Paul Landis certainly did not seem traumatized by 11/22/63 when working on the (long-since scrapped) Kennedy Detail movie

[Vince Palamara]

(this is in regard to the long-since scrapped Hollywood movie based on Gerald Blaine's book The Kennedy Detail that was going to be directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal)

 

A screen writer friend and colleague of Gyllenhaal's, Cantara Christoph, sent me this back in early 2013:

"Vince, I swear this is genuine. Paul Landis, one of the Secret Service agents on the Kennedy protection detail in Dallas who failed to protect the president from an assassin’s bullet back on that fateful November 22, 1963, has his own idea of how to start a picture. Got this personally from the director of the upcoming feature film The Kennedy Detail:

[Paul Landis writes:]

"Stephen, I don’t know how you intend to open your movie, but I have an idea that I would like to run by you, not intending to intrude into your creative space. Just a thought. Please forgive any miss spelled words. I’m just going with the flow.”

 

Paul (not Paulie)

 

Opening Scene: Taking place while titles, actors ,credits, etc. burn thru in white.

 

Start – Surround sound – Motorcycle engine starts – Loud – …Varoom. Then a second – same sounds – Varoom…Varoom. Followed by other sounds, cars starting, “Let’s roll”, voices, commands, close ups of car wheels starting to move, cycles shifting into gear, Presidention flag on fender, feet walking & starting to jog, all close ups & tight shots…lots of quick shots & cuts…people waving…shouting…fenders…cycle exhause pipes…flashers blinking…Clint/Paul exchanging glances…”Jackie, Jackie”…”Mr. President”…”Over here, over here Mr. President” etc., etc. More pix of buildings, people in windows…waving. Someone running towards presidents limo, arm extended…Agent looks at hand, quick flash close up…gun?…Knife?…finally a camera. Another Agent pushes person back towards crowd. the person tumbles…motorcade continues.

 

All sorts of scenes taking place and building in intensity as motorcade reaches & continues down Main Street in Dallas. Finally, as motorcade slows & turns right onto Houston…sounds start to fade…crown thinning out…..camera scanning buildings, Plaza, overpass, etc. As other sounds fade out, an erie background sound starts to fade in. We are now going into slow motion as cars start turning left onto Elm St…Silence….Sound (Click, click…lock & load)…theatre audiance in suspense, silent, intence, waiting in anticipation. Everyone knows what is about to happen…silence……BAM…Screen goes White. Blank!

 

Next Scene: Version of scene 12 – Paul getting shot, etc…Paul wakes up with a start…covered in cold sweat. (His idea of how it should have been).

 

CUT

 

Page 2, Scene 20 – WRHS (either 2010, age 75, or 2011, age 76).

 

To be continued……………………………."

Director Stephen Gyllenhaal and the gang: Blaine attempted to make a Hollywood movie about his book, but it was scrapped. I contacted the director, so perhaps I had something to do with this.

 

 

Blaine and Landis with the then-current Secret Service Director Joe Clancy in 2016.