Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Tony Scott Got Close To Production On 'Lucky Strike'

Mike Fleming

I just can't get past the shock that Tony Scott passed away and won't be practicing his kinetic style of film making anymore. The people who worked on projects with him and are left to pick up the pieces are certainly more devastated than any fan. One film was getting close to the starting gate was the Henry Bean-scripted Lucky Strike, an action drama in which a DEA agent teams with a drug runner to take down a drug cartel. The film had an $80 million commitment from Emmett/Furla Films, distribution from Fox and Vince Vaughn in one of the starring roles. While reports had Scott circling several other projects and even doing prep work with Tom Cruise on Top Gun 2, producer Randall Emmett told me he was confident they had a strong shot at going into production next year. That was a dream scenario, Emmett said, since the filmmaker was an idol to him.

'I was reduced to the 15 year old kid when I first met Tony last year as we were putting together Lucky Strike,' Emmett said. 'I have an original Top Gun poster in my office, and his work remains one of my main inspirations. I'll never forget at our first meeting, telling him how working with him was a dream come true, and just gushing like a teenager in front of six grown film executives. It's beyond sad for his family and our community, an incredible loss. He was a master of his craft and all I can say is thank you, Tony, for touching my life in the short time I spent with you. You are and will always be the greatest.'

Presumably, some of these high profile films that Scott developed will get made with other directors. You'll never be able to convince me they will be as good as they would have been had Scott been behind the camera.



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