7
Movie:Blow Out (1981) (Brian De Palma)
Target: Sen. Ted Kennedy, er rather presidential candidate Governor McRyan
Assassin: Pre-crossdressing John Lithgow
Defender: Pre-crossdressing John Travolta
Conspiracy?: De Palma’s plot to usurp the works of other directors.
Weapon of Choice: Who doesn’t love a big gun? Or a big microphone?
Codeword: “I didn’t hire her for her scream, Jack, I hired her for her tits!”
Do or Die Moment: The bloody climax at the “Liberty Day Parade”
Hit or Miss:Blow Out is the work of a high-spirited, irrepressible director who takes the effects movies can produce far more seriously than he takes the characters they seem to be about.” – Vincent Canby, New York Times
8
Movie:Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) (David Zucker)
Target: Queen Elizabeth II
Assassin: Has there ever been a better villain than Ricardo Montalban?
Defender: Has there ever been a dumber hero than Leslie Nielsen?
Conspiracy?: You don’t kill the queen without a conspiracy
Weapon of Choice: A sleep inducing dart
Codeword: “Nice beaver!”
Do or Die Moment: Reggie Jackson’s assassination attempt at Anaheim Stadium
Hit or Miss: “David Zucker, who directed The Naked Gun, has given it a cheerful, messy style that never quite matches the ebullience of the writing.”- Janet Maslin, New York Times
9
Movie:JFK (1991) (Oliver Stone)
Target: Like you have to ask
Assassin: Oswald? Ruby? Lyndon Johnson? Take your pick
Defender: New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison
Conspiracy?: According to the film, we’ll know by 2029
Weapon of Choice: Maybe Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano rifle…maybe not
Codeword: “Back and to the left.”
Do or Die Moment: November 22, 1963. 12:30 pm
Hit or Miss: The next year Congress passed “The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act.”
10
Movie:In the Line of Fire (1993) (Wolfgang Peterson)
Target: “the President “
Assassin: “Booth,” otherwise known as the reptilian John Malkovich
Defender: Secret Service Agent Clint Eastwood might have blown it in ’63, but, fortified by a shot of Patron, he’ll get it right this time.
Conspiracy? People in glass elevators shouldn’t throw stones.
Weapon of Choice: A state of the art arsenal of deadly hairpieces.
Codeword: “Booth had panache. That leap to the stage.”
Do or die moment: Clint puffing as he runs alongside the motorcade.
Hit or Miss: “..not a brilliant movie. But, thanks to Eastwood, it seems like one.” Desson Howe, Washington Post
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