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NEOCONS
A dark political comedy by Joseph Raymond
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I've been a long-time fan of Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick's 1964 masterpiece (4 Academy Award nominations but no wins). For those unfamiliar with this film, an American Air Force general goes nuts and orders his nuclear-armed air wing to penetrate Soviet air space and bomb the Soviet Union. Peter Sellers is magnificent in three roles including that of the President. George C. Scott is likewise awesome as General Turgidson (Air Force Chief of Staff). For those who have seen the movie, probably the one scene that stays with you is Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb out of his airplane down to the target like a cowboy at the rodeo. The movie was controversial at the time. It used comedy and satire as a veil for criticism of the military hawks and the potential consequences of their policies.
Do we not need a Dr. Strangelove for the current US administration? It's a natural as our president is a walking cartoon character. Nobody, to my knowledge, was working on the idea so I took on the challenge. This story was originally written as a feature length screenplay, which I pitched in Hollywood. The Hollywood types smiled at the concept and nodded their heads but the general consensus was that the script was not "commercial". By that they meant no star would attach his or her name to the project due to the controversy (a sure career ender). No star, no guaranteed box office. No guaranteed box office, no studio is going to bankroll the production budget. But the trip to Hollywood was not a total loss. In addition to having Simon Cowell walk by me in the hotel (which vicariously excited my wife), someone suggested that I novelize the story and present it to the public in that medium. Great idea! What follows is the result.
The President is portrayed in the tone of an SNL caricature (ala Will Farrell impersonation). The story is peppered with Bushisms and a running joke that the President is having an affair with National Security Advisor Ricearoni. The genesis for this plot line was a report that Condi Rice made the following faux pas at a Georgetown dinner party: "I was telling my husband … I mean the President." Link and Link, see 2nd items in this article. After we get to 9-11 in the plot, it gets darker, more in line with the tone of Dr. Strangelove.
Joseph Raymond
St. Louis, MO
May 2005
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