6. The Director
With no disrespect to John Singleton- I am a huge fan of Shaft and Boyz N Da Hood in particular- but I think he would have been the wrong man for the job. If you had seen, or have seen since The A-Team, Carnahans joyously demented actioner Smokin Aces, its easy to see why Fox hired him, an why he was the only man for the job. He truly captured the spirit of the show an made the film more than some cynical cash grab. Plus, Carnahan had a kick-ass idea to open the sequel: I had the greatest opening, I think, to the sequel. It was the Citadel in the middle of the desert and you see Hannibal on what looks like hes on a dog sled, and you think hes in the arctic and as you pull back you realize hes taking these dogs over the dunes. A chopper flies overhead with a blackjack table cabled to the bottom of it, and he goes and plays this shakeI had actually written the scene, its a 15-page scene for the sequeland he goes and plays this shake for Faces freedom, and theres a great moment where B.A. busts into this kind of prison and you see Face is on this torture wheel upside down. B.A.s first line to him is, You feel like whippin some ass? and Face says, You know its funny, I do. (laughs). Now, how friggin awesome would that have been? Carnahan is a smart, very kinetic director, and I cant wait to see what he does with Nemesis (perfect match!) and his reboot/remake/reimagining of Death Wish, but it seems such a shame hell likely never revisit this marvellous world he created.