When Shane Black was paid $1.75 million for his spec script “The Last Boy Scout,” it was the most any screenwriter had been paid for their script up to that point. It wouldn’t take long before that record was broken, but the bar had been set – and more importantly, the expectations – for what Shane Black the screenwriter could deliver. Unfortunately, the production was riddled with problems and the film struggled to make its money back. It didn’t kill Black’s career, but it may have signaled the beginning of the end for the spec script boom happening in the early 90s.
Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Shane Black series with Tony Scott’s 1991 action extravaganza “The Last Boy Scout.” We talk about what Black brought to the table with his script and how it changed due to infighting amongst the above-the-line team involved in the production. We chat about the perfection of Bruce Willis in his role contrasted with the struggle we have with Damon Wayans as Willis’ inevitable sidekick. We touch on the goods and bads of Blackisms and Black’s storytelling themes he returns to time and again. We look at the nature of Scott’s films, how this fits into his body of work and why perhaps some of his ardent fans really love this movie. And we talk about the misogyny laced throughout the story, struggling with the way women are treated compared with what the screenwriter’s intentions likely were.
It’s a frustrating film because it had a lot of promise but never quite gets there. Still, we have a great conversation about it. Tune in!
Film Sundries
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