Snakes on a Plane
I thought Thad was joking about there being an upcoming Samuel L. Jackson film called Snakes on a Plane:
Once and, surely, future Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson went vehemently on the record at The Man junket Sunday, assuring reptile and aviation enthusiasts the world over that the New Line production currently sporting the hopelessly drab title Pacific Air 121 will indeed be rechristened Snakes on a Plane before its hugely anticipated release.
Here’s our exchange in its entirety:
Beaks: One of those films that you’re working on right now is... well, it’s called "Pacific Air 121"—
Jackson: Snakes on a Plane, man!
Beaks: Exactly.
Jackson: We’re totally changing that back. That’s the only reason I took the job: I read the title.
Beaks: Snakes on a Plane! That’s everything!
Jackson: You either want to see that, or you don’t.
Beaks: And how are those snakes? Besides being on a plane?
Jackson: Some of them are aggressive, some of them are cool. They’re interesting to watch, and interesting to interact with. It depends on what kind of snake it is. One day, it took, like, four guys to bring in this 350 lb. Burmese Python. We were all like, “Where’s that goin’?” And I watched an Albino Cobra strike airplane seats the other day. I watched it from another studio. It’s actually been a fun show. But we’re taking the name back! [Collider.com]
But no, man, it's for real! It's about snakes planted by the mob to kill an FBI agent on an aircraft. [UPI]
Apparently the would-be script doctor for SoaP has his own blog, too. (Via John Rogers.)
Yankee">http://www.yankeefog.com/">Yankee Fog has obtained an exclusive sneak peak at the trailer for SNoaP.
Posted by: Thad | August 19, 2005 at 04:23 PM
That's just cool. Like that "X-Files" episode about the school board that was a coven -- the whole thing came about because one of the writers said [spoiler alert],
[spoiler space]
[more spoiler space]
[seriously, don't keep going if you don't want me to tell you a key plot point]
"Let's do one where a snake eats a guy!"
Posted by: Lex | August 19, 2005 at 04:28 PM
I just got this email from a friend:
It's also amusing to imagine what the original pitch for this movie might have been. "So, there's this plane, right?..."
Posted by: Thad | August 19, 2005 at 04:37 PM
Hey, at least if you call the movie Snakes on a Plane, you save the poor box-office employees from having to repeatedly tell people what the movie's about.
"Lady, it says it right in the title -- it's about snakes on a plane!"
I used to work at a movie theater -- I was surprised that some people managed to drive themselves there without wetting themselves.
I like the fact that Samuel Jackson has reached a point in his career where he can decide he just likes the title, even if the movie's crappy. I'm still convinced he did Deep Blue Sea just for the scene where he gives the big, pep-talk speech.
You people who've seen Deep Blue Sea, you know what scene I'm talking about. I won't ruin it for people who haven't seen it. It's not a bad little monster movie.
Posted by: Mnemosyne | August 19, 2005 at 04:58 PM
Lord save us from the normal.
Posted by: Joel | August 19, 2005 at 05:49 PM
You people who've seen Deep Blue Sea, you know what scene I'm talking about.
A friend of mine couldn't stop talking about the scene where the one hero unzips her wetsuit. Meh.
Of course, he also couldn't stop talking about his fantasies of the Buff Barmaid from Bavaria (sorry Jo!) carrying two kegs on her shoulders. So maybe he just had some strong, if uninteresting fetishes.
Posted by: Trystero | August 19, 2005 at 06:55 PM
Great title.
I thought I'd come to this link and find a story about snakes getting loosed on a plane by some whack job.
right on.
Posted by: matey | August 19, 2005 at 09:04 PM
The pitch for most movies (or books, or plays . . .) is going to sound pretty stupid:
"This guy's leg was bit off by this albino whale, see . . . ."
"This guy is marooned on an island all by himself for like years and years, until his pants are all rotting right off him and he has to make new ones out of goat skins . . . ."
And of course the famous summary of _Crime and Punishment_: "This guy kills this old lady. Later he turns himself in."
Posted by: john_m_burt | August 20, 2005 at 10:43 AM
I used to work at a movie theater -- I was surprised that some people managed to drive themselves there without wetting themselves.
I worked at theatres before too -- I'm surprised they managed to get out of the door and into the car in the first place.
Posted by: Anne M. | August 21, 2005 at 08:30 PM
Deep Blue Sea was hilarious. If SoaP is anything like it, it will be great.
Posted by: graefix | August 21, 2005 at 09:06 PM
Hollywood seems wary of titles that are too on-the-nose. Remember what happened to "Cop Gives Waitress Two Million Dollar Tip"?
Say -- that's a good idea! This snake picture should be called "It Could Happen to You"!
Posted by: Grumpy | August 22, 2005 at 09:57 AM
Actually, it started out as a frontier epic about a family making a go of it on rattlesnake infested land in north Texas, but the studio executive heard "Plane" instead of "Plain" and just loved it.
Posted by: Njorl | August 23, 2005 at 03:50 PM
I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. I am equally stunned that this movie is, in fact, a reality. The title seems so ridiculous, yet it's turned into a cult phenomenon!
Posted by: thebizofknowledge | August 08, 2006 at 03:58 PM