Sometimes, when you start a project, you end up with a final product you didn't see coming.

I had an idea for a story about a guy who was the coolest person you'd ever meet-- suave, sophisticated, and skilled. Throughout the course of the story, I planned to deconstruct him, figure out what made him tick and reveal the personal tragedies that made him into the person he was. I figured the best way to do that, was to do some research on a group of people that are arguably the be all end all definition of "cool"-- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and others-- The Rat Pack.

I'm not one for extensive research (feels waaaay too much like homework *blech*), so I bought a book that was a comprehensive timeline on the Pack's exploits. Within the two days it took Amazon Prime to ship it to me, I realized that the way I was planning on telling my story was similar to The Great Gatsby. Too similar. So similar that I decided to scrap the idea altogether. Far too late to cancel the order, and still deeply interested in learning more about my favorite group, I read through the book on The Rat Pack. I went through page after page of the cool, the drama, the exploits, and the drinking, and by the time the mafia got involved, I decided to write a script on the Pack.

Unfortunately, to do that properly would've required so much more information than what I got from that comprehensive timeline. And again... I'm not one for extensive research. So, as much as I love Frankie, Dino, and Sammy... forget 'em. I'd make my own Rat Pack. One for the modern era.

A huge point that I gathered from what I read was that, despite being vividly remembered and poorly imitated 58 years after their conception, The Rat Pack was only around for five years. True, as individuals they were doing their thing and highly successful at it many years prior, but as a group... they were an unexpected explosion of tailored suits, leggy girls, and chilled martinis that hit the heights of popularity for only a short time. So, why are they still the quintessential definition of "dress like a gentleman, party like a rockstar" to this day?

Vegas, baby.

The Rat Pack hit the scene at the peak of Vegas' years of cool-meets-seedy-meets-dangerous. The platform on which they performed was something no one had ever seen before-- it was the middle of desert, where you could blow all your money, catch a glimpse of Marylin Monroe, and see in the far distance where they’re testing nuclear bombs! If I was going to make my own modern-day Rat Pack, I was going to need a modern-day stage. Something fresh and new-- something with boundless potential and ever expanding, constantly pushed limitations.

Social Media.