C Drake Write

It’s way easier to not write than it is to write. Whodathunkit?

I haven’t really thought much about Ink and Iron, and that’s for a few reasons. First, I think I’ve spent too long with it as my primary focus. Too many ideas have been pushed aside because “I can’t focus on that right now” so they end up as quick one line notes in my Obsidian vault (If you don’t know, Obsidian is a great note-taking program that I used for a Dungeons & Dragons homebrew; I liked it enough to make my primary notepad, including on my phone).

Second, Hitman: World of Assassination. I had a REAL big Hitman kick a few months ago. Great game. But it got an idea going in my head; A Hitman movie would be really fun.

I knew about the 2015 film already, I was cognizant the film world by then, I saw the ads. I saw the reviews, too. Eesh. Regardless, I searched for it to give it a watch, see what they did right and what they did wrong (compared to the imaginary version that exists only in my head). That’s when I stumbled across the 2007 Hitman film, featuring a bald-capped(?) Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47.

With those both in mind I spent last Saturday watching the two, starting with the 2015 one, as I began drafting some form of outline to get my own movie idea onto paper.

Are those two movies fun? Yeah! Are they a good representation of the Agent 47 that I came to know and love in the World of Assassination games? Well… no.

You see, Agent 47 isn’t your typical action movie gunslinging protagonist. He’s no John Wick. Agent 47 is about stealth, about being sly and under the radar. Hell, in the 2015 movie, one of the first major scenes has Agent 47 walking through a crowded subway station, guns out and opening fire wildly at his target. That not his style, man. I enjoyed the 2007 one more, I think because it actually focused on Agent 47 as the main Hitman. Katia van Dees is a cool character in the 2015 movie, but not what I want in a “first” movie.

Inspired by these films and the ideas I already had brewing, I drafted some key ideas and rules that I intend to follow throughout the script.

• Should focus more on the skill and professionalism, problems CANNOT arise from flaws in Agent 47’s actions. They must be an outside force or an outer influence of some kind
• Agent 47 will always be cool and level-headed
• The relationship between Diana Burnwood and Agent 47 is STRICTLY professional
• Cool gadgets
• Agent 47 is NOT superhuman, he’s not John Wick, he’s not The Terminator; Agent 47’s main goal is to be unnoticed and undetected
  • Agent 47 uses stealth, covertness, and environmental manipulation instead of running headfirst into gunfights or hand-to-hand combat. Those are an absolute last resort.
  • That being said, ONE failed contract that requires him to go loud may be acceptable in the film
• Agent 47 loves his job and loves making puns about it, ESPECIALLY when talking to random people
• Agent 47 is proactive, not reactive: he controls the situation at almost all times and doesn’t let the plot control him
• Most of the movie should take place ON SITE of the contracts
• Agent 47 walks up/down the stairs faster than everyone else. No reason or explanation why, it’s just a reference to the World of Assassination games’ lack of a slow-walk animation for him on stairs

Hopefully these begin to paint a picture of what Agent 47 is like in my upcoming script.

Upcoming? How upcoming? We’ll see. But I do have a scene vomited out, and I plan on sharing that here, probably following this post.

For those that have played the newest Hitman trilogy, I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from the maps in Paris, Bangkok, Miami, Marrakesh, and a super secret fun one that isn’t necessarily inspired by any of the other maps.

I highly recommend the games, I recommend the movies if you like fun action but not if you want anything authentic to the games, and I’ll see y’all when I see y’all. Thanks!