Before we start, don't take offense, and if you are easily offended, stop reading here.
Hollywood is a odd place; you never know what real-life news will turn into a big-screen story.
Many movies are based on real life, which is what makes them scary or compelling.
Think about it, characters in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Psycho" and "The Silence of the Lambs" were inspired by serial killer Ed Gein.
Then there was "Philadelphia" starring Tom Hanks, inspired by the story of Geoffrey Bowers' and his AIDS discrimination case.
So when Hollywood is so tapped out on ideas that it turns to remaking movies from the last 20 years, you have to wonder if someone in Tinseltown is looking at this court case in North Texas.
It's the case of Philippe Padieu, an HIV-positive Frisco man found guilty on six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His weapon of choice: sex. Padieu infected his lovers with HIV.
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Not only is the story compelling, so is the fact that his case could create legal precedent, criminalizing the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease.
It's serious stuff and has all the makings of a true Hollywood drama. He's known for years he has HIV, and he hasn't told a soul. Instead, he's repeatedly had unprotected sex.
To top it off, there's no law in Texas that says Padieu had to tell his partners he was HIV-positive.
Now, we're not making light of this story or the damage he has inflicted on his victims. It's real, and it's scary.
This story has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood drama fit for the big screen -- or the small screen, if you think about "Law & Order" and its "ripped from the headlines" theme.
You may say it's in bad taste to even talk about it, but somewhere, a writer's wheels are turning right now.
By the way, a woman who testified she had sex with Padieu in 2006 but said he always insisted on using protection, is collaborating with him on a book called "The French Man."
