Dolan's Cadillac

Plot:  An innocent woman who witnesses a mob hit is murdered to protect a local boss (Stallone), and her husband (Bacon) creates an elaborate scheme to exact revenge.

News:

13 March, 2001

Now Stax has gotten a hold of this script and gives it an equally strong endorsement.

Although Jimmy Dolan was more of an "extended cameo" than a major supporting character, his formidable presence is felt throughout the story so the casting of iconic tough guy Sylvester Stallone is quite apt. Stallone recently played a Vegas mobster in the lackluster remake of Get Carter so he'll be on familiar ground here (albeit in a far better story). Dolan uses and disposes of people (fellow criminals, business associates, and lovers) as easily and regularly as he trades in old Cadillacs for new ones. People are like hundred dollar bills to Dolan; since there's always more where they came from why worry about getting rid of them? Dolan is portrayed here more as a cold and selfish overlord rather than as some cliché wiseguy so that was refreshing. The entire story builds towards his comeuppance so when the pay-off scene arrives we're surprised by Dolan's very human reaction to Tom's actions.

I enjoyed how the story exploited Tom's "skills" as a science teacher, how he uses his understanding of the laws of physics to his advantage. Filmgoers seem to enjoy protagonists who possess a specific skill (whether they're pilots, lawyers, cat burglars, or athletes) so there should be a perverse glee found in watching Tom calculate the best way to sink his nemesis. It is not often that we get smart movie protagonists so I appreciate them when they do come along. And although Tom's "solution" to dealing with Dolan is wildly absurd, you must remember that the man's not playing with a full deck by the end of the story. Tom's revenge scheme is the kind of macabre plot Edgar Allen Poe might have concocted if he were alive today. I guess this "Stephen King" will have to suffice. I bet we'll hear big things about him someday ...

You can read the entire review here.

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16 February, 2001

Smiln' Jack Ruby managed to get his hands on the script for this movie and liked what he saw. I know that I thought this story would make a cool ass movie when I read it a couple year back. But let's turn it over to the man with the script.

If the first act of the script is dedicated to Tom hunting Dolan, the second act deviates almost entirely from this story line and is the story of the arrival of summer and this scrawny teacher joining a desert highway road crew for the season. The guys on the crew are ex-cons, hardtimers, and just generally big tough guys who think Tom can’t possibly last. But they think he’s there for the money. He’s there for revenge. These guys naturally hate Tom, though he makes one friend, Kenny, who helps him get through days in the desert where the temperature soars up to 120 while they’re on the black tarmac. It’s living hell, but Tom has to go through it to get his goal.

You can read the entire review here.

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6 February, 2001

Kevin Bacon is in negotiations to join Stallone in the cast of this revenge story. He would be playing the main character, the man seeking revenge on a mob boss for the execution of his wife. Production would begin in May. Stacy Title will be directing from her own script based on the Stephen King short story.

31 January, 2001

According to The Hartford Courant, Sylvester Stallone is going to star in a movie version of Stephen King's short story Dolan's Cadillac. The movie is about a man whose wife was murdered by a big mob boss. The kingpin goes about life thinking nothing more of it but the husband is determined to get revenge. He hatches an elaborate plan stretching over years to avenge his wife's death.

Stallone would apparently play the mob boss. The production would start filming in late April in Mexico. This means it will be playing with the rapidly approaching June 30th date for a possible strike to begin. It will be produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.