Back then, before we both had enough of slinging dishes and popping corks, and finally quitting N&E [well, I got fired -- another story], I took a small idea and blew it up into a screenplay for him to star in someday. Back then, J-51 Posse was making movies under the Rockville umbrella. When Starsixtynine, Larrondo, and Blazm's, proposed triple threat PILLARS OF RAGE movie went south, Dablo picked up the movie making gauntlet and went from finishing and releasing LOST PROPHET, to co-writing [w/George Gilmore] & directing BURNZY'S LAST CALL. Larrondo made THROWING DOWN, and Blazm was getting SNUFF COP [later made into KINGDOM COME] under way. NiggerKojak was writing vampire/zombie flicks and Frank Pledge was brewing his next short, post BICYCLE. I wanted next in line and so I sat down at the computer and belted out SWITCH TO KILL.
Easiest way to describe SWITCH TO KILL is to picture Alec Baldwin and John Malkovich doing Abbot & Costello's notorious "Who's on first" routine but as two paranoid hit men with guns and art directed surreal and expressionistic like THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Simple plot with a lot of bickering in that staccato Mamet rhythm, a couple of murders, a botched delivery, and a few brain-freeze twists. If you can imagine that then you're getting warm with what I was shooting for. A psychedelic, guerrilla style B-movie noir. Only, they don't make those anymore now that outfits like Miramax and Good Machine are the New Hollywood.
Anyway, I wrote SWITCH TO KILL over a decade ago and I never got to direct it and my buddy Sam never got to star in it. I've contemplated turning it into a graphic novel but am still itching to make it into a moving picture. After recently talking to Frank Pledge about his movie making philosophy and prowess, and us vibing off the same gristle, I tapped him for directing my little baby and dusted off the locked screenplay for a minor revision. Pledge is supposed to read it and get back to me, soon. See if it floats his boat. If not, no biggie small. I can try to make it myself or pop it back in the drawer. Otherwise, I'd get a bang out of seeing this nutty little story played out up on the silver screen.
Along with the script, was this hyperbolic attempt at a short synopsis...
SWITCH TO KILL
They work. They get jobs done.
In a world of guns where no one knows anyone's true identity, professional hit men: DALLAS TWILITE and BUCK DANGERZONE, play a psychological game using buzz words to trigger acts of cold blooded murder.
Haunted by his younger brother's accidental death many years ago, Dallas Twilite has dedicated his life to the art of killing. With every hit, Dallas pays homage to his dead brother. Dallas’ domineering partner Buck Dangerzone, plays a pivotal role as Dallas' subconscious guide for redemption.
Cringe in fear as Frank the Shank sparks a distribution war with kingpin, Luke Tuna. Shield your eyes as Jimmy the Face and Massacre Mel deliver the wrong head to gang rival, Bohannon. Choke in horror as Stan the Man sells the right bullets to the wrong men.
A twist of events makes Dallas realize for the first time that he has never seen Buck kill a man in cold blood. Buck insists that he has been responsible for every kill on the job. The disagreement creates a flux between the two, breaking a trust that has bonded them since day one.
Through a series of emotional tests and Buck's first confirmed kill, the trust is reinstated and the ever-haunting guilt is lifted from Dallas' psyche forever.