Before I even clicked on this, and saw just the subject line, I was ready to explain why it wouldn't work, without even knowing what "it" was. I have friends and family members who send me articles/books all the time, that they think we should adapt, and I swear, it blows my mind what people think is "movie worthy."
This, however, delivered.
At least as an on-the-edge-of-my-seat tweet thread.
Funny lead, great antagonists, and a hilariously riveting predicament.
My only notes would be ...
- There doesn't really seem to be anything motivating this Shane guy other than the thrill of ******* with someone and scoring some extra cash. In the movie version, that's not quite enough. Shane would have to be in desperate NEED of the money; he needs a life-saving surgery, has to pay off a gambling debt with a ticking clock, there's been a foreclosure on his house, etc. Something along those lines. And then, lo and behind, he comes across this brick of heroin, he has a choice to make, and hijinks ensue. Or else you risk not having much empathy for him, or a reason to root for him, as he does kind of come off like a bit of a thrill-seeking d*ck, when you get down to it (though, admittedly, a hilarious d*ck).
- The MS-13 guys would in some way need to get the upper hand at one point, and there'd likely need to be some kind of final square-off with them. As bad as those dudes were, and as much as they deserved what they had coming, it's not enough to simply almost have an almost run-in with them at a motel and then *****with them just for the thrill of ******* with them after.
All that said, A) I'd be shocked if some Hollywood someone or another isn't already talking to this guy, and B) depending on how much you have to add to the story, you start to getting into that blurred area of whether you even need his life rights or not. At a certain point, frankly, it becomes WAY easier to just create an original story from scratch, and borrow the very basic premise, without having to deal with this guy at all.
That, and frankly, while this story is most likely true, there's one thing that yells "fake" to me and it's the fact that this Shane guy thinks he's 100% free and clear, to the point where he's using his real name and publicly admitting to selling a ****-ton of drugs. As viral as this has gotten, it'd be relatively "easy" for these MS-13 guys to not only hear about this in jail, but then have one their buddies find this guy and kill him. I just don't think that even this Shane guy is that stupid, and I don't know, he kind of wraps it up with too perfect of a bow at the end. But I could be wrong...