Jets, tanks, boats — throw it all in!
A writer/producer hired me to write a treatment on an idea of his, a Three Kings-type story set in Afghanistan where a group of marines find $10 million in Al-Qaeda drug money and decide to keep it. I was about halfway finished with the treatment when the producer called me one night, around 3AM.
Producer: I spent the whole day playing this Battlefield game—have you played it?
Me: No.
Producer: It’s a military shooter with all kinds of stuff, jets, helicopters, tanks—it’s got everything and it’s fucking tense!
Me: It’s 3 AM.
Producer: We need that in the story.
Me: We need a game?
Producer: Jets, tanks, boats — throw it all in. An all out war. We can get the studios interested in this if it’s got huge action set pieces.
Me: You wanted it to be character-driven, low key—
Producer: Let’s try it this way. Start from scratch, these guys are part of a huge offensive against Al-Qaeda.
Me: Uh…
Producer: And the Russians are involved. Maybe the Saudis. They’re bankrolling the Afghans with hardware and tech.
Me: Let me think about it. I’ll call you tomorrow.
Producer: And try that game. It’s fucking tense.
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