My husband, Clay McBride, was the screenwriter hired to pen a 'Page One' rewrite of DELTA FORCE ONE: THE LOST PATROL (not my husband's title choice, by the way)--and HE hates this movie. Hired over thephone by long-time friend, seasoned director, Joseph Zito (who was already en route via jet to the location in Israel), Clay was given seven days to create a top-to-bottom new script from an existing disaster already 'locked in' for production. My husband's version was a COMPLETE 'first line to last' new creation. (His only creative limitations were existing sets and contractually predetermined casting.) Accepting the assignment from Joe Zito--who my husband continues to think of as a friend and solid professional--Clay jumped into the project, often working twenty-hour days. He faxed each new batch of pages straight to Director Zito in Israel. My husband had been promised a respectable rewrite fee by Producers Yoram Globus and Allan Greenblatt for his efforts. In the end, Clay was paid only 50% in an 'up front' fee. To this day, despite Director Zito's attempts to rectify the injustice, Clay has still been cheated out of his remaining 50% fee! (Amazingly, DESERT FORCE ONE: THE LOST PATROL continues to make money. Clay McBride--the SCREENWRITER--has not been paid a single penny of his remaining fee.) Having seen the finished film, I have no doubt you will find the following statements impossible to believe. However, I can tell you the final film shares virtually NO similarity with my husband's original--and genuinely entertaining--written draft. Though hammered out at a hellish pace, Clay's script was truly clever. It featured a logical--yet surprising--narrative. It sparkled with witty, tight dialogue. It was a inspired, solid piece of screen writing. I can tell you Clay and I were quite excited at the prospect of his draft seeing production. How my husband's crisp, creative script was ever turned into the finished TRAVESTY of a film you've all seen, I cannot even begin to imagine. I DO know director Joe Zito was plagued with production and budget nightmares from 'Day 1' of the shoot. The film was hideously under-funded and, frankly, it is a testament to Joe Zito that he succeeded in delivering anything even remotely resembling a completed feature. Having acknowledged the crippling production circumstances, however, my husband is still at an utter loss to explain the complete BUTCHER JOB done to his script. I sat at the screening with my husband. I can tell you actual TEARS spilled down his cheeks as he watched this nightmare unroll before his eyes. And when the film reached its utterly bizarre ending--featuring that awful freeze-frame sequence (a sequence my husband had absolutely NOTHING to do with)--I could actually feel Clay's fingernails digging painfully into my palm. The astounding tragedy of the entire experience was this: prior to the start of production, my husband received numerous overseas calls from the 'above the line' powers, praising his "excellent and exciting script." Clay was told repeatedly that his script had "saved the production from disaster" and that "words did not exist to convey the gratitude of the entire company for reviving the production." (We still own the recorded phone calls on cassette tape.) From one and all: "Clay McBride is the savior of the film!" Your guess is as good as ours concerning how Clay's script was so celebrated before shooting began--and, damn it, it DESERVED to be celebrated!--and then it was utterly DESTROYED during production. All I can do is defend the marvelous talent of my husband, and weep over his shuddering embarrassment at the finished product. Clay McBride wrote a sharp, fast-paced and entertaining screenplay for director Joe Zito, and producers Yoram Globus and Allan Greenblatt. How it came to such a miserable end is a tragedy only THEY can explain. (And when you ask Globus and Greenblatt, remind them that they still owe the talented and professional Clay McBride the remaining 50% of his screenplay fee!) Thank you for your patience in giving me a chance to tell the truth regarding my husband's efforts and clear his good name--most importantly, the truth that this does not reflect his tremendous talent. Best wishes to you all.
