MemeMachineGo!

From a Samuel L. Jackson interview:

Beaks: One of those films that you’re working on right now is… well, it’s called “Pacific Air 121”—

Jackson: Snakes on a Plane, man!

Beaks: Exactly.

Jackson: We’re totally changing that back. That’s the only reason I took the job: I read the title.

Beaks: Snakes on a Plane! That’s everything!

Jackson: You either want to see that, or you don’t.

And from the blog of a Josh Friedman, a screenwriter who almost worked on it.

I ask Agent the name of the project, what it’s about, etc. He says: Snakes on a Plane. Holy shit, I’m thinking. It’s a title. It’s a concept. It’s a poster and a logline and whatever else you need it to be. It’s perfect. Perfect. It’s the Everlasting Gobstopper of movie titles.

I say to Agent: “Tell me nothing else. Get me the script and put me on the phone with those lucky bastards at New Line Cinema!” […]

ME: “Oh my God I just have to say first and foremost that SNAKES ON A PLANE is the single greatest movie title of all time. I’m even using it as a zen koan. You have to promise me if I sign on to rewrite this you will NEVER change the title to something sort of generic and stupid like FLIGHT ONE-TWENTY WHO GIVES A FUCK.”
AWKWARD SILENCE
ME: “You’re changing the title aren’t you?”
OLD FRIEND: Well, we were thinking, we need to make it a little scarier, a little more thriller-y, something not so camp…”
ME: But…it’s SNAKES ON A PLANE.

I’ve got to say: I would never see “Pacific Air 121.” But I’ve got to see “Snakes on a Plane”!

Read the rest of Friedman’s blog entry — funny stuff.