Hmmm...a sequel, Rick and Renault running guns to the French resistance are found out by Nazi's and executed. Ilsa's plane is shot down and she dies a fiery burning death. Lazlo goes on to be the first dictator of the new United Nations and rules the world with an iron fist. He commits genocide against the remaining Germanic people allowing the USSR to rule all of eastern Europe. This continues for 150 years until the Highlander becomes the last immortal left on earth reuniting the Godhead and returning the world to perfection, 16th century Scotland.

Dear Cass Warner,
The original movie was almost as perfect a story as you could hope for. Numerous attempts have been made to recapture the magic of it, and all have fallen flat. I respect members of your family for not only Casablanca, but all of the wonderful animated shorts that to this day cheer me when I am down.
So, for simply stating this idea aloud and within earshot of a Hollywood system that would allow a sequel to The Sting (*shudder*), I ask you, with the greatest respect and with the purest of intentions, to please die.

Thank you for your time on this matter.

Yours,
Lon Mead

Skr: I'm trying to think of a modern day leading man that has half the balls of Bogart but I'm coming up short.

It's that quiet, reserved hard man that Bogart had that is hard to find. The sort of guy who is pretty laid back, honest, who doesn't trouble anyone, but just has an attitude that says that crossing him would be a very farking bad idea.

Tommy Lee Jones is about the nearest thing.

Oh, and I want Michael Fassbender as Laszlo, Eva Green as Ilsa and Brendan Gleason as Renault.

Sam Rockwell as Rick.

Cut and print!

Oh go on, just do it. It will be embarrassing and stupid for you, while I studiously avoid it. I don't want a sequel. I'm actually much happier wondering what happened to Rick and Renault in my mind, in the same way that The Force had that sense of mysticism until Lucas turned it boring with midichlorians.

Casablanca is one of those "planetary alignment" films. It's not just that every ingredient of it was first class in script, direction, art direction, cast and score, it's also that there was a load of serendipity kicked in. Michael Curtiz didn't like As Time Goes By, wanted to put a different song in its place, but because Ingrid Bergman had already had her hair cut for another film, they'd have had to wait too long to do the reshoots so he had to leave it in.

And yeah, the Marsaillise scene wasn't acted. Those are real tears from people who had fled France.