Thread by @johnaugust

This is true! But the story of how we got there is less techno-prophetic and more practical. And likely useful for screenwriters! (thread)

In doing the movie version of a TV series, the stakes had to be higher than they would ever be for an episode. A plot to kill Charlie — the Angels’ unseen benefactor — made sense. 2/n

Problem is, Charlie isn’t really a character. He’s a mysterious voice on the phone. 3/n

In talking with Drew, I described Charlie’s Angels as a fairy tale about three princesses who work for their unseen father, who is King-slash-God. They love him even though they never see him. 4/n

They’re supposed to be great investigators, so why do they never track down the man they’re working for? Trust, love, faith. Again, it’s a fairy tale. 5/n

So if a villain is going to try to kill Charlie, he has to find him first. And he’ll enlist the Angels to do it, using Charlie’s own creation against him. Because evil. 6/n

You want to start an action movie with an action set piece, so why not a rescue mission? The Angels save the man who ultimately becomes the villain. 7/n

Yes, we’ve seen this fake-your-kidnapping idea enough that audiences have their guard up. I think we mostly get away with it because a) we were early and b) he’s played as an adorkable love interest for Dylan, matching the ones for Natalie and Alex. 8/n

Does Knox have to seduce Dylan? Not really. But it’s helpful for misdirecting the audience; we think he’s there to be protected. Plus we’ve given many obvious villains, including the Thin Man... 9/n

...and Vivian Wood (Kelly Lynch), who fits the prototype of the helpful second-in-command who’s actually the villain... 10/n

....and of course Roger Corwin (Tim Curry), who is announced as the bad guy early on and sure looks the part. 11/n

Of course they’re all in cahoots (except Corwin, who dies). They’re working for Knox, who wants to kill Charlie because of hand-wavy Daddy Issues. 12/n

Which brings us back to tracking cell phones. It’s not a prophetic indictment of a coming surveillance state. It’s purely functional. It’s the only way Knox can find Charlie. 12/n

Knox needs the Angels to physically break in to Red Star to insert a backdoor. Of course, we make it seem like it’s for a noble purpose. 13/n

In the end, evil is defeated and normal order is restored. The destroyed agency will be rebuilt. Charlie is once again safely back on the speakerphone. 14/n

Unlike a traditional episode, the Angels do grow a bit. For Alex and Natalie, it was about relationships. For Dylan, it was the chance to glimpse her much-needed father/king/God figure. 15/n

tl;dr The cell phone tracking in Charlie’s Angels is there to service theme and story, and came as a result of what we wanted the characters to do. 16/n

Speaking of cell phones: Cingular wireless had paid product placement in the second movie to showcase their new “photo-messaging service.” It’s cringey. adweek.com/brand-marketin…