.
I beg to differ with you on the script being the second biggest obstacle to a HW film. I think it’s the NUMBER 1 OBSTACLE! Writing in Hollywood is very poor to put it mildly. Remember Elektra, Aeon Flux, and Catwoman? They all failed miserably at the box office despite being based on popular characters and starring stunning leading ladies. The reason in each case was largely because of a dreadful script. On the other hand, special effects for all intents and purposes have been virtually perfected. You and I already agree that Thandie Newton is an actress more than capable of portraying the HW. I also feel that the challenge to take this series/genre to a whole new level is enough to attract a good director. I’m not sure however, that Paul Verhoven wants the job. I recall reading an interview of his after HM came out in which he didn’t rule out doing a sequel but didn’t seem overly excited about the prospect either. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Claudio Faeh get the nod. Despite having no budget to speak of and a less than stellar cast to work with, I thought he did an admirable job with HM2. Jonathan Demme is a well regarded director in Hollywood and has worked with Thandie Newton before. They have a mutual admiration society for one another, so if you get one, to sign on to the film, you won’t have much trouble getting the other. Again however, what’s needed is a script worthy enough to encourage the Sony Corporation to ante up the appropriate funds for the right special effects.
Should the HW be a heroine or a villainess? In HM and HM2, the invisible men were villains. So, I think she should be the heroine of this story. She should find herself mixed up in murder and conspiracy so that the police want her for questioning (but don’t know she’s invisible) and the conspirators want her because they mistakenly believe she knows about their plans (they not only know she's invisible but want her formula too). I don’t think the HW should be totally altruistic however. Invisibility should bring out some of the worst in her because she’s desperate, struggling for survival, and no longer accountable to anyone. Despite her previous amicable nature, she shouldn’t hesitate to steal money, clothes, or a car and KO anyone who attempts to get in the way as she tries to evade the conspirators pursuing her. At the same time, she may engage in some mischief as a favor to someone who does help her. Enabling this good samaritan to get even with some jerk and providing an opportunity to inject some comic relief.
Should the HW become invisible due to an experiment or by accident? Instead of either/or why not BOTH? Let’s say she’s working on a drug that would make our troops imperceptible to Infrared & Thermal Imaging systems since more countries are aquiring this technology and subsequently lessening our advantage at night or in low-light conditions. She injects her latest formula into a guinea pig and finally achieves success. The animal can’t be seen at all through her themal imaging camera yet can be seen easily with the naked eye and otherwise appears to be fine. The guinea pig briefly gets loose and (for the sake of discussion) runs under an ultraviolet or some other kind of special light. She catches it but seconds later that part of the guinea pig struck directly by the light fades away while the remainder of it is still visible. Now she knows her drug works as originally intended but has an interesting side effect--under the right conditions it can make its user invisible. At first, she wonders what to do with it because if she tells her employer they can legally seize control of her work and she’ll never know or have any input as to how it’s used. She also hasn’t a clue what to use it for herself. She asks a girl friend and a co-worker what they would do if they became invisible but doesn’t care much for their responses. She gets an unexpected answer when she finds herself in danger and the only way to stay alive long enough to learn why is to make herself invisible.
If HW becomes a villainess how do you make this movie unique? I don’t believe you can make it unique, if she’s the “villainess.” In the previous films, we saw men become invisible, go insane, and kill a bunch of people before meeting their demise. This is exactly what happened in the Claude Rains film back in 1933. So if HW does likewise, we’re not really treading any new ground, just changing the gender of the killer. As for other steps that can be taken to make the film more unique, how about the following:
(1) Eliminate madness and death (via cancers) as side effects. Since we’d be starting fresh with a new formula and want to break from the previous films we can give these tired old side effects a much needed rest.
(2) Eliminate the government as villains. Rogue government agents have been overused in movies and television to the point of becoming downright boring. In addition, they are very unrealistic given the Congressional oversight federal agencies face and the propensity of leaks to the press eager to print anything concerning illicit or illegal government activities.
(3) Eliminate pseudo-invulnerability! In HM, Sebastian Caine was hit over the head with a crowbar, electrocuted, burned, and the victim of an explosion. Yet, he was still spry enough to chase down Elisabeth Shue in that elevator shaft. I won’t go into the escape from the freezer or using duct tape to close a wound. In HM2, Griffin was hit by a car and knocked through a plate glass window. He was also thrown out of a three-story window and earlier stepped on broken glass with his bare foot without ever uttering a word in pain or bothering to take the time to stop his foot from bleeding. I’m sorry but invisibility does not equal invulnerabililty, in fact, the opposite is more likely. If you’re wounded/injured while invisible how would you get treated? Ignoring this stuff makes it very convenient for the scriptwriter but is otherwise silly, stupid, and insults the intelligence of the audience. It’s a major reason why so many people disliked these films and something HW should make do without.
(4) As I mentioned earlier, make the HW imperceptible to thermal imaging and infrared systems. This would set HW apart from the earlier films and move the story down a somewhat different path. The first two HM films skirted around this technology to the point where it played a very minimal role in each story anyway.
(5) Have the HW live at the end but somehow fake her death & leave town. This way the police and any surviving conspirators who avoid jail would no longer be looking for her. As a result, she’d be free to go someplace where she might learn to live with her condition and/or work to find a way back to normal.
How to capitalize on her sex appeal without making the plot too ridiculous and campy? I think there are a number of ways to do this well within the context of the story:
(1) Transformation Scene. Remember what I said earlier about part of the process involving direct exposure to ultraviolet (or whatever) light. This means to maximize exposure and become invisible ASAP the heroine would have to discard all of her clothing. So we’d get a brief glimpse of her nude before she faded away.
(2) Disrobing Scenes. After she becomes invisible, include at least a couple of scenes where she’s disrobing. One should be because her pursuers were tipped off to her location and are attempting to close in on her. On another occasion she may wear something like an athletic t-shirt belonging to the hero, it would give him a chance to see where she is and the viewers would be reminded of her figure. If danger arrives unexpectedly she could rip it off in a second or two and be safe.
(3) FOG! After some successful spying, the HW leaves a building used by the conspirators. She steps outside and is caught offguard by a dense fog which provides a nice outline of her figure. She’s soon spotted either by a couple of henchmen or some curious pedestrians. They chase her down the street and she ducks inside some public place just before she’s caught.
(4) Dialogue. When questioned about invisibility, the HW can confide that she’s cold because she’s naked and how that influences her behavior. Perhaps towards the end, the HW may taunt a couple of henchmen by telling them she’s nude as a sort of distraction before taking them out.
(5) Learn from the past. We could update some things used previously in the old Universal films, like a bathtub scene in a relaxed moment at the hero’s place in which the HW lathers her hands and a leg. Or she might get out of bed early in the morning and wrap a bedsheet around herself. Then again, she might place her hand in a fish tank and wet her face to identify herself to a confidant or the hero.
I think that covers all of your comments. At a minimum, this should give you some thoughts to chew on till the next time I pass this way.
reply
share