Posted on 05/09/2002 8:08:16 AM PDT by stromsfriend
Synopsis: When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young Russian analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb levels the capital of Chechnya, and America is quick to blame the Russians. What they don't realize is terrorists, bent on provoking open war between the two nations, are behind it all.
THe movie doesn't follow the book very much and that works out fine. Ben Affleck does a fine job and his girlfriend is stunning.
But what got my noodle cooking was that Clancy's "fictions" about terrorist acts in many of his books are quite close to what goes on or what has happened.
Why isn't this guy writing National Security Estimates? Although I am sure the CIA has tapped his imagination by now!
Or...more disturbing/intriguing, maybe those terrorists have a penchant for Cold War fiction...
Because reality is different from fiction, and because working with people is different from typing.
Perhaps imagination gets shot down by "one track" thinking or internal pressures? That happens in any company, sometimes you need new points of view.
Perhaps imagination gets shot down by "one track" thinking or internal pressures? That happens in any company, sometimes you need new points of view.
ROTFLOL
/secret sarcasm
Movies are for entertainment, but it is scary to think someone could suggle a "dirty bomb" into the US. Hell, with federal agents bringing all sorts of things thru airport security, what about shipping (like in Sum of All Fears) or smuggling?
It's worth some thought anyway.
The capital of Chehnya is nuked? Didn't Russia do that 2 years ago with 1000 fuel/air explosives?
Iten #2 - the reason to not nominate Tom for anything is that he writes fiction, the press would have such a field day with that it would make the Murphy Brown flap look like nothing. While I agree that Clancy is a very bright guy who has (unfortunately) shown a fair ability to predict the future, and among intelligent circles he's a highly respected speaker. Unfortunately the press ISN'T intelligent circles and would spend months mocking Bush for not knowing the difference between reality and make believe saying he was nominating Jack Ryan. It would be terrible. In the end the nomination would probably be withdrawn.
The capital of Chehnya is nuked? Didn't Russia do that 2 years ago with 1000 fuel/air explosives?
Yeah the the Arab group (I didn't know who) got the plot changed in January 2001!! How ironic is that? Hollywood probably thought it was in bad taste because we all know that Islam is a "religion of peace." So much for reality!
I guess it would have been nice for the more realistic element of the Arab terrorists from the Sum of All Fears book, but the plot works anyway in the movie. As for Chechnya, somebody blew up 29 people with a bomb yesterday...SEE: ironic.
I saw that interview as well (must have been CSPAN's highest rated program ever), but isn't it more fun to speculate...? ;)
:-)
:-(
I hate it when they do that. Either follow the book or don't but if you don't then don't say "Based on the book" because it isn't.
You wrote another story and that is fine.
a.cricket
"Executive Orders". Cabinet member Jack Ryan is the one guy left behind (standard procedure) during the State Of The Union address when Congress is wiped out, making Ryan the President. This and other terrorist attacks are cover for ... and the ending is remarkably satisfying.
http://www.upcomingmovies.com/sumofallfears.html
(2/1/01) CAIR, the Arab rights watchdog group, reports that the "villains" of the film have been changed from Muslim terrorists to European neo-Nazi's.
IMHO, these rats are part of the holy war effort....
The primary reason no one in guvmint saw 9/11 coming is that, by nature and definition and getting rapped on the back of the head for not marching to the agency beat, bureaucrats and bureaucracies totally lack imagination.
Witness reports yesterday that a field FBI agent sent a report up the chain that, uh, several suspicious Middle Eastern-type dudes were inexplicably training at American flight schools. The report went into File 13 until, oops, after 9/11 somebody said, "Oh, that's what that was about."
Why did no alarms go off when the report was sent? Because all agencies lack imagination. The higher up the food chain one gets, the deeper and darker the lack of imagination. The agency couldn't even begin to imagine any scenarios arising out of these ME dudes training to fly our jumbo jets. So CLICK, DELETE FILE FROM MEMORY. NEXT REPORT, NEXT CUPPAJOENDONUT.
Personally, I think creativity is creativity. UBL was very creative on 9/11. To match these creeps, we need creativity, too. If Clancy is where you gotta go to get the appropriate level of creativity, so be it, IMHO. In fact,that would be a very creative solution [groan . . .]
How is CAIR going to manage changing the ethnicity of the bad guys when the 9/11 movie scripts start selling?
Why did Tom Clancy authorize the movie screenwriter and producer to change the terrorists from being Islamic to being white-neo-nazi skinhead types? In the book the terrorists are MUSLIMS, with strong Palestinian ties.
My guess is that they will step up & sue for "civil rights violations" instead just threating them (just like Jesse Jackson) as before.
Hmmm... "Minority Rights", porus INS, "Civil Rights" groups, Terrorists......
Because to placate the PC crowd, he'd have the wholse CIA guarding against European neo-nazis, rather that the islamist threat that really exists.
The words "sell out" come to mind, and this movie will not get my dollars. Now that I've burst a friend's bubble regarding the PC treatment, that's four tickets that won't be bought.
LTS
Hollyweird=Muslimwood$
?$$?$$?$$?=Islamwood$
$$?$$?$$?$=Terrorwood
VIOLENCE PRODUCTIONS
Pure BS for anyone with as big a name as Clancy. And if the Hollyweirdos said change it, or no can do, can you really credit him for his quest for the almight dollar? Is there no principle too sacred to offend if the price is right?
LTS
It happens to everyone--Joseph Wambaugh, Allen Drury, James Clavell, you name it. There is NO writer who is "too big a name" for this to happen to.
And if the Hollyweirdos said change it, or no can do, can you really credit him for his quest for the almight dollar?
You misunderstand. The way it works is that the writer sells the rights. AFTER he or she sells the rights, all the changes get made, and the writer has ZERO input. Clancy wasn't even consulted. Hollyweird didn't say "change it or else," they just changed it. IIRC, he sold these rights way back in 1991, and got paid back in 1991. The change was made in 2001. That's a ten-year gap.
Is there no principle too sacred to offend if the price is right?
Again, you're blaming Cancy for decisions he had no role in.
Clancy is uncannily prophetic. Picture "Vice President Rice". That has a strong likelihood of coming to pass. National Security Advisor and a leading expert on the Soviet Union goes on to the Presidency? That's pretty close isn't it?
Star wars was entertaining, but the story was not as compelling as SUm of All Fears. We need more of those types of movies.
Carolyn
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