The rest of this week's White Collar

[giandujakiss]

In 1973, Universal released The Sting, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, about an elaborate scheme to con an Irish mob boss.

In the 38 years since, Hollywood has not been able to come up with a new idea for a con. (Except I do have a soft spot for Diggstown)

Also, characters in Hollywood productions have almost universally never seen The Sting. At least not if someone's trying to con them.

Discuss.


Also, I had shoo-fly pie for breakfast. I regret nothing.

Comments

[devilc]

Also, I had shoo-fly pie for breakfast. I regret nothing.

Will you have apple pandowdy for lunch? ;)

[giandujakiss]

Hee :-)

But no.

[jmtorres]

And the technology The Sting runs on was sufficiently outdated by 1973 you couldn't have done it set then, so why in god's name do they keep trying to update it?

[giandujakiss]

I know! The Sting was set in the 1930s!

[jmtorres]

The actual sting is called "The Wire" because it relies on telegraph wire. ZOMG.

[tablesaw]

Leverage has tangled with The Sting at least twice. The pilot was designed to play off of the mark's (and our) "ability" to spot a con. In a later episode, they kind of deconstruct the con so that the heart of the deception (the delayed sports betting) is the same, but everything else feels very different.

Of course, Hollywood didn't invent The Wire, either. So Hollywood is mostly failing to research, rather than invent.

[giandujakiss]

Maybe it's the cons' fault. Maybe after the wire, there was nothing left but the Ponzi scheme.