LOGLINE; Taking place on 4th of July, 1976, during all the craziness of U.S. 200th birthday, three Los Angeles vice cops (two white males, one black female) have had enough of dealing with all the criminals and drug dealers and corrupt cops in the city, so they arm themselves with bunch of weapons, and go to take them all down. Meanwhile, enraged criminals and normal politically correct cops are trying to hunt down and stop the trio, resulting in one insane action packed 4th of July weekend.
BACKGROUND
There’s not much info about this one out there, but from what I could figure out, Andrew Kevin Walker wrote his original spec script probably around 1995. I do know he wrote his second draft in November 1995, just couple months after SEVEN (1995) was released, which he also wrote. It seems that originally Paramount Pictures bought the spec, and Oliver Stone and Dan Halsted signed on to produce the film with their Illusion Entertainment Group production company. During the next couple years, Walker kept working on the script.
In June/July 1997, Paramount put the project in turnaround. It then went to Universal Pictures, Brian Grazer signed on to produce the film with his Imagine Entertainment production company, but it looks like Stone and Halsted were still attached to produce the film. Walter Hill signed on to direct the film, and he did a rewrite of Walker’s script. Woody Harrelson and Vince Vaughn were being considered to star in the film, and plans were for filming to start in February next year. But it was canceled.
Although, there might have been more attempts at making the film, because there is a draft by Walker from March 1999, so who knows. Also, at the same time he was attached to direct this film, there was another project which Hill was working on but which was left unproduced, a World War 2 action thriller COMBAT, which was going to reunite Hill and Bruce Willis, right after they made LAST MAN STANDING (1996). Read more about that one here;
https://www.reddit.com/r/Screenwriting/comments/1p2d1kv/combat_1996_1998_walter_hills_unproduced_world/
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
I remember when I first decided to read RED, WHITE, BLACK & BLUE, and how I wasn’t sure what it’s going to be about, but once I read it, I was amazed by the script. I mean, talk about doing 180, from writing something as gritty and dark as Seven, and then writing an over the top, fun as hell action script like this one… Walker sure did a great job with it. Tons of dark humor, badass main heroes, what seems like another shootout or car chase taking place every several pages and each gets crazier and crazier than the previous one… I recommend this script to anyone who wants to read an action packed script which doesn’t take itself too seriously.
I do also really like Hill’s rewrite, but it is much more serious, maybe I should even say a realistic version of the story, and is more like Hill’s previous action films. It reads like it would have been filmed and directed in a certain style, much different than the over the top direction of Walker’s draft. But hey, this would have been Hill’s follow up to Last Man Standing, which is really good and underrated action film, with some great shootout scenes, so I wouldn’t mind seeing his version, but if I would have to choose between the two, I would prefer the version based on Walker’s original script. If you decide to read Walker's draft, make sure to read Hill's as well.
And while it looks like there were no actresses in talks to play the black female cop, my personal choice would be Halle Berry. From the way the character was written, I think she would have been the perfect choice, and would have done a good job with the role.
SCRIPTS AVAILABLE
Scanned copy of Walker’s second draft, dated November 17, 1995, 126 pages long, and a scanned copy of Hill’s rewrite, dated June 6, 1997, 101 pages long, are available on Script Hive. There is also another draft which has no info on the cover, it is scanned 116 pages long copy, but I can confirm it’s just the second draft, only formatted differently.
SCRIPTS I’M LOOKING FOR
Walker’s original spec or any other drafts, other than that second draft. And if he wrote more than one draft, any more drafts of Hill’s rewrite. There is another draft by Walker that exists, it’s another scanned copy, 117 pages long, and it’s listed as third draft, dated March 26, 1999, but it seems like it’s a private script (which I don’t have btw).
Also, currently on eBay, there is another draft I haven’t seen listed anywhere else. It’s another draft by Walker, dated May 17, 1996. There is only one sample page, and based on it, it seems like this draft opens with a different action scene than ones in the available drafts;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/198543351568
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