Scene four: Taken back by the defeat and puzzled, the President, now in Russia, blames the press for the debacle -"the liberal media alerted the scoundrels." Noboa orders a second larger and more well-equipped force to evict the scoundrels.

Scene five: Back in Mindo, the "high priest" is alerted to the coming invasion and prepares his ragtag team for battle. After fierce guerilla type fighting involving machetes, blowguns, daggers and, of course guns, the second force is also driven back.

Scene six: The President, finally back at Cardonalet, paces the long corridors, fuming. Humiliated by the majaderos resolve and now pressured by powerful oil interests, the President travels to the coast to meet with US officials on the American Naval base in Manta. Together, they draw up a final assault.

Cut to the TV show, "Morning with Paula Zahn" on CNN: "Breaking news out of Ecuador. An odd coalition of drug smugglers and terrorists have taken over the small town of Mindo..." A briefing from the State Department shows the US Drug Czar giving the excuse that our children's lives and the American way of life are at stake to bomb Mindo.

Scene seven: With scenes straight out of Vietnam, US battle ships maneuvering off the coast and planes stationed in Manta, begin the final assault. Aerial spraying with RainforestUltra (a herbicide guaranteed to kill anything "green") is followed by B52's bombing Mindo and the rebels out of existence. In the carnage, 454 species of birds and countless numbers of insects, amphibians and orchids become extinct in the carnage.

Scene eight: The rebles are declared vanquished by the President over the state run television station, which is broadcast from his summer retreat in Panama.

Scene nine: Sunrise over Quito. Somewhere in the Mariscal or in the Guapulo section, the sounds of a drum circle start to be heard, the sound slowly but steadily rising. The scene cuts to the back of a shaman dancing in front of a fire. Fade. The End.

There of course would be a love story. Something like this- a young idealist ex-pat from, say, Germany falls for a beautiful brown eyed local woman who, unfortunately, happens to be married to a jealous provincial bureaucrat. Like in the book, both men end up dying- one for his naivete, the other for his foolish pride.

I envision the musical score for the movie to be performed by Manu Chau and a local band, Afrikan Homo Sapiens for example. Johnny Dep can play the part of the charismatic rebellious leader, Penelope Cruz the young woman and Brad Pitt the gringo.

All proceeds from the movie could go to helping the people of Mindo preserve their livelihood, to saving endangered species of the region and finding alternate sources of energy for the world.

The movie itself, would be great propaganda for Ecuador. If well done it could win an Oscar giving Ecuador millions of dollars in advertisement for nothing. Tourism would increase and tourists would flock to not only Mindo, but to Cuenca, Otavalo, the Amazon, Baños, Quito, Guayaquil. The pipeline wouldn't have to be built after all, as thousands of well paying, sustainable jobs would be created from the rise in tourism. Wouldn't that be great?