HDC Idol 2008-09

[bloodrayne]

Originally Posted by neverending

Exactly- so why not choose a director you know can make a really top notch film?

Umm...Well...Yeaworth did a great job with it, and he wasn't well-known...And in my heart, I do believe that Carlson would do a great job.

All of the greatest (of everything) have to start somewhere :)

[neverending]

Deducts points from Rayne....

[bloodrayne]

Originally Posted by neverending

Deducts points from Rayne....

HaHaHa...I knew that was coming :p

I still love ya tho

[hammerfan]

Rayne, excellent! Well thought out, and it looked like you really did your research. I disagree with my esteemed colleagues on the director - I'm one of those movie-goers who don't pay attention to who the director is. What catches my attention about a movie is the story.

[neverending]

Originally Posted by hammerfan

Rayne, excellent! Well thought out, and it looked like you really did your research. I disagree with my esteemed colleagues on the director - I'm one of those movie-goers who don't pay attention to who the director is. What catches my attention about a movie is the story.

Nobody was saying the audience would neccessarily key into WHO the director is- but that a BETTER director would make a BETTER film. Surely you admit there are directors of varying degrees of talent & accomplishment.

[hammerfan]

Originally Posted by neverending

Nobody was saying the audience would neccessarily key into WHO the director is- but that a BETTER director would make a BETTER film. Surely you admit there are directors of varying degrees of talent & accomplishment.

I absolutely agree with you on that point. I was stating my point as a movie-goer. If there is a movie that has an interesting (to me) story line, even if I don't particularly care for the director, I'll still see the movie.

[_____V_____]

THE FIRST TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


- Bloodrayne : It is the year 1955. Universal Pictures have gained a firm foothold based on their monster/iconic horror movies, and Hammer is slowly but surely getting a grasp in the genre. You are an enthusiastic producer with lots of cash, and have the best director of the moment in your pocket. Which movie would you make, and what would be your budget and cast? How will you make your flick saleable with the audiences?

Originally Posted by bloodrayne

With an unlimited budget, I can do anything I want, so of course I would do something new and exciting...Something that hadn't been done before, that would pique peoples' curiosity...Thanks to the time machine, I have hindsight AND foresight, which should make this so much easier, however having so many perceivable opportunities makes this even more difficult for me because there is so much to choose from.

I have to keep in mind the era, the sensibilities of the time period, and possible negative reactions due to viewer sensitivity at that time.

As much as I LOVE zombies, I'm not sure that a good zombie movie would be made or received as well as when Romero made his, and I also would never want to take away from Romero what was rightly his with Night Of The Living Dead in 1968...THAT was the right time for it, and he did an amazing job.

I feel that any demonic possession related movies would be a bad idea and not received well, because America was still quite religious at that time and it could very well be seen as disrespectful, repulsive, or even blasphemous (The Exorcist hit opposition even in the 70s, when movies were becoming more experimental)

As 'new, exciting and shocking' as I would want my film to be, I would be constrained by the time period...Even in the 60s, as innovative as Herschell Gordon Lewis was, he was banned all over the place...I want my movie to be SEEN, and the 50s just wasn't the time for hardcore gore...So, how do I push the limits without stepping over the line?...That would be my motivation.

In the 50s, creature films and movies that depicted things that were larger than life were quite popular:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Thing (1951)
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
It Came From Outer Space (1953)
The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Them (1954)
Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)
Creature with the Atom Brain (1956)
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
The Fly (1958)
Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman (1958)

Aliens were also beginning to take their own place in the movies...People were constantly reminded how small and powerless we are in the grand scheme of things, with the radio broadcast of War Of The Worlds still fresh in peoples' minds...Playing on those fears was paying off in the horror industry...In 1955, a time of relative peace when people were scantly remembering the end of World War 2, just 10 years before, and Russia wasn't yet a real problem (although the Cold War was just beginning to heat up, and air raid drills were common), we began to look outward to other sources for a possible threat to our human existence and security....And of course, the fear of the unknown would always be mankind's greatest fear.

Taking all of these things into consideration...I would produce a movie that combined all of these elements...A never-before-seen, giant, alien, indefinable, amorphous creature, that I would call THE BLOB!

I would be bringing it to the screen only 3 years sooner than it would have been released, but I think that people would be ready for it, curious and excited about it...Unlike the other classic films already popular by that time (Dracula, The Wolfman, The Mummy, Frankenstein, et al), I would draw in the Horror crowd AND the Sci-Fi crowd, with this amazing combination of both genres.

My unlimited budget would allow for even more spectacular effects than what the original 1958 movie contained, and of course my own personal input would crank it up a notch or two...There would be a higher body count, and more on-screen, up-close kills, with 'melting' skin, and a greater emphasis on the threat of total earth destruction...While still taking viewer sensitivity of the 50s into consideration...Pushing the limits, but not crossing the line...Walking the edge.

For my cast and crew, I must keep Steve McQueen for the lead...It was no accident that he won awards for his role in The Blob...Prior to this movie, Steve McQueen would have only appeared in small parts in the movie Girl On The Run in 1953 and a couple of TV series episodes in 1955, so I believe this would launch his career in greater roles.

As for the other characters, I would most likely keep them the same, except that I would throw in Hume Cronyn for the restaurant owner and Bette Davis for his wife, because I love them both and Hume is always endearing to audiences...They would know him, and be horrified when he died ;)...Also, Bette Davis would HAVE to be in a movie that I made...She would add some element of 'creepiness' to it (as she does with every horror movie she's been in)...There would be hints at possible issues with her sanity throughout the movie, and she would have to experience one of her famous mental breaks (actually flipping out and killing someone herself, blaming them, in a paranoid outburst, for being responsible for the blob - Can't you just SEE that scene and hear her voice as it gradually ascends and builds to that shaky, high-pitched, frenzied shrieking?) before the blob killed her...In one final, stunning actor trade-off, I would convince Vincent Price to be the crazy old man in the beginning, Price does 'crazy' sooo well, and I would never consider doing ANY horror movie without him, while he was alive...He would only be 44 years-old when this film was made, but that's what make-up and good acting is for ;)...Would Price do it? I don't see why not...All that Price was doing in 1955 was a few various TV episodes and a (rather significant) part in Son Of Sinbad...His part in my movie wouldn't take up very much of his time, and he DID add his talents to Michael Jackson's Thriller, so I think he'd humor me...Also, I have lots of money, remember? ;)...Bette Davis and Vincent Price were already quite famous and well-liked by that time, and they would increase my movie's draw exponentially.

As for the director, Irvin S. Yeaworth did a great job, but his 'thing' was religious films (he even worked with Billy Graham) and he was disappointed with The Blob...Yeaworth often struggled with his legacy as director of The Blob (much of which was filmed in his backyard in Pennsylvania), and upon his death, his wife said, "He was not very proud of it"...I want someone who WILL be proud of this movie, and who will love it and remember it with fondness, as I do.

So, my director would be (director and actor) Richard Carlson, who was already quite familiar with Horror AND Sci-fi at the time...After interrupting his career to serve in World War 2, Carlson came home and slowly began to rebuild his career, finding work in the newly emergent science fiction and horror 'B' films of the 1950s...He appeared in a number of horror and science fiction films before 1955, including three 3-D films: The Maze (1953) and the classics, It Came from Outer Space (1953) with Barbara Rush, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with Julia Adams, and The Magnetic Monster (1954). His success in the genre led him to the director's chair for the 1954 sci-fi film Riders to the Stars, in which he also starred.

The 1950s proved a busy time for Carlson. He also directed in television and documentary films, and he starred in the television series I Led Three Lives from 1953-1956...He was featured in The Helen Morgan Story (1957)...Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans may remember Carlson (now) from the 1960 horror film Tormented...His last film was the Elvis Presley/Mary Tyler Moore film, Change of Habit (1969)...His last acting role was in a television episode of Cannon in 1973.

Carlson would be proud and excited to direct my movie, and rather than 'stealing' a movie from someone else (like if I had taken Romero's Night Of The Living Dead), I would actually be SAVING the director of The Blob (Yeaworth) from a lifelong regret and embarassment :)

(Contd.)

[_____V_____]

- Bwind22 : You are in the year 1968. George A Romero's Night of the Living Dead looms in the horizon, and the 60s have already produced some memorable Hitchcock classics and several other wonderful horror flicks. You are a budding script writer, and get a call from Hitchcock for a possible script idea. What idea do you pitch to him, and what will your script be of?

Originally Posted by bwind22

Even without an answer to how the looming Night of the Living Dead is relevant to the question, I'll go first since everyone else in my group is too timid. ;)

I'd pitch Sir Alfred Hitchcock one of my favorite stories from Edgar Allan Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado", for a couple of different reasons. First and foremost, Poe's work is all public domain so the studio wouldn't have to worry about getting the rights to it. Secondly, adaptations of Poe's work have already proven popular in that decade with "The Pit and The Pendulum", "The (Fall of the) House of Usher", "The Raven" and "The Black Cat" all seeing big screen releases. Third, anyone familiar with the story is aware that it's a tension-filled revenge tale, which I believe plays to Hitchcock's strong suit as the master of suspense.

For anyone unfamiliar with the story, it goes like this... Fortunato, a wine afficianado, is lured into the basement of his friend, Montresor's (who is also the Narrator) basement with the expectation of finding a Cask of Amontillado (an expensive red wine) awaiting him. Once in the basement, Montresor dupes his intoxicated friend, chains him in a side cellar, then seals up the wall in front of the door, effectively burying his old friend alive inside a tomb in his own basement. As the story winds down, we learn through the narration that it's been 50 years since this event occured. Forutnato's body is still in the basement, sealed behind the wall and Montresor was never caught or punished for the crime. Obviously, that's just the paraphrased version. Secondary characters and subplots would be inserted in order to expand the short story to feature length.

I envision the role of Montresor being played by the great Vincent Price, who's obviously a fan of Poe's work and starred in three of the four films mentioned above. Ideal casting for the role of Fortunato would be Boris Karloff, although knowing what we know now, he may not have completed the film before he died in 1969 so perhaps Bela Lugosi would be the wiser choice, with hindsight being 20/20.

A story by Edgar Allan Poe, scripted by bwind22, directed by Sir Alfred Hitchcock and starring Vincent Price and Boris Karloff (or Bela Lugosi) would almost certainly have been a box office success in it's time and would more than likely still be considered one of the classic films of that era to this day.

- Cactus : It is the year 1931. Dracula has just been released and is doing well. Universal have a winner on their hands, and are already planning a possible sequel. Their rival production company wants you, their Manager, to think up of a dream project which would outscore Universal at their own game. What possible idea can you conjure up, and pitch it successfully to your peers?

Originally Posted by cactus

Ok, here goes...since I'm about to be gone for 4 days with most likely no time to get on here, I'll throw myself on the hand grenade next...


Interesting scenario, to say the least. With the success of Dracula and the tapping of the well of the horror genre, it is our time to carve our niche. The way that we do that is with a little known author at the time, HP Lovecraft and his tale of Wilbur Whateley in "The Dunwich Horror". This tale is of Wilbur and his grandfather reaching out, through dark means, to the ancient race known only as The Old Ones. They are successful in bringing forth an unseen presence that grows within their farmhouse. Eventually Wilbur makes his way to Miskatonic University to obtain an original printing of the Necronomicon, from which he can summon these beings, and is killed attempting to steal the tome. Without Wilbur, the presence grows, breaking free from the farmhouse and terrorizing the countryside, only to be stopped by professors from the aforementioned Miskatonic U.

This provides the audience with good triumphing over evil, but open ended with a wealth of possibilities for future endeavors with Mr Lovecraft and the universe that he has created and will hopefully expand in the future. They are dark stories, for sure, but many of which contain underlying themes of repressed desires, dangerous and unacceptable behaviour. Primal and basic elements of great horror and of which the public would be sure to want more.

Also, we should strive to make this serious. Any attempt at showing creatures, other than the monsters of man, must be avoided, in my opinion. The fear that we should attempt to capitalize upon is the fear of the unknown, man's darkest desires come to life, so to speak.

My friends, this is our chance...do not let it pass us by.

- Dude Guadalupe : You are in 1987, a really talented new director who has been given a most difficult task - 20th Century Fox have been in touch and asked you to make a kickass sequel to Aliens, within 3 years, which would totally bowl the audiences over like James Cameron's masterpiece did the year before. Who would you contact to produce the movie? Your choice of scriptwriter and possible stars?

Originally Posted by Dude Guadalupe

With the success of Predator in 1987, I'd call up Director John McTiernan to jump on as producer for my sequal to aliens.

I would bring back Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett as writers. They did a wonderful job on both Alien and Aliens, so I think it would be a good choice to bring them back.

As for stars, I would bring back those who survived Aliens. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Carrie Henn as Newt, Michael Biehn as Hicks, and (assuming the script called for his return) Lance Henriksen as Bishop. This would be for continuity, due to the fact that I can't stand when actors are replaced and the audience is expected not to notice. Any other actors would depend upon the script.

- Freak : You are in 1974. After NotLD, The Exorcist has become a runaway huge hit with audiences screaming out of the theaters. You are a struggling actor trying to make it big on the screen. You heard that a certain young Steven Spielberg (with a great script tucked under his arm) is looking for young actors. How do you get in touch with him, and what audition will you give him to convince that one of the lead roles belongs to you?

Originally Posted by Freak

Ok guess I'll go ahead and throw mine up.don't really want to cause I'm not sure if it what your after but here goes.

Well first I'd call his office and try to set up a meeting and when that failed I'd find out hwere is office his.I'd wait outside all day and wait for him to either leave or come in.I'd jump in front of him and demand he give me an audition casue I am theperfect person for his new movie.

He says that I must first show him what I can do before he even thinks about giving me an audition.

I think hard and then lower my head and prepare myself.I look up and look in right in the face and I begin a piece from Citizen Kane.

There like I said not sire if thats what your looking for and probably not that good but I gave it muy best shot so let the slaughter begin.

- Illdojo : 2007. Rob Zombie has contacted you, a musician yourself, to give him an idea for a possible sequel to his version of Halloween. He is your best friend, and he wont take no for an answer. You only have a vague knowledge of the movie, and he has explicitly said that he doesnt want to do another Halloween II, but rather see a totally original take for the sequel to his remake. Do you have a possible idea to float to him?

- Jenna26 : The year is 1996. Troma, known for their low-budget gorific flicks, have suddenly decided to make a zero-budget shockfest based on cannibalism, with plenty of gore (of course!) and campy humor. As both a director and Makeup In charge, how will you go about your task of making yet another Troma "moneyspinner"?



(Contd.)

[_____V_____]

- Roshiq : The year is 1949. You are a great producer-director with lots of cash to spare, and Universal want you to make yet another winner, a follow-up to their monster hits from earlier years. You suddenly hit upon a goldmine of an idea - The Evil Dead!! What will your cast be of, and how will you go about making it? Remember its the late 40s, era of b/w movies, shock is limited to expressions and acting, minimal gore (plenty of effects which look jaded today), etc.

Originally Posted by roshiq

Tag line or trailer speech: You'll not dare to even talk about it with anyone after experiencing this ultimate nightmare of your lifetime!
Yes..ladies & gentlemen, you have seen the monster (Frankenstein)..you have been scared about the night breeders (Dracula & Wolf Man) but the film that's going to change the face of Horror cinema forever is...



Keeping the later 40's & early 50's scenario, I would like to give the film a dark,Gothic & haunting look and less graphic & violent element as possible.
Story:
After receiving a suspicious letter & strange gift (a dagger) by mail from a far distant relative- "Uncle Orge" (who have been disappeared for many years), Ashley Williams & his brother Scott Williams venture into the hills and mountains of Tennessee to figure out the mystery about him. He has written that he's been very sorry for all of his 'wrong' doings in life and specially for the recent & untimely death of her wife..Martha. But the most strange thing is he has also placed a very strange request to them...to send someone to destroy all his belongings out there which he mentioned as 'Cursed & Evil'. He thinks that he'll never able to do that by himself as he has 'very short time' left for his own. But the William brothers thinks that Uncle Orge may be actually a very wealthy & rich man as they heard once that he used to travel lot of strange places around the world. So to make the trip as a pleasure vacation type, Ash & Scott also take their wives (Linda & Shelly) and their sweet sister Cheryl with them to spend a weekend in the isolated cabin at the woods where their Uncle Orge lives as he written on the letter.
When they get into the cabin they figure out the mysterious absence of Uncle Orge and discover that he used to practice demonic rituals and witchcraft type of things. While searching the basement of the cabin, they find the Book of the Dead and a diary belonging to Uncle Orge.
As Ash begins to read the diary-- which just happens to be Candarian resurrection passages translated from the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead) by Uncle Orge, unleashes an evil force from the woods.
(Before the possession begins, I won't like to change anything..specially the scene where Cheryl draws the wall clock sitting besides the window and the haunting scenario... would be exactly the same as Raimi did with in the original)
The characters are then possessed one by one, beginning with Cheryl, after she is hauntingly attacked by the evil force (using the nearby branches of trees) in sequences of intense (less violent than 80's ED) and horrifying voice-overs. Cheryl makes it home to the cabin but nobody believes her. .......Like this one I would like to change few other scenes as:
1] Soon after, in the cabin Cheryl becomes a demon and grabs Linda's neck & try to kill her. But before that she already threaten everyone in Uncle Orge's voice that they have just called/awaken the evil forces that has been lurking in the woods for a long time'. They lock her in the cellar, but soon after Shelly becomes possessed and attacks Scotty who kills her with the dagger that Uncle Orge sent them...2] Linda later returns and run into Ash, but she falls on the fireplace, burnt heavily & seems she is finally dead. Ash drags her outside & bury her. She rises from the grave and then Ash hits her with the shovel and come back to the cabin. He then find that the cellar door flown open. He saw Cheryl & Linda just outside the window and tries to break in. Ash shoots them with a riffle (that Scott found on the basement), but then don't die. 3] Cheryl & Linda starts to knock on the door & call Ash with a normal voice, but now Ash get the trick, so he open the door & shoots both of them. But they still comes to attack him then he slides a bookshelf in front of the door. ....4] Ash notices that The Book of the Dead has fallen into the fireplace. He puts it directly into the flames and the demons stop and begin to vanishes in the wind as dawn breaks.
The same ending+the screen goes dark & the voice of Uncle Orge says..."I told them to send someone else rather than to come here & die and let 'them' free..!":D
Credits:
Assistant Director: Jacques Tourneur
Story Editor: Val Lewton
Screenplay: DeWitt Bodeen & Curt Siodmak
Casts:
Kirk Douglas as Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams
Burt Lancaster as Scott
Julie Adams as Linda
Yvonne De Carlo as Cheryl
Lizabeth Scott as Shelly
Background narrator/voice: Boris Karloff as Uncle Orge

6 entries by the Ogres so far. 2 remain.

[roshiq]

Originally Posted by hammerfan

roshiq, I'm speechless. I think it's brilliant. I like how you made Ash and Scott brothers, with Linda and Shelly their wives. And I like your casting choices, including the credits and the voice over.

Originally Posted by neverending

A very solid entry, roshiq. It will get high marks from me. I don't know about getting Douglas & Lancaster for a horror film though.

Originally Posted by missmacabre

*applause from the audience*

Originally Posted by Roderick Usher

Roshiq - excellent job sir. I agree with Neverending that you probably won't be able to neil down Lancaster and Douglas in a horror film, but the idea is exciting and getting a producer excited is the first step in getting a film greenlit. A Lewton/Tourner EVIL DEAD sounds fantastic. Great job!

Thanks a lot! I'm truly glad that you liked it!:) Otherwise, I can't able to forgive myself...like to do any kinda injustice with this great challenge.
As we all love this timeless vintage of Raimi (personally I always hold an extra emotional attachment with this film...as it was my first viewed horror movie), so I was pretty excited as well as quite worried about how to manage this seems to be 'easy' but sophisticated job.
Besides all my routing office duties..the whole yesterday I was basically kept myself busy to conducting an 'extensive' research about the horror films & the actors of that time period. Because you may know that I have seen very few classic horrors so far...and particularly about the late 40's & 50's..I have seen only the Hitchcock films & 2 films of H.G Cluzot: Quai des Orfèvres & Les Diabolique... So I just went through some trailers on youtube & some online articles about the 40's & 50's horror to get an idea about the films & the actors of that great decades.
And yeah...I also figured that Lancaster and Douglas weren't the horror icons at all or regular actors of this genre but it was somewhat tough task for me to find more suitable actors for those roles. I was just looking for some young, popular & good looking actors & actresses (sexy also:D ) for the roles.
As they (Lancaster and Douglas) were almost newcomers on the industry at that time so I think I can easily manage to get them into the project as I'm a great producer-director with lots of cash to spare;) and obviously with the great back up from the studios. And with the solid budget Why not to make a great team of talented 'behind the scene' people to make it a ultimate success in the history of Horror cinema.
Uncle Orge character was just an imaginary creation of mine to cope with the tone of horror films & stories of classic ages. But mainly the image & popularity of Mr. Karloff have always played an influencing part in my subconscious mind & just forced me to make a fine place for him in the '1949 Original' version of THE EVIL DEAD which Sam Raimi remade on 1981.:D :D