16 or 17 years ago I asked an odd hypothetical of HE readers: If Hollywood was a mythical industry built upon ruthless criminality, and if the HE reader in question was an all-powerful mafia boss who was persuaded that Hollywood had to improve the quality of films or else face financial ruin and a permanent loss of respect, which producers, directors, screenwriters and actors would the big mafia boss get rid of in order to arrest its worst instincts and thereby save the industry from itself?
More concisely: In a lurid, fantasy-realm Hollywood, which filmmakers should be whacked for the good of the industry?
I should immediately add that I’ve always frowned upon violent behavior in any form, and that if I was the hypothetical mafia boss in question I wouldn’t order anyone to be “hit” — I would kidnap the targets and secretly place them under house arrest in a comfortable, handsomely decorated, high-security prison with excellent meals and first-rate wifi. No one would get hurt, but the targeted filmmakers would be removed from the hurly burly and could do no further harm.
