|
'The Bourne Gemini': an idea for another blockbuster
(October 19, 2009) -- A couple of months ago I read a short interview with actor Matt Damon either in "TV Guide" or "Entertainment Weekly" magazines in which he was asked if there was a fourth Jason Bourne movie on the horizon. He said he was unsure, but he would be interested in reprising his role. The hold-up, I gathered from the interview, is a script.
That got me to thinking -- and I believe I have come up with a scriptable plotline for a sequel to "The Bourne Ultimatum," which came out in 2007. The Bourne trilogy, all based upon Robert Ludlum novels, has rivaled the James Bond franchise in this century. Ludlum, who passed away in March 2001, hadn't penned, to my knowledge, a fourth Bourne novel.
Upfront, I would like to go on record that my idea can be purchased for one million American dollars (the amount can be negotiated for a percentage of the gross domestic dollars from the movie, DVD sales and DVD rentals). And, a "byline" in the movie's credits that reads "Based upon an outline by Elbert Marshall, Jr." Of course, that's like putting the cart before the horse, but you know ...
My working title would be "The Bourne Gemini."
The central plot: While Jason Bourne was being trained to be the ultimate warrior in spydom (no offense to 007, of course), so was his "twin" -- Gemini (or, perhaps, Jemini), a femme fatale opposite to Jason who was trained by the same people who put Jason through the ropes, but at a different site. She, too, had a mission -- to locate and assassinate (not capture) a super-terrorist who was last seen in Istanbul and where Gemini disappeared after a bomb explosion at a crowded bistro.
Okay, before I go any further, I would like to cast Gemini so that I can picture her in my outline-composing. My No. 1 actress choice would be Kate Beckinsale, lately of "Whiteout," but outstanding in "Underworld" (2003) and "Underworld: Evolution" (2006). No. 2 would be Rhona Mitra, who caught my attention in the soon-to-be cult classic "Doomsday 2008" and who took Beckinsale's starring role in "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" (2009). No. 3 would Milla Jovovich, who has kicked ass in "Resident Evil" (2002), "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" (2004) and "Resident Evil: Extinction" (2007); and, I have read, in the upcoming 2010 release, "Resident Evil: Afterlife."
Okay, back to my plotline. Gemini's disappearance triggers a worldwide search by U.S. spy agencies, much like the search for Jason in "The Bourne Identity" (2002) and "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004), but orders are not to kill Gemini, just bring her in from the cold.
Gemini's disappearance was the result of the bistro explosion (but her DNA didn't match any of the explosion's victims); and, like Jason, she has amnesia. She is taken into "custody" -- choose the Russians or the Chinese (I favor the latter) -- shipped out of Turkey and imprisoned in a dank cell deep in the heartland of Russia or China. Her captors know she is a special one and want to learn more about her, but she has those fighting skills that keep her captors mostly at bay. While captive, Gemini begins to recall bits and pieces, much like Jason did, of her life as a trained assassin.
Enter Pam Landy (a role that Joan Allen played and could do so again) who knows Jason is alive. She begins publishing a tidbit in the New York Times personals column for Jason to make contact with her. Jason still does not fuly trust Landy, but his curiosity has been sparked. He does, but not before a cat-and-mouse rendzevous in a women's bathroom stall at Grand Central Station. One other thing, Landy tells Jason, Gemini's mission must be completed.
Landy explains her dilemma and Jason accepts the challenge: To find his twin, Gemini, and bring her safely home. The cost: One million dollars immediately deposited in Jason's Swiss bank account and another two million dollars once Gemini is in Landy's hands.
And so the story goes on: The rescue, the one-on-one fight scene (a la Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielson in "Red Sonja" back in 1985), the escape route (via the Orient Express, maybe), but finally winding up in Istanbul to complete Gemini's mission. Gotta throw in a good car chase scene, maybe even a rail car sequence that has Jason and Gemini leaping from atop one train car to another train car while being chased by the bad guys. (I know both action scenes have been done a gadzillion times before, but directors Doug Liman in Bourne 1 and Paul Greengrass in Bourne 2 & 3 expertly pulled them off, so why not again by the director of choice.)
I like Alexander Siddig --- "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's" Dr. Bashir and most notably, a role in George Clooney's "Syriana" (2005) -- as the super-terrorist. His character is a mastermind in terrorism activities, and his next target is somewhere in the United States -- perhaps even the White House. I think Siddig's cool, intellectual characteristics would fit the super-terrorist to a T.
Jason and Gemini become a team (and, perhaps, some love scenes -- if Jason and Nicky Parsons, played by Julia Stiles, are no longer an item) and locations could include Beirut, Paris, Berlin, etc. Remember, the Russians and the Chinese are still interested in Gemini -- and now, Jason. A twofer capture would give the bad guys an insight into the training program so they could develop their own super-duper spies.
That's all I have -- except for some action scenes played out in my mind. A couple of good scriptwriters could hone my idea(s) into another Bourne blockbuster.
Any other ideas from Bourne fans out there?
|
