HDC Idol 2008-09 [Archive] - Page 2 - Horror.com Forums

ChronoGrl

12-19-2008, 06:01 PM

Alien Vs. Predator: Modern Horror for the Intellectual

With the failure of 2000’s Alien: Resurrection, it was clear that the horror audience needed more in their franchise than just another scary monster movie. And perhaps with the advent of this addition to the franchise, those same viewers will be reticent to spend their money on “Just another Alien flick.” But this is where I must stop you and appeal: Alien Vs. Predator is not just another horror/scifi crossover franchise flick.

Veteran horror/scifi director of Event Horizon and Resident Evil, Paul W.S. Anderson is back again to frighten and entertain his fans with the latest installment of the Alien and Predator franchises. Coupled with his experienced eye is Special Effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), whose previous work includes both Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. The result of this cinematic pairing is two truly gruesome and believable monsters within a literal Pandora’s box of horror.

Set in a pitch black Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica, AVP follows the story of a hapless team of scientists following a mysterious heat signal under the watchful eye (and finance) of Billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen). The setting, a clever nod to previous scifi greats like The Thing From Another World, immediately alienates our heroes while, unbeknownst to them, a Predator ship enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The action unfolds without delay: Geiger’s iconic Alien is paired up against the galaxy’s most feared Predator within a phantasmagorical maze that would make Escher drool and will strike fear in even the most jaded film-goer.

But what really separates AVP from other films in its genre is, surprisingly, its intelligence. Where the average horror movie strives simply to shock and awe with pedestrian antagonists, cheap scares, and pitifully scantily clad coeds, AVP challenges the intelligent viewer by creating a completely original pourquoi story that reimagines one of the most debated mysteries in the history of the World: the building of the Great Pyramids. Just as the founders of ancient Egyptian society invented their pantheon, so does Paul W.S. Anderson apotheosize the canonical Predator: In this alternate history, the Predators are considered Gods, with the great structures of the ancient world being built in their honor. Never before has a horror movie created an origin story that is so fascinating and all-encompassing, touching upon the history of not only Egyptian, but also Cambodian and Aztec civilizations.

Alien Vs. Predator is not just another Alien movie. Nor is it just another Predator movie. AVP is a clever re-visioning of Origin that shows that horror doesn’t always have to be about shock and awe.

5/5

roshiq

12-19-2008, 11:54 PM

For this round.

LEADERBOARD FOR THE OGRES FOR SECOND TEST

Bloodrayne - C+,

Bwind22 - B-,

Roshiq - B-.

"Writing negative reviews for any of your most favorite films"...It was fairly an easy(?) but quite a 'weird' task also.
Though still leading but disappointed with my own performance.:o

I guess I'm gonna have to be disqualified. I've not had time to do it today and tomorrow I'm going out with friends and they're staying round. Such is life, I suppose. Good luck to everyone else.

oh..I was expecting you for The Village!:D

ferretchucker

12-20-2008, 12:50 AM

Jaws: The Revenge

An Exciting New Direction for the Series

After the tragedy that was Jaws 3, I went into the theatre to see this with low expectations, but boy was I wrong! Jaws: The Revenge excels everywhere Jaws 3 fails! But where do I begin?

I'll start with the most prominent change: The Shark. In all of the previous films, the shark has been a rather stupid brute ending up dead by it's own foolish mistakes. This film, however, decides to show the shark in a whole new light, as an intelligent, malevolent killer hellbent on torturing the Brody family. Afterall, there have been four sharks previously that simply happened to end up facing off against the Brodys for no other reason than to please fanboys who would scream their little socks off if, heaven forbid, a new set of characters met the incredibly rare beast. This shark concsiously seeks out the Brodys to kill them, possibly avenging it's murdered buddies.

But that is only the tip of the iceburg compared to what's to come. Lorraine Gary too serves as a brilliant force in the film, creating a familiarity with the viewer. Not to mention Michael Caine as an aeroplane Pilot and Lance Guest (Halloween II) as Michael Brody. These three characters have clear chemistry, seeming like a true family.

On top of this, there is the cruel reminder that death isn't picky, and two previously invincible characters are both pronounced dead in the first few scenes! Though I wont name them, you have to find that one out for yourself!

All of the scenes flowed together, with the help of a brilliant score and flawless directing. This film will surely go down as one of the best sequels in history. I totally recommend this, I've already seen it three times! I can't think of anything I don't love about this, being easily as good as the original, putting the others to shame. If I could give this a 6 out of five, I would.

5/5 - AWESOME.

Sorry if this is a bit crappy, but I had to write it in a hurry, guests are arriving!

_____V_____

12-20-2008, 10:20 PM

THE FIFTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Goblins.

For your Second Test, the common theme chosen is - GENEROUS CRITICS.

Here we go...

Choose from - The Village, Alien vs Predator, Boo!, Killjoy, Boogeyman, The Exorcist II, Jaws The Revenge.

Two contestants may pick the same movie, but their loving and doting reviews should not be too similar with each other, or both of them stand to lose points.

Alien Vs. Predator: Modern Horror for the Intellectual

With the failure of 2000’s Alien: Resurrection, it was clear that the horror audience needed more in their franchise than just another scary monster movie. And perhaps with the advent of this addition to the franchise, those same viewers will be reticent to spend their money on “Just another Alien flick.” But this is where I must stop you and appeal: Alien Vs. Predator is not just another horror/scifi crossover franchise flick.

Veteran horror/scifi director of Event Horizon and Resident Evil, Paul W.S. Anderson is back again to frighten and entertain his fans with the latest installment of the Alien and Predator franchises. Coupled with his experienced eye is Special Effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), whose previous work includes both Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. The result of this cinematic pairing is two truly gruesome and believable monsters within a literal Pandora’s box of horror.

Set in a pitch black Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica, AVP follows the story of a hapless team of scientists following a mysterious heat signal under the watchful eye (and finance) of Billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen). The setting, a clever nod to previous scifi greats like The Thing From Another World, immediately alienates our heroes while, unbeknownst to them, a Predator ship enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The action unfolds without delay: Geiger’s iconic Alien is paired up against the galaxy’s most feared Predator within a phantasmagorical maze that would make Escher drool and will strike fear in even the most jaded film-goer.

But what really separates AVP from other films in its genre is, surprisingly, its intelligence. Where the average horror movie strives simply to shock and awe with pedestrian antagonists, cheap scares, and pitifully scantily clad coeds, AVP challenges the intelligent viewer by creating a completely original pourquoi story that reimagines one of the most debated mysteries in the history of the World: the building of the Great Pyramids. Just as the founders of ancient Egyptian society invented their pantheon, so does Paul W.S. Anderson apotheosize the canonical Predator: In this alternate history, the Predators are considered Gods, with the great structures of the ancient world being built in their honor. Never before has a horror movie created an origin story that is so fascinating and all-encompassing, touching upon the history of not only Egyptian, but also Cambodian and Aztec civilizations.

Alien Vs. Predator is not just another Alien movie. Nor is it just another Predator movie. AVP is a clever re-visioning of Origin that shows that horror doesn’t always have to be about shock and awe.

5/5

Jaws: The Revenge

An Exciting New Direction for the Series

After the tragedy that was Jaws 3, I went into the theatre to see this with low expectations, but boy was I wrong! Jaws: The Revenge excels everywhere Jaws 3 fails! But where do I begin?

I'll start with the most prominent change: The Shark. In all of the previous films, the shark has been a rather stupid brute ending up dead by it's own foolish mistakes. This film, however, decides to show the shark in a whole new light, as an intelligent, malevolent killer hellbent on torturing the Brody family. Afterall, there have been four sharks previously that simply happened to end up facing off against the Brodys for no other reason than to please fanboys who would scream their little socks off if, heaven forbid, a new set of characters met the incredibly rare beast. This shark concsiously seeks out the Brodys to kill them, possibly avenging it's murdered buddies.

But that is only the tip of the iceburg compared to what's to come. Lorraine Gary too serves as a brilliant force in the film, creating a familiarity with the viewer. Not to mention Michael Caine as an aeroplane Pilot and Lance Guest (Halloween II) as Michael Brody. These three characters have clear chemistry, seeming like a true family.

On top of this, there is the cruel reminder that death isn't picky, and two previously invincible characters are both pronounced dead in the first few scenes! Though I wont name them, you have to find that one out for yourself!

All of the scenes flowed together, with the help of a brilliant score and flawless directing. This film will surely go down as one of the best sequels in history. I totally recommend this, I've already seen it three times! I can't think of anything I don't love about this, being easily as good as the original, putting the others to shame. If I could give this a 6 out of five, I would.

5/5 - AWESOME.

Boogeyman- Psychological Terror for the Intelligent Viewer

As far as I'm concerned, horror is about connections, and connections start in the human psyche. The genre isn't for everyone, and being a general film critic, I don't have biases...I'm also very inclined to grade shockers tightly and critically as I find the genre today almost degradingly by-the-book.

These practiced expectations were upturned, however, when I saw Boogeyman. Here was something I could enjoy, something that didn't involve unbearable torture sequences, pushy sexism or gut-wrenching gore; instead I found an engaging, and at some points touching look at a man and his own personal demons, a metaphor of enormous humane value which also happened to have a few good scares.

Now, I earlier mentioned the importance in film of connecting with an audience...something the horror genre hasn't done since it handed us 1991's Best Picture. As of late, horror films have been heavy "R"s, only suited for people of adult age.

But to my delight, the theater I saw Boogeyman in was loaded with an enormous variety of excited movie-goers. Now the last time I checked, the aura made the horror film, and what better environment is there to enjoy a few well-calculated scares in but one laden with a diverse selection of thrillseekers both young and old. I feel much more comfortable sharing a thrill ride in this manner, as opposed to with a few other groups of drunken late-teen boys.

The film had me at opening credits anyway, and I soon lost myself in it. Human detachment has been a kink in the genre chain for years now as we've had to suffer through cannibalistic stories involving bratty teenagers or insufferable upper-class only. How can we be expected to connect with a victim if we feel lower then them, or hate them? Herein lies the beauty (or should I say terror?) of Boogeyman. Our central character- Tim- is an absolute human being if I've ever seen one. The movie opens with a bang as his parents argue over the content of the child's bed-time stories in relation to the "bogeyman" who he sees every night. But as his father is brutally murdered by the very demon his parents had scoffed, we begin to see that this film will explore not the amount of blood in the human body but other things that lie within the soul...and the heart.

The film is a breathtaking journey of a man who must journey back to his nightmarish home as an adult and fight the inner-demons who have haunted him his whole life, and it is this brave search for freedom which kept me glued to the screen for the short 90 minute run time.

As the credits rolled, I looked around me and saw, for the first time in a long time, what horror is all about: a theater filled not with disgusted dissapointment but emotionally shaken people, rattled by some perfectly-calculated scares and a story they could give a damn about.

And that's when I recalled that, yes, horror CAN mean something, and that once upon a time films like Cat People and The Haunting could scare the living daylights out of us without showing a single dismembered body part or an ounce of blood.

Boogeyman has its heart in the right place. The film is a tour-de-force of refreshingly intelligent horror and to miss it would be to pass by a rare thing.

***** out of *****

3 entries by the Goblins. I ll request all Judges to evaluate them and send me their Grades, and post their criticisms and appreciation, if any.

_____V_____

12-22-2008, 10:26 PM

GRADES OF THE GOBLINS AFTER THE SECOND TEST

Alkytrio666 - C+,

ChronoGrl - B,

FerretChucker - C+.

All others have been deemed as "Absent".

Now onto the Second Test for the Elves...

_____V_____

12-22-2008, 10:35 PM

THE SIXTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Elves. Each one of you is given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, wit and innovation, based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For your Second Test, the common theme chosen is - MODERN CRITICS.

All of you pen the critics columns of some very influential trade magazines which influence the movie-going public and the performances at the BO. All of you are attendees of first screenings of some hugely popular movies of the 2000s. Without taking any sides or being biased, you have to submit a short review of the movies in question, as to how you value the movie.

In other words, be frank about your criticism/praise of the movie you choose, and make it sound as honest and influencing on the Judges as you can at the same time. Pick what you liked, and what you didnt like...be honest with yourself, and with the review you put forward.

Ready?

Choose from - House of 1000 Corpses, Grindhouse, The Mist, Cloverfield, [Rec], The Descent, Saw.

Two contestants may pick the same movie, but their honest reviews should not be too similar with each other, or both of them stand to lose points. ALSO, you might lose points if you show TOO much favoritism or bias towards the movie you choose, so be very careful.

All of you have 48 hours to do your researches, write down your reviews, and pitch them in front of the Judges. The Judges will be your peers for each review, and if you manage to win them over, you stand to score the maximum. When you are ready, send me a PM or post your entry in this thread (WITHOUT EDITING), and the Judges will read em and post their criticisms and praise, if any.

If any of you dont post your entry within the next 48 hours, you stand DQed off this Test, and dont gain any scores (or favors) from your Judges!

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

ChronoGrl

12-23-2008, 05:36 AM

GRADES OF THE GOBLINS AFTER THE SECOND TEST

Alkytrio666 - C+,

ChronoGrl - B,

FerretChucker - C+.

All others have been deemed as "Absent".

Now onto the Second Test for the Elves...

Thanks, Judges!

Also - Is this a combined grade for the first two contests, or is this a grade for contest #2 only?

_____V_____

12-23-2008, 05:43 AM

Is this a combined grade for the first two contests, or is this a grade for contest #2 only?

For the Second Test only. And it is an average grade of the 3 grades received from 3 Judges.

The final, overall grade will be finalised after the Third Test is over. That will stand final and binding for the Qualifying Round.

ChronoGrl

12-23-2008, 05:45 AM

For the Second Test only. And it is an average grade of the 3 grades received from 3 Judges.

The final, overall grade will be finalised after the Third Test is over. That will stand final and binding for the Qualifying Round.

Kewl. Thanks, V! :)

_____V_____

12-24-2008, 05:41 AM

Since there arent any replies yet, we will have Christmas break for three days.

HDC Idol will return on the morning of 27th December.

Disease

12-27-2008, 07:50 AM

So that's today, I only just got here, how long is left till the deadline friend?

_____V_____

12-27-2008, 07:58 AM

So that's today, I only just got here, how long is left till the deadline friend?

Yes HDC Idol is back on track!

And since the Test was up for the entire 48 hours before the Christmas break, I ll keep it open for the next 24 hours.

Attention, Elves - Dante's Inferno, Disease, Illdojo, Miss Macabre, Novakru, Papillon Noir, Posher778 - you are up for your second, and Idol's Sixth Test above.

You have a further 24 hours to do your researches and submit your entries. I am sure all Judges are back and waiting patiently for your submissions.

Disease

12-28-2008, 05:59 AM

My Entry

House of 1000 corpses by Disease

After breaking free from my office on a Saturday afternoon I sat and waited on the steps at the entrance to the cinema complex. I waited long enough to drink a beer and pass a couple of movie tickets of to a beggar to sell.

I got some popcorn and walked in, it was the weekend and the illiterate youth had taken over the cinema.

By the time the feature came along the place was nearly turned upside down, chairs turned over into the aisles, boyfriends and girlfriends giving mutual handjobs.

I was in an MTV nightmare. The funhouse horror philosophy of the script was purposely overdone and the horror non existent upon the screen. I thought any minute now a dominos pizza would be delivered to one of the victims.

The movie did nothing to impress me, it patronized me with it's cleshays and self indulgence.

I waited as the credits rolled and prepared my self a cigarette for the walk down George street. The filth the animals had left behind in the theater was harder to digest than that movie.

_____V_____

12-28-2008, 08:20 AM

THE SIXTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Elves. Each one of you is given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, wit and innovation, based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For your Second Test, the common theme chosen is - MODERN CRITICS.

All of you pen the critics columns of some very influential trade magazines which influence the movie-going public and the performances at the BO. All of you are attendees of first screenings of some hugely popular movies of the 2000s. Without taking any sides or being biased, you have to submit a short review of the movies in question, as to how you value the movie.

In other words, be frank about your criticism/praise of the movie you choose, and make it sound as honest and influencing on the Judges as you can at the same time. Pick what you liked, and what you didnt like...be honest with yourself, and with the review you put forward.

Ready?

Choose from - House of 1000 Corpses, Grindhouse, The Mist, Cloverfield, [Rec], The Descent, Saw.

Two contestants may pick the same movie, but their honest reviews should not be too similar with each other, or both of them stand to lose points. ALSO, you might lose points if you show TOO much favoritism or bias towards the movie you choose, so be very careful.

My Entry

House of 1000 corpses by Disease

After breaking free from my office on a Saturday afternoon I sat and waited on the steps at the entrance to the cinema complex. I waited long enough to drink a beer and pass a couple of movie tickets of to a beggar to sell.

I got some popcorn and walked in, it was the weekend and the illiterate youth had taken over the cinema.

By the time the feature came along the place was nearly turned upside down, chairs turned over into the aisles, boyfriends and girlfriends giving mutual handjobs.

I was in an MTV nightmare. The funhouse horror philosophy of the script was purposely overdone and the horror non existent upon the screen. I thought any minute now a dominos pizza would be delivered to one of the victims.

The movie did nothing to impress me, it patronized me with it's cleshays and self indulgence.

I waited as the credits rolled and prepared my self a cigarette for the walk down George street. The filth the animals had left behind in the theater was harder to digest than that movie.

1 Entry by the Elves.

I ll keep it open for a further 12 hours, but this extension of time is Final.

We will move to the Judges' verdict, and the next Test, after 12 hours.

neverending

12-28-2008, 11:04 AM

You spend barely 3 sentences in your entire review on the movie itself. While some critics do indeed expand their critiques to include other matters, it needs to be more balanced. The review of the film itself seems almost an afterthought.

It will get low marks from me.

Doc Faustus

12-28-2008, 11:56 AM

Nice set up. It would be a great way to point out that the movie you were watching was filthy, stupid or crass. I have heard all these accusations leveled against Rob Zombie and having them leveled again would not surprise or annoy me. But, you went nowhere. Another few minutes of effort and thought would have done wonders. Shrug.

Disease

12-28-2008, 04:35 PM

I apreciate both your input, it shows my dissapointment with the movie. you can filter my thoughts how ever you wish.

It's my true experience of the movie.

_____V_____

12-29-2008, 05:47 AM

Received grades from two Judges...waiting for at least 1 more Judge to send me theirs.

After that, we will go back to the Ogres for their Final Preliminary Test.

Despare

12-29-2008, 01:44 PM

The filth the animals had left behind in the theater was harder to digest than that movie.

I would hope filth would be harder to digest than any movie...

Nice review though, I'm digging reading (when I can) this Idol contest.

hammerfan

12-30-2008, 06:10 AM

I have to agree with neverending. You spent very little time discussing the actual movie. Most critics expend a lot more dialogue on the movie - which is what they get paid for. You're also getting a low grade from me.

_____V_____

12-30-2008, 09:16 AM

THE SCOREBOARD OF THE ELVES AFTER THE SECOND TEST

Since only Disease sent in his entry, he has been awarded D+ by the Judges.

All others have been marked as "Absent".

Now we move to the third Test for the Ogres...

_____V_____

12-30-2008, 09:20 AM

THE SEVENTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Ogres. Each one of you is given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, wit and innovation, based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For your Third Test, the common theme chosen is - JUDGE'S TORTURE.

All of you need to pick a Judge out of our four esteemed Judges - Austin316426808, Doc Faustus, Neverending and Hammerfan - and post your selection of Judge in this thread. Then I will proceed to give you the question/task the Judge has selected for you to complete.

Two or more contestants may pick the same Judge, but remember, judging on your entries will be done by all 4 Judges.

All of you will have 48 hours to do your researches, write down your reviews, and pitch them in front of the Judges. The Judges will be your peers for each of your entries, and if you manage to win them over, you stand to score the maximum. When you are ready, send me a PM or post your entry in this thread (WITHOUT EDITING), and the Judges will read em and post their criticisms and praise, if any.

If any of you dont post your entry within the stipulated 48 hours, you stand DQed off this Test, and dont gain any scores (or favors) from your Judges!

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

ferretchucker

12-30-2008, 10:53 AM

Oooh, this task will be hard. Very hard. Good luck to all of the Ogres!

roshiq

12-30-2008, 10:23 PM

THE SEVENTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

For your Third Test, the common theme chosen is - JUDGE'S TORTURE.

All of you need to pick a Judge out of our four esteemed Judges - Austin316426808, Doc Faustus, Neverending and Hammerfan - and post your selection of Judge in this thread. Then I will proceed to give you the question/task the Judge has selected for you to complete.

Two or more contestants may pick the same Judge, but remember, judging on your entries will be done by all 4 Judges.

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

Sounds bit horrifying! :confused:

Anyway, my chosen one: Neverending

Come on...shoot me! (but....with a paintball sniper gun!:o )

bwind22

12-31-2008, 11:04 AM

Ill take Austins question.

_____V_____

01-01-2009, 08:50 AM

Anyway, my chosen one: Neverending

Ill take Austins question.

Seeing as there are only 2 Ogres in line till now and we had New Years in-between, I ll keep this open for the next 24 hours.

The tasks of the Judges will be posted then.

_____V_____

01-02-2009, 08:47 AM

24 Hours are up and I dont see any other Ogres online to make their choices. So we move forward into the Seventh Test, i.e., the Third Test for the Ogres.

Roshiq, here is NE's challenge for you :-

Much is being written on the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Show remake from MTV. You are the producer. You have been given free reign by MTV to chose your director & cast. Who will you get? NOTE: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Kirsten Dunst have already definitively turned down any involvement.

Bwind, here is Austin's challenge for you :-

What's a remake that you would like to see? Choose a director and cast. Last but not least, what is your spin? It's remake, not regurgitation.

Both of you will have 48 hours to do your researches, and write down your answers, and pitch them in front of the Judges. The Judges will be your peers for your entries, and if you manage to win them over, you stand to score the maximum. When you are ready, send me a PM or post your entry in this thread (WITHOUT EDITING), and the Judges will read em and post their criticisms and praise, if any.

If either of you dont post your entry within the stipulated 48 hours, you stand DQed off this Test, and dont gain any scores (or favors) from your Judges!

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

Papillon Noir

01-02-2009, 10:30 AM

I can't believe no one else got thier entry in... What does this mean for the Elves?

I think our test was just too close to the holidays. I know when our test was posted, I was rushing to finish stuff at work and then had holiday responsibilities which lasted through the deadline. It was a shame too because I really did want to write the review for that. :(

roshiq

01-03-2009, 02:52 AM

Much is being written on the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Show remake from MTV. You are the producer. You have been given free reign by MTV to chose your director & cast. Who will you get? NOTE: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Kirsten Dunst have already definitively turned down any involvement.

Now..that's a freaking task to do! I haven't seen it yet but as I'm going through the youtube trailers and vdos about this cult classic and reading different reviews & articles about it I think it'd be a really quite tough job to find a director and make a 'near to moderately perfect' casting in real for the remake of this extraordinary movie. Who the hell on earth will dare to take the risk of directing this remake or playing the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter?!? Even playing that role can be same disastrous as Vince Vaughn experienced with Norman Bates.

Anyway, as it's a task to do..so I'll definitely post an answer within a day but before that I need to think more about it with care & patience.

Thanks to NE for this weird [:mad: ] but great challenge!:)

bwind22

01-03-2009, 11:12 PM

What's a remake that you would like to see? Choose a director and cast. Last but not least, what is your spin? It's remake, not regurgitation.

First off, thanks Austin for the excellent question.

Secondly, let me state that I am anti-remake and pro-creativity.

That being said, since I have to choose, I'll remake The 'burbs, but I'll take it in a very different direction.

First off, lose the comedy and make this story a very dark, gritty and realistic one. Instead of a new neighbor showing up creeping out the existing neighbors, the tale I envision goes like this...

A small town family upgrades to the perfect house in Southwestern US suburbia only to discover one of their new neighbors is a serial killer and the rest of the neighborhood is helping cover his tracks.

Director - Bryan Bertino (The Strangers. Still making a name for himself but The Strangers captured the horrific atmosphere I envision here quite well.)
Dad - Matthew Fox (Under-rated actor that has a TV series with the end of it's run in sight.)
Mom - Parker Posey (Under-rated actress that has done a lot of great work on the indie circuit. She's not typically a horror gal, but I think if the right script came along, she could be a dark, gritty, twisted indie film kind of gal.)
Teen - Miranda Cosgrove (She's a Disney starlette that will be looking to break her typecast in the near future.)
Serial Killer - Billy Bob Thornton (He's good at the disturbed, creepy roles.)
Sheriff - Danny Trejo (He seems like a perfect fit for a Southwestern sheriff.)

Of course there are several lesser roles, but I do not feel the need to cast those. Depending on the alotted budget (Which I tried to be conscious of in casting.), the supporting roles can be given to up and comers willing to work for minimum.

Also, I did not feel the need to give the character's names yet since that will be up to the film's writer's and director to work out and I am merely pitching the idea.

Thanks again Austin for the question. I hope I answered it to your satisfaction.

neverending

01-03-2009, 11:22 PM

A little sketchy on the plot details, but I like the direction you're going. Good casting.

Above average.

roshiq

01-03-2009, 11:37 PM

Much is being written on the upcoming Rocky Horror Picture Show remake from MTV. You are the producer. You have been given free reign by MTV to chose your director & cast. Who will you get? NOTE: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Kirsten Dunst have already definitively turned down any involvement.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (remake)

I'll like to get....

Gore Verbinski (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0893659/) as Director

CASTS:

Jude Law (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000179/) as Dr. Frank N. Furter

Elizabeth Banks (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006969/) as Janet Weiss

Luke Wilson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005561/) as Brad Majors

Crispin Glover (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/) as Riff-Raff

Rose McDowan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000535/)as Magenta

Brittany Murphy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005261/) as Columbia

Geoffrey Rush (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/) as Dr. Everett V. Scott

Ben Foster (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004936/) as "Rocky Horror"

Seth Rogen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736622/) as Eddie

Michael Caine (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000323/) as The Criminologist

neverending

01-03-2009, 11:54 PM

roshiq

01-04-2009, 12:17 AM

Ah Roshiq... I'm afraid I was hoping to see a little more thinking outside the box. I understand you haven't seen the film, but still... With Gore Verbinski at the helm, I'm afraid this little chamber musical would turn into a huge budget extravaganza. That might be one way to go- but I'm not sure the script could hold up to the weight.

Most of the cast are the same Hollywood usuals I was hoping you'd avoid- with the exception of Crispin Glover (actually an inspired choice, and one I've not seen on any forum I've visited). Likewise, I liked Geoffry Rush & Michael Caine. The rest seem merely adequate.

Those three actors raised your grade to above average- but just barely.

hehehe:D . I somewhat understand..what a mess of casting that is. But the truth is practically I'd never like to take the job to being a producer of the remake of such a unique & sensitive cult classic of all time. I think there is no director and actor can be actually or merely suitable to remake the film and playing the role of Frank-N- Furtur (perhaps...Burton & Depp can do it but I'm not totally convinced about that). Specially, I had the most problem to select the director.

Anyways, This should definitely remain untouched but I'm glad that you at least liked few of the choices.

Whatever the grades the judges are going to give me...I'll be happy with that...cause I'm not expecting much...but yeah..I think I did my best with this damn tough challenge.

ferretchucker

01-04-2009, 04:11 AM

I liked most of your choices with the exception of Ben Foster. He doesn't feel like a rocky to me. But good casting otherwise, especially Crispin Glover. I would have never thought of that!

Doc Faustus

01-04-2009, 09:04 AM

Roshiq- Crispin Glover, fantastic. Jude Law, meh. Elizabeth Banks, however would be a phenomenal Janet and the Magenta/Columbia choices are profoundly hot, though I might have reversed them. Gore Verbinski? Not so much. Pretty solid.
Bwind: This is the kind of out-of-the-box balls on the line thinking I like. Good show. Usually remakes camp up serious material, going in the other direction is intriguing.

_____V_____

01-04-2009, 10:47 AM

I ll request all Judges to send me their verdicts of the Ogres' performances of this round, and post their criticisms or praise, if any.

Have received grades from 1 Judge already. Waiting for the rest.

hammerfan

01-05-2009, 10:28 AM

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (remake)

I'll like to get....

Gore Verbinski (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0893659/) as Director

CASTS:

Jude Law (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000179/) as Dr. Frank N. Furter

Elizabeth Banks (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006969/) as Janet Weiss

Luke Wilson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005561/) as Brad Majors

Crispin Glover (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000417/) as Riff-Raff

Rose McDowan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000535/)as Magenta

Brittany Murphy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005261/) as Columbia

Geoffrey Rush (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001691/) as Dr. Everett V. Scott

Ben Foster (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004936/) as "Rocky Horror"

Seth Rogen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736622/) as Eddie

Michael Caine (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000323/) as The Criminologist

I like all of your choices except Gore Verbinski and Jude Law. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of both of them, but I don't think this would be a good project for them.

hammerfan

01-05-2009, 10:29 AM

First off, thanks Austin for the excellent question.

Secondly, let me state that I am anti-remake and pro-creativity.

That being said, since I have to choose, I'll remake The 'burbs, but I'll take it in a very different direction.

First off, lose the comedy and make this story a very dark, gritty and realistic one. Instead of a new neighbor showing up creeping out the existing neighbors, the tale I envision goes like this...

A small town family upgrades to the perfect house in Southwestern US suburbia only to discover one of their new neighbors is a serial killer and the rest of the neighborhood is helping cover his tracks.

Director - Bryan Bertino (The Strangers. Still making a name for himself but The Strangers captured the horrific atmosphere I envision here quite well.)
Dad - Matthew Fox (Under-rated actor that has a TV series with the end of it's run in sight.)
Mom - Parker Posey (Under-rated actress that has done a lot of great work on the indie circuit. She's not typically a horror gal, but I think if the right script came along, she could be a dark, gritty, twisted indie film kind of gal.)
Teen - Miranda Cosgrove (She's a Disney starlette that will be looking to break her typecast in the near future.)
Serial Killer - Billy Bob Thornton (He's good at the disturbed, creepy roles.)
Sheriff - Danny Trejo (He seems like a perfect fit for a Southwestern sheriff.)

Of course there are several lesser roles, but I do not feel the need to cast those. Depending on the alotted budget (Which I tried to be conscious of in casting.), the supporting roles can be given to up and comers willing to work for minimum.

Also, I did not feel the need to give the character's names yet since that will be up to the film's writer's and director to work out and I am merely pitching the idea.

Thanks again Austin for the question. I hope I answered it to your satisfaction.

I would have preferred more detail as to the plot, but love your casting choices.

_____V_____

01-05-2009, 08:47 PM

RESULTS OF THE THIRD TEST OF THE OGRES

The grades are in, and they are...

Bwind22 - B-,

Roshiq - B-.

We will have overall grades once the Third Test for all 3 groups are over.

And now we move to the Goblins...

_____V_____

01-05-2009, 08:48 PM

THE EIGHTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Goblins. Each one of you is given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, wit and innovation, based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For your Third Test, the common theme chosen is - JUDGE'S TORTURE.

All of you need to pick a Judge out of our four esteemed Judges - Austin316426808, Doc Faustus, Neverending and Hammerfan - and post your selection of Judge in this thread. Then I will proceed to give you the question/task the Judge has selected for you to complete.

Two or more contestants may pick the same Judge, but remember, judging on your entries will be done by all 4 Judges.

All of you will have 48 hours to do your researches, write down your reviews, and pitch them in front of the Judges. The Judges will be your peers for each of your entries, and if you manage to win them over, you stand to score the maximum. When you are ready, send me a PM or post your entry in this thread (WITHOUT EDITING), and the Judges will read em and post their criticisms and praise, if any.

If any of you dont post your entry within the stipulated 48 hours, you stand DQed off this Test, and dont gain any scores (or favors) from your Judges!

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

neverending

01-05-2009, 08:50 PM

C'mon Goblins! Let's see some participation!

The Flayed One

01-05-2009, 10:10 PM

I will take Docs question. Fire away.

ChronoGrl

01-06-2009, 05:22 AM

Gimme what you got, NE.

alkytrio666

01-06-2009, 06:54 AM

Let's have it, Austin!

ferretchucker

01-06-2009, 07:05 AM

Hammerfan - HIT ME!

_____V_____

01-06-2009, 07:23 AM

I will take Docs question. Fire away.

Steal the plot of a Hitchcock film and turn it into a grindhouse movie. Psycho is off limits.

Gimme what you got, NE.

The following paragraph describes a famous location in the history of horror. Name the location and its connection to the history of horror. Pleas for more information or definition will be met with deaf ears and possible loss of points.

May not be the worst of the many districts in this quarter, but it is undoubtedly bad enough. You may pass on either side about twenty narrow avenues, leading to thousands of closely-packed nests, full to overflowing with dirt, misery and rags. the inhabitants are chiefly dock workers. The other half of the residents are thieves, professional beggars, rag-dealers. The Cimmerian darkness constitutes no small part of its wretchedness, and the brilliant lighting of the public-house gives it much of its attraction. Even the repute of many of these shady localities is due in great measure to their impenetrable gloom after nightfall. They are all enshrouded in that murky obscurity which in the apprehension of adventurers from more favored regions converts them all into possible assassins and thieves. As he catches here and there a glimpse of a face under the flickering, uncertain light of a lamp - the face perhaps of some woman, bloated by drink and distorted by passion - he may get a momentary shuddering sense of what humanity may sink to when life is lived apart from the sweet, health-giving influences.

Let's have it, Austin!

Austin hasn't sent in his task for you yet, Alky. Don't worry, you will get full 48 hours from the moment I post his task for you...not from now. :)

Hammerfan - HIT ME!

It is the year 1987, and you are a new writer that has gained critical acclaim for your new novel. Bantam Books has contacted you to write the newest horror novel with a very sinister twist at the end. What is your main idea, how would you portray your characters, and what would your twist be?

All your times begin now...except for Alky, and any other Goblins who show up for this Test.

All the best!

ferretchucker

01-06-2009, 08:39 AM

First I must thank you for such a good choice of challenge, which hopefully I will be able to rise to, as I tend to read a lot. Thank you Hammerfan.

Now, before I can even consider the storyline for my novel, I have to look at what was selling at the time. In 1987, Stephen King released his famous novel, Misery, and other books such as When Rabbit Howls and Rainforest which follow the same trend, being psychological stories. It is from here that I can consider what my story should be about.

So, if I am to do a novel about psychological matters, i have to think along the lines of the psychologically troubled. And where do the psychologically troubled go? The Psychiatrist! And that is where my novel begins.

A young man named Ted Leaward is feeling completely stressed out, after losing his job, a strained relationship with his girlfriend and the threat of eviction. When he is searching for a job at a building site, a pile of bricks falls and crushes him.

Leaward wakes up in hospital, and finds out he's been in a coma for three years, having barely lived through the ordeal. As he slowly works his way back into life, he discovers his girlfriend has found another man, and his brother killed himself after his ex wife gained custody over his child.

Leaward takes regular visits to his psychiatrist, to help him cope with all of the changes that have happened. After a while, his psychiatrist, Edward Tale, gives him some new government medication to help ease stress; KEFA 1, small green tablets.

However, as Leaward begins to take the drug, he goes into trance like states of immense pleasure. It is in one of these states that he kills his brother's ex wife and daughter. Leaward is horrified, and to help ease the pain, takes more KEFA 1. Eventually, he becomes greatly addicted to the drug, with Edward Tale explaining that it helps him ease stress by getting rid of the things that cause the stress.

Leaward continues killing. It is only after a policeman sees him coming out of an empty room, smiling, that he gets in trouble. The police officer investigates the scene, after sensing something was wrong. He finds a dead body there, and rushes after Leaward, following him to a dirty apartment, where Leaward is talking on the phone to "Mr. Tale"

Leaward turns and sees the police officer, holding the gun. He rushes the officer who's gun is jammed. The policeman eventually restrains him and he is taken to the station, where a psychiatrist explains everything.

Leaward developed a love of anagrams as a child. His "psychiatrist", Edward Tale, is an anagram for Ted Leaward, and the medication pots he had, full of nothing more than Tic Tacs, KEFA 1, is an anagram for FAKE 1.

The final paragraph is of the psychiatrist leaving the police station. As he passes Leaward, he winks, then, he gets into his car and chuckles to himself as he pulls out a pot of medication with green tablets marked "KEFA 1".

ChronoGrl

01-06-2009, 08:39 AM

I liked the one you gave Roshig better. :p

Tough one! 48 hours from now, eh? I'm out tonight, but should be able to give this ample time tomorrow evening.

ferretchucker

01-06-2009, 08:42 AM

Just incase I didn't explain it well enough, the psychiatrist is Edward Tale, and the meds were real. He just used a fake name that was an anagram of Leaward's name and had a fake pot of tic tacs so he could cover up his tracks.

Doc Faustus

01-06-2009, 08:48 AM

Let me clarify my question further: Psycho, Frenzy and the Birds are out.

hammerfan

01-06-2009, 09:36 AM

ferretchucker

01-06-2009, 10:28 AM

Yes, I don't think I explained it well enough, and regret I cannot change it. Leaward was given tablets by his psychiatrist, Tale. Tale gave him these tablets that send him into a trance like state. His real name is also not Edward Tale at all. He made it up so that when Leaward was caught and he had to find out what was wrong with him, he could make it seem like he imagined the "Tale" character out of nowhere. And with the tablets, he had the real pot and the fake one. The real one had the real tablets in, which he took from Leaward at the station, and the fake one had tic tacs, which he could pretend Leaward was really taking.

Of course, it would be made a lot clearer in the novel itself, I just don't feel I summed it up in as clear a way as I could have done.

hammerfan

01-06-2009, 10:34 AM

Hmm, I think I'm following it now. I think you were rushing a bit. I would have preferred you took your time with it - you did have 48 hours to submit it. I like the concept, tho.

The Flayed One

01-06-2009, 10:41 AM

Let me clarify my question further: Psycho, Frenzy and the Birds are out.

Good thing I've already chosen one that isn't those. I better hurry and post my answer, though, before you wall off the entire Hitchcock library:p

_____V_____

01-06-2009, 11:00 AM

ANNOUNCEMENT

Alky, here is your Task...

The year is 2015. In 2010 you wrote a play, "Ravished", that took the world by storm. The Gershwin Theatre, where your play premiered, has contacted you to write another play that will have the audience spellbound to the end. What would your play be about, what year will it be set in, and what actors would you prefer?

All the best! You have 48 hours at your disposal starting from...NOW!

neverending

01-06-2009, 11:05 AM

I thought I understood Ferrett's book until he started explaining it...

ferretchucker

01-06-2009, 11:16 AM

As I said, it would be much clearer in the novel. It's not meant to be too simple, but I did explain it very roughly, as it was only the rough outline. Apoligies.

The Flayed One

01-06-2009, 02:08 PM

Garrote (stolen from Rope)

Plot: Two young thugs are co-owners of a seedy strip club called The Hitch. Wanting to move up in the crime world beyond prostitution and small drug deals, they garrote a crime lords son after hours and then invite his family to the club to prove how cold and serious they can be.

Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura

Cast
Ice T – RT Dell
Jay Mohr – John Bradshaw
Rob Livingston – Phil Grogan
Nick Nolte - Pops
Angelica Houston – Attie Stance
Vinnie Jones – Kendle Drence
Danny Trejo – Edison
Jared Leto – Little Davey
Zooey Deschanel – Aneshia

Summary
One night, after The Hitch is closed, John and Phils close friend RT tells them that if they want to move up beyond seedy strip club owners and small time drug dealers, they need to make a name for themselves. He goes on to tell them about Kaiser Soze and how he rose from being a small time pimp to an enforcer for the notorious crime lord “Pops” by sending a rival his wife in pieces, one at a time. Then he positively enforces subtlety as well.

Quote from the movie:
“Now you know that mutherfucker from the Usual Suspects, right? And I aint talkin do Benicio del Toro shit. When mutherfuckers tried to roam in on the Kaisers territory, he put a bullet in his own wife and children. Now that's a hard mutherfucker. That's the key; you got to let the other mutherfuckers know you're willing to do what they aren't. You got to go that extra step and prove to them that no matter what they do, you've got the balls to one up their asses. No matter what. But now listen, that's an extreme example. Shit can't always go down OK Corral style. Sometimes, you've got to go Jimmy Hoffa. There's an art to subtlety. Let the mutherfuckers know that if the shit goes down, they might disappear and never be seen again. Let em know that the NY Giants place kicker is gonna be using their head as a tee while their family never gets closure. Feel me?”

John and Phil talk it over, and decide they're going to murder Little Davey, Pops only son. One night after The Hitch closes, they get him coked up and strangle him to death with piano wire. Then they chop the body up and stuff the main floor sofa with his parts. They then invite the family, including Daveys girlfriend Aneshia, who is a stripper at The Hitch and her ex boyfriend, regular and small time racketeer Kendle Drence. They also invite RT, their inspiration in the murder to see if he can pick up their hints on what they've done.

When The Hitch opens, they have the family and friends sit on the couch which they've stuffed with Daveys body parts while serving them expensive liquor. Eventually, their bouncer/bodyguard Edison arrives (nicknamed so because he's not the smartest man in the room)

John starts telling stories about hits and encouraging the rest of the guests to do so, in which bloody flashbacks of each hit are seen. Throughout, he slyly drops references to Little Davey, wondering when he'll be along to share his stories. Phil, however, does not do so well and appears nervous about what they've done after being next to a well known crime family. Attie, Daveys aunt and new age aficionado, wants to see Johns hands to see if the lines are capable of murder. When she tells him they look more suited to piano, John merely grins and Phil becomes even more nervous as he pounds shots of bourbon and does lines of coke.

When Johns conversation keeps turning to Little Daveys absence, RT starts making remarks to drugged up Phil, dropping hints that if something happened to Davey it would be extremely bad for the person who did it.

Pops finally starts getting angry that Davey has not arrived on the scene. Aneshia is worried. John further instigates things by trying to get Aneshia to give Phil a lap dance on the very couch in which her murdered boyfriend is stuffed.

When Pops calls his wife to check on Davey, she says she hasn't seen him. He decides to call it a night. John gives him a small vial of red fluid in the shape of a cross to represent Jesus' sacrifice. The blood is Daveys, Johns icing on the cake.

As everyone is leaving, RT is handed the wrong leather jacket by mistake. When he puts his hands in the pockets, he recognizes Daveys cell phone. He plants the phone on the couch, and then asks Pops to borrow his phone outside because he lost his own. When he calls the phone, John picks it up. RT says it's his, and he needs to get back inside to get it. John knows that it's Daveys phone, and is eager to hear what RT thinks of their scheme. When RT sets on the couch, he feels a small bit of wetness on his hand and realizes it is blood. Knowing now what John and Phil have done, RT reaches for his gun as Phil babbles in the background: “Kaiser Soze. Kaiser Soze. Was it hard? Was it hard? Which one of us is a monster, and which one a man?”

RT realizes what he's brought on himself. He addresses both men.

Quote: “I can't never take back what I've put in your minds. You've become your own Kaiser, created your own Hoffa. Yet you took the wrong route. Now you've put me in a predicament which I can't escape. How are we going to make this better? No motherfucker wins here. What I'm about to do, I am compelled.”

RT raises his gun towards a smiling, proud John. The screen goes black. Two shots are fired. Then a pause; one last shot is fired.

neverending

01-06-2009, 03:42 PM

Flayed- I want to see this movie! What else can I say? Other than- you must agree that a sequel NEVER be made. It must never be revealed exactly what happened in those last minutes.

You've done yourself proud. An exemplary example of how a Hitchcock movie could be remade. I like almost all the casting- especially Jay Mohr, Anjellica Huston and Nick Nolte. Only one that left me cold was Ice T.

Doc Faustus

01-06-2009, 09:13 PM

Very creative. Psycho, Frenzy and the Birds had blatant Grindhouse analogs, but Rope is far from taking the easy way out. Kitamura is a strong director who might make this into something excellent. Good choice of cast, good use of the plot. I'm impressed. But trading Jimmy Stewart for Ice T? I don't know.

Doc Faustus

01-06-2009, 09:14 PM

Ferretchucker- Feels like classic Koontz. It will sell like hotcakes. You didn't have to overexplain, though. Suspense is like a joke: if you have to explain it an aspect didn't work and it might be funnier/scarier without the explanation.

hammerfan

01-07-2009, 04:34 AM

Flayed: I'm speechless. This was incredible! I can't say enough good things.

roshiq

01-07-2009, 06:43 AM

I liked the one you gave Roshig better. :p

...there would be a "Q"..not "G":( Anyway, I'm not totally sure but I think I got the NE's paragraph!;).

and Flayed, Garrote was truly great! I'll love to see it's celluloid version too.

FC, Nice story indeed but as per your talent I expected more from you, bro. As a psychological thriller/drama I think it's success would be more depend on the making or approach of the film. Best of luck.
Btw, what's the title of your story?

ferretchucker

01-07-2009, 07:02 AM

For the title I was thinking someone like just KEFA 1.

I am dissapointed with it and wish I had taken more time to think, but such is life.

ChronoGrl

01-07-2009, 08:44 AM

...there would be a "Q"..not "G":( Anyway, I'm not totally sure but I think I got the NE's paragraph!;).

LOL!

Sorry about that! I hate it when people spell my SN with an "i" - I understand.

Oh, I totally know what the location it is, its significance to the horror genre, and roughly what I'm going to say... I just thought that recasting RHPS was TONS of fun (recasted it in my head actually after you made that post - Good call with Crispin Glover as Riff Raff, by the way!!! I'd keep 'em!! - I might have to start a thread about it with my own personal cast... Yeah, I'm a DORK)... More fun than writing a historical analysis anyway. *pouts* :(

*sigh*

Oh, well. I'll get on it tonight. :(

ChronoGrl

01-07-2009, 04:46 PM

NE's excerpt came from John Hollingshead’s 1861 book Ragged London, a chapter appropriately entitled “The Back of Whitechapel.”

Whitechapel is an inner city district in London which, by the 1840s began to draw a reputation amongst London residents of being particularly impoverished and overcrowded. As Hollingshead decried in his book, it was the classic Dickensian London, filled with poverty, depravity and socioeconomic strife. And out of this vile, wretched womb was born one of the most infamous serial murderers of all time: Jack The Ripper.

For those of you who are not familiar with Dear Ol’ Jack, he filled the Whitechapel Autumn of 1888 with sadistic terror: murdering at least five victims and suspected of slaughtering upwards to eleven. His crimes were heinous; The Ripper targeted prostitutes, mutilating his victims with everything from tearing open the abdomen, to removing the uterus, to severing a body from the throat to the spine, organs emptied and missing. And after this trail of violence, the Killer was never found, leading to urban legends and tales permeating throughout Whitechapel and London culture.

Jack The Ripper alone has had significant influence on the horror genre. The man has been the subject of dozens of fictional and non-fictional pieces of literature, including Robert Bloch’s 1941 “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” and follow-up “A Toy for Juliette.” According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper#Jack_the_Ripper_in_popular_culture ), “more than 200 works of non-fiction have been published which deal exclusively with the Jack the Ripper murders, making it one of the most written-about true-crime subjects of the past century.” Alan Moore’s From Hell graphic novel series (1991 – 1998) reimaged the Ripper’s tale, and this story was then adapted to film in 2001 by the Hughes Brothers. The vile act of his crimes (disembowelment, defilement, exsanguination) have been repeated throughout the horror genre, from gore sensationalist Hershel Gordon Lewis to modern directors Wes Craven and Rob Zombie in their studies of human violence and bodily desecration.

But what really connects Whitechapel to the history of horror was the cultural and social upheaval that surrounded those 1888 murders. The Jack The Ripper case was one of the first instances of true criminal profiling. Physicians worked close with police to create a profile of the supposed killer which, of course, was published in the cheap penny papers that circulated the streets. Jack The Ripper’s crimes were the media’s first true foray into the world of sensationalized gore. While there had been murderers prior to 1888, this Autumn in Victorian England marked the revolution of print media that sparked a cultural sensation. His crimes were known as “The Whitechapel Murders,” a title created by the police and spread throughout the districts. Whitechapel was the first city to truly embrace the voyeuristic side of fear, that side that shudders at the crime, but desires to read more about its atrocities. In a sense, this is the birth of the horror audience: A whole city captivated and intrigued by the abominable acts of one of their own.

What also makes the city of Whitechapel so iconic and culpable in these crimes was the advent of The Killer’s Note and the public reaction. Through the killer’s murders, both the police and various newspapers received letters, some of them claiming to be from the Killer himself. Some of them proven to be fakes. Regardless, the entire community, for better or for worse, was involved: Letters were published and greedily read in detail. In conjunction with the publicized criminal profile, the letters created a realistic Evil ready for consumption by the general public. Whitechapel was home of one of the first instances of pure true crime horror lust. And so horror perpetuates. In a city wrought with poverty and strife, stories of Jack The Ripper were, in a sense, escapism from the dull lives of the people. People began to recognize true horror as a macabre form of entertainment. In a sense, the horror audience was born and a precedent was set for the dark reverence of the mysterious serial killer. With this pure media frenzy and public enthusiasm, Jack The Ripper and Whitechapel created a pure legend that would influence the archetype of all future serial killers and the portrayal thereof.

neverending

01-07-2009, 06:11 PM

Excellent essay, Chrono. Well done.

But my excerpt was cobbled together from several different sources. So there.

ChronoGrl

01-07-2009, 06:35 PM

Excellent essay, Chrono. Well done.

Thanks! :D

But my excerpt was cobbled together from several different sources. So there.

Always have to get that last word... :p

You're right. It was Hollingshead who stood out the most, though. Reminded me a LOT of Blake's criticism of London (I'm such a Blake dork). I kept thinking:

I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe...

Doc Faustus

01-07-2009, 07:07 PM

Always have to get that last word... :p

You're right. It was Hollingshead who stood out the most, though. Reminded me a LOT of Blake's criticism of London (I'm such a Blake dork). I kept thinking:

I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe...[/QUOTE]

One of his most intense, powerful works. Definitely apt when used to describe Whitechapel at the time. You should check out www.casebook.org. It contains transcripts of Daily Telegraph articles and everything.

roshiq

01-07-2009, 08:49 PM

_____V_____

01-08-2009, 07:30 PM

This is Alky's answer to Austin's task...

The year is 2015. In 2010 you wrote a play, "Ravished", that took the world by storm. The Gershwin Theatre, where your play premiered, has contacted you to write another play that will have the audience spellbound to the end. What would your play be about, what year will it be set in, and what actors would you prefer?

Exodus
A play by Kevin Nash

The play would take place in the year 2025- not too far from the then present, but also not so distant that slang, clothing, etc. would be rediculously altered.

The first act would center in on a small cottage in a somewhat secluded forest- the setting in relation to the rest of the world would be irrelevant, and hence not mentioned. In this cottage a family would be introduced consisting of a man, his wife, and their daughter and son. They seem happy enough together in their home; through family dialogue around the dinner table it would be established that the father runs a samll farm and that they made their money through those crops. Highly religious, the family says grace before and also after their dinner, to endcap the conversation in which the audience gets to know them.

The family heres a knock at the door, and the father answers it. In the doorframe stands a large, dark man with wings. Big wings. The father invites him in- he is one who would never refuse shelter- and the dark man sits himself next to the fire. As the family ask him about his travels, he informs them their meeting was no accident- he sought them purposefully, and for good reason.

The reason is this: a war has begun between the United Nations, and soon the world is to end. This man, obviously a superior being, was sent to collect this family to join one other for an exodus- the families are to be taken elsewhere and to start life anew. The apocalypse of the Earth is now inevitable, and this man has been sent to give the people of Earth a chance to start fresh.

The second act finds the members of the family eagerly but nervously preparing for the journey. They are told by the father to only bring a few select important items, that God would supply them with whatever was necessary. The family memebers take turns blurting out questions, starstruck by the wisdom of this creature. He answers them directly, but is not talkative. Most of the dialectic activity comes from the family.

Finally, he embraces them and the stage goes dark. When it brightens again, they find themselves surrounded by gorgeous but barren land. There doesn't seem to be life, and the people of the family roam across the stage curiously.

"Here you are," the dark man speaks. But the family seem nervous. They ask where exactly are they, and the figure replies that of course they are on Earth. They seem perplexed- they question him further, but the figure only repeats his early explanation- that a few select beings are to start life anew. He explains that this isn;t the first time that time has been reset, and it may not be the last.

He walks off stage, leaving the family to presumably start from the very beginning, alone on the Earth save one family, who might be anywhere.

Curtain.

Of course, this is a plot outline, I am not actually writing the play, so many things would need fleshing out.

Thank you for the good challenge, Austin!

I would like to request all Judges to send me their grades for the Goblins.

Then we move on to the FINAL TEST of the Preliminary Round, which will be for the Elves.

neverending

01-08-2009, 07:40 PM

Alky- this is an interesting scenario, but it lacks one thing every dramatic exercise MUST have- CONFLICT.

The family accepts this being's story at face value? You allude to some "questions" but it needs to be stated in clearer terms what the central conflict is.

Doc Faustus

01-08-2009, 07:57 PM

I'm with Neverending. It lacks dynamism.

hammerfan

01-09-2009, 05:01 AM

I agree with neverending and Doc.

hammerfan

01-09-2009, 05:01 AM

Chrono, very well done.

ChronoGrl

01-09-2009, 07:11 AM

Chrono, very well done.

Thanks!! :)

ChronoGrl

01-09-2009, 07:12 AM

One of his most intense, powerful works. Definitely apt when used to describe Whitechapel at the time. You should check out www.casebook.org. It contains transcripts of Daily Telegraph articles and everything.

Thanks, Doc - I'll have to check it out. :D

_____V_____

01-09-2009, 09:56 AM

_____V_____

01-09-2009, 09:57 AM

THE NINTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09

I am here to address the Elves. Each one of you is given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, wit and innovation, based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For your Third Test, the common theme chosen is - JUDGE'S TORTURE.

All of you need to pick a Judge out of our four esteemed Judges - Austin316426808, Doc Faustus, Neverending and Hammerfan - and post your selection of Judge in this thread. Then I will proceed to give you the question/task the Judge has selected for you to complete.

Two or more contestants may pick the same Judge, but remember, judging on your entries will be done by all 4 Judges.

All of you will have 48 hours to do your researches, write down your answers, and pitch them in front of the Judges. The Judges will be your peers for each of your entries, and if you manage to win them over, you stand to score the maximum. When you are ready, send me a PM or post your entry in this thread (WITHOUT EDITING), and the Judges will read em and post their criticisms and praise, if any.

If any of you dont post your entry within the stipulated 48 hours, you stand DQed off this Test, and dont gain any scores (or favors) from your Judges!

You have a hard task ahead of you, so all the best!!

ChronoGrl

01-09-2009, 10:01 AM

RESULTS OF THE THIRD TEST FOR THE GOBLINS

The Judges have turned in their verdicts, and the averaged grades are :-

The Flayed One - A,

FerretChucker - B-,

ChronoGrl - A,

Alkytrio666 - B-.

And now we move on to the last Test of the Preliminary Round...

Thanks, Judges!!

And kudos to Wolfie, Ferret, and Akly! Awesome job, guys! And Flayed, I forgot to mention, your movie pitch SERIOUSLY kicked some ass - I WANT TO SEE IT NOW!!!

Disease

01-09-2009, 12:21 PM

I choose Austin, what ya got for me boy?

Papillon Noir

01-09-2009, 05:55 PM

I'll take Doc's question.

_____V_____

01-10-2009, 08:34 PM

Looks like the rest of the Elves have chickened out, so we will go with the 2 who answered...

I choose Austin, what ya got for me boy?

Give the plot, cast, and director of a horror movie starring the superhero of your choice.

I'll take Doc's question.

Task:

Choose a myth or epic poem. Update it. Pitch a horror film based on it.

You both have 48 hours from the moment this is posted. All the best!!

Disease

01-11-2009, 09:24 AM

So that's 48 hours from your last post... I will do my best to make it... is there only 2 Elves now?

_____V_____

01-11-2009, 11:27 AM

So that's 48 hours from your last post... I will do my best to make it... is there only 2 Elves now?

For this Test, yes.

But when the 10 Finalists will be short-listed, everyone's performances will be taken into account.

Disease

01-12-2009, 09:23 AM

Thanks for the slight Extension ___V___...

Here is my response To Austin.....

Give the plot, cast, and director of a horror movie starring the superhero of your choice.

CAST

Peter Parker / Spiderman - Edward Furlong

Dr Nasty - Crispin Glover

Sandy Devotional - Charlize Theron

DIRECTOR

Abel Ferrara

PLOT

Spiderman has hung up his lycra after causeing the death of 50 children in a mishap at an orphanage.

The ex crimefighter lives in an inner city apartment as a pimp and a heroin addict untill the girls who work for him start to dissapear one by one.
As his bussiness starts to dissapear and he strugles to support his drug habbit he becomes hell bent on revenge on who ever is takeing away his girls.
Peter Parker must once again take on the role of the spider man in order to stop the evil Dr Nasty who has been disecting prostitutes while they still breath.
But this time there will be no mask, just cold blooded revenge. His mission to hunt down Dr Nasty will be made that more gruesome by his new torture based web fluid weapons.
While he will have Sandy Devotional, the only hooker to have lived after seeing the face of Dr Nasty to guide him.

hammerfan

01-12-2009, 10:02 AM

Disease, you had a wonderful opportunity here to do something great. You could have chosen Batman, Ironman, Daredevil. I'm really sorry to say this, but..........this is really horrible. I mean, c'mon, Spiderman a pimp?! You're getting a very low grade from me.

Doc Faustus

01-12-2009, 10:14 AM

If it were slightly more serious and explained more at length, I might actually have given you a solid grade for this one. I love Abel Ferrara movies and Ferrara Spiderman would be awesome. How exactly is the webfluid torture based? What's Doctor Nasty's gimmick?

Disease

01-12-2009, 11:38 AM

ferretchucker

01-12-2009, 12:50 PM

It seems like a pretty good premise to me.

_____V_____

01-12-2009, 08:54 PM

48 Hours are up.

I ll request all Judges to send me their grades for Disease's entry.

We will then find out the 10 that qualified for Elimination Round I.

Papillon Noir

01-13-2009, 06:42 AM

Things just got a little too busy yesterday at work and I missed the deadline. I probably lost the Elves competition, but hopefully maybe I can get voted on the wildcard or something. :D

_____V_____

01-13-2009, 08:30 AM

Out of curiousity... Do the non-particpations count as an F? Or is it an average of only the rounds participated? If so, would it be possible for a person that only participated once to advance over a person that participated in all 3 rounds?

Nope, the non-participants are marked "Absent".

Its an average of only the rounds participated.

Nope, only 5 contestants have participated in all 3 Tests, so they go through by default. Then come the ones who participated in 2 out of 3 Tests, and then the ones who participated in only 1 Test.

Ranking is done accordingly - the one who participated in all 3 Tests and scored the best Grade is #1, and so on. After the first 5 are done, the best Grades in 2 out of 3 Tests...you get my drift.

The Judges have turned in their grades, and the lone Elf who answered - Disease - gets a solid D+.

And now, the moment all of you have been waiting for...

We will see who got eliminated, and who secured their seats for the Elimination Round #1, and their rankings in the Preliminary Tests...

...that is NEXT.

_____V_____

01-13-2009, 08:39 AM

HDC IDOL - PRELIMINARY ELIMINATIONS

There were a number of participants who initially confirmed their involvement, but due to any number of reasons, did not answer in any of the first 3 Preliminary Tests. They are eliminated as such, and their names are :-

The Ogres

Jenna26

The Goblins

Fortunato
X¤Murderdoll¤X
Vodstok

The Elves

Dante's Inferno
Illdojo
Posher778

Now we move to the ones who participated in ONE Test only, and didnt score good enough Grades to advance on, and are subsequently eliminated...

The Ogres

Freak - (Overall Grade) D-
Dude Guadalupe - (Overall Grade) C-

The Elves

Novakru - (Overall Grade) D
MissMacabre - (Overall Grade) C

And now, ladies and gents, lets have a look at all the participants who have QUALIFIED for Elimination Round 1, and their rankings...

_____V_____

01-13-2009, 08:49 AM

CONTESTANTS QUALIFIED FOR ELIMINATION ROUND #1

I ll start in reverse order...

#10 - Papillon Noir (1 Test, Grade - B)

#09 - Cactus (1 Test, Grade - B)

#08 - Disease (2 Tests, Grade - D+)

#07 - Bloodrayne (2 Tests, Grade - B+)

#06 - The Flayed One (2 Tests, Grade - B+)

#05 - Bwind22 (All 3 Tests, Grade - C)

#04 - Alkytrio666 (All 3 Tests, Grade - C+)

#03 - FerretChucker (All 3 Tests, Grade - B-)

#02 - Roshiq (All 3 Tests, Grade - B)

and the winner of the Preliminary Rounds is...

(***DRUMROLL***)

#01 - ChronoGrl (All 3 Tests, Grade - A-)

Congratulations, Chrono!!

And congrats to all the qualifiers.

Elimination Round #1 will start within the next 24 hours.

Till then, savor your advance and prepare well for the tough path ahead, because from now on...in every subsequent round, ONE OF YOU WILL GET ELIMINATED!!

alkytrio666

01-13-2009, 09:00 AM

Congrats, Chrono- you cleaned our clocks!

neverending

01-13-2009, 09:55 AM

Very interesting to look at those lists and see how many are not around here at this time...

ChronoGrl

01-13-2009, 10:13 AM

WOOHOO!!! :D

Congrats, Chrono- you cleaned our clocks!

Well... "Cleaned our clocks"... "Don't have a life..." either one, really. :cool:

urgeok2

01-13-2009, 10:25 AM

go chrono
go chrono

go chrono
go chrono

oh yeah, she's hot

go chrono
go chrono

go chrono
go chrono

bwind22

01-13-2009, 10:40 AM

Way to go finalists! Nice GPA Chrono.

V, is every round a clean slate now? Or will those grades still factor in somehow?

_____V_____

01-13-2009, 10:48 AM

Nope, those grades held good for the Prelims only. You all start with a clean slate once Elimination Rounds start.

ChronoGrl

01-13-2009, 10:49 AM

Thanks, guys!

I was always a good little school girl... ;)

ferretchucker

01-13-2009, 11:06 AM

Woohoo!

...

The Flayed One

01-13-2009, 12:49 PM

Now I'm warmed up and gunning. Better watch out, Chrono. I'm coming for you!

roshiq

01-13-2009, 12:57 PM

This time there will be pretty close & tough competition as it's now do or die situation! :cool:
Anyways, congrats Chrono...you have already proved yourself enough....now, go & get some rest or take a break.:D

Doc Faustus

01-13-2009, 01:02 PM

Thanks, guys!

I was always a good little school girl... ;)

I demand photographic proof.

Disease

01-13-2009, 02:05 PM

I'm not out to compete, I'm just out to be myself....

bwind22

01-13-2009, 08:52 PM

I'm not out to compete, I'm just out to be myself....

Spoken like a true loser.

j/k ;)

neverending

01-13-2009, 10:47 PM

I don't get what the previous rounds were for, since no one was eliminated but the no shows.....

_____V_____

01-14-2009, 03:34 AM

I don't get what the previous rounds were for, since no one was eliminated but the no shows.....

The rule for HDC Idol was to list out 10 Finalists for the Elimination Rounds after the Prelims were over - 3 from each group, and one wildcard entry.

I couldnt change the basic rule midway through the exercise...it wouldnt be fair to someone who was looking to qualify because of that very rule I stated above. And also, people dropped out, and there werent enough participants who had been a part of even 2 out of 3 rounds. Would there be even 10 left after the first 3 Tests? I was beginning to wonder...

Besides, the Preliminaries were contested very keenly among the participants, and also served to be an example of what Idol would be about.

I dont think even one Finalist out of those 10 would say that they didnt give their best shot at their Tests, and they dont deserve a spot in it. Even those who got eliminated because of worser grades, gave it their best shot, before realising this event wasnt for their talents.

_____V_____

01-14-2009, 06:52 AM

ELIMINATION ROUND #1

I welcome all Finalists to the first Elimination Round of HDC Idol. From here on, each round will result in the elimination of ONE of you until we reach the Final 3, who will advance on to the Grand Finale stage of HDC Idol.

Your first Challenge is a very arduous and tough task, so I wish you all the very best and hope you raise your own levels to meet it.

All 10 of you are grouped into 5 groups, and will be given ONE common Challenge each. The catch here is to frame your answer in such a way that its superior than the other one who is answering the same Challenge. Grades will be given out accordingly, and the worst Grader will be out of HDC Idol.

Point to Note :- If you do not answer your challenge within the stipulated time, you are automatically eliminated from HDC Idol.

Which means, we may have more than one Finalist eliminated in Elimination Round #1 itself. Of course, the fittest will survive and continue on.

Here are your groupings and your challenges...

- ChronoGrl and Papillon Noir - Orson Welles' War of the Worlds was a huge radio hit. Choose a horror novel of your choice and turn it into a radio masterpiece.

- Roshiq and Cactus - You are a fresh indie movie director who dreams of making it big. Do you have what it takes to be the next big thing in horror?

- FerretChucker and Disease - You have been paid handsomely to write a werewolf story as your next novel. Any ideas ticking around in your brain for this?

- Alkytrio666 and Bloodrayne - Write a horror script centered around the legend of Davy Jones' Locker.

- Bwind22 and The Flayed One - As a mainstream commercial director, put forth your visualisation of a theme for a possible horror flick on the whole OK Corral Gunfight incident.

You have 48 Hours to do your research and post your entries (either on here or in a PM to me). Failure to do so WILL result in elimination. Also, be mindful of the fact that someone else is ALSO doing the same pitch, so you have to be one step ahead of him/her.

Best of Luck!!

hammerfan

01-14-2009, 07:04 AM

This is gonna be good! Excellent tasks, V!!!

ChronoGrl

01-14-2009, 07:06 AM

Great challenge!!!

I'm strapped for time, though. :(

I'll get in at least SOME effort by Friday.

Disease

01-14-2009, 09:35 AM

48 hours from when that task was posted, let's see, that gives me... 45 hours and 17 minutes.

ferretchucker

01-14-2009, 10:55 AM

I'll give it my best shot. But for this, would it be better to send them to you but not post them in here until both people for each challenge have submitted. That way they don't know what the other person's is like.

roshiq

01-14-2009, 10:44 PM

ELIMINATION ROUND #1
- Roshiq and Cactus - You are a fresh indie movie director who dreams of making it big. Do you have what it takes to be the next big thing in horror?

"...next big thing in horror"!?! I hope I can come up with something in last minutes:confused:

bwind22

01-14-2009, 10:51 PM

Bwind22 and The Flayed One - As a mainstream commercial director, put forth your visualisation of a theme for a possible horror flick on the whole OK Corral Gunfight incident.

Should we cast this film as well? Or just give the story?

_____V_____

01-14-2009, 10:54 PM

Put yourself in a mainstream director's shoes, and think of a moment where you hit upon a goldmine of an idea. Visualise the concept, how you might develop it with script and screenplay writers, casting directors, cinematography etc.

In short, put your mind's visuals of the theme on paper before the Judges.

bwind22

01-14-2009, 11:47 PM

Well, I'm not scared to go first or post publically, so here goes. If Flayed can top me, cheers to him.

As a mainstream commercial director, put forth your visualization of a theme for a possible horror flick on the whole OK Corral Gunfight incident.

-------------------------------

TITLE:

AT SUNDOWN

PLOT SYNOPSIS:

Arizona Territory - 1881

A gang of cattle rustlers known as 'Cowboys' were wreaking havoc in the Arizona territory. They were dubbed 'Cowboys' because of their affection for drinking the blood from the cattle they rustled, leaving only dried and withered corpses behind. Eventually, cow blood was not enough to quench their thirst and they began to prey on the local townsfolk, effectively becoming the first vampires in recorded history. (Although it did exist, the term 'vampire' was not yet commonplace because Bram Stoker had yet to pen Dracula and bring the term to pop culture.)

The 'Cowboys' were led by Curly Bill Brocious, but the most ruthless among them was Johnny Ringo, who was known to kill for sport when he wasn't even thirsty.

Eventually, the 'Cowboys' arrived in Tombstone, Arizona Territory and began to prey on the townsfolk, mainly orphans and whores and others who would not be missed until one night when the town Sheriff confronted them and asked them to move on. Wanting to set an example, Curly Bill savagely killed Sheriff Fred White in front of a half dozen witnesses.

With no law in town, the 'Cowboys' ran amok, slaying and feasting on whomever they desired. One townsman with a sense of nobility, Virgil Earp, assumed the role of deputy and tried to pick up where Sheriff White had left off in casting the Cowboys out of Tombstone. The Cowboys did not take kindly to this and several verbal altercations took place. With tensions escalating, Virgil enlisted the help of two of his brothers, Morgan and Wyatt, as well as Wyatt's good friend Doc Holliday. Together, the four of them attempted to rid the town of the Cowboys to little avail.

At sundown on August 26, 1881, the Earp clan came across five Cowboys feasting on the corpse of a local prostitute behind Harwood's Lumber Store near the OK Corral. Weapons were drawn, shots were fired, thirty shots in less than thirty seconds to be exact, and when the dust settled three Cowboys were dead and the other two had disappeared in to the night. Morgan and Virgil Earp both suffered nonfatal bullet wounds, Doc Holliday was grazed in the hip and Wyatt came away unscathed.

The Cowboys realized the Earp's meant business and the town quieted down for a couple months, but in March 1882 the Cowboys took their revenge and Morgan Earp was killed outside a billiard hall and sucked dry of his blood. This led to Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday forming a posse and setting out to vanquish the Cowboys once and for all. Due to wounds suffered at the OK Corral shootout, Virgil Earp was unable to assist in this and was relegated to protecting the families in Contention City. Wyatt, Holliday and a small posse trailed and killed more than a dozen Cowboys, including both Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo, while the rest were forced to flee Arizona Territory and the wrath of Wyatt Earp.

CREW:

Director: Brian Wind
Writer: David Webb Peoples & Brian Nelson
Casting: Lora Kennedy
Set Design: Ernie Bishop
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle

CAST:

Wyatt Earp: Christian Bale
Doc Holliday: Peter Krause
Morgan Earp: Kevin Dillon
Virgil Earp: Richard Dean Anderson
Curly Bill: Ian McShane
Johnny Ringo: Christian Slater
Ike Clanton: Ray Liotta
Billy Clanton: Giovanni Ribisi
Billy Claiborne: Stephen Baldwin
Tom McLaury: Kevin McKidd
Frank McLaury: Dean Winters
Sheriff Fred White: Robert Forrester
__________________________

Clearly, I took some liberties here with both historical fact and vampire mythology. I'd like to point those out so no one thinks I am misinformed or ignorant.

The OK Corral shootout took place at 3pm, not sundown. Morgan Earp was killed inside the billiard hall by a shot from outside; he wasn't killed outside of it. These vampires do not turn in to bats, burn in the sunlight, have fangs, respond negatively to religious items or require a stake through the heart in order to die. They are basically humans that kill mercilessly and drink the blood of their victims.

neverending

01-15-2009, 01:55 AM

This is an interesting scenario. A very unique combination of Western & horror. I'm impressed. But- I'm not sure about trusting such a project to first time feature director, you.

hammerfan

01-15-2009, 04:04 AM

I like it!

ferretchucker

01-15-2009, 09:39 AM

Hmm, I don't know a whole lot about werewolves, but I'll give this my best shot.

Like Anne

The word werewolf conjures up, in most people's brains, a wolf man howling in the light of the full moon. I want to keep that traditional aspect but go with a new direction that gets the reader's attention. There have been different ways of a person getting lycanthropy. It could be that their ancestors had sex with demon, as is the case in The Demonata series, or simply bitten by another werewolf. Or a case of a genetic experiment gone wrong.

For mine I think I'll go with something different, but yet slightly similar. Here's a basic synopsis of my story.

My story begins in the year 1326 when a nameless explorer has traveled out into the arctic along. He's nearly dead and so sets his dogs free. In the distance, he can see something fall down to Earth. The dogs run in it's direction. Several hours later, the dogs return and begin eating the nearly dead man. They drag him out from the cave he's in, into the moonlight and then suddenly they all drop down dead. Bleeding to death, in a last effort of comfort, he pulls the dead dogs closer to him and dies.

Seven hundred years later, Edgar Lee is with his team of researchers doing studies on the affects of global warming on the arctic. Edgar and one of his Asian colleagues go out to gather some specimens. Whilst digging Edgar falls through the ice into a cavern. It's full of dead carcasses. Suddenly, the Asian above starts screaming "Like Anne! Like Anne!". His dead body falls through as well. Something jumps down the hole and rushes at Edgar. Whilst it's biting his neck he has time to pull out his gun and shoot the creature.

He wakes up in a hospital bed, having been rescued by others in the team who heard the shot. They found no sign of the creature. Eventually he gets better and three years later, he's living his life as normal, with a baby on the way, but lately he's been having nightmares of the creature that attacked him, the words "Like Anne" ringing around in his head.

One day he loses his temper in a bank with someone. He's kicked out of the bank, but somehow, hours later, he follows a smell which leads him to the man he was angered by. He nearly gets into a fight with him, but resists at the last moment.

He's contacted by a "Mr. Howl", and told to go to the travel agents in town. He goes there and is faced with the man he was angered by. The doors lock behind him and he is told to go down the hatch in the floor. He's about to resist when the man's eyes glow yellow, like a dog's, and he says;

"Do you not want to know why you have nightmares, Edgar?"

Lee reluctantly goes down the hatch, finding himself in an old sewer system that has somehow been made up to look something like an abandoned hotel, yet it still drips and the smell lingers.

In a conversation, he learns he was bitten by something only known as "Neun". He was a German explorer who's eight dogs were "chosen" by the heavenly one. Under the light of the full moon, they died together and became one. This formed Neun. Over the years, forty seven people have been attacked by Neun, of those forty three remain. They live unnaturally long lives and have developed connections over the years which prevent them and Neun from being disturbed.

Edgar doesn't believe it and tries to leave, but is quickly stopped. He is shown "The Lunar Tunnel", where the light of the moon is replicated and the people become Werewolves, or Lycans. Now a believer, he still wants to leave to be with his girlfriend and unborn child. The Lycan People imprison him for three months in solitude, with constant videos of viscous dogs playing. When he comes out of the room, he is in the mindset of the others.

Now they trust him, he is set free to do whatever he wants. He roams around the city, killing people. He is about to kill a woman but stops when he hears her voice. It's his girlfriend. When she sees him, the shock sends her into labor. That's when the other werewolves arrive to claim the child, the only one ever conceived by a lycan.

He fights the other lycans off, eventually winning, nearly dead. That's when he turns around and sees that his girlfriend has given birth, but to a monstrous creature that looks more like a cross between a crab and a slug than a werewolf. The creature has already killed his girlfriend, and weak as he is, it slaughters him too.

The closing paragraphs explain that the Lee's baby was in no way truly his, or his girlfriend's. It was the heavenly one's true form. The dogs of Neun had found and devoured it. It's blood drove them insane. They dragged the german man out of the cave into the moonlight, for it gives the heavenly one strength, however their bodies could not cope with the stress and they died. Over time, due to the blood running through all of them, the moon combined the creatures to make Neun.

In biting the people who survived, Neun passed on his wolfen genes which slowly mutated the humans, but what they didn't know was that they were also host to the heavenly one's DNA, which corrupted some of their cells. It used the womb of Lee's girlfriend to grow once again.

Just a side note, the werewolves would walk mainly on all fours, have bones painfully jutting out in places, they would have sharp fangs and large ears, but not snouts. Their face would be relatively the same except hairier and tougher. They would also have tails. The change wouldn't be very painful, and would feel almost dreamlike for the lycan.

bwind22

01-15-2009, 09:57 AM

This is an interesting scenario. A very unique combination of Western & horror. I'm impressed. But- I'm not sure about trusting such a project to first time feature director, you.

The challenge specifically states that I am the director. (And technically, I've done 2 shorts so it'd be my first feature, but not my first time directing.)

hammerfan

01-15-2009, 10:15 AM

Very good, FC - I like it.

Doc Faustus

01-15-2009, 10:39 AM

ferretchucker

01-15-2009, 12:30 PM

I didn;t know that about the Lycan thing. I had heard Lycanthropy and lycanthrope and thought that Lycan would be a used term. Thanks for the tips.

And thanks Hammerfan.

bloodrayne

01-15-2009, 12:34 PM

The briny deep is definitely not my forté, and I know nothing of writing scripts, but I'll give it a shot.

This is a modern-day version of a very old legend.

A man and his girlfriend set out on an adventurous vacation to Acapulco.

They decide to go deep-sea diving...While looking for a place to rent scuba equipment they chance upon a coastal maritime curiosity shop that's run by a creepy looking old man...The old man shows them a treasure map that marks a sunken ship, supposedly sunk by pirates...The story the old man tells them says that the pirates set the ship on fire (as was common) after pillaging it and killing everyone on board, but before they could escape the fire, a keg of gunpowder in the ship's hold exploded, and all of the pirates, except one,died before they could escape.

The one surviving pirate made it back to shore, barely alive, and created the map that was now in the possession of the shop owner...However, the pirate never recovered the treasure (gold dubloons) on the ship because he went crazy (either from exposure while floating adrift before coming to shore, some sort of mental trauma from the entire ordeal, or something else)...Because the pirate was clearly insane, no one really took him seriously, so the treasure was never searched for, and according to the shop owner, could still be there...If the event really happened, and if the treasure even existed...It's all based on the story of a crazy old pirate, so who knows?

Anyway, the man is intrigued and his girlfriend thinks it would be fun even if they don't find any treasure, plus they like the look of the old treasure map and the fact that it has an interesting story to go with it, so even if they find no treasure, they have this awesome map to keep...They buy it and set out, chuckling at the old man's warning that "All pirate treasure is cursed, they say".

In the water, at the correct location, the couple actually DO come across a sunken ship...They explore but find no skeletons, and no treasure...A little disappointing, but still fun...As they are about to swim to the surface the man sees something gleaming in the light of his flashlight...It's a gold coin....He picks it up, examines it, shows it to his girlfriend...They look around the spot for more, find none, and head to the surface...Back on the boat they look at it closer, it looks very old, and it's clearly gold, but neither of them have ever seen anything like it before...They are excited, and they've had a great trip.

They get ready to call it a day...But...the boat won't start (typical, right?)...No big deal, this is modern-day, they pull out their cell phones...No reception...Ship's radio...Static...They try the bright red, blinky mayday beacon, and THAT actually works...So, they decide they'll just wait until someone sees it...They have a galley below deck with some food and bottled water, so they can sit for a whole week if they have to, they are upset but not exactly panicking...Not yet, anyway.

After about an hour, as they sit on the deck eating lunch, they see a ship...It's headed toward them, and they are relieved...3 men board their boat, but, as it turns out, they aren't exactly rescuers...Modern-day pirate story, with modern-day pirates...They kill the man and his girlfriend, quite gruesomely, remove all valuables from the boat and burn it...Right over the very spot where the pirates died many years before.

However, that's not the end of the story...Or the man.

The man 'wakes up' at the bottom of the ocean, inside what he recognizes as the sunken ship that he and his girlfriend had explored earlier...He has no gear on, but he isn't drowning...That's likely because, as he notices, he isn't BREATHING...As he looks around to try to figure out what's going on, he sees his girlfriends mutilated corpse...He freaks out and tries to get out of the ship, but a hellish figure appears in front of him...The figure speaks and identifies himself as Davy Jones...The man is stunned that he can hear the man speak clearly, as if they weren't underwater...He tries to speak as well, and finds that he also is speaking clearly...He asks Davy what is happening and why.

Davy Jones explains that the man is a pirate, and that he (Jones) is the keeper of 'Pirate Hell'...The man insists that he is not a pirate, and Jones points out that the coin he possesses (the man forgot it was still in his pocket) was clearly that of a pirate, as was the map that was also in his pocket (oddly not damaged at all by the water).

The man explained the entire situation, insisted that he was innocent, and also wanted to know why his girlfriend was just a mutilated corpse in the water, instead of ending up like him...Davy explained "She's not a pirate, she will be judged by another".

Anyway, Davy Jones ends up believing that the man is clearly not a pirate, and as such he cannot enter 'Pirate Hell'...Since the man was innocent, Davy made a deal with him (your typical 'deal with the devil')...He told the man that he could release him, but he would still be dead OR he could actually restore the man's life, if he would carry out some tasks...Things that the man would clearly NOT want to do, but restoration to life comes with a steep price.

Davy Jones wanted the souls of 10 pirates' decendents...He gave their names and locations to the man, and told him that he would have to kill them, and remove their hearts...Davy Jones also told him that 2 of the men were the same ones who killed him and his girlfriend...That was enough to make him agree to the deal

The next thing he knew, he was in his hotel room in Acapulco, completely dry...Now he thought he must have just been dreaming or something, but when he looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink, saw that he had blood on his face and shirt, when he reached to touch the blood on his face, he saw that it was also on his hands...He reached in his pocket to see if the coin or map was there, but instead he pulled out the list of names and locations...It wasn't a dream.

He filled the sink to wash his face and hands, and when he looked into the water, he saw Davy Jones's face...He told him, "This time is borrowed, you haven't earned your life back yet. You have only one week to finish the task, or you will be dead"

So, he locates the 10 people (one of whom happens to be the creepy store owner), and also the 2 that killed him and his girlfriend (easy, one was leaving a bar, the other was on a boat at the marina)...He takes pleasure in torturing those 2...He removes all of the hearts and puts them in the freezer, figuring Jones will tell him what to do with them when the week is over...He makes quite a bloody, gutty mess at the scene of each 'soul collection', and of course the police are hot on his trail.

They find him at his hotel, covered in blood, screaming into the sink "Answer me!"...They also find the hearts in the freezer...He tells the police that he's innocent, that he had no choice...As they sit in the hotel room, he tells them everything that happened, and he asks them how they found him...They tell him that they've been looking for him since they found his boat...He said his boat was set on fire and sank...They informed him that his boat was perfectly fine. in the marina, and his girlfriend's mutilated corpse was found on board, as well as the map, which led them to the murdered curiosity shop owner because some of the locals had seen the map at the shop before.

The man was clearly insane...They lead him out of the hotel room...As the door closes, an evil chuckle is heard from the bathroom sink, and water gurgles down the drain.

neverending

01-15-2009, 02:17 PM

The challenge specifically states that I am the director. (And technically, I've done 2 shorts so it'd be my first feature, but not my first time directing.)

Ah, you're right- got me for not payingf attention- but I did specify first time FEATURE director. Feature refers to a "feature length" movie. So you eliminated my only objection to your entry- your best so far. High marks.

neverending

01-15-2009, 02:39 PM

Ferret- an interesting take on werewolves. A bit muddled and complicated, but you'll have plenty of time to work that out in a novel. Good marks for originality.

Rayne- Plenty of gruesome touches here. Definitely a product of your twisted mind. There's no mention made of the man being concerned about his girlfriend's death- he makes to attempt to bargain for getting her life restored. The man comes off as selfish and unsympathetic. Perhaps this is what you intended in order to make his ultimate punishment more fitting. A good effort.

bwind22

01-15-2009, 02:49 PM

Ah, you're right- got me for not payingf attention- but I did specify first time FEATURE director. Feature refers to a "feature length" movie. So you eliminated my only objection to your entry- your best so far. High marks.

Thank you.

ChronoGrl

01-15-2009, 05:04 PM

Part of what makes Welles' broadcast of War of the Worlds so iconic is that it actually inspired mass hysteria in the American listeners of that 1938 Halloween evening. What was science fiction on the page translated to earnest reporting on the radio waves, and the atmosphere of tense, paranoid, anxious anticipation of World War II, the American public was horrified of the unknown and ready to believe that the next big horror was coming from the skies.

In order to replicate the impact of this broadcast, we have to consider horror that is relevant to this day in age and is also believable. While we've come a long way since 1938 (I doubt that creatures from outerspace would be within our real of believing now), there are some events that still strike terror in the hearts and minds of the masses.

What seems to be relevant in terms of mass hysteria and horror is the horror that hits close to home: Natural disasters, terrorism, xenophobia, and illness. With the panic and distress following the spread of Avian influenza and SARS in 2002, it’s clear that the horror of the spread of disease is quick to terrify the masses.

I propose that, to create a pure horror radio broadcast that could convince and terrify the world at large, we should adapt Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War into a series of faux eyewitness reports of a mysterious “illness” ravaging the impoverished nations of the underdeveloped world. The believability factor would come with not only the eyewitness perspective, but also America’s predisposed xenophobic nature (particularly in the feared Communist China) toward third world underdeveloped countries.

The first “report” would begin with Brooks’ first “eyewitness report”: Dr. Kwang Jing-shu.

The following is from Max Brook’s World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (New York: Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., 2006), 4 – 10.

A sample of the broadcast:

Reports continue coming in describing the unidentified illness.Our first latest report comes from Dr. Kwang Jing-shu of the Chongqing province of China.

(Dr. Kwang Jin-shu begins to speak in Mandarin. An English translator is heard over his voice)

The first outbreak I saw was in a remote village that officially had no name. It was known by its villagers as “New Dachang.”

The villagers were keeping their sick in their communal meeting hall. There were seven of them, all on cots, all barely conscious. I asked the villagers who had been taking care of these people. They said no one, it wasn’t “safe.” I noticed that the door had been locked from the outside. The villagers were clearly terrified. They cringed and whispered; some kept their distance and prayed.

I knelt to examining the first patient. She was running a high fever, forty degrees centigrade, and she was shivering violently. Barely coherent, she whimpered slightly when I tried to move her limbs. There was a wound in her right forearm, a bite mark. As I examined it more closely, I realized that it wasn’t from an animal. The bite radius and teeth marks had to have come from a small, or possibly young, human being.

I examined the six other patients. All showed similar symptoms, all had similar wounds on various parts of their bodies. I asked one man, the most lucid of the group, who or what had inflicted these injuries. He told me it had happened when they had tried to subdue “him.”

I found “Patient Zero” behind the locked door of an abandoned house across town. He was twelve years old. His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bounds, there was no blood. There was no blood on his other wounds, not on the gouges on his legs or arms, or from the large dry gap where his right big toe had been. He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls.

The boy’s skin was cold and gray as the cement on which he lay. I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse. His eyes were wild, wide, and sunken back in their sockets. They remained locked on me like a predatory beast. Throughout the examination he was inexplicably hostile.

His movements were so violent I had to call for two of the largest villagers to help me hold him down. Initially they wouldn’t budge, cowering in the doorway like baby rabbits. I explained that there was no risk of infection if they used gloves and masks. When they shook their heads, I made it an order, even though I had no lawful authority to do so.

The two men knelt beside me. One held the boy’s feet while the other grasped his hands. I tried to take a blood sample and instead extracted only brown, viscous matter. As I was withdrawing the needle, the boy began another bout of violent struggling.

The man holding the boy’s arms decided it might be safer if he braced them against the floor with his knees. But the boy jerked again and I heard his left arm snap. Jagged ends of both radius and ulna bones stabbed through his gray flesh. Although the boy didn’t cry out, didn’t even seem to notice, it was enough for both assistance to leap back and run from the room.

I instinctively retreated. The boy began to twist in my direction, his arm ripped completely free. Flesh and muscle tore from one another until there was nothing except the stump. His now free right arm, still tied to the severed left hand, dragged his body across the floor.

I hurried outside, locking the door behind me. I began to hear banging on the door, the boy’s fist pounding weakly against the thin wood. It was all I could do not to jump at the sound. I prayed they would not notice the color draining from my face. I shouted, as much from fear as frustration, that I had to know what happened to this child.

The boy’s mother came forward. She admitted that it had happened when the boy and his father were “moon fishing,” a term that describes diving for treasure among the sunken ruins of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The boy came up crying with a bite mark on his foot. He didn’t know what had happened, the water had been too dark and muddy. His father was never seen again.

neverending

01-15-2009, 05:22 PM

I think your choice of material is good. Zombie lore is very popular. Your excerpt is too talky though. That may seem a strange comment to make about a radio broadcast- but if you listen to War of the Worlds, there are no long passages of description like this. It is presented in the form of live news coverage of events as they happen- short bursts of description with sound effects, mixed with interviews of on the scene participants.

This effect could be carried out with your script. It could be presented in the form of an on the scene audio diary. For instance- when he's examining tthe boy, he calls out to the villagers and orders them to help him. We hear them protest, and we hear the Dr. persuade them. Then he describes what he sees, in its gruesome detail, as the boy's arm comes off... He doesn't tell us there was banging on the door- we hear it, as we hear the boy's calls....

Good marks for subject matter. Low marks for execution. You've done much better.

ChronoGrl

01-15-2009, 06:11 PM

This effect could be carried out with your script. It could be presented in the form of an on the scene audio diary. For instance- when he's examining tthe boy, he calls out to the villagers and orders them to help him. We hear them protest, and we hear the Dr. persuade them. Then he describes what he sees, in its gruesome detail, as the boy's arm comes off... He doesn't tell us there was banging on the door- we hear it, as we hear the boy's calls....

Good marks for subject matter. Low marks for execution. You've done much better.

Agreed on the execution. I've been feeling like death for about two weeks now (I'm blaming it on the change in meds; that way it means that it'll END soon) and I'm having a HELL of a time functioning. I was going to pass on this challenge but didn't want to be eliminated for giving up on something that will (hopefully) pass soon.

In terms of the "You've done much better" remark, you sound like my parents, teachers, and professors. :rolleyes:

Grading should be blind. That way I don't have to compete with high expectations. :p

The Flayed One

01-15-2009, 08:42 PM

A Shot In the Dark

Plot synopsis:

A man, visibly upset and obviously drunk, sets in a bar talking to a stranger. He is Billy Claiborne, ex-cowboy.

Quote “I was there that day. The day they shot up the cowboys and started the movement what ran us out of town. History will remember us as villains; it ain't so. We was a hard working bunch. Some of us was brothers, but we was kin, all of us. Sure, we did some damned right unlawful things. Weren't nothin' no one else wasn't doin if they were needing to survive. But the folk, they were generally happy. Ain't nothing was wrong with this town of Tombstone, until those bastard Earp brothers came down on us and brought the devil with them.”

The story is told through the eyes of Bill Claiborne, recounting the events of the Earps rise to power and they're attempt to put the town under their thumb to increase their market share on gambling. They always had their ace in the hole, the devil himself, Doc Holliday.

Quote: “They called him educated; schooled in language and a gentleman. We called it the devil's tongue. He spoke his language through a cleft lip and walked on cleft feet. And any man what seen him gamble should've known without doubt that was the devil's luck. Any man who feared god, that is.”

The town, a little lawless but generally happy, resists the Earps constraints on them, especially not being able to carry their weapons. Billy goes on to recount many violent pistol whippings and arrests to anyone who disobeyed their weapons orders.

The cowboys try to fight back, but you can't win when someone has the very devil on their side. The events finally lead up to the infamous gunfight, which although took about thirty seconds “seemed like an eternity.”

Billy, as one of the two men who ran, feels guilty. The shots loom large, as while most of the Earp clan get injured, Docs eyes glow as the darkness whips around him and he fires shots into the cowboys.

Quote: “They say although he was shot, the bullet hit his holster. I'll tell you this, there was no holster. It was as though he pulled his guns from the air itself, and the bullet strayed from him as though it feared to touch him. Had the others not held him back, he would have killed the whole town. You could see it in those eyes.”

Billy, now almost in tears and lamenting about how he ran while the others faced down evil, looks into the strangers dark face.

“I can't live with what I've done and what I've seen. I can't run. I've come back here to Tombstone to make my peace with my maker. Lord knows that evil will find me. I only hope when it does, and I look into those horrible eyes one last time, I'll be able to forgive myself like him up above is supposed to.”

Billy then stands up and walks towards the door.

“Do what you will, stranger. I knew you'd come, sooner or later. Outside, you and I will come to terms. I will turn and look hell into it's eyes one last time and fire into its depths. If I see the ghost of my brothers, then I'll ask them to forgive me for being such a coward. I'm a coward who's asked to be called Billy the Kid, but I don't deserve his good name. I'm a coward like the one what killed him.”

Billy turns to look the stranger in the eyes, and we see the glow. The screen goes black as a single shot rings out.

Screenplay
Kathryn Bigelow

Main Cast:
Billy Claiborne - Brenden Sexton III

Wyatt Earp - Liam Neeson

Doc Holliday - Robert Carlyle

Stranger - Michael Madsen

neverending

01-15-2009, 08:57 PM

Very atmospheric, Flayed! A completely different take from Bwind, yet an equally original storyline. I like it. You do know the title's been used already, right?

alkytrio666

01-15-2009, 10:10 PM

The Locker

Davy Jones’ Locker -noun: the ocean's bottom, esp. when regarded as the grave of all who perish at sea. (Dictionary.com)

Fremantle, Western Australia, current day.

Braylon Reynolds is an author seemingly at peace with himself and his life. The film opens in his small house by the Fremantle port as he is finishing a day’s writing and the sun is setting. He lives alone, but his routine is free and easy and it is obvious he has been living there for quite some time. He is somewhere around the age of 35.

In the beginning of the film, a pattern is developed; by day Braylon sits and writes via his dated typewriter and by night he walks across the broad dirt road to “Chip’s”, a bar where he seems very at ease and well-liked. He is shown conversing with the regulars (which are the entirety of the customers) and the bartender, Chip.

Of specific importance are the transitions between these locations, the house and the bar, and the way that Braylon looks so comfortable with the land, the remote waves of the Indian Ocean, and all the noises a port makes, day and night.

One evening, Braylon finishes writing and, as usual, and leaves his place. On his way across the street, he notices a large ship ported next to the usual smaller ones. He wanders over and, while conversing with one of the seamen, learns that the ship is to set sail for a port in Kenya the day after tomorrow and was still in need of some crew. He sounds interested but doesn’t give any final response. He heads over to “Chip’s”.

The mood should be loose and casual, and the evening begins like any other. Braylon gets very drunk amongst his bar friends and is shown enjoying himself (maybe a little too much) over billiards, darts, and other activities one is accustomed to enjoying in a bar. One by one the regulars leave, and finally, only Braylon remains.

Drunkenly, Braylon tells Chip they are to have one more beer each, on him. Chip nods, but looks distant and broken. He walks away and comes back with a couple of bottles.

Braylon cracks his open, then jumps as he looks back up at his friend and server. Chip is the same as he ever was save one detail: where once there were two very human eyes there are now two black saucers, jelly-like and indefinite. Chip is crying, and tears stream from the saucers in big waves.

He warns Braylon not to go with the ship, begs him, pleads with him. The scene ends.

---

Braylon is on board, and has a small cabin to himself. It is assumed that he and the rest of the crew took off no more than a day or so before. There are several scenes involving Braylon conversing with the crew, and of course performing small duties as he signed on to do, but in the evenings when the other crew members were mingling, he would go back to his cabin and write. He seems more distant and unsure than he did in the film’s establishing scenes.

As the ship sails onward over the endless stretch of ocean, the water and sky seem to become blacker. A storm seems to be on the rise, but no one notices but Braylon. His mood becomes less gracious and more brooding every day, and he begins to retire to his quarters earlier and earlier.

One night he is seen smoking over the edge of the boat, gazing into the black abyss of the ocean. A greenish hand touches his shoulder and he turns around. There stands a man in seamen uniform, taught from head to toe. His eyes are like Chip’s several weeks before, deep dark saucers which seem to match the sea in color and depth.

Braylon seems just as nervous in this encounter as he was during the one in the bar. The sailor asks him for a light, and he shakingly gives it to him. The sailor begins to ask him about his life, and gets more and more personal until he becomes blunt. He tells Braylon to get off the boat, to jump into the ocean if he must, but to get the hell off the boat. As his talk becomes more vicious, his eyes become deeper and blacker.

Suddenly he is in the water. There is blackness all around him, up is down, down is up. Tentacles come from all around him, but he seems so deep in the water that he (and we) can see nothing of their origins. He screams, and water fills his lungs.

Suddenly he is lying on board, choking on the water but saved and alright. The crew says they heard him screaming and then a splash, but when he hysterically shouts about the sailor with the holes for eyes they search him suspiciously. They neither heard nor saw any trace of such a creature.

Over the course of several weeks his encounters with the abyss-eyed men become more and more frequent and, even more frightening, his close friends and crewmates start to haunt him with the eyes. There begins to be more group encounters, and his life with the ordinary crew and his nightmares with the black-eyed crew become intertwined in a nauseating, surreal storm at sea.

It has been several months and the wear and tear of the haunting of the creatures has taken its tole on Braylon. He is jumpy, frail, pale, sick. His writing has stopped; his typewriter lies in the corner of his cabin, covered in dust and cobwebs.

And one night, almost expectantly, a soft song bleeds through the air and into the ears of Braylon Reynolds, who is sitting cross legged in the other corner of his cabin.

The song awakens something in him, and he ventures out onto the deck of the large ship. He turns to the left and sees the crew, all gape-eyed and staring at him.

The song continues, its origin unknown, its tone haunting and distant. The creatures on deck begin to whisper to him softly, “jump, jump”. They tell him to go down there, to venture down to the bottom, where he will find what he is looking for.

Braylon, seemingly under a trance, climbs slowly overboard and falls into the water. The creatures sluggishly wander to the edge of the ship and look down at him as he slowly drowns, choking on the pitch-black waters of the Indian Ocean. He sinks down, down. He is consumed.

---

The final scene opens in “Chip’s” during a typical Friday night. The crowd is big; the ship has just come in, and sailors are leaking into the pub to celebrate their return. Chip is looks very normal and himself.

A man walks in suddenly, very business-like and stark. He tells Chip of Braylon’s suicide at sea, of the way he threw himself into the black waters at night; the way one sailor heard a splash but by the time the crew had gotten to the edge there was nothing, no sight of the man.

The man says he is sorry, and leaves.
And Chip looks after him as he exits, and on his face there is nothing.

End.

neverending

01-15-2009, 10:33 PM

Papillon Noir

01-16-2009, 06:12 AM

I found this is a surprisingly difficult challenge as the perspective from most novels doesn't really translate onto radio. I was actually thinking of doing World War Z, but Chrono beat me to it. :p

So the next idea that came to mind was for the novel, "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson. Most of you are familiar with this story as it was made into two movies (the first obviously far superior). A doctor, Dr. Montague, has an interest in the paranormal hires two "psychics" to comes to a known haunted house, accompanied by the heir to the house. It's a ghost story that also deals with issues of rationality and mental stability.

For the radio broadcast, it would be a series of "found" tapes of Dr. Montague's recordings of his study while in Hill House. It would tell how he came to find the two psychics, Theo and Eleanor and their experiences in the house, including interviews with the caretaker and the heir to the house himself, Luke (who was also present). It would also mark Eleanor descent into madness and her ultimate desire to join with the ghosts of the house.

[Sample broadcast to follow in next post.]

"It is now Wednesday and I will attempt to describe the events of last night. I'm still unsure if we have indeed come across true paranormal activity or it is all the mind. The mind will often play tricks with you and paranoia can easily take over. Especially in the dark.

Last night both Theo and Eleanor were awoken by a strange noise in the hall. It was almost like a banging, which increased in intensity and then abruptly stopped. The women attempted to fall asleep and Eleanor had taken a hold of Theo's hand in comfort. It was only a few hours later when Luke and I heard screaming from their room. Eleanor was hysterical saying that she had thought she held Theo's hand, but Theo was across the room, and it must have been a hand from a ghost or something.

We didn't know what think. With Eleanor's past situation of her seclusion prior to coming here, I can only think this is contributing to her mental state. It is day now and we all seems to find solace in the daylight. Though it seems that Eleanor is spending a lot of time engrossed by the statues of the houses original occupants in the solarium. I know there is nothing wrong with looking at statues, but there is just something eerie about the way she looks at Crain's statue, it's almost...lovingly."

roshiq

01-16-2009, 06:27 AM

ELIMINATION ROUND #1
- Roshiq and Cactus - You are a fresh indie movie director who dreams of making it big. Do you have what it takes to be the next big thing in horror?

Just to put an effort...I'm sharing this idea here. Though the challenge was quite wide open & any contestant I guess could do a lot better than me but perhaps I haven't that kinda talent so I was pretty uncomfortable with it for the last 2 days. I'm just writing the idea here..its still need more work, perhaps I need a co-writer to give it a sense & making it something at least watchable:(

anyway, here it goes...

The Cannibal Club

A group of wicked, disturbed but high society people formed a vicious circle to meet their gruesome thirst & hunger for human flesh. Prof. Samuel Simon was the founder member who has been in Africa for his secret research work on cannibalism & managed to brought a man named 'Khalil' from there who works as a Cook for them in their secret place at Daniel's lake house. Daniel Duff is a business man who is also the nephew of Prof. Simon & presidium member of the club and able to recruit the other members like Dr. Martin Moore, the police officer Phillip Peterson, the banker Harvey Hamilton & some others like them. All things were going well like every member was contributing every week to 'manage & collect an item' for the club and at every Saturday night there's been the special dinner where everyone gathered to have a fest for cooked & sliced flesh from a human body!
Anyway, the club was running well & in every month there's been some new member willingly or by some other means have joining the club. But suddenly things started to face a gruesome change when every week just before the dinner one by one the members were killing by some unknown maniac killer! The killer is also a cannibal but he likes to have the raw fleshes. Who is this killer? Is he one of them? or an outsider or an ex member of the club like Luther Lewis who has recently escaped from a mental asylum?

In the end after all the gore fest between the killer and the 'survivors', it'll be shown that the club still exits but in some other place with some new formation.

alkytrio666

01-16-2009, 06:38 AM

This is a crazy story! Quite unique. Might be a bit slow- but under the right director it might be effective. Perhaps some things could be fleshed out- Braylon's past- what is he writing- how do those things relate to the storyline? There's no reasoning behind why he ends up accepting his fate at the bottom of the sea. I need some motivation... unless the lack of motivation was a choice you made.

Yes, his writing was one thing I thought I could incorporate more surely into the story, but I don't want to do too much with it. I'd like him to be someone who originally has a lot of confidence without a lot of material goods or success.

As far as motivation, I really wanted that aspect of the story to be vague. I think the line between whether he fell under a kind of voodoo trance (I was thinking I Walked With a Zombie at sea) or whether he jumped because something in his mind broke to be fuzzy.

ferretchucker

01-16-2009, 07:08 AM

Thanks NE for the comments.

I wonder if Disease has found the time to do it yet?

_____V_____

01-16-2009, 07:31 AM

48 Hours are up, and I havent received any PMs or email for extension in time.

8 Finalists have answered their challenges, and I ll request all Judges to send me their Grades.

2 Finalists havent answered within the stipulated time limit, and so face automatic elimination. They will be joined by the Finalist who scores the lowest Grade in this Round.

Disease

01-16-2009, 09:00 AM

Errrr, I just didn't have any time in the past 2 days... Oh well.......

ChronoGrl

01-16-2009, 10:41 AM

They will be joined by the Finalist who scores the lowest Grade in this Round.

OH CRAP

I assumed that if people didn't submit answers, they would be the only ones eliminated.

So much for, this is better than nothing. Oops. :o :(

roshiq

01-16-2009, 11:36 AM

OH CRAP

I assumed that if people didn't submit answers, they would be the only ones eliminated.
(

Me too.:o

Anyway, rules are rules, so I'm feeling bad about myself...I think this time I'm under great threat. :(

The Flayed One

01-16-2009, 06:15 PM

You do know the title's been used already, right?

Yeah, and that comes as an unfortunate side effect of the contestants not being able to edit their posts after submission. I figure it's not so bad though, since the last time it was used was for a Pink Panther movie in the 60's.

That was a really fun challenge.

_____V_____

01-16-2009, 08:09 PM

RESULTS OF ELIMINATION ROUND #1

The Judges have turned in their verdicts. And most of you have solid grades which will make you pass into the next Round.

Except two Finalists.

First things first. The Topper of Elimination Round #1, with a very solid and impressive Average Grade of A- is...

THE FLAYED ONE!!

Number 2 in the Average Grade scoreboard, with B+, is...

BLOODRAYNE!!

Not less than FOUR Finalists scored an Average Grade of B, and they are...

(in no order)

ChronoGrl
FerretChucker
Bwind22
Alkytrio666

...which leaves us with the two Finalists who are on the verge of elimination...

Papillon Noir and Roshiq.

Roshiq scored a D+ from one of the Judges, while Paps scored mostly C minuses...

But,

Roshiq had Bs, Paps had one B...

It was really a tough and very close call in the end between the two...

But the one who moves into the next Round of elimination is...

ROSHIQ!!

Which means...

Sorry Paps. You did your best, but you are eliminated from HDC Idol.

Elimination Round #2 starts within the next 24 hours.

neverending

01-16-2009, 08:17 PM

Sorry to see you go, Disease and Noir.

Congrats to Flayed for winning the round.

I'll admit Bwind was my favorite- I'll be looking for you to make a great showing in the next round.

The rest of you- step up your game if you expect to be crowned HDC IDOL!

roshiq

01-16-2009, 10:00 PM

oh god...that was really a close call! I'm glad that you considered our previous efforts and just because of that I have made through to the next round.:o

But feeling really sad for Noir...she gave a nice effort against a tough challenge last round.

ferretchucker

01-17-2009, 02:34 AM

Thanks judges. I appreciate it.

Sorry to see you go Butterfly, you did do well.

ChronoGrl

01-17-2009, 08:18 AM

Wow - CONGRATS FLAYED!!!

And sorry Paps.

Disease

01-17-2009, 09:29 AM

Good luck to the remaining finalists...

bwind22

01-17-2009, 12:19 PM

Thank you, neverending, for that unexpected compliment!

Congrats Flayed! Nice job everyone else! Sorry to see you go Pap, Disease & Cactus.

The Flayed One

01-17-2009, 07:29 PM

Wow. Thanks to all of the judges who gave me outstanding grades. Congrats to all my other fellow finalists.

It's also sad to see good competitors fall. If time frames and circumstances would have fallen differently, it very well could have been me who fell this round while my fellow competitors moved on.

I'm eager to see what awaits all of us in the next round.

Bwind, I must say that following you on the same competition was less than pleasant. You gave an excellent showing and left me wondering long into the night how I was going to compose something different enough that I wouldn't seem like the cheap cash in on your idea. You've turned out to be a fierce competitor, and I look forward to going up against you in the next round.

This is a very strong group; one that I respect and am extremely impressed by. I've enjoyed reading every single response to the challenges, and I hope there are more contests of wit in the near future.

Enough of the sentimental bullshit, though. To the six of you who remain in my way, I say:

"Bring it, you bastards!"

_____V_____

01-18-2009, 03:19 AM

ELIMINATION ROUND #2

I welcome all Finalists to the second Elimination Round of HDC Idol. Each round will result in the elimination of ONE of you until we reach the Final 3, who will advance on to the Grand Finale stage of HDC Idol.

Your second Challenge is more tough than the previous one, because you get to be the crew members of renowned Movie Makers, so I wish you all the very best and hope you raise your own levels much higher to meet this Test and dominate it with awesome Grades.

All 7 of you will be assigned to a genre Icon of Horror, and will be given a Challenge each. Keeping the Genre Great in mind, and knowing the fact that you are a member of his film crew, you have to put your answers and ideas forth in accordance before the Judges.

Grades will be given out, and the worst Grader will be out of HDC Idol.

Point to Note :- If you do not answer your challenge within the stipulated time, you are automatically eliminated from HDC Idol.

Again, we may have more than one Finalist eliminated in Elimination Round #2 itself. Of course, the fittest will survive and continue on.

Here are your challenges...

- The Flayed One - Tobe Hooper is so fascinated with Cloverfield that he wants you to pitch a giant monster plot to him for his next movie.

- Bloodrayne - George A. Romero's next movie is a horror musical. Give your choice of songs from popular mainline releases to him.

- FerretChucker - Sam Raimi wants to make a sequel to Army of Darkness's alternate ending, with Ash 100 years in the future. You are his script-writer.

- Alkytrio666 - Wes Craven is making another low budget slasher. Think of possible casting options for the flick.

- ChronoGrl - Christophe Gans is ready to make yet another video-game adaptation after Silent Hill and wants you on-board as producer.

- Bwind22 - Dario Argento liked Sean Keller's Giallo so much he wants to make another giallo flick with you in Sean's place.

- Roshiq - Frank Darabont enjoyed a lot of success with The Mist in 2008. Do you have an equally effective Stephen King short story in mind to be adapted into a movie screenplay?

You have 48 Hours to do your research and post your entries (either on here or in a PM to me). Failure to do so WILL result in elimination.

Best of Luck!!

alkytrio666

01-18-2009, 06:12 AM

So V, question- you want us to be very specific here, right? For instance, mine should be wholly dedicated to casting?

_____V_____

01-18-2009, 07:58 AM

So V, question- you want us to be very specific here, right? For instance, mine should be wholly dedicated to casting?

Yes, and reasoning behind your choices/answers.

bloodrayne

01-18-2009, 11:10 AM

- Bloodrayne - George A. Romero's next movie is a horror musical. Give your choice of songs from popular mainline releases to him.

Do you mean 'mainstream music' as in stuff that's played on the radio?...If so, I am soooo completely not familiar with that...How mainstream or popular does the music have to be?...Most people know who Wednesday 13 is...Right?...Is something like that viable?

_____V_____

01-18-2009, 11:16 AM

Do you mean 'mainstream music' as in stuff that's played on the radio?...If so, I am soooo completely not familiar with that...How mainstream or popular does the music have to be?...Most people know who Wednesday 13 is...Right?...Is something like that viable?

Yes it is. Remember its a horror musical, and going by Romero's track record, you ll have an idea of what sort of movie it ll be like.

You have to select songs accordingly. Think of a possible future Romero movie scenario from beginning to end, and then take it from there.

bloodrayne

01-18-2009, 11:18 AM

Yes it is. Remember its a horror musical, and going by Romero's track record, you ll have an idea of what sort of movie it ll be like.

You have to select songs accordingly. Think of a possible future Romero movie scenario from beginning to end, and then take it from there.

Thanks!...I was a little concerned there for a minute...I couldn't imagine any of the popular crap that's passed off as 'music' these days, being anything that would work in a Romero film :)

roshiq

01-18-2009, 12:55 PM

ELIMINATION ROUND #2
- Roshiq - Frank Darabont enjoyed a lot of success with The Mist in 2008. Do you have an equally effective Stephen King short story in mind to be adapted into a movie screenplay?

Though you clearly stated short story but I'm just asking for further clarification that is it have to be a short story of King or I can also suggest a novel/novella of King with some strong or suitable reasoning behind my answer?

_____V_____

01-19-2009, 08:42 AM

Though you clearly stated short story but I'm just asking for further clarification that is it have to be a short story of King or I can also suggest a novel/novella of King with some strong or suitable reasoning behind my answer?

Short story only. No novels.

A little more than 29 Hours have passed - no entries yet.

ferretchucker

01-19-2009, 08:55 AM

Okay, so I'm his script writer, what is my task? Pitch the idea I have or write a script?

_____V_____

01-19-2009, 08:57 AM

You already have the idea. Develop it into a full script.

ferretchucker

01-19-2009, 09:01 AM

I'm still confused, am I supposed to write an entire script for it, or explain the route my script would take the sequel in?

_____V_____

01-19-2009, 09:15 AM

The script outline.

A full blown script will take 100 pages, and obviously a lot of time.

ChronoGrl

01-19-2009, 10:03 AM

Knowing of Gore Verbinski’s current project to adapt Bioshock, I have decided that the way to go in terms of horror video game adaptation is to diverge from complete science fiction and focus on the psychological horror: something more real, more gritty – Condemned: Criminal Origins.

Instead of using the full title, Condemned : Criminal Origins, we’ll keep the title short to Condemned, leaving the audience questioning who, exactly is the condemned here – Our antihero? Or the souls after him?

Condemned

Story and Plot:
Condemned focuses both on psychological horror as well as mass panic schizophrenic horror. Ethan Thomas is an SCU investigator in the fictional city of “Metro City” where, inexplicably, the homeless, the derelicts, the junkies, all, are suddenly turning into violent and raging criminals. News broadcasts burst with stories of mysterious bouts of rage and aggression, pushing both the citizens of Metro City and the audience into panic. The main story line focuses on Ethan Thomas tracking down Serial Killer X, a serial killer who is hunting down and copycat killing other serial killers while simultaneously stalking and following Thomas’ work. While Thomas is on the trail of the mysterious SKX, he also finds himself descending into his own psychological struggles – seeing visions of inhuman creatures amidst his crazed human attackers. Is it Thomas who is going insane? Or is Metro City truly being overrun by these dark creatures? The dip into the super natural will allow Gans, once again, to create a truly creepy counter-universe filled with terrifying visions of creatures that begs the question: Who are the real monsters? Us, or them?

Ethan Thomas is aided by Rosa, the department’s forensic investigator. He sends his findings to Rosa who then analyzes and interprets them in the lab. Thomas is also aided by the mysterious Malcolm Vanhorn, Ahab foil to SKX who seems to know much more about what is happening in Metro City than he leads on.

Business Case:
True horror is the horror that hits close to home. Condemned will not only rope in video game fanboys, but will also attract the horror audience with its gritty portrayal of shock, panic, and surrealism. Condemned will appeal to fans of the infected genre (frenetic depictions of the violent people of Metro City), the monster/super natural genre (creepy CGI visions of the inhuman creatures that haunt Thomas), the crime investigative genre (filled with delightful visions of macabre gore a la Se7en), and the psychological genre (first-person story of Thomas’ decent into darkness). Also, when adapting Condemned, we are also securing a franchise, keeping in mind that the first Condemned will focus on the first video game, Criminal Origins, while a sequel will be in the works during or post-production for the adaptation of Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

Writing Staff:
While Roger Avary (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000812/) penned Silent Hill, I would like to avoid him this time around (though he worked on True Romance and Reservoir Dogs, Condemned is going after a different tone and, quite frankly, Beowulf is a blight on his writing resume). Condemned will be a horrifying first person character piece told through the eyes of our unreliable narrator Thomas. I think that we should reach out to Alex Garland (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307497/) (28 Days Later, Sunshine), who seems to be able to capture both the inner psychotic struggle of the main character but also the paranoid vibration of an entire world falling apart.

Suggested Casting:
Ethan Thomas: For Ethan Thomas, we need someone who is young, handsome yet rugged. He needs to be liked by the audience but also pitied and feared at the same time. I suggest that we cast as lesser known so as to do away with audience expectations going into this role. I think that AJ Bowen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1410105/) would be perfect – His breakout role in The Signal proves that he can show various sides to a man: Pure threat, obsession, and pathos. While we feared him in The Signal, we pitied him as well. We need that rugged, dirty raw energy brought to the screen for Condemned.

Rosa: For Rosa, we need someone who is also rugged, strong, but also has a vulnerable side (as she will eventually serve as Big Bad fodder). I suggest that we pursue Michelle Rodriguez (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0735442/) to breathe life into this small yet integral role. She will be the grounding point, the rock to Thomas’ descent as he starts to lose his focus. She is straight and strong, but also loyal and focused.

Malcolm Vanhorn: For Malcolm Vanhorn, we need an older gentleman (old enough to be Thomas’ father) who is striking, intriguing, and vibrant. I think that Peter Weller (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000693/) will fit perfectly into this role – His striking visage adding an air of mystery and intrigue into the role, and his cult reputation adding bodies in the seats.

Serial Killer X: For SKX, we need someone who is the same age as Thomas. We also need someone who can be placid yet terrifying at the same time, his calmness adding threat to his onscreen appearance. Cillian Murphy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0614165/) seems perfect for the role, previously playing victim-turned-monster in 28 Days Later, and larger-than-life Big Bad in Batman Begins. Murphy’s high cheekbones and clear complexion creates a beautiful yet oddly creepy visage; hollowed out like a corpse, but chiseled like a mall mannequin. This queer beauty will be a perfect foil to Thomas’ rough appearance. Also, in a certain light, Murphy resembles the aged Weller, which will aid the eventual reveal of their relationship (SKX being the nephew of Vanhorn).

Marketing
Condemned focuses mainly on the consequences of mass madness and widespread panic. Our viral marketing campaign will be a series of short faux news briefs covering the “mysterious outbreaks of violence and crime in the Metro area.” We’ll see various news correspondents in front of burning buildings (example: a library that mysteriously resembles New York’s Public – it’s lions dark with soot), faux tickers underneath marking the next attack while the correspondent fights to keep their composure. The “news briefs” will also cover the exploits of SKX, alluding to murders that will not be on screen in the film and that will add to the mystique of the antagonist of the upcoming movie.

Doc Faustus

01-19-2009, 10:26 AM

Very creative. Interesting choices all around, although Cillian Murphy is a little safe.

ChronoGrl

01-19-2009, 10:52 AM

Very creative. Interesting choices all around, although Cillian Murphy is a little safe.

Yeah, that was the toughest one to cast and the last one that I came up with... I needed someone in their 30s who's beautiful yet threatening. ALSO, I wanted to have someone who was known - My philosophy was that the audience would be disappointed if the anticipated Big Bad was was a big No One (we're going after him the entire time and we need SOME kind of payoff). I've been fascinated with Cillian's creepy beauty since 28 Days Later and I thought that his resemblance to Weller was a serendipitous plus.

I understand the critique, though - I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with that choice either. Thanks for the feedback!

Off the challenge - Who do you think would be good in the role? It's driving me CRAZY (PM me if you don't want to post it - I'm actually geeking out over this). Part of the fun in this entire competition is the, What would YOU have done?? or, when reading someone else's challenge, What would I do??

ferretchucker

01-19-2009, 12:09 PM

Evil Dead IV: Ashes to Ashes

Ashley J. Williams has found himself 100 years into the future, in the apocalyptic wasteland of England. He has no idea what has happened, but it's been something big.

The film begins with the protagonist, Ash, laughing maniacally to himself. Quickly, he is heard, and a group of people in radiation suits come over to him. They grab him and carry him into an underground cavern, full of other people. Ash puts up no fight, and merely laughs to himself.

The group of people take off their suits and reveal themselves to be the order of the king, survivors the catastrophe who found writings of the brave king, and have lived in the hopes of finding him

Ash is about to ask what catastrophe they mean when an army of deadites swarm the cave. The group put up a brave fight. The scene includes many close up scenes of gore and blood. Eventually, the humans win it, with only one deadite left. But the deadite reveals it has a large number of grenades strapped to itself, and pulls the pin on one of them.

One of the men grabs Ash and dives for cover as the grenades go off. Everyone in the room is dead but Ash and the man. The man collects supplies from the cavern with Ash, then has a conversation, explaining that a band found the necronomicon and used the passage for raising demons in their song. Deadites were created worldwide, and eventually, there were more of them then there were people. Certain people survived, such as the order, and have fought against them ever since in a hope to rebuild humanity.

Ash and the man then take a plane from the back of the cavern and fly down the Germany, where the Necronomicon Exo Mortis is currently being held, in an attempt to destroy it, a mission the order were just about to undertake. The two of them have a mid air battle with a group of deadites causing the plane to crash into the sea. Ash drags the man, whose legs were broken in the crash, to shore on an island. The island creatures appear to be deadites and after a short fight, Ash and the man make their way to the top of hill and into an old fort.

In there, Ash finds out some more about the man. His name is Ashley also and he has fought deadites his entire life. Their coversation is interrupted when some germans with swords find them in the fort. Ashley speaks some German to them and they all nod. He tells Ash to hand over any weapons. He gives them a couple of knives. Ashley smiles at him, and then he and the Germans all reveal themselves to be Deadites. Ash is cornered but dives out of a hole in the wall, rolling down the hill and into the middle of a pack of deadite dogs. They chase him to the water, where he swims away from them. Before long, he's worn out, and he resigns himself to his fate when he sees a boat with the deadite, Ashley and the germans.

As they're right upon him, another boat appears and shoots all of the deadites until the boat is suitably covered in nothing more than limbs and red mush. The boat that came to his rescue lift Ash out of the water. As they drive away, there's a shot of Ashley, under the water. They are American and simply live on the water, only coming to land for supplies.

Ash asks if they have any idea where the Necronomicon is, in the hopes it can send him back in time. They have no idea what it is. After a few days of living on the boat and getting to know people, Ash is content with the life. It's peaceful.

The boat stops off at land. Everybody leaves it except Ash and a woman he has taken a liking to. Out on the land, all of the other people from the boat are silently killed by Ashley and a large group of Deadites. They swarm around the boat but Ash acts swiftly, driving out into the sea.

They appear to be safe, and Ash goes down into his room. He takes a glance at the bookcase and sees a book and takes it out. As he opens it, he notices something familiar. Ripping off the front cover reveals it to be the Necronomicon. Just as he's looking through it, Ashley, who is shown to have been holding on to the back of the boat, climbs aboard. He goes down to Ash and makes short work of him, beating him to the ground.

Ash asks why, to which Ashley explains who he is. He is the child of Evil Ash and Sheila, conceived in the rape. When he was thirty, he was struck by lightning. In that moment he knew who he was, and realized he was both human and deadite. He doesn't age, and simply wants control.

He made sure that the Necronomicon found it's way to the cabin in the woods to ensure his existence, but when he went to claim it after Ash was sent back in time, it was gone. He discovered that a band had found and bought it. He persuaded them to use some of it in a song, so the dead would rise and he would gain his powers. Since then he has spent his life trying to find the book.

Just as he is about to finish reading out an incantation, which would give him full control of every living being, the woman comes down and shoots the book. A huge hole appears in Ashley, so she does it a few more times until he's dead. The book starts to rot.

Ash shouts out at her, and worrying he will never be able to return home, he grabs the book and reads random words from it, just before it rots away totally. Ash falls through a portal, with the woman. They find themselves in the S-mart where Ash used to work. Things look slightly different, though. The two of them see a newspaper and gasp. It's 2031. Then, on the radio that's playing, they hear something.

"Okay, we now have a brand new song by The Evil Dead called Book of the Dead!"

A rock song starts playing with the passage that raises the dead. The camera zooms in on a screaming Ash, then goes to black.

I hope this satisfies the judges. I've only seen Evil Dead 1, so I'm going by what I know of Army of darkness.

The Flayed One

01-19-2009, 01:36 PM

We start out seeing a news broadcast. The date is December 21, 2012. A violent terrorist leader has just been pardoned from the death sentence. The newscaster reflects her thoughts on what this means for the world. If a terrorist who has been responsible for the murder of hundreds of people has been spared, are we doomed as a species?

Pan out. The newscast has been shown in a classroom. The teacher goes on to discuss the historical significance of the pardon. It is now 2042. The pardon of the terrorist leader opened talks between the middle east and the west, ushering in a new era of peace. There hasn't been a recorded murder in the world in 20 years. All militaries have been disbanded; weapons are a relic of the past. The world is at complete peace.

All government resources have been poured into scientific research. Nanotechnology has brought mankind to the brink of immortality. The dream of colonizing other planets is within reach. As the teacher talks, the room suddenly starts to shake. The school crumbles, and many students are killed. The teacher and a few of her students manage to crawl their way out of the dust and rubble. The sky outside is a dark purple and distorted. The sky ripples as though it was a sheet with worms crawling beneath it. They take refuge in a jammed local bar, where news is coming in from all over the world. Rivers have reversed their courses, and landmasses have crumbled and broken away. Governments threaten to reinstate their militaries Looting has begun, and the peace the earth has known for thirty years has been broken within a matter of hours. All of the refugees watch in horror, as the earth trembles again.

The group moves outside, where the sky has grown dark redish black. The sun and the stars are out at once, and the sky writhes as if it were pregnant and about to give birth.

The the group tries to come up with a plan, where they can go. As they talk about possible scenarios, the city crashes and burns around them. The sky continues to fluctuate as though it where a living being. They decide to move to the countryside where there are less possible hazards. Many die on the way.

When they finally reach the country, the entire world goes silent. Not a sound can be heard. No one talks, heavy breaths are the only sign that there is anything, living or dead within miles. Then a distorted stretching sound is heard. As they look towards the unreal sky, an image, like a face pressed against spandex, starts to form in the sky. There comes a form of a horrible face, distorting reality itself. Masses of entrails, tentacles and teeth push the stars outward to their limit and ever closer to the horrified group. Finally, a ripping noise is heard as the head of the monster tears through the fabric of space and time, like a horrid child being born from a womb. It screams with a mixture of dying pigs and crying children, a noise so horrible that the group start to bleed from their ears and fall to the ground in pain. The beast steps into it's new world, creeping along and absorbing everything in its path.

The creature engulfs the world. There is no stopping it. We see cities collapse under its mass of writhing tentacles and slime, people dying at its horrible howls. As we see the last of mankind fall under its form, the screen goes dark. The entire world is wrapped in tentacles and flesh.

Shot: The flesh begins to recede and withdraw from the earth. Wreckage and ruin are revealed. Somewhere in a barren land, we see something move. It's a discolored amniotic sac of sorts. Something tears through, resembling a cross between a human and a bird. It cries out. The earth has given birth to a new child; the cycle has begun anew.

neverending

01-19-2009, 04:50 PM

Chrono- Brilliant. That's all.

Ferret- Excellent. Nice twist having Evil Ash & Ash battling each other.

Flayed- Definitely some horrific visions- but where are the characters? There's no one for us to identify with and it seems like just a tableau of destruction.

The Flayed One

01-19-2009, 05:00 PM

I almost wrote something at the end that would have justified the criticism. I pulled back at the last moment, because I wasn't sure if it would have been part of a good script pitch. If it bites me in the ass, I'll know next time.

Thank you for the critique.

bwind22

01-19-2009, 10:55 PM

Let me preface this by saying that giallo is probably the sub-genre of horror which I am least familiar with so this is a very difficult challenge for me. (Although, like I’m sure everyone here is, I’m very excited to see Argento’s Giallo, if for no other reason than to check out another of Sean’s scripts.)

Dario Argento liked Sean Keller's Giallo so much he wants to make another giallo flick with you in Sean's place.

Since I am in Sean’s place for this challenge, that makes me the screenwriter. Since the writer generally has little to do with selecting the cast or crew, I believe that it is acceptable for me to leave those up to the director, Mr. Argento, on this task and focus solely on the story so here goes….

A Lady in the Night

Bronx, New York – Present Day

A hotel maid knocks at a door. No answer. She enters and gasps. The room is a grisly scene; a naked woman lays mutilated on the bed with blood drenching the sheets and splattering all walls.

A short time later, two detectives stand in the hallway outside the room while forensics teams gather possible evidence inside the room. Detective Bava, short and stocky, and Detective Lado, tall and handsome, discuss what occurred. Lado asks if they have an ID on the girl. Bava informs him that her name was Crystal Plumage and she worked as a stripper at the Grey Velvet Club down the block. The hotel manager had informed Bava that she had been a long term guest at the hotel and has occupied the room for the past couple months. Bava goes on to say that there is no sign of forced entry.

Later that afternoon, Det. Bava and Det. Lado park outside the Grey Velvet Club and have a brief conversation in the car about the shabbiness of the building, the dimly lit parking lot and the dark alley adjacent.

The Detectives enter the Club. It’s a smoke filled, neon cesspool that we can only imagine must smell like some unholy mixture of sweat, cum and cheap perfume. A massive bouncer, Martino, blocks their path but steps aside when they flash their badges at him. The Detectives head directly for the bar and ask to speak with the manager. As they wait, they take in the show. A large breasted brunette in a cowboy hat and crotchless chaps simulates sex with the strip pole as a half dozen overweight lonely men stare perversely at her and shower her with dollar bills. Her song ends, she collects the wads of cash strewn about and scurries off the stage just as the manager arrives at the bar. Leon, the manager, asks what he can do for them. They flash their badges, then a picture of Crystal. They ask Leon if he knows the girl and he nods instantly, informing them that she is the Club’s top earner. Bava corrects him and lets him know that she WAS the Club’s top earner, but she was found murdered in her hotel room earlier this morning. Leon is stunned and offers to do anything he can to help with their investigation. They inform him that they’ll need to speak with her co-workers and ask them a couple questions. Leon tells them that’ll be no problem.

A short time later, the Detectives are in a back room sitting at a table. Across the table is the brunette from the stage. Leon is sitting next to her as the detectives ask questions. The questions range from the last time she saw Crystal to what type of girl Crystal was to whether or not she was aware of any dangerous people in Crystal’s life, all of which she answers to their satisfaction. As she stands to leave the room, Detective Lado asks, “Oh, Miss, what did you say your name was? Your legal name, not your stage name.” She informs them her name is Andrea Bianchi then leaves the room. As Detective Bava reviews the pages of notes he’s taken from what has obviously been several interviews, Leon informs him that they’ve spoken to everyone. Bava and Lado thank him for his cooperation and exit the backroom. As they make their way through the club towards the front entrance, Lado stops to stare at the girl on stage. Bava questions him and Lado points out that they had not spoken with her yet. Leon, who is escorting them to the door, informs them that the girl in question is Barbara Bouchet and she just started last night so she didn’t know Crystal at all. As they near the entrance, a blond stripper attempts to solicit either of them for a private dance. Embarrassed, Leon shoos her away “Michelle, beat it. They’re workin’ here.” Michelle responds that she is working too, or at least trying to. Leon tells them to stop back on their day off some time and he’ll set them up with the VIP treatment.

Back in the car, the detectives compare notes. They both agree that Leon was extremely helpful, almost suspiciously so. They are also in agreement that the bouncer, Martino, seemed like a pretty cold guy that could potentially be capable of murder and that several of the Club’s patrons seemed like they’d probably seen the inside of a state penitentiary at some point in their lives. To summarize their discussion, nearly everyone they saw inside the Club could be considered a suspect and this case could be a tough one to crack.

Later that night, Detective Lado, driving a different car, arrives outside an apartment building and parks. He enters, heads up four flights of stairs and fishes his keys out of his pocket. He enters his apartment, let’s out an exasperated sigh and kicks off his shoes. His cell phone rings. “This is Lado.” His brow furrows as he listens, then “I’ll be right there.” He puts his shoes back on and dashes out of his apartment.

Detective Lado’s car pulls up outside a different apartment complex. He gets out and heads inside. He arrives at a specific door and knocks. It opens and we see, the blond stripper Michelle, standing there in street clothes. She’s terrified. He enters and asks her what’s wrong. Trembling, she hands him a note and informs him she found it shoved under her door when she arrived home. He unfolds it. The note reads simply “You’re next.” She begs him to stay at her apartment overnight to protect her and he hesitantly agrees. Relieved, she offers him a drink and then tells him she needs to take a shower.

Michelle exits the bathroom in a robe, toweling off her hair. She expresses gratitude to Lado for his willingness to stay with her. There is a brief conversation over a glass of wine about Lado’s personal life; no wife, no kids, he’s never had the time and has basically been married to his job since he got out of college. She offers herself to him, but he declines because he doesn’t think it’d be prudent. She persists saying technically, he’s off the clock and could probably stand to relieve some tension. Again, he declines. She asks a third time but this time works the angle that it would help soothe her nerves to be in the arms of a man. He finally agrees and they retreat to the bedroom where a steamy romantic interlude takes place. She falls asleep on his chest and eventually his eyes drift off to sleep as well.

Lado’s eyes jolt open to the sound of the apartment door being kicked in. He instinctively grabs a knife off the top of the nightstand beside him but before he can climb out of the bed, there is a pistol in his face. “FREEZE! Drop the knife asshole!” The room quickly fills with cops, all with guns drawn. “Don’t move scumbag!” Lado notices blood on the knife and glances over his shoulder to see Michelle laying next to him with her throat slit from ear to ear, a pool of blood staining the sheets.

(CONTINUED)

bwind22

01-19-2009, 10:56 PM

(CONTINUED FROM ABOVE)

Later, in a police interrogation room, Detective Bava sits across the table from Lado staring at him reflectively. Bava asks what he was doing there. Lado tells him. Bava raises an eyebrow and asks why he wasn’t informed of the threat against Michelle. Lado explains that it was late when he got the call so he just headed over to make sure everything was okay then one thing led to another. Bava seems skeptical of this story and points out that Lado has no alibi except one that places him in the bedroom at the time of the murder. Bava goes on to point out that Lado’s prints are all over the murder weapon and, in general, none of this looks good for Lado. Lado agrees but tries to explain he was set up. Since they are partners, Bava shows some compassion and tells him to sit tight while he sees what he can dig up.

Detective Bava arrives at the Grey Velvet Club. Martino the Bouncer lets him pass without a hassle. Bava spots Leon near the DJ’s booth and waves him over. Bava informs Leon of what has occurred and asks if the two women had any common friends or enemies. Leon says none that he was aware of. Leon informs him that the two girls used to be roommates but they had a falling out a couple months ago and that was when Crystal had taken up residence at the hotel. Bava informs him to let his girls know that they need to watch their backs and that, at this point, everyone associated with the club is a suspect. Leon thanks him for stopping by and Bava exits.

Later, Detective Bava sits in his car which is parked discreetly across the street from the Club’s rear entrance. A cup of coffee sits on the dashboard and a pair of binoculars rest in his lap. Beside him is a notepad detailing who’s come and gone since he’s been keeping an eye on the place. He notices Andrea Bianchi, the large breasted brunette, exiting the club. She starts towards her car as he grabs the notepad and begins to scribble. When he glances back up, she has changed direction and is now heading in to the dark alley alongside the Club. Perplexed, he holds the binoculars up to his face and watches her disappear in to the shadowy darkness. A split second later, she emerges running and looking frantic. A dark figure appears behind her and drags her by the hair back in to the darkness. Startled by this sequence of events, Detective Bava fumbles with his pistol before he dashes across the street towards the alley. As he gets closer, sounds of a scuffle can be heard followed by a blood-curdling scream and then… silence.

He enters the dark alley with his gun drawn. A few steps in to the shadows, he sees Andrea Bianchi on the ground. In addition to her throat being slit, she’s been gutted from crotch to sternum and now there’s a growing pool of blood around her. Bava quickly checks her pulse and determines that she’s dead. Keeping his gun drawn, he continues deeper in to the shadows. A startled black cat darts from behind a dumpster, knocking over a trash can on the way out. Half way down the alley, he spots a second blood covered body on the ground. It’s the new girl, Barbara. He races to her side and again drops to a knee to check her pulse. His brow crinkles as he realizes her heart is still beating. Her eyes pop open and in a flash, she jabs a scalpel in to his neck.

Series of flashbacks.
1. After her first time on stage, Barbara counts her cash with disappointment.
2. Barbara watches jealously as Crystal and other girls rake in much more cash than her.
3. Barbara approaches Crystal in the parking lot and asks her if she has a place to crash.
4. Barbara attacks Crystal as she gets out of the shower, mutilates and kills her.
5. Barbara removes a key from Crystal’s purse.
6. Barbara slides a note under Michelle’s door.
7. Barbara uses the key from Crystal’s purse to enter Michelle’s apartment.
8. Barbara stands over the bed that Lado and Michelle are sleeping in and silently slashes Michelle’s throat, then leaves the knife on the nightstand next to Lado.
9. Barbara stands outside Michelle’s apartment complex and dials 9-1-1 on the corner payphone.
10. Barbara stands in the dark alley and calls out to Andrea as she exits the Club.
11. Andrea approaches, sees Barbara’s scalpel, tries to run. Barbara chases her down and guts her, then slices her throat to silence her scream.
12. Det. Bava enters alley just as Barbara lays herself down on the ground.

Back in the alley now, Bava’s eyes bulge as a geyser of blood sprays from his jugular. He staggers as he attempts to raise the gun towards Barbara who is already on her feet, but he loses his grip as he falls to his knees. As the blood pours from his body, the color drains from his face. He tips backwards, crashing in to a pile of debris as Barbara approaches. She pulls the scalpel from his throat, wipes it on his shirt and then walks casually out of the alley towards the parking lot, leaving him to die alone.

Epilogue: Two new detectives, Detective Lucio and Detective Klimovsky enter the Grey Velvet Club. Martino blocks their path but steps aside when they flash their badges. They head to the bar and ask for the manager. A moment later, they are greeted by Leon. They inform him that they are the new detectives assigned to the case. Lucio turns to admire the naked woman dancing on stage. It’s Barbara. Lucio asks Leon who she is. Leon tells them “That’s Barbara Bouchet. She’s our top earner.”

alkytrio666

01-19-2009, 11:42 PM

Alkytrio666 - Wes Craven is making another low budget slasher. Think of possible casting options for the flick.

-----------

At this point in the game, horror can no longer be played safe; Wes Craven knows this better than anyone. When he helmed Scream he essentially re-molded the idea of the horror movie. By casting a lot of hip, young stars and going for a kind of self-mocking tone, he took a big risk but came up with something huge.

However, by doing so, he also spawned a new definition to the genre which has gotten tired and safe. Countless knock-offs and insulting spoofs have been made, and many people already now look at Scream as something outdated; a lot of its cast never got farther than the 90s, and what was once a very original and surprisingly fresh idea now looks to some noisy.

In casting Wes Anderson’s newest slasher, the aging-process must be recognized and thought about, but the film also mustn’t come across as a gimmick or a re-trend. It is for this reason that the cast needs to be filled with both recognizable names but also contain some strong relatively-unknowns.

I have made the decision to fill these roles in a way many might consider backwards, but I believe will serve the film well: the major parts will be played by newer names while support will be given by more well-known actors.

Let’s face it: Scream may have been more gladly accepted for much longer if it had had some longer-lasting star appeal (someone like De Niro is immortal; David Arquette, not so much). However, in order to have the film pave new paths and begin another wave of originality it needs to utilize new faces for this generation.

The film will take a newer route and include both adult and teen actors. The teen-slasher has worn its welcome, and there are adults who may be interested in a horror film that hits closer to home, too. No one knows this better than Wes Craven, whose film Last House on the Left lay most of its power in the hands of the vengeful parents, not the kiddies.

The plot centers in on a mining town in Colorado, where everyone lives quite close to each other, every face is familiar. Mining is a father-son business there, and the family roots stretch deep. As people in workers start disappearing deep inside the caves, suspects pile up, but it isn’t until the twisty ending that the killer is revealed- an old, religious widow who lives by the church.

Without further ado,
The Cast:

Dusty King (Main Miner Boy) – Paul Dano (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0200452/ )
Already a recognizable face but still developing an acting style he can call his own, this would complete a kind of tri-film series; he will have played in a comedy, a drama and, now, a horror movie. With his believable and relatable (and these are key words) persona he would instantly gain the audiences’ trust and admiration, something which is important to make a horror film effective but rarely done right.

Jim King (Dusty’s Father)- Sam Rockwell (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005377/ )
Sam Rockwell has slowly but surely edged his way into Hollywood over the last few decades, and now he’s one of those actors with a recognizable face, though nobody really knows him by name yet. He’s subtle and natural, and the horror genre would fit him well; he’s used to darker roles, as he played one of the troubled outlaws in The Assassination of Jesse James in 2007. He would play the father to our protagonist, being both tough and quiet but also helpful and ultimately heroic.

Roxy Swinton (Dusty’s girlfriend) – Ellen Page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/ )
Why? Because there is a good actress hiding under that hipster act, and its begging for something different and daring. Not only can she fill the comedic aspects so important to a slasher, but also the real dramatic parts. A significant other side-kick is important for these kinds of movies, and here is the girl to play her.

The Boss – Ed Harris (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000438/ )
It’s important to have a dislikeable character, one who we all wait patiently to be offed, and cheer when that time comes. Ed Harris has achieved a career status as a man who can sincerely play an asshole well. He’s gruff, sarcastic, and can often become inhumanly barbaric.

Linda Rowe (Old town lady/killer) – Margot Kidder (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452288/ )
In an almost self-reflexive role, Margot would play the town eccentric, the seemingly harmless old lady who, as it turns out, just may have a few screws loose. She’s charming, but can also be ruthlessly comedic, poking fun at modern trends and routines. She hasn’t gotten a good role in awhile, but deserves a shot at something risqué yet fun, like this.

Besides these, most of the roles would be given to new talent, found by auditions. Wes has successfully broken in a lot of star power, and it is this talent that should be boosted both by a fresh take on the slasher film and a few willing stars in strong supporting roles.

bwind22

01-19-2009, 11:48 PM

I just went through and read all the entries for this current round. This competition is really heating up. Excellent entries from everyone so far. Hopefully BR & Roshiq have time to submit.

roshiq

01-20-2009, 01:26 AM

ELIMINATION ROUND #2
- Roshiq - Frank Darabont enjoyed a lot of success with The Mist in 2008. Do you have an equally effective Stephen King short story in mind to be adapted into a movie screenplay?

Frank Darabont has become the premiere mainstream prestige interpreter of Stephen King; cause he adapts the stories about ordinary people under stress so beautifully, that attracts a greater portion of the viewing public. He emphasizes mainly the human part of the work over the suspense or horror. Like his latest adaptation of his mentor Stephen King’s short story The Mist (which he described…"one of Steve’s best ‘muscular’ short pieces”) where he focused the tension and highlighted the element of fear in order to explore how it forced people to behave differently. Moreover, the interesting thing is from The Woman in the room to even The Mist, Darabont’s all works on King stories more or less has an one common element and that is ‘imprisonment’.

Among the very few stories of one of the finest storyteller of the century-Stephen King, that hasn’t been have a Film or TV adaptation yet but I personally like to see its celluloid version by Darabont is The Reach (http://www.horrorking.com/skeleton.html#The_Reach). This short story by Stephen King first published in Yankee magazine in 1981 under the title "Do the Dead Sing?” the re-titled story was collected in Skeleton Crew in 1985.
The story follows an old woman named Stella Flanders who has lived her entire life in the Goat Island, Maine, which is separated from the mainland by the Reach…a body of water. In the story, Stella remembers the past, the present, the living that populates the island, and the dead that populate her memories. She becomes alarmed when she begins seeing visions of her long deceased husband, Bill Flanders. Bill keeps attempting to lure Stella across the newly frozen Reach, which last froze over in 1938. With her health rapidly deteriorating, Stella sets off to cross the Reach only to become lost in the snow. Frightened, she is soon surrounded by her husband and dearly departed old friends assisting her to the mainland. She is later found following the snowstorm on the mainland four miles from her home, frozen to death.

Darabont can make another masterpiece from it if he adapts the story himself like the way he portrayed his most critically acclaimed movies The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.

Throughout King’s work, New England has played a vital role. It has lent its often gloomy atmosphere and harsh winters as unforgiving elemental characters in his frightening tales.
Death and dying is the predominant theme in “The Reach”. Stella Flanders’ reminiscences focus as much on the dead as they do the living, and it is the dead that give support to Stella when she is crossing the Reach. The realization that her illness is progressing creates the desire to cross the Reach, it is a metaphor for Stella’s desire to cross from one life to the next. When she becomes lost in the snow, her environment is described as otherworldly; she describes it as gauzy and grey thus setting the scene for the appearance of her long deceased husband and friends.
So, this time Darabont have the option to enrich his masterful skill of moviemaking by adding the Gothic touch of the story. In the story, King uses fictional Goat Island in Maine and its unforgiving winters as the ominous home for Stella Flanders and her familial community. King uses the Gothic element of foreshadowing by giving the reader glimpses of the illness that is advancing in Stella Flanders. When Stella attempts to cross the Reach and becomes lost, she likens herself to the damsel in distress; when the dead come to her aid, the supernatural characteristic strengthens the Gothic influence. King’s use of unsettling words to describe the island, weather, and events further evoke gothic standards. Therefore, when Darabont is going to put his pen for the screenplay of The Reach, definitely this would become something totally new and fascinating experience for his fans.

Though there’s news on the net that says Darabont is now actually very much interested to go for King’s one of the popular novel of Stephen King (that published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman) The Long Walk next, but I think The Reach is an appropriate short story that has been waiting for decades to be portray on the big screen by none other than Frank Darabont.

ChronoGrl

01-20-2009, 05:26 AM

Chrono- Brilliant. That's all.

Thanks!!

And good job everyone! :)

ferretchucker

01-20-2009, 06:44 AM

Ferret- Excellent. Nice twist having Evil Ash & Ash battling each other.

Thankyou sooooo much. I've been beating myself up all day with worry because I wasn't confident in it. That's really lifted me.

_____V_____

01-20-2009, 09:31 AM

48 Hours are up, and all but one Finalist have submitted their entries.

Rayne is the only one missing out, because of a possible surgery/medical problem (she is in the hospital right now, as I know of).

I would like to request all Judges to send me their Grades, and their decision about Rayne - should she be eliminated for being a no-show, or take her serious medical problem into consideration and let her stay?

bwind22

01-20-2009, 10:18 AM

Not to seem pushy, but is there any chance alky, Roshiq & myself could get a little bit of feedback from the judges on our entries? (Even just a brief sentence like the first 3 entries received?) I spent a lot of time on mine and am very eager to see how it was received considering that it's a sub-genre that's very unfamiliar to me.

Doc Faustus

01-20-2009, 10:33 AM

Roshiq: Frank Darabont proved he could handle King work with strong emotional content with the Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption. Nice choice.
Bwind: Argento's work's usually a bit quirkier than this. I think it's played a little too straight. There are some good meta-giallo nods, but the names don't quite feel like enough.
Alky: Though of course, the emphasis should be on casting over plot, the plot still feels somewhat nebulous. I'm not sure what movie these people are running around in. Casting's solid for the most part, though. Margot Kidder's a great choice.

The Flayed One

01-20-2009, 10:38 AM

Wot? No critique for Flayed:p

ChronoGrl

01-20-2009, 10:43 AM

Wot? No critique for Flayed:p

NO CRITIQUE FOR YOU

:p

neverending

01-20-2009, 10:53 AM

I thought Roshiq's choice was solid, though the story is a bit thin for a feature length film.

Bwind's outline was a solid film, but we needed more twists and turns. Argento always keeps us guessing. The homage names were a bit much- Argento wouldn't do that. He exists in his own world.

Alky did a fine job given the focus of his task.

bwind22

01-20-2009, 10:59 AM

Bwind: Argento's work's usually a bit quirkier than this. I think it's played a little too straight. There are some good meta-giallo nods, but the names don't quite feel like enough.

Thanks Doc.

Like I mentioned, I'm not very familiar with giallo films so I looked them up on wikipedia. My basic understanding was that they are generally erotic, gory detective/whodunit stories so that was was what I went for with my entry. Hopefully I make it through to the next round and get something I'm a little more familiar with.

bwind22

01-20-2009, 11:00 AM

Bwind's outline was a solid film, but we needed more twists and turns. Argento always keeps us guessing. The homage names were a bit much- Argento wouldn't do that. He exists in his own world.

Thanks NE.

bloodrayne

01-20-2009, 02:37 PM

Rayne is the only one missing out, because of a possible surgery/medical problem (she is in the hospital right now, as I know of).

I would like to request all Judges to send me their Grades, and their decision about Rayne - should she be eliminated for being a no-show, or take her serious medical problem into consideration and let her stay?

It's so sweet of you to think of me, V...And if anyone was worried, I appreciate it but everything's fine...I wasn't actually in the hospital, the surgery was an 'in-office' procedure, it was over a week ago but I didn't mention it here because I didn't think it was any big deal...Anyway, about 4 days after the surgery there was a complication and I had to go back for another small procedure...I was in a horrendous amount of pain and the pain pills they prescribed to me made me feel like I was gonna throw up (pretty much incapacited me, really sucked) so I decided just to take Advil and deal with the residual pain (the pain pissed me off, but at least I could function, unlike with the stupid nausea)...As of now, I'm healing just fine, and the surgery site is really only an annoyance.

Now, for the reason I didn't make this challenge in time:

Ash :)

I knew what I wanted to do, and I was searching for the music I wanted to use...It was to be a 'reverse' zombie type story (just for something different) where the guy fell in love with a girl, but didn't know at first that she was a 'sentient zombie'...She was slowly turning but still possessed most of her faculties, as her 'zombification' began to progress, it became too obvious, the guy figured it out...He decided he wanted to be a zombie too, so she wouldn't have to deal with it alone...She wouldn't turn him because she didn't want him to deal with what she was dealing with...So, he bit HER instead...It worked, and he was slowly turning (think: I, Zombie)...Anyway, the girl just continued to deteriorate until he realized she would soon be gone...He became bitter and angry because she was given this fate, and didn't deserve it...So...He started biting people...Soon the whole town was turned...I wasn't really sure this was 'Romero-ish' enough, but I figured it wouldn't hurt him to try a slightly different angle at this point.

My plan was to write it as a story, adding the music parts where relevant and adding a youtube link to each song so that everyone would know what was going on, if they weren't familiar with the music...The baby just wouldn't let me get it all together...He wouldn't even let me concentrate on it...This, of course, is normal for a baby, and it's also the reason that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to enter this contest in the beginning (I believe I said something like, "I won't be able to concentrate and spend time on 'essay type' challenges" or something close to that).

Anyway...I had fun, this was an excellent idea for a competition, V...Kudos to you :)

And I have to say that I am AMAZED by the entries I've seen here...I knew you guys were awesome, talented, smart, creative and all that, but DAMN!...I truly mean it...You guys have seriously impressed me, for REAL...ALL of you.

So, since I'm the only one who didn't make this challenge in time, I accept my elimination humbly and graciously...Carry on, guys and good luck to all of you :)

I gotta make dinner now while Ash is napping...He doesn't nap for very long, but at least I had time to type this out.

ferretchucker

01-20-2009, 02:41 PM

That sounds like a great idea.

I know I'm not a judge and it only adds to my competition, but I vote Rayne gets a slight extension to get this in. It would be a waste of talent if you don't let her.

ChronoGrl

01-21-2009, 05:31 AM

That sounds like a great idea.

I know I'm not a judge and it only adds to my competition, but I vote Rayne gets a slight extension to get this in. It would be a waste of talent if you don't let her.

I'm fine with it as long as we all get an extension on the next one... Overlapping the weekend would be nice. Due Sunday, say, midnight? :D

_____V_____

01-21-2009, 07:44 AM

Waiting on Grades from 2 more Judges, but 3 of them have turned in their verdict for Rayne.

She gets a pass...ergo, she can still thump out her entry for this round based on the idea/premise she panned out...within the next 24 hours. (Its acceptable taking her hospitalisation into consideration and because 2 more Judges are yet to send in their Grades)

or

She will get a pass for this round, and move into the next round.

Either way, its up to Rayne now.

_____V_____

01-22-2009, 09:02 AM

SCOREBOARD AFTER ELIMINATION ROUND #2

Once again, its a very close battle for elimination this round too. Two Finalists found themselves right in the danger zone, and only a tiny + differentiated between advancing and elimination.

First things first, the Judges are unanimous in their decision to give Rayne a Pass into the next round, taking her hospitalisation into account. So she moves on.

And now for...the grades :-

The winner of ER #2 is...

CHRONOGRL - with a solid overall Grade of A-!

Second Place goes to...

FERRETCHUCKER - overall Grade B+!

Third Place goes to...

ROSHIQ - overall Grade B!

Fourth...

BWIND22 - overall Grade B-!

That leaves us with two Finalists who stood on the verge of Elimination...

Alkytrio666 and The Flayed One!

Flayed had a C+ and a C,

Alky had a C+ but a C- as well...

Alky scored a B+...

Flayed scored a couple of B minuses...

Alky had a D...

and that means...

Sorry Alky, you did a wonderful job in this round as well, but you stand eliminated from HDC Idol. Tough luck, my friend.

The Flayed One moves on with an overall grade of C+, barely inches away from Alky's C.

Elimination Round #3 starts within the next 24 hours.

bwind22

01-22-2009, 10:12 AM

Whew! I was sweating that one.

Sorry to see you go Alky. Good game.

ChronoGrl

01-22-2009, 10:34 AM

Sorry to see you go, Alky; I know that you've been pressed for time.

Congrats to all!!

roshiq

01-22-2009, 12:54 PM

another close & sad elimination! Alky..you have already proved yourself to us in this competition, we'll miss you in coming rounds.

SCOREBOARD AFTER ELIMINATION ROUND #2
And now for...the grades :-

The winner of ER #2 is...

CHRONOGRL - with a solid overall Grade of A-!

Pls. Chrono, take a break honey!:D

Third Place goes to...

ROSHIQ - overall Grade B!

[/b].

what a comeback after that very close call on previous round!:D

ferretchucker

01-22-2009, 01:51 PM

Wow! Second place? I'm amazed. I was expecting to be near the bottom. Thanks judges, and well done everyone else. Tough luck Alky, but you did do well.

The Flayed One

01-22-2009, 06:21 PM

I was feeling pretty bad about my entry, but I had to put something out there due to deadline.

Sheesh, my the skin of my teeth after taking it all home the previous round is not good. I hope I don't disappoint next round.

Congrats, Chrono and everyone else. Alky, you put up a great fight and I know you're really pressed for time to. I look forward to competing with you in the next contest we're both in.

alkytrio666

01-22-2009, 06:40 PM

Hey guys, this was fun! Thanks for the good sportsmanship, and the best of luck to all of you.

_____V_____

01-23-2009, 07:35 PM

ELIMINATION ROUND #3

I welcome all Finalists to the third Elimination Round of HDC Idol. Each round will result in the elimination of ONE of you until we reach the Final 3, who will advance on to the Grand Finale stage of HDC Idol.

Your third Challenge is a challenge, in every meaning of the word. It is a common one for all six of you, and it can be a real test of your intellect.

Choose a movie from the 1950s, 60s or 70s and turn it into your version of a 2009 remake.

Points to Note :-

- You have to mention the original's script outline, and possible tweaks you might be doing in your remake.

- You have to mention your casting for the various roles.

- You have to mention filming locations, if you have any specific ones in mind.

- You can elaborate on your film crew, if you think a particular member (music director, cinematographer, script-writer) should be a part of your remake.

- You have to outline your marketing strategy - including viral, if any. Mention how you would convince lovers of old horror movies to come and watch your remake.

Grades will be given out, and the worst Grader will be out of HDC Idol.

Also, if you do not answer your challenge within the stipulated time, you are automatically eliminated from HDC Idol.

Again, we may have more than one Finalist eliminated in Elimination Round #2 itself. Of course, the fittest will survive and continue on.

You have 48 Hours to do your research and post your entries (either on here or in a PM to me).

Best of Luck!!

bwind22

01-24-2009, 12:26 AM

I have mine shortlisted to 3, but I wanted to ask.... Is there any way we can get an extension of 3-4 hours on the deadline? I have a very busy Saturday and I work until 11 on Sunday (which is a half hour after the deadline.) so I'm not sure when I'll have a chunk of time to write mine up until after work Sunday. It's possible I'll be able to fit it in sometime Saturday maybe, but if the deadline could just be a few hours later, I could plan on submitting it after work on Sunday and that'd be very helpful.

_____V_____

01-24-2009, 01:35 AM

Given the nature of this Challenge and since it is straight Elimination, I will extend the deadline to 72 hours, instead of the usual 48.

Take your own time compiling the comprehensive answers, Finalists.

bwind22

01-24-2009, 01:58 PM

Thanks! That helps a ton!

ferretchucker

01-25-2009, 10:17 AM

JAWS (2009)

Directed By: Joel Coen
Ethan Coen

Produced By: Steven Spielberg
J. J. Abrams

Music By: John Williams (Original)
Hans Zimmer (Revised)

Starring: Hugh Jackman as Martin Brody
Gary Oldman as Matt Hooper
Bill Pullman as Quint
Laura Dern as Ellen Brody
Malcolm McDowell as Mayor Larry Vaughn

Distributed By: Universal Pictures

Original Plot:

The peaceful town of Amity Island is disturbed by a killer Great White Shark who seems to eat anything and everything in it's way.

After an autopsy confirms a shark killed a young woman, the Town's police chief, Martin Brody, is determined to keep the people of his town safe and becomes paranoid, leading to public fear and apprehension.

Fearful that the town will lose money with the tourists terrified, the Mayor decides to try and keep it all quiet and discredits Brody and makes the person who did the autopsy lie.

A week later, a young boy is attacked and killed by the shark and his mother places a $3,000 bounty on the shark. This provokes many amateurs to try and catch the shark, and a professional, Quint, asks for a $10,000 reward.

Brody brings in marine Biologist Matt Hooper who proves that a large tiger shark that has been caught is not the culprit, and also discovers a dead victim under water.

After the shark kills again, the mayor hires Quint and he, Brody and Hooper go out to sea, hoping to kill the shark.

After several encounters, the shark eats Quint and sinks the ship, only to be blown up by Brody who shoots a pressurized tank in it's mouth. He and Hooper, who was under the water, then swim back to shore.

Alterations in Remake:

- The shark itself would be largely CGI, save for a few close shots in the finale.
- The bounty for the shark would be $13,000, with Quint asking for $20,000.
- A scene similar to the helicopter scene in Jaws 2 would happen towards the end. Another group of shark hunters, who antagonize Brody and Quint throughout are after it and chase it in a helicopter in a fast paced scene, firing into the water. The shark disappears. As the Helicopter is searching, they come across the Orca, and hover above it, shouting down at Quint. The shark jumps out of the water, grabbing the helicopter and pulling it down. One of the occupants climbs aboard the Orca.
-He and Quint have a brawl which results in him punching Quint, who falls down, only to have the shark emerge and drag him under.
-The man from the helicopter dies when he has a grenade, ready to throw at the shark, when the shark rams the boat, causing him to fall of backwards into the water, where the grenade explodes. This causes the boat to start sinking.
-In the scene where Brody's son almost dies, Ellen sees the shark and erratically runs and dives into the water to help. She succeeds in saving her son but is herself dragged away by the shark.
-The final scene would remain largely the same, however the tank would get into it's mouth because Hooper resurfaces and sees the shark attacking Brody. he throws his dive knife at it to attract it's attention, then taking his suit of and pushing it into the shark's mouth when it attacks him. He then swims back to Brody who shoots the shark.
-Whilst out at sea, Brody sees the severed left arm of Ellen, wearing her wedding ring.
-Certain bits of dialog would be updated for the time.
-The Orca would be a slightly more modern boat than the original
-There would be hints throughout the film that Brody is in fact bordering on insanity.
-The shark would be 29ft instead of 25ft.

Additional Information

-The film would be filmed on the island of Martha's Vineyard, as was the original.
-The levels of gore would be mostly the same.
-The score would be largely the same as the original, however certain pieces of incidental music would be different.
-A lot of the suspense of the original would be intact.

Marketing

-Posters reminiscent of the original.
-A website supposedly made by Quint about shark hunting.
-A viral video of a news report of a shark attack on Amity Island

As for convincing lovers of the original to come and watch it, it would be mainly down to the above and whether or not it convinced them.

bwind22

01-25-2009, 09:07 PM

It was a fairly slow night at work so I got a lot of this written up while I was there and then just put the finishing touches on when I got home.

I’ll start my entry by saying that I don’t agree with remakes in general. Once a film has been done, it should be left as is because that’s the director’s artistic vision and film is art. Remaking Night of the Living Dead is comparable to an artist repainting the Mona Lisa. No matter how good the remake is, it’s going to pale in comparison to the original. Modern day remakes show a complete lack of creativity and exemplify the studio’s pursuit of the almighty dollar over supporting the artistic vision of up and coming filmmakers that actually have original ideas. The only reason I can see for studio’s remaking classics is that they know it will sell. My general sentiment is that if a remake must be made, then they should be focusing on remaking films that can be improved upon, not the ones that are near perfection to begin with.

Okay, with my disclaimer out of the way, let’s get on with the show… I had my shortlist of three films, Rosemary’s Baby, Phantasm and Eaten Alive.

I scratched Rosemary’s Baby because I believe it falls in to the category of an already classic film that is near perfection and therefore I did not feel it could be improved upon.

Some of you are probably aware of my distaste for Phantasm and while I do feel it could have been a cooler film with better casting and gore FX, it is still considered by many to be a classic just as it is so I wouldn’t want to do wrong by it’s fans.

That leaves me with Tobe Hooper’s Eaten Alive as the film I’ve decided to remake due to the fact that there is plenty of room for improvement here, largely due to the low budget the original was filmed on and vast special FX improvements since it was filmed.

bwind22

01-25-2009, 09:07 PM

EATEN ALIVE

Plot Outline of Original-

Judd is the rambling, one legged, bible-thumping owner/operator of the Starlite Hotel, a run down roadside motel in the American deep south. In the swamp behind his hotel, Judd keeps a large African Crocodile.

A local hooker, Clara, rejects a customer, Buck, request to do her in the pooper and gets herself kicked out of her brothel. She seeks shelter for the night at the Starlite Hotel, where Judd takes exception to her line of work. He mutilates her with his pitchfork then feeds her, still alive, to his pet crocodile out back.

A family of three checks in with their dog. The dog quickly becomes Croc food. The family bickers amongst themselves, apparently trying to top Judd in the “crazy” department. The father, Roy, is killed with a scythe and tossed to the Croc. Judd then focuses his attention on the mother, Faye, but before he can finish her off, he’s distracted by the little girl, Angie, screaming. Judd takes a break on assaulting Faye long enough to chase Angie around until she ends up ditching him by hiding underneath the hotel. Judd goes back inside where he binds and gags Faye.

Clara’s father, Harvey, and sister, Libby, show up looking for Clara with the local Sheriff & the brothel Madame. Libby wanders off by herself to look for her sister while Judd launches a scythe attack on the others before tossing them to his Croc.

Buck, who got rejected by Clara the hooker at the start of the film, picks up a woman at a local bar and brings her to the Starlite Hotel for some sex. Judd ends up tossing Buck in the swamp to his Croc, but Buck’s woman takes off, and ultimately flags down a car and escapes.

Libby stumbles upon Faye, who is still bound and gagged and unties her. Just as the two women are about to flee the room, Judd appears and quarrels with Faye as Libby retrieves Angie from beneath the hotel.

As Judd battles with Faye, the Croc decides to help himself to some more chow, but mistakenly bites the hand, or should I say head, that feeds and drags Judd in to the swamp for a midnight snack. His wooden peg leg floats to the surface and that’s the last we see of him. Faye, Libby and Angie escape. The end.

Plot changes in the Remake-

Since Crocodiles are not found in the Louisiana Bayou, my first change would be switching the location of the film to the southern tip of Florida, in the Everglades where Crocodiles are found naturally. This location switch would lend credibility to the premise and realism to the film.

Since I’m switching the location, I’d do away with the sound stage settings they used in the original and shoot this film on location, which could ultimately lead to a different name for the hotel as well depending on what the location scouts can find.

For the most part, the characters were great and I wouldn’t change much there with the exception of the family that checks in and actually seems to be just as crazy as Judd. I think I’d normalize them a bit to make them more identifiable for the viewers, especially the father. I’d probably do away with Judd’s peg leg to give more credibility to the chase scenes. And the only other character change would be that I’d raise the age of Angie from 8-9 to about 15-16.

Instead of just one Crocodile in the swamp, I’d want to the remake to have several, maybe up to a half dozen or so. Since they are native to southern Florida, this would not be far fetched but would allow for a more terrifying experience for the viewers and victims alike, never knowing where the next attack might come from. Not to mention that it’d be gruesomely cool to see the Croc’s ripping their victims apart as they fight for a chunk of meat.

The other major plot point I’d change would be letting Judd survive at the end of the film. This would open the door for sequels and also enhance the creepiness factor as viewers consider the possibility that this guy could possibly be out there somewhere, still operating some backwater motel and feeding his patrons to the Croc’s out back.

The other main opportunities I see for improving this film are in the areas of plot and Special FX. I’d certainly get someone to rewrite the script so there’s more depth to the story and bring in someone with a lot of experience with creature FX to enhance the realism of the crocodile and the kills scenes. I would steer clear of CGI except in very small doses here or there. While the general plot would remain the same, I do believe that better writing with attentiveness to subplots could really help. I’d also have the rewrite focus on giving us a little bit more of Judd’s backstory since we know so little about this fascinatingly warped character. (More on the FX artist and writer selections can be found in the Crew section of my answer.)

Casting-

Judd (Hotel Owner)- Bill Moseley (I think he’s perfectly capable of filling the creepy southern redneck with murderous tendencies role.)
Roy (Family Father)- Nicky Katt (Under-rated actor that would fit superbly in to the role of a well meaning father that mistakenly leads his tourist family in to the middle of nowhere.)
Faye (Family Mother)- Gabrielle Anwar (Solid actress, sexy, believable in positions of vulnerability.)
Angie (Family Child)- Natalia Dyer (An unknown actress, but she looks the part. I think a teen in distress is less predictable than a younger child so I upped the age of this character a bit)
Libby (Hooker’s Sister)- Michelle Rodriguez (Strong, smart, and looks enough like Jessica Lucas that they would be believable as sisters.)
Clara (The Hooker)- Jessica Lucas (Young, sexy, vulnerable. A perfect first victim.)
Harvey (Hooker’s Father)- David Zayas (Good actor, has the “regular joe” look, Latino so he’d be believable as the father of Clara & Libby.)
Sheriff Martin- Cheech Marin (He’s been in some cool roles lately and think he’d fit in well here as a Hispanic sheriff that lends a little comedic relief to the film before he gets offed.)
Miss Hattie (Brothel Madame)- Sharon Stone (A fine actress, fully capable of playing the sultry, sexy, middle aged woman role)
Buck (Southern Sleaze ball)- Robert Englund (I’d bring him back to let him reprise his role from the original. There’s no reason Buck needs to be a young man and since he played the part so well in the first one, I see no reason to replace him in the remake. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”)

Crew-

Director – Eli Roth
Writer – Eli Roth, Steve Niles
Special FX – Tom Savini (for the gore), Roy Arbogast (for creature FX), Connie Brink (for any CGI)

All other Crew positions are of less importance than those mentioned above and I’d feel comfortable leaving them in the hands of the fully capable director. Music, editing, set decoration, cinematography, etc… were not poor in the original so as long as someone could be found to replicate or update what is in the original, those areas would be fine.

Marketing-

Posters – I’d go with a series of posters…
1 - Depicting a creepy, rundown motel surrounded by dark swampland on a desolate road with a ‘Vacancy’ sign with one of the letters burned out.
2 - Depicting a dark swamp with the eyes of a crocodile barely visible above the surface of the water.
3 - Depicting Bill Moseley as Judd behind the check-in counter of a run down motel wearing a creepy grin.

Print Ads – The print ads would mimic the poster campaign.

TV – I’d want the trailers to sell the cast, specifically Judd since he’s the central character here, but also Buck, the hooker, the unwitting tourist family and the crocodiles. I’d like to see a lot of fast editing of chases scenes, crocodile attacks and Judd, to let the viewers know it’ll be a fast paced gorefest. I’d also insert a one-liner or two from Judd or Buck to let them know they’ll be in for just a hint of comedy mixed in to their terror.

Viral –
1 - Mock missing persons news reports from the south Florida area, including interviews with proprietor of a local motel named Judd who claims he doesn’t know anything about the missing folks, but cautions viewers that the swamp can be a dangerous place, especially at night.
2 – Mock news reports interviewing families with loved ones that have seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth.

In regards to luring in old school horror fans, I’d make sure all the marketing pointed out that this is a remake of Tobe Hooper “video nasty” cult classic and also make sure the ads all inform that the films stars Robert Englund and Bill Moseley, both considered modern day horror icons. I’d also be sure to advertise the fact that Tom Savini is heading up the FX department and that Eli Roth is directing. Those are 4 big names in the horror world and when you add in the fact that we’re remaking a video nasty and giving it a modern spin, I think that be enough to tempt the diehard horror fans in to coming out and seeing it.

roshiq

01-26-2009, 03:39 AM

Original Film: I BURY THE LIVING (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051755/) (1958)

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2864/blackpin1ge2.png

Remake: BLACK PINS OF DEATH

Tagline: Witness the bizarre coincidences that are happening at the Immortal Hills Cemetery.

Original Plot Synopsis:
Robert Kraft (Richard Boone) is the newly appointed chairman of a committee that oversees a colossal cemetery….the Immortal Hills cemetery; where prominent citizens have the opportunity to reserve their final resting places. The cemetery is so large that a map is kept in the cemetery office displaying the grounds and each grave site. Filled graves are marked by black pins and unoccupied but sold graves are marked with white pins. New to the position and unobservant, Kraft accidentally places a pair of black pins where they don't belong, only to discover later that the young couple who had bought the grave sites in question died in an automobile accident soon afterward. Under repeated tries, he finds that every time he places a black pin over an unoccupied grave, someone dies. This knowledge scares him, and yet some character is around to convince him to try it again to make sure. Thus he's caught up between his conscience and the fear he might be going insane. Kraft slips into deep guilt and depression and believes he is cursed, while the cemetery caretaker (Theodore Bikel in a heavy Scots accent) knows more than he's telling. Meanwhile, it then dawns on him that if he can kills people by sticking black pins into the map maybe he can bring them back by substituting white pins. In finale, Robert goes running through the cemetery and sees that all the recent graves have been opened and the bodies are gone. His plan worked! But is it too late?

Positive remarks of the original movie:
'I Bury the Living' is a good example of a 50s low budget genre movie. Though there was very limited budget for the film and few filming locations and no special effects whatsoever, but this was largely made up by the creepy atmosphere and well-written dialogues. The blackly humorous undertones are sublime and the monotonous camera-work adds a great deal to the tension. Overall, it was a uniquely dreamlike horror picture. I Bury the Living is a psychological attack on the mind and the slow demise into despair and guilt.

Reasons behind the remake:
First of all, I need to clear that for a remake I didn’t like to go for a horror movie of those golden decades of cinema that already has a historical impact in the genre or has a strong fan base that even can’t bear the news like “___ decides to remake ‘___’, one of the classic horror gems/all time great horror movies ever made!” and create a bad impression to the ardent horror fans in it’s very initial stage of filming.
So I was looking for a 50’s/60’s or 70’s horror film that has the following 2 qualities:

An unusual but simple story which is also equally effective and interesting.
An underrated (or not so infamous) horror gem that has the potential or opportunities to remake in a better way and finally can at least get a reasonable positive response from the original old school horror fans.

To me, I BURY THE LIVING is a that kind of film. Though you can argue that today this may suitable for a TV film or an episode of a horror TV series but the plot device of the movie was so unique and appealing that just for that reason alone this film deserves to be remade as a subtle intelligent horror film; where in these days we are getting fade up with the movies full of unnecessary violence and gore to create ‘Horror’ on the screen.

Alteration in the storyline for the remake (Contains SPOILER for the Original film):
We’ll try not to put any major changes till the end as the creepy atmosphere, compelling background score, strong characterization carries the original storyline quite nicely which was simple but very effective. Especially the nightmarish visions of Robert like how the plot map continually grows bigger and bigger and some of the weird montage/super-imposition sequences that happen. Another vital interesting thing was about the cemetery map, the more the camera focuses on the map, the more it starts to look like an abstract drawing of a face glaring out at the viewer…try to maintain the same quality in the remake.
But the scene where the police officer asks Robert to put a pin on the map to capture a fugitive criminal dead while he was hiding in another country...I think it’d better to delete this part as it sounds quite funny.
Now the most important part…the ending. Many viewers have expressed some disappointment with the ending of this film.
The ending has Robert trying to right his wrongs by "reversing the curse".
When he replaces the black pins with white, there are several close-ups on the graves of the deceased that clearly show the ground rising from underneath as if a corpse was rising.
Now from here the ‘remake’ will greatly differ from the ‘Original’.
According to an online source the “original script” of the of I BURY THE LIVING had an ending that shows Robert was to have locked himself in the caretakers shed which was suddenly surrounded by the walking corpses of all the people he had killed by sticking black pins into their grave markers. They do not attack but stand patiently outside calling for him to join them. Richard's grief is so great at having caused their deaths that he dies of a heart attack. But that ISN'T the way it ended, rather it shows the caretaker…Andy McKee was the main culprit who killed the dead ones actually.
So at the ending of the remake I like to go with that ‘original script’ but definitely with some alteration like after finding the graves opened and absence of his victim’s corpses Robert will return to the office and locked himself inside by shutting down the windows and the front door under a massive fear of confronting with ‘them’; as if the white pins are also proving to work reverse. Then he’ll first hear some footsteps outside as if they are coming towards the office and after a while it’ll be like ‘they’ are trying to coming inside by breaking through the windows and the door. Here will be some close up plus long shot scenes of Robert (with the map behind him in the wall) which will be shot in a way that can portray an attack on his mind and the slow his demise into despair and guilt that eventually result in death by a heart attack. I don’t like to show the corpses outside the room in a zombie style as I have no intention at all to turn this supernatural as well as psychological thrill ride into a zombie flick at the end.
After the death when Robert’s body is lying on the floor the camera will be focus from the up to his body and remain same there but after while the morning comes and more or less every other important characters will be shown in the room around Robert’s dead body and trying to figure out what was happened there last night? The Doctor declared it was a heart attack and the caretaker, Andy tells that he was knocked several times at the doors & windows to call Mr. Robert but he didn’t answer, Andy thought that perhaps he already left the office. But later when others (his girlfriend-Ann and the priest-Jess) came in the morning & looking for him as he didn’t returned home last night then they breakdown the door and find him dead and called Lt. Clayborne (the police).
The movie will end when Jess (the priest) see a black pin that has already pinned into the map just at the Robert’s preserved place of grave and when he showed that to the others then Andy McKee..the caretaker who is trying to put the map on the wall (it was lying on the floor as if somehow it felled down) will reply (something like this) “perhaps Mr. Robert… himself… put that there…to finally prove the things that he was saying about the pins and the map!”
Mainly the ending will be left for the viewers judgment, like whether the things that happened last night with Ribert were real or just a series of Robert’s mental breakdown or insanity that caused his death!?! This will remain mystery.

(continue...)

roshiq

01-26-2009, 03:52 AM

Cast & Crew:

Rufus Sewell (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001722/) as Robert Kraft
Robert Englund (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000387/) as Andy McKee
Marley Shelton (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005420/) as Ann Craig
Bruce McGill (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569226/) as George Kraft
Paul Giamatti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316079/) as Jess Jessup
Jeffrey Wright (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942482/) Lt. Clayborne

Director: Brad Anderson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026442/)
Screenplay: Bruce Joel Rubin (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748022/)
Cinematography: Gary B. Kibbe (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452123/)
Executive Producer: John Carpenter (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000118/)
Music: David Julyan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0432382/)

Marketing:
There will be some limited premier shows on some major cities of US for Black Pins of Death especially for the old school horror fans where they will get the chance to enjoy the original movie I bury the living just before the remake’s premier. That means there will be back to back shows of both the original & the remake. So that they can compare & judge whether the remakes has some improvements or not. And I think if this premier shows become a success then the positive reviews, news and comments of the viewers and critics on different websites, magazines and TV will definitely able to grab the attention of old movie lovers, which make them convinced to at least give it a watch.

As a viral campaign, there will be some mock/fake news at some newspapers plus TV about the temporary close down of the Immortal Hills Cemetery for some unknown/confidential reasons that the authority doesn’t like to disclose. At the bottom of the news (both on newspaper & TV screen) there will be a web site address www.immortalhillscemetery.com which will just look like the cemetery map from the movie with a close view. Every plot of the grave will be named after the different site options like Home page, about the story, cast & crew, related links etc. And when someone open the site his/her curser of mouse will turned into a black pin within the screen of the site.

In the release of 2-disc Special Edition DVD of Black Pins of Death, there will be also both versions (original & remake) of the film on the discs.

ferretchucker

01-26-2009, 06:40 AM

Doc Faustus

01-26-2009, 07:45 AM

ferretchucker- the idea of remaking Jaws is not a terrible one, but enhancing the bigness of things by 20% isn't quite grounds for a remake. I think the problem here was that your respect for the source material got in the way of perceiving imperfections. The rival shark hunters were a good idea because Jaws' main problem is that the human drama, outside of the excellent bonding scenes with the main cast falls flat. Consider the motivations for these rival hunters. Maybe one of them is an ex-lover of Ellen Brody's. Or if Malcolm McDowell's your mayor, maybe he has a good reason for keeping the beach open, one besides tourism. The germ of a good idea is present. Also, perhaps look into an older, more interesting actor for Quint. Harvey Keitel has toughness, intellect and sensitivity to add dimensions to the old salt that are unexpected.
Bwind- Brilliant! This is definitely a film that could endure a remake and it would invigorate the original. I love this movie, but I can definitely see how it could bare a modern treatment. With a more creative viral marketing campaign, this one could be a fun, cult contemporary cult hit.
Roshiq-Creative choice. I'm not too sure what updating this movie does for it, but I like seeing out of the box thinking like this.

bwind22

01-26-2009, 09:15 AM

Bwind- Brilliant! This is definitely a film that could endure a remake and it would invigorate the original. I love this movie, but I can definitely see how it could bare a modern treatment. With a more creative viral marketing campaign, this one could be a fun, cult contemporary cult hit.

Thanks Doc!

neverending

01-26-2009, 05:30 PM

Ferret- Agreeing with the Doc on this one. The solution of "we'll add CGI and everyone will come see it!" is one of the worst things about remakes of horror movies. Some of the casting seems off to me as well. Additionally- this doesn't seem like a likely Coen Brothers project. This was an average effort.

Bwind- You get major kudos for your diatribe about remakes. I couldn't say it any better myself. I also like your ideas for updating the script. Setting it in Florida is a perfect choice, and I like the emphasis on a grittier more realistic approach. However, in south Florida you are far more likely to have a mayor of Cuban ancestry than Hispanic. High marks from me.

Roshiq- Really an excellent choice for a remake, if done right. One major quibble right from the start though- in this day there would be no map with pins on it- it would all be computerized. If you can get past that, you have some excellent ideas. There are some missteps at the end, IMO. Why not have some brief shots of zombie like creatures? They could be explained as Robert's visions, and could be very scary. Too much explaination at the end. Just show the priest finding the black pin on Robert's location and end it there. Really excellent research on your part though, including finding the original script and deciding to go with the original ending. An excellent if flawed enffort.

And for all of you- enough with the "fake news reports" kind of marketing. It's tired and old already.

ChronoGrl

01-26-2009, 06:02 PM

Personally, I am of the opinion that remakes are generally surperfluous unless they do one of the following:

Drastically re-interpret the original source material (be it the original movie, book, play, etc.) in a way that wasn’t done in previous interpretations.
Rectifies terrible direction, acting, editing, and etc. decisions of the original.
Drastically re-interpret cinema, be it the genre or the actual cinematic technique.

With my proposed remake, I plan to do at least two of those things when I pitch my remake for…

MATANGO, or ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057295/) (1963)

Original Script Outline:
The story is framed by the off-screen narrative of the sole survivor of a failed pleasure cruise. From him we know the story:

A group of affluent tourists and their Skipper go off on a vacation yacht trip (not unlike Gilligan’s Island’s three hour tour and, coincidentally contains both a Professor AND a Skipper) when they run afoul of rough weather and crash on a seemingly deserted island. The characters are actual characatures: A Professor, his Assistant, a Movie Star, a Writer, a Skipper and First Mate. While stranded, they discover the remains of a research ship covered with mysterious mold and captain’s logs indicating “mysterious happenings.” Above all, they know that, no matter what, they should not eat the mushrooms on the island.

Eventually, it’s found that there is no food on the island, so they wind up eating the mushrooms, resulting in hallucinations, deformity, and insanity, attempting to convince the non-eaters (or, metaphorically, the “innocents) to eat the mushrooms. The overlying themes are Temptation (the players turning into modern-day Lotus-Eaters), indictment of drug-abuse (a relevant theme in the 60s), and changes mores in the younger generation in Japanese culture. Matango is also somewhat a precursor to Slashers (sexual people who succumb to their appetites wind up ultimately being destroyed).

Of course, our narrator escapes to tell the tale… From within a hospital.

Remake Script Outline and Changes:
To make an obvious nod to the original, we will entitle the movie The Matango Project, ironically titled by its characters within the film.

Instead of a group of hapless victims, we will remove the obvious Gilligan’s Island metaphor and morph our characters into purposeful visitors of this wilderness: A documentary film crew who are there to study a rare strain of the Cordyceps Fungus.

The frame of the movie will still be from the sole survivor, piecing together his team’s documentary footage to plead his case to his doctors and employers that he did not kill his team and using the bits and pieces of his documentary to frame his innocence.

Unlike the original movie, this film will be ground in “reality,” taking actual documentary footage to frame its introduction to both the audience and the on looking doctors within the frame of our narrative.

Five documentary filmmakers are stranded in Irian Jaya attempting to do research on this fungus. Instead of finding an abandoned research vessel, they find an old and abandoned research camp with notes in an unidentified and unreadable language. What they DO find is stop-motion footage:
(We will need to secure the rights to either this footage or similar footage to create the fungus horror metaphor that we are about to reveal):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCOQ0VU24xw

The above clip shows an ant infected by the Cordyceps Fungus. It becomes crazy, erratic. Its fellow colonists drag its body and abandon it away from the tribe so as not to infect its inhabitants. Then, finally, the fungus bursts through the ant’s head. Adding horror to this clip is the silence surrounding it.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is what our characters have to look forward to.

When one of them becomes ill, the remaining four are left to decide what to do – isolate the subject? Call for help and abandon the work? As the sickness begins to take effect, the primal side of humanity begins to come out: Can and should they isolate each other? Can they honestly abandon their team members?

Also, in a nice modern twist, the fungus is spread by an explosion of the head and possible transmition of the fungus into open orifices. Talk about a nice splatter addition!

Instead of the themes touched upon in the original film, The Matango Project will instead focus on more modern themes: Environmental horror (how our greed and need to invade nature can lead to our devise; how the environment has evolved to attack not just insects, but homo sapiens as well), man vs. nature, and man vs. The Machine (there is the undertone of complete this project to secure “funding” and satisfy the corporate backers of this documentary).

Cinematic Changes:
Also unlike the original movie, we will shift the third-person directorial focus to the first-person shaky cam perspective. While some critics might say that this medium has been done, The Matango Project will aim to reinvent how the first-person cinematic narrative has been executed with the added construct of the nature documentary. Our characters are professional photographers and will take first-person shooting to a new level with gorgeous, sweeping nature shots of the terrain intermixed with well-framed still shots and, of course, the first-person shaky cam.

Where the original film was shot in the South Pacific, The Matango Project will be shot in Irian Jaya, the northwest tip of Papua New Guinea. The reason for this location is that the Cordycepts Fungus is actually found here and this is still an incredibly remote and isolated location.

In short, The Matango Project will not only re-envision the viral horror of Matango, but also the shaky, first-person narrative film technique.

(Continued)

ChronoGrl

01-26-2009, 06:03 PM

Cast and Crew:
Director(s): Eduardo Sánchez (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0844896/), who proved that he can capture raw human emotion and insanity in Altered, also proved that he can handle the first-person narrative (in Blair Witch Project). For the sweeping panoramic nature shots, he will collaborate with Alastair Fothergill (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0288144/), director of “Blue Planet.”
Writer: Eduardo Sánchez (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0844896/), brought in again for his experience with Blair Witch and Altered.

Cast: For the cast, I would like to hire mostly unknowns (or lesser-knowns), to emphasize the “found” element of this footage. Also, to emphasize the “reality” of the documentary, the characters will be named after the actors playing them out.

Wentworth (“The Professor”): The Matango Project is Professor Wentworth’s baby. He is a research scholar with a PhD and multiple nature documentaries under his belt. He is out living his dream – Filming the Cordyceps Fungus while being heavily financed by an unnamed corporate investor. Professor Wentworth will be played by Scott Wentworth (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0921137/), whose role in Diary of the Dead proves that he can be the self-preserving mentor under pressure. Not exactly a protector, but not a pure victim either.

Aaron: Aaron is our hero and sole survivor. He frames the narrative through which we see this film. He is the direct report and assistant of The Professor, who experiences conflict when he sees that this project is going downhill. How can he reason with the one whom he considers his mentor? For this role I would like to cast Aaron Douglas (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0234928/) who, within his role on Battlestar Galactica has shown that he can play loyal follower, but also incensed leader.

Alanna: Alanna is the young, innocent film crew member and nature-lover. She is the love interest of Aaron and also the film’s paradigm of innocence (very much like her original Matango counterpart). Aside from her innocence, she also needs to be a believable threat when she is overcome by the virus. For this role, I would like to cast Alanna Chisholm (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2173088/) who, in her role in The Chair, showed that she can go from innocent victim to deranged psychopath in the course of an evening.

Kim: Kim is the toughened outdoorsy adventurer film crew member, lending a slight foil to Alanna’s innocence. She is tough and hardened and the first person to suggest the abandoning of her fallen and falling comrades. She has had experience in documentary filmmaking before and seems to be most in-tuned with the dangers that nature has to offer (as opposed to Alanna’s flighty more simplistic nature sympathizer). Kim seems the first person to understand their peril. For this role, I would like to cast Kim Blair (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2002063/), the Odysseus-like ARMY homecoming daughter in Mulberry Street. No stranger to horror, she proves that she can act tough in even the most outrageous situations.

Jake: Jake is the more stereotypical documentary crew member – one part environmental activist, three parts hippy stoner (a nod to the anti-drug themes of the original, but not a central piece to his character nor of the plot). Jake is the one in the film who, jokingly, refers to their excursion as “The Matango Project;” the rube naming their fate. Jake is the first character to become ill from the fungus. For this role, I would cast Jake Muxworthy (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1272606/) who, in Borderland, showed that he can play the smart but loose party boy but sober up quickly to become panicked, paranoid victim.

Marketing
The Matango Project will be pitched and marketed as a revisioning of the original. Fans of the original will not be turned off as this is not a carbon-copy, but rather a modernization of a cult classic with revised themes and cinematic technology.

In terms of viral marketing, we will create two fake websites: One is the personal website of Wentworth, chronicling and listing all of his “previous projects” (licensed actual documentary footage) with a blurb about his “current project.” The second website will be of a similar site: Planet Discovery, the environmental corporation funding this expedition. There will be various documentary footage in particular, footage showing the exploitation of nature for the cause of science (but pitched as “intellectual”). There will also be mention of their “current project.”

neverending

01-26-2009, 06:44 PM

ChronoGrl

01-26-2009, 07:14 PM

Holy crap, Chrono- that documentary footage is chilling. A truly plausable, harrowing premise for a horror film. You knocked it out of the ballpark, IMO. As to the marketing- why not actually sponsor some new research into this fungus? Your film could in fact become NEWS.

Isn't it HORRIFYING?!?!?!

The first time that I saw that footage I was horrified and memorized at the same time. Even rewatching it, it just makes me SHUDDER.

I'm glad that you like it. And thanks for the feedback. :)

I agree with the Marketing - I think it's the one part of my pitch that's SERIOUSLY lacking. I was just exhausted when it came to that part... I really like the idea about sponsoring more research and having more actual documentary clips re: this fungus and other subtle predatory parts of nature (check out the stop motion fungus takeover of Planet Earth: Jungles: Growing Fungi (http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/planet-earth-jungles-growing-fungi.html)). I really like the spin of natural horror juxtaposed with sensationalized fictional horror. Also, the concept of nature evolving and finding a way to combat its biggest natural threat - Us - is both petrifying, science fictional, but grounded in truth.

I like the idea of an environmental horror film ACTUALLY gaining news based on its sponsored documentaries - Great way to spread awareness of the film AND environmental issues.

roshiq

01-26-2009, 11:22 PM

Roshiq- One major quibble right from the start though- in this day there would be no map with pins on it- it would all be computerized. If you can get past that, you have some excellent ideas.

Damn! I thought of that at the very beginning just after my selection of IBTL for a remake; but somehow I totally forgot to write down the point. Anyway, I thought the map with the pins on a wall can still be shown in a way suppose that's a some sort of tradition which they are maintaining for years in that particular cemetery office (besides everything being computerized). And that's may be become a reason for Robert to 'reluctantly or accidentally' put the black pins on the wrong spots at the beginning.
Otherwise, we should go for a remake with the same time period of the original one.:D

There are some missteps at the end, IMO. Why not have some brief shots of zombie like creatures? They could be explained as Robert's visions, and could be very scary.

yeah..that's actually sounds very nice and I'm sure anyone would love to see that. But the thing is why I didn't go for that is zombie & vampire are the least favorite segments of horror to me.:o Please don't get me wrong cause I'm not saying that I don't like zombie or vampire movies, that's only just a personal preference of mine after the sub-genre of psychological thriller, slasher and Ghost/Supernatural. So I completely agree...I should go with the idea of having some brief shots of the dead, it definitely add some more entertaining value to the horror of the film.

Too much explanation at the end. Just show the priest finding the black pin on Robert's location and end it there.

Totally agree, that would be fine enough. And I know... I'm not good with the 'explanation' things. :(

Thanks to NE & Doc for your precise comments and suggestions and kudos to Chrono for come up with a pretty brave and great project.

Now just for fun I like to tell you the idea that I though at first after getting the challenge. :D
Though _V_ precisely mentioned to choose a movie from the 1950s, 60s or 70s, but I dared to outlined a film that consists 3 remakes of each decades. Something like Bava's Black Sabbath but instead of having 3 independent short horror stories this film (which I even titled as The Unusual) would have 3 short-length remakes of 3 different films of 50's, 60's and 70's.
Like from 50's there would be a short length remake of I bury the Living, from 60's there would be a S.L. remake of Diary of a Madman or The Skull (I was bit confused to choose between this two) and finally from 70's there would be a remake of British horror The Asphyx (a pretty interesting story). And these 3 tales would be told by an old man to his nephew regarding his personal favorite horror films of his time and as the nephew haven't seen those movies yet so he just visualized those stories with present day's scenario.

The selection of movies was primarily based on the synopsis that I have read on different movie sites.
Anyways, as I haven't seen before or have no chance to see right now the above selected movies from 60's & 70's so I didn't finally make myself convince enough to go for the remakes of such movies that I even haven't seen at all! Moreover, it would be 3 times more pressure for me to answering the challenge that way.

But luckily I found Albert Band's I Bury the Living divided into 8 parts on youtube and loved it for a remake.:)

ferretchucker

01-27-2009, 07:37 AM

The Flayed One

01-27-2009, 04:41 PM

I'm going to take a major risk here. Seeing as how I've been taking risks throughout the competition, some turning out better than others, I'm going to have to follow my heart again and do what I originally set out to do.

I thought about this long and hard. I'm remaking not only a masterpiece, but an Asian movie which has been overdone as of late and could bring the backlash of a lot of people. I'm also doing more of a re-imagining than a straight remake, which might bring the wrath of the judges as well. Nevertheless, I'll do what I feel gives me the best shot of moving on.

Kwaidan

Directed by: Jim Jarmusch

Written by: Chuck Palahniuk

Original Plot (as taken from IMDB):
This film contains four distinct, separate stories. "Black Hair": A poor samurai who divorces his true love to marry for money, but finds the marriage disastrous and returns to his old wife, only to discover something eerie about her. "The Woman in the Snow": Stranded in a snowstorm, a woodcutter meets an icy spirit in the form of a woman spares his life on the condition that he never tell anyone about her. A decade later he forgets his promise. "Hoichi the Earless": Hoichi is a blind musician, living in a monastery who sings so well that a ghostly imperial court commands him to perform the epic ballad of their death battle for them. But the ghosts are draining away his life, and the monks set out to protect him by writing a holy mantra over his body to make him invisible to the ghosts. But they've forgotten something. "In a Cup of Tea": a writer tells the story of a man who keep seeing a mysterious face reflected in his cup of tea.

Changes in the remake:
I'm going to set the film in the American pioneer days along the Oregon trail. I'm keeping the titles and basic plots of the stories the same, with the exception of Hoichi the Earless.

In “Black Hair,” a Wyoming frontiersman leaves his Native American wife to move west to California to marry a rich business mans daughter. He becomes miserable, and returns to his true love in the cabin in Wyoming to discover that she is no longer who she used to be. His once beautiful wife has died and become possessed by the spirit of the woods to bring her vengeance to him.

In “The Woman in the Snow,” two aspiring miners get lost in a snowstorm in Montana. When they bed down for the night, they are visited by the spirit of a beautiful snow woman, who cannibalizes the elder. She agrees to spare the youngers life if he never speaks again. Years later, the young man has struck gold and made it big in San Francisco. He opens a bank, and engages himself to a beautiful Irish immigrant. Right before their wedding night, he tells her the truth of what happened all those years ago. Little does he know that his wife is the snow woman in disguise, come to test his vows.

Hoichi the Earless will be changed to “Margaret's Tale.” In the story, Margaret is a young blind daughter of a family heading west with a beautiful singing voice. She hopes to sing in California and help support her family while they try to make a new life. They get caught in a snowstorm in the mountains, and many of them die. Out of food and starving, one night Margaret is lured into the woods by a gentleman who offers her food for her and her family in trade for song. When she arrives, there are groups of people in cabins awaiting her. After she sings many songs, they give her hot food and direct her to give it to her party but not inform them of where it came from, lest there be no more. After several nights, Margaret is followed into the woods by a young man who has eyes for her. He discovers her singing to the ghostly spirits of the Donner party, whom have been feeding them the meat of other wayward travelers in exchange for entertainment.

In “A Cup of Whiskey,” we see a young business man drinking and being merry in a saloon. When he peers in his glass of whiskey, he sees the face of a Spanish conquistador. Shaking it off, he drinks it down and continues to celebrate. Flashing back, we see the conquistador employing native slaves to mine gold, and then murdering them and taking all they produced. While the man tries to sleep, the ghost of the conquistador haunts him and tells him he has wronged him. The man tries to fight off the ghost, driving himself to insanity. In the final moments, we see all the wrong the young man has done to others as he slowly puts a gun into his mouth.

Cast:
Mickey Rourke – Husband (Black Hair)
Monique Curnen – First Wife (Black Hair)
Reese Witherspoon – Second Wife (Black Hair)
Jeffrey Donovan – Young man (Woman in the Snow)
Bryce Dallas Howard – Snow Maiden (Woman in the Snow)
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Margaret (Margaret's Tale)
Michael Wincott - Gentleman (Margaret's Tale)
Guy Pearce – Young Businessman (A Cup of Whiskey)
Joaquin Phoenix - Conquistador (A Cup of Whiskey)

Campaign:
For posters, I would do one for each separate story. No words on the poster, just a picture to create the feeling of desolation and loneliness I want to convey to the movie goer.

For TV campaigns, I'd rely heavy on the learning channels to recount supposed ghost tales of the pioneer days and do my best to have interviews with people who had pioneer ancestors tell what their grandparents told them of the hardships.

For viral, I'd encourage all comers to retell their American heritage ghost stories that they've learned from pioneer days, and publish a magazine to be sent to all subscribers for free. I'd insert versions of all four tales told within the pages of the periodical, trying to invite realism and a sense of heritage to the stories that we're telling.

I'll also try to use as little FX as possible. I want all four of these stories to be as dialogue and atmosphere driven as possible. If I can stray from using CGI at all, I will.

neverending

01-27-2009, 05:06 PM

Well, I like it very much, Mr. Flayed. I think horror films set in the American old West is an underused choice, one that has a lot of potential. I'm a big fan of Jim Jarmush and I think he would take to this project, especially in light of his film Dead Man. He's also done episodic films as well. Great choice.

Chuck Palahniuk I'm not so sure about. He's pretty modern in his focus and I'm not sure if this would be a good project for him.

Kudos for bringing in the Donner Party story. Why there hasn't been a major motion picture made of this episode is beyond me.

I also like your ad campaigns. People are fascinated with the old West and with ghost stories as well. Cable channels are rife with shows that would welcome your sponsorship.

With the exception of Chuck Palahniuk, an excellent offering.

Doc Faustus

01-27-2009, 05:09 PM

Joe Lansdale, not Pahlaniuk.

ChronoGrl

01-28-2009, 04:31 AM

So I FINALLY caught up with reading all the entries.

Ferret - Fantastic action sequences, but, out of curiosity, why Jaws? And what other movies were you considering?

Bwind - I've never seen Eaten Alive, but that sounds fantastic!

Roshiq - I've never seen I Bury The Living, BUT NOW I WANT TO. Holy CRAP what a great movie to adapt if done properly. And despite NE's qualm about the pins, I can imagine a secluded and not technologically-savvy cemetery not having it all computerized. I think that the pins work and are REALLY well-used. :D

Flayed - "Margret's Tale" is my favorite of all of them. Simpletly phenomenal. I WANT TO SEE IT!

To All: Bwind mentioned the other movies he was considering remaking... What were your other choices? Just curious.

I mulled over remaking The Incredible Shrinking Man but for the purpose of making it thematically relevant to today's political climate.

Glad I didn't. lol

Joe Lansdale, not Pahlaniuk.

What about feedback for CHRONO?!?! :p

roshiq

01-28-2009, 06:14 AM

Roshiq - I've never seen I Bury The Living, BUT NOW I WANT TO. Holy CRAP what a great movie to adapt if done properly. And despite NE's qualm about the pins, I can imagine a secluded and not technologically-savvy cemetery not having it all computerized. I think that the pins work and are REALLY well-used. :D

yeah..or as I have already said in my earlier post that they may have some kinda 'tradition or practice' to maintain the map with the pins. Though I have cast Rufus Sewell for the main role 'Robert' but from the very beginning Sam Neill was in my mind, I think he would perfect for the role if the remake could be made just near or after the time of In the mouth of Madness.

To All: Bwind mentioned the other movies he was considering remaking... What were your other choices? Just curious.

Though _V_ precisely mentioned to choose a movie from the 1950s, 60s or 70s, but I dared to outlined a film that consists 3 remakes of each decades. Something like Bava's Black Sabbath but instead of having 3 independent short horror stories this film (which I even titled as The Unusual) would have 3 short-length remakes of 3 different films of 50's, 60's and 70's.
Like

from 50's there would be a short length remake of I bury the Living,
from 60's there would be a S.L. remake of Diary of a Madman or The Skull (I was bit confused to choose between this two)
and finally from 70's there would be a remake of British horror The Asphyx (a pretty interesting story).

And these 3 tales would be told by an old man to his nephew/grand son regarding his personal favorite horror films of his time and as the nephew/grand son haven't seen those movies before so he'd just visualize/imagine those tales of horror films with his present day's scenario or surroundings.

But finally I couldn't make myself convince enough to go for the remakes of such movies that I even haven't seen at all like Diary of a Madman, The Skull and The Asphyx! Moreover, it would be 3 times more pressure for me to answering the challenge that way.

But luckily I found Albert Band's I Bury the Living divided into 8 parts on youtube and loved it for a remake.:)

ferretchucker

01-28-2009, 07:38 AM

So I FINALLY caught up with reading all the entries.

Ferret - Fantastic action sequences, but, out of curiosity, why Jaws? And what other movies were you considering?

Thanks, I appreciate it.

I think I chose Jaws because I love the film, and though I wouldn't want it to be remade, I've always wondered what it would be like if it was made a bit later, mainly around the time that my favorite film came out, Jurassic Park. How would it differ? Faster or slower paced etc. Also, the day before I got the challenge, me and my Drama teacher were discussing Jaws.

I did briefly consider The Birds but decided against it. Jaws came to my head straight after and then I just went with it.

Doc Faustus

01-28-2009, 08:15 AM

What about feedback for CHRONO?!?! :p

Matango is a great choice. I always found it pretty squirmy, but that might be because the first time I saw it, I was five, quarantined in an indoor tent with the chicken pox and it was in a double feature with From Hell it Came. Something really icky about Matango, and you've found a way to ick it up. Even better. Everything about this seems pretty cool, with the exception of the Blair Witch crew being involved. Sanchez and Myrick are not strong directors, just strong hucksters. I don't think they'd be able to deal with such a squirmy, makeup heavy film with so much thematic weight. That might just be my own mortal despite of the Blair Witch Project talking. A lot of thought went into this and your grade will reflect it.

And Flayed, the rest of my feedback:
Good use of Kwaidan. Jarmusch might not be the man for the job on this one, but he's a creative enough choice. I think what might be good for viral marketing and has worked before in antho films would be choosing a different director for each of the four ghost stories. I like the other things you're doing for viral marketing, to help enhance the Americanness of the whole thing.

ChronoGrl

01-28-2009, 09:19 AM

Matango is a great choice. I always found it pretty squirmy, but that might be because the first time I saw it, I was five, quarantined in an indoor tent with the chicken pox and it was in a double feature with From Hell it Came. Something really icky about Matango, and you've found a way to ick it up. Even better. Everything about this seems pretty cool, with the exception of the Blair Witch crew being involved. Sanchez and Myrick are not strong directors, just strong hucksters. I don't think they'd be able to deal with such a squirmy, makeup heavy film with so much thematic weight. That might just be my own mortal despite of the Blair Witch Project talking. A lot of thought went into this and your grade will reflect it.

Thanks!! Yeah, I had a tough time finding directors for the project, though the reason why I went with Sanchez alone (and not Myrick) is that, with Altered (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457275/) he showed that he could deal with great amounts of gore, ick, AND character insanity (all of which would be relevant to the Matango remake). I specifically chose him and not Myrick is that I haven't seen anything else by Myrick that was all that impressive.

Also, Didn't know you hated Blair Witch?? Mind if I ask why? (You can PM me - I'm honestly curious)

Doc Faustus

01-28-2009, 09:38 AM

It's in your box. Thank you for asking, though. Most people just argue that it's a work of genius without hearing me out and I end up feeling like setting them on fire.

The Flayed One

01-28-2009, 09:47 PM

roshiq

01-28-2009, 10:51 PM

Actually, Kwaidan was my second choice. I really wanted to do The Asphyx, but I couldn't acquire a copy in time for the deadline so I went with the backup plan. Strangely enough, the Kwaidan remake was outlined before I decided I'd rather do the Asphyx remake, but by then it was too late to aquire my reference material. After review, I think though it's flawed, my Kwaidan remake was probably the stronger choice.

Time and judges score's will tell the rest.

The Asphyx was also my preferred movie from 70's!;) Though I found a full summary of the film (http://www.horror-wood.com/asphyx.htm) but finally decided to go with IBTL as I haven't actually seen The Asphyx before except the trailer on youtube. I was completely fascinated by the plot and now eager to collect a copy of the film.

Anyway, though you have already amazed us by Kwaidan, but still I'm very much interested to know what you'd like to do in The Asphynx remake?.:)

Btw, have you though of a new or alternate title for Kwaidan remake? or you'd like to go the original one?

_____V_____

01-30-2009, 07:30 PM

3 Judges have turned in their Grades.

Waiting for 1 more.

_____V_____

02-01-2009, 09:37 PM

Hammerfan hasnt been online. Here are the Grades :-

The Winner of Elimination Round #3 is...

The Flayed One - A-!

Second place, jointly, goes to...

ChronoGrl and bwind22 - B+!

Third place, goes to...

Roshiq - B-!

Which leaves us with...

Last placed, and eliminated from Idol...

FerretChucker - C+!

Sorry young FC, you had a wonderful run in Idol, but you stand eliminated. Also eliminated is Bloodrayne, since she didnt turn in her entry.

The next Elimination Round will be posted in the next 24 hours.

bwind22

02-01-2009, 09:44 PM

Congrats again Flayed!

Sorry to see you go FC. You had a great run and dropped some fantastic answers along the way. Good game! *Uber macho sports butt slap for Ferret*

V, Are we going to be getting 72 hour deadlines from here on out or will it revert back to 48?

The Flayed One

02-01-2009, 09:50 PM

Feels good to be back in the saddle again.

To ferret: Kudos for a well played game. I look forward to competing against you again.

To bwind, Chrono and Roshiq: you are the enemy. I will do my best to crush you in any way I can. BRING IT ON!

bwind22

02-01-2009, 10:02 PM

To bwind, Chrono and Roshiq: you are the enemy. I will do my best to crush you in any way I can. BRING IT ON!

Haha. Careful, or I'll hire Vodstok to club you in the kneecap just before the next round starts.

Until you pointed out who was left like that, I didn't realize how big of an underdog I just became. Roshiq & Chrono have been at the top of the heap the whole time. You've won 2 out of the last 3 challenges and then there's me, who cast a dead actor in the opening round and probably only survived to the Finals because so many other Ogres stopped participating.

Luckily for me, my master plan is working perfectly.... I set the expectations nice and low with my feeble first answer and have been steadily improving ever since. Now it's time to start trying. ;)

_____V_____

02-01-2009, 10:23 PM

We have moved into the last 4. 72-Hour deadlines will stay.

ferretchucker

02-02-2009, 02:10 AM

It's a shame I had to leave but somebody must, and looking at the other answers, I would have chosen myself to go as well. Thank you all for the commiserations, and thank you V for making such an entertaining and challenging thread.

Good luck to all contestants!

roshiq

02-02-2009, 02:30 AM

Wow! I'm truly glad to see myself in the final 4! Specially, after the elimination of such great contestants like FC, Rayne, Alky and Noir, I have still managed to hang in there with the three most talented participants of HDC Idol!
Anyways, I think only Chrono have been able to always maintain an above average performance from the very beginning of this competition and thereby, to me she deserves the crown mostly. BUT, the way Flayed one and Bwind fights back so we can only predict that the final will be very close & competitive and actually none can tell what happens next!

So, best of luck my dear 'enemies';) !

Luckily for me, my master plan is working perfectly.... I set the expectations nice and low with my feeble first answer and have been steadily improving ever since. Now it's time to start trying. ;)

oh...that's a good joke!:D

ChronoGrl

02-02-2009, 06:14 AM

CONGRATULATIONS, FLAYED!!!

Also to Bwind and Roshiq - All THREE of you have been strong, intelligent competitors from the outset. But now it's ON.

And sorry to see you go FC and Rayne. You both put in one HELL of a showing.

Anyways, I think only Chrono have been able to always maintain an above average performance from the very beginning of this competition and thereby, to me she deserves the crown mostly.

Why THANK you, Roshiq. :D

Doc Faustus

02-02-2009, 07:27 AM

Thanks for the contributions, ferretchucker. Yours will be missed. The rest of you should be proud of being such strong competition and setting such high standards. That said, those standards are not something to replicate but to overreach. You can be better. Show me how.

_____V_____

02-02-2009, 08:01 PM

ELIMINATION ROUND #4

I welcome all Finalists to the fourth and FINAL Elimination Round of HDC Idol. As before, this round will result in the elimination of ONE of you and we find our Final 3, who will advance on to the Grand Finale stage of HDC Idol.

Your fourth Challenge is the toughest yet. It is a common one for all four of you, and it can be a real test of your intellect, wit and knowledge of the genre.

Cast an A-list superstar in a horror movie of your choice.

You can choose one from :- Adam Sandler, Christian Bale, George Clooney, Brad Pitt & Leonardo DiCaprio.

Points to Note :-

- You have to research into the actor's past characters and come up with something which suits their on-screen persona.

- You have to elaborate your script and how the superstar fits in it. Existing movies are accepted, as long as you make them your versions of remakes with the superstar in it.

- You have to be convincing, not only to the Judges, but to the superstars themselves. Remember you still need them to jump on-board your movie.

- If you are thinking of a remake, elaborate a bit about the original, and your possible tweaks for the remake version.

Grades will be given out, and the worst Grader will be out of HDC Idol.

Also, if you do not answer your challenge within the stipulated time, you are automatically eliminated from HDC Idol.

Again, we may have more than one Finalist eliminated in Elimination Round #4 itself. Of course, the fittest will survive and continue on.

You have 72 Hours to do your research and post your entries (either on here or in a PM to me).

Best of Luck!!

bwind22

02-03-2009, 04:38 AM

Just to make sure I'm clear on this, it does not HAVE to be a remake, right? It could be an adaptation of a book that hasn't been filmed yet or a completely original idea that we just make up?

_____V_____

02-03-2009, 05:00 AM

Just to make sure I'm clear on this, it does not HAVE to be a remake, right? It could be an adaptation of a book that hasn't been filmed yet or a completely original idea that we just make up?

Yes.

If you choose an original movie, say Dawn of the Dead, and Brad Pitt for Ken Foree's character, you have to elaborate it as your version of a remake, and Brad's role and its depth in the flick.

All are acceptable. Original ideas, novel adaptations, short story adaptations, previous movie adaptations...anything goes. However, your choice SHOULD match the on-screen persona of the superstar in question.

bwind22

02-04-2009, 11:26 PM

Well, after my previous rant against remakes, it’d be truly uninspired if I were to select one here since we’ve been given the option to choose something fresh. That being said, I’ve opted to go with a Brian Wind original storyline for this challenge. It’s a horror comedy starring Adam Sandler. Surprised at my A-list selection? Me too. In fact, when I first read the challenge, I couldn’t fathom Sandler in a horror film, but as the story came to me, I couldn’t picture the starring role going to anybody but him. So without any further ado, on with the challenge…

- You have to research into the actor's past characters and come up with something which suits their on-screen persona.

Shakes the Clown –plays a beer drinking clown that helps his friend, Shakes, clear his name after he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
Airheads –plays the lovable, but dense, drummer for a rock band that hijacks a radio station to get airplay.
Billy Madison –plays the grown up son of a rich businessman who goes back to school in order to prove his worth to his father.
Happy Gilmore –plays a foul mouthed hockey player who takes to the golf course after realizing his monstrous drive may be the only chance he has to save his grandmother’s house.
Bulletproof – plays a small time criminal being brought to justice by his former best friend, an undercover detective, but he manages to help bring down a major crime boss along the way.
The Wedding Singer – plays a down and out wedding crooner that must figure out a way to persuade the girls of his dreams to ditch her asshole fiancé in favor of him.
The Waterboy – plays a waterboy for a college football team that gets promoted to a player when the coach realizes he has a knack for tackling.
Big Daddy – plays a slacker that takes in a kid in order to win back his ex-girlfriend.
Little Nicky – plays the son of Satan, sent to Earth to save his father and stop his two brothers from creating Hell on Earth.
Punch Drunk Love – plays a guy with some severe issues that attempts to work through them when a mysterious woman enters his life.
Mr. Deeds - plays a small town guy that suddenly comes in to a large sum of money and moves to the big city where anyone and everyone is quick to try taking advantage of him.
Anger Management – plays a mild mannered guy who, after a misunderstanding on an airplane, is sentenced to anger management counseling with a borderline psychotic doctor.
50 First Dates – plays a timid guy that meets the girl of his dreams only to realize she suffers from a memory disorder and if he wants to keep her, he’ll have to win over from scratch every single day.
Spanglish – plays an eccentric chef who’s world begins to crumble around him, but finds strength in his family and his Mexican housekeeper and her daughter.
The Longest Yard – plays an ex football player that lands himself in prison and is tasked with the duty of assembling a team of inmates to take on the guards.
Click – plays a workaholic that ends up with a remote control that affects his daily life and in the process learns what he’s been missing out on while he’s always working.
Reign Over Me – plays an unemployed guy suffering from depression after the loss of his family on 9/11 that meets up with an old college buddy and discovers they may be able to help each other overcome their problems.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry – plays a straight firefighter pretending to be gay in order to help out his friend and his friend’s children.
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan – plays an Israeli spy that gives up his life of espionage to become a hairstylist in America.
Bedtime Stories – plays a guy that sees all his dreams shattered only to discover they may still be possible when the bedtime stories he tells his sister’s kids start coming true.

Adam Sandler generally plays the role of a naive, but likable and charming everyman that has trouble attaining what he strives for. Some of his characters have tempers that flare, others get stepped on by those around them but they are usually all trying to do the right thing in the end.

In short, he usually plays someone that most of us can identify with.

With few exceptions (Punch Drunk Love, Reign Over Me), Adam Sandler is a comedy actor. His range within the comedy genre varies from romantic comedies (Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates) to action comedies (Bulletproof) to dark comedies (Shakes the Clown, Little Nicky) to sports comedies (Happy Gilmore, Waterboy, Longest Yard) to teen comedies (Billy Madison, Airheads, Chuck & Larry, Zohan) to adult comedies (Click, Spanglish, Anger Management). Most recently, he’s even cleaned up the pottymouth and made for the kids (Bedtime Stories). The only hole on his comedy resume is horror comedy, which I’m sure he’d be eager to fill if the right script came along. (An argument could be made that Little Nicky is a horror comedy, but I would disagree and so would imdb.com. Little Nicky is a goofball comedy that happens to take place in Hell. While the overall theme may be somewhat dark, the tone of the film is very lighthearted and playful.)

The films he makes are generally formulaic, lighthearted fun so that was what I went for with...

bwind22

02-04-2009, 11:27 PM

- You have to elaborate your script and how the superstar fits in it.

NED SUCKS!

Ned Tepes is the night security guard at a suburban Red Cross and also happens to be an ancient vampire, the youngest brother of Vlad the Impaler aka Count Dracula. He’s not your typical vampire though. He wants nothing more than to live a normal life, free of conflict. He’s the reserved, nerdy type who gets walked all over by his intimidating, overbearing boss, Lee Stat on a daily basis. Ned’s life consists of working all night, then heading home to eat raw meat and hang out with his black cat, Fang, before trying to sleep all day; a task easier said than done thanks to his obnoxiously loud neighbor, Bucky. Ned’s got his eyes on a pretty female co-worker, Elle Vira, but has never mustered up the courage to ask her out, in fact, the only interaction the two of them ever have is saying hello and goodbye as he’s on his way out and she’s arriving each morning.

One night, on Ned’s watch, over 100 gallons of blood is stolen from the Red Cross. The Bizarre Crimes Unit (BCU) is called in. The overly gung ho lead investigator, Kevin Van Helsing, interviews everyone and quickly narrows it down to 1 prime suspect, Ned. Van Helsing begins surveillance on Ned and quickly realizes Ned’s true origins as a vampire, but drastically overestimates his intentions and demeanor.

Throughout the story, Van Helsing tries unsuccessfully to kill Ned several times but various circumstances including Bucky keeping Ned awake during the daytime and an attack by Fang, prevent that from happening. Each time Ned unwittingly foils the plot, Van Helsing’s determination grows stronger as he convinces himself that he’s up against a near omnipotent being.

Eventually, Van Helsing goes on the offensive while Ned’s at work; he shows up at the Red Cross, calls him out as a vampire and accuses him of stealing the blood. Ned admits to being a vampire but denies stealing the blood. Van Helsing doesn’t believe him until Ned produces a receipt from the grocery store for over 200 pounds of raw meat. Ned explains that he needs blood to sustain himself, but has never even tasted human blood. Van Helsing is baffled by this and wonders aloud why anyone else would steal so much blood. Ned makes the observation that the only other person with access to the blood vault is his boss, Mr. Stat.

Just then, Mr. Stat arrives for work and Van Helsing turns his attention towards him, grilling him about the burglary and accusing him of being a vampire as well. Enraged, Mr. Stat comes clean and admits to the crime claiming that he’s been sustaining himself on donated blood for well over 125 years in order to successfully keep a low profile and avoid detection from vampire slayers. He informs them both that it’s unfortunate he’ll have to kill them now.

Van Helsing springs in to action and a battle between the two takes place, with Ned standing idly by doing nothing. After a quick battle, Mr. Stat gets the upper hand and is preparing to deliver the fatal blow. Van Helsing pleads with Ned for help, but Ned is frozen in fear, terrified of his boss. At that moment, Elle Vira arrives for work and sees what’s going on. She screams, distracting Mr. Stat enough that Van Helsing is able to roll out of the way. Mr. Stat backhands Elle across the room and says he doesn’t want to kill his entire staff, but at this rate that’s what’s going to have to happen. Seeing the object of his affection sent sprawling awakens something in Ned. A rage builds in his eyes as his true vampiric personality takes shape. As Mr. Stat returns his attention to Van Helsing, Ned attacks, much to Mr. Stat’s double surprise. (He didn’t expect Ned to have the balls to attack him and he wasn’t aware that Ned was also a vampire.)

The two vampires go head to head, demolishing the office in a climactic yet comedic battle, bludgeoning each other with everything from the copy machine to light fixtures to telephones to spare syringes. Being the more brutal of the two and in tune with his vampiric nature, Mr. Stat eventually gains the upper hand and just as it looks like he’s about to kill Ned, Van Helsing plunges a wooden stake through his heart from behind and he falls dead. Ned shoves the body off of himself to find Van Helsing standing over him extending a hand to help him up. Ned accepts, Van Helsing pulls him to his feet and two shake hands.

Ned expresses disappointment to Van Helsing that he probably just ruined any chance he ever had with Elle because she’d never want to date a vampire, but Van Helsing tells him not to be so sure of that. He nods towards Elle who is just now regaining consciousness. Ned and Van Helsing go check on her to make sure she’s okay. She asks what happened. There’s a brief silence as neither is sure what answer to give, but then Van Helsing tells her that her boss was a vampire and Ned saved the day. Ned blushes and then asks if she’d like to go grab a cup of coffee since the office is probably going to be closed today. She says yes.

The End.

Cast-
Ned Tepes – Adam Sandler
Kevin Van Helsing – Peter Dante
Elle Vira – Drew Barrymore
Mr. Stat – Kevin Nealon
Bucky – Allen Covert

Of course, some minor supporting role would need to be created for Rob Schneider as well.

- You have to be convincing, not only to the Judges, but to the superstars themselves. Remember you still need them to jump on-board your movie.

I think a story like this would definitely be the type of script Adam Sandler would be interested in. Like I mentioned before, it’d fill the solitary gap in his comedy genre resume. I also feel like the character of Ned is right in line with the types of character he plays so well; the quiet, charming everyman that isn’t living up to his true potential. But if the script and character aren’t enough to get him on board, there are other a couple other ways to lure him in as well. One is to fill the rest of the cast with people he likes working with and already has a great on-screen rapport with. Two is to allow him and Tim Herlihy to have plenty of say in the writing process. Three is to promise him plenty of marijuana on the set for the duration of filming.