Donna and I enjoyed the new summer blockbuster movie Super 8 yesterday with our good friends Bud and Yo Plake. The movie is the brainchild of director J.J. Abrams, known for his smash hit television series Lost and last years reboot of the Star Trek series. We loved it for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the obvious homage it pays to Abrams' childhood hero Steven Spielberg. The movie is set in the late 1970's so it immediately has a similar look to movies in Spielberg's early career that put him on the map: Films like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and of course ET. The main characters in the new movie are kids - once again bringing to mind movies like ET and The Goonies (another movie that was produced by Spielberg early in his career). Then there's the fact that the movie is about an alien trying to get back home - uh, yeah - sounds familiar right? I think it's supposed to because again - this is really a tribute film - A film to honor the genius who inspired, not only J.J. Abrams, but an entire generation of young film makers. And it's a worthy effort - The movie smacks of Spielberg right down to the John Williams-esque soundtrack, the secret military handling of the extra terrestrials and the inclusion of tense family drama woven within an effects-laden sci-fi flick!
It got me thinking of one of my life-long fantasies - I would love to produce a major motion picture - One with a Hollywood budget, cast and crew. Before you write me off as a goofball, studio mongol wanna-be, hear me out! My film would be the story of one of my true heros - Dave Roever. I believe the Dave Roever story is as powerful as any Hollywood has ever told and could be made into an Oscar winning film. It's got all the elements required for an Academy award winner: It's a war story, a love story, a story of redemption - It's got good guys and bad guys and most of all it has moral lessons this world desperately needs to be reminded of! I'm telling you, it could be a blockbuster in the tradition of Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List! All I need is a few million dollars and Steven Spielberg to agree to direct it. Or maybe J.J. Abrams!
