HDC Idol II 2011-2012

[_____V_____]

HDC & NEVERENDING WONDER'S OCTOBERFEST - HALLOWEEN RADIO EXTRAVAGANZA PROUDLY PRESENT

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/qGVUr.gif

II


Good morning everyone,

I welcome you all to HDC Idol II 2011-12. Over the next few weeks, we will again start the hunt for the solitary HDC Superstar who has the will, wit, skills, resources and knowledge to be a potential HDC celebrity in his/her own right. That HDCian will be crowned as HDC Idol II Superstar 2011-12, and will join our previous winner, CHRONOGRL, on the HDC Idol Hall Of Fame.

But first, the details.

The deadline for closure of accepting confirmations ends at 24 hours from now. Most of you are unfamiliar with the events which will start in the coming days - the tests, the challenges, the twists, all of which add to the drama of eliminations, wildcards, etc. I will explain everything as they keep coming.


This year, a Super Grand Prize has been announced by our very own Doc Faustus for the HDC Idol II winner. It includes :-

1.)an interview in the second issue of Doc's ezine Nuckelavee

2.)Free critique of the winner's first script/novella/short story

3.)Free PDFs of Doc's entire back catalogue

4.) A signed copy of Doc's next book when it comes out.

5.) Free participation in Doc's next workshop. (Not the October one.)


Let's have a look at the groups under which the confirmed participants (till now) find themselves in.


Here are...



THE OGRES

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb35/evilspikestar/ogre.jpg

Despare
Roshiq
Zombieness
Fortunato
Leezuki
Fearsonarms


AND


THE GOBLINS

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn194/kotll/goblin.jpg

The Return
Nightmare of Death
Ferretchucker
The Villain
Horrorzack
Chronogrl


Take a real close look at the groups you find yourselves in, contestants. Each one of the members listed in your group is YOUR IMMEDIATE OPPONENT. Because, you have to score over the rest in your group and finish in the TOP THREE to be guaranteed a spot in the next Round.

Now, go through the most important list for all of you...

THE RULES!!



Rules For HDC Idol 2011-12

01 - You are responsible for your actions, and your actions only. The group will NOT be held guilty or punishable for anything which you do. The sole purpose of you being a part of the group is to fight your way into the TOP THREE contention, for passage into the next Round.

02 - Each test will involve a lot of skill, patience, knowledge and wit. It is up to you to give each test your best effort - however if you use your cunning, manipulation, and the internet as research for your answers, you are permitted to do so.

03 - All of you will be under the stern gazes of your Judges, and their decision will be FINAL and BINDING. No contestant is allowed to question the judgement of any Judge, or challenge their integrity. The Judges will be fair, impartial and very strict.

04 - Over the course of the event, if you indulge in any sort of skirmishes, flaming wars, name-calling etc. with a contestant or contestants, then it will not be the liability of HDC Idol II or any of its Judges. We suggest you take it to PMs, or emails, and not cause unnecessary harassment to other contestants and derail the thread.

05 - At the end of the first THREE Rounds, all the scores of each contestant in each group will be added up. The Top THREE winners of each group will then advance on to the Individual Challenges, who will be joined by TWO wildcard contestants, who will be selected from the losing contestants of both groups.

06 - The decision to give all losing contestants one more chance depends solely on the discretion of the Judges and the host sponsors only.

07 - We will have a wonderful time in our quest to finding the winner, that's a promise. All of you are urged to take your wins and losses in the right spirit, and keep the sportsmanship spirit alive. You will enjoy HDC Idol II.


The Judges will be revealed once the deadline for final confirmations is up within the next 24 hours starting from now. I ask the Ogres to be prepared for their first test by then.


I NOW DECLARE HDC IDOL II 2011-2012 OPEN!!!

[hammerfan]

Sweet.....I know this one will be just as much fun as the last HDC Idol contest!

[ChronoGrl]

I'm definitely IN (though will be out of town this Thursday evening - next Monday... Up in the mountains of Maine, so probably no cell service... If that disqualifies me, so be it, but I just wanted to put it out there... Since I unknowingly screwed people last time I went on vacation during one of these contests). :o

Also - Goblins...


PREPARE TO DIE

[hammerfan]

Considering this is a holiday weekend in the U.S., there's probably going to be a few people that have plans to go away. Have a good weekend!

[roshiq]

I'M IN! Hope to give you all some good hours of entertainment. :D

Btw...Where's Bwind?

[ferretchucker]

I'm definitely IN (though will be out of town this Thursday evening - next Monday... Up in the mountains of Maine, so probably no cell service... If that disqualifies me, so be it, but I just wanted to put it out there... Since I unknowingly screwed people last time I went on vacation during one of these contests). :o

Also - Goblins...


PREPARE TO DIE

You're going down faster than a hooker in Bill Clinton's oval office.

[ChronoGrl]

You're going down faster than a hooker in Bill Clinton's oval office.

That... was incredibly outdated. You can't do better? :p

[Despare]

Sounds fun...

[The Villain]

Great...the Reigning champion is in my group? There go my chances :rolleyes:

[ferretchucker]

That... was incredibly outdated. You can't do better? :p

You're going down faster that something to do with Twitter/Facebook/The Twighlight series.


Modern enough?!

[hammerfan]

OK, Chrono and ferret, you seriously made me laugh. Which is quite an accomplishment, making me laugh at 6:30 in the morning....when I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet! :D:p

[neverending]

You're going down faster that something to do with Twitter/Facebook/The Twighlight series.


Modern enough?!

No- to be cutting edge you'd have to reference Google+

[ChronoGrl]

No- to be cutting edge you'd have to reference Google+

Totally - ragging on Twilight is sooooo 2009.

[_____V_____]

Less than 4 and half hours remain for the confirmations deadline, and it looks less likely that we might see more contestants.

The first Test will be up shortly afterwards, Ogres. You better be ready!

[Zombieness]

Totally - ragging on Twilight is sooooo 2009.

So true :P.

Can't wait!

[_____V_____]

Some Important Announcements


01 - It is not necessary for you to be online when the Tests are being posted. However, you must turn in your entry before the given deadline expires, so that the Judges can comment on them. This is imperative for all Tests which have a deadline - as regards live performances, that will require you to be online when you stand in front of the Judges to be judged.

02 - Initially, there will be 3 Qualifying tests. Needless to say, all 3 tests will have scores by all judges, and the Top 3 scorers from each group (plus 2 wildcards) move into the Individual Elimination stage.

03 - Each qualifying test will have a deadline of 72 hours and so, you have to be online at least once in that time period.

04 - The Judges are free to criticize you, even when they might secretly admire your entries. Take that in your stride, or you may lose important points with the Judges.

05 - Try to do some research and put some thought into your entries, before PMing them to me to be judged. Bland, randomly-put words can irritate the Judges plus add to you losing valuable points.


Good luck!

Without further ado, let me first introduce you to your Judges.


THE JUDGES

Judge Neverending,

Judge Hammerfan,

and...

Judge "Someone"!
(a secret 3rd Judge who wishes to remain unknown, for now)


And now, we go forward straight to the FIRST TEST for the OGRES!!

[_____V_____]

THE FIRST TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


I stand here to address the Ogres. Each one of you will be given a task which you have to perform to the best of your ability, intellect and inventive-ness , based upon the knowledge you have of the genre.

For this first task, the common theme I have chosen is - ADAPTATION.

Here is your task, Ogres -

Choosing from all the books of the genre you have read till now, pick a book and turn it into a suitable horror film with a working story outline. You are free to make necessary changes which might enhance the look of the film, and make it appeal to wider audiences worldwide.

So Ogres - Despare, Roshiq, Zombieness, Fortunato, Leezuki and Fearonsarms - put your thinking caps on. Time to get creative and go to work.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 72 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[hammerfan]

Good luck, Ogres!

[neverending]

Good luck, Ogres!


You'll need it.



:p

[Zombieness]

Well that was fun :) . Finished writing my entry - will look over it and will email it tomorrow. Good luck to the other Ogres and good luck to the judges on...judging and stuff.

[hammerfan]

Well that was fun :) . Finished writing my entry - will look over it and will email it tomorrow. Good luck to the other Ogres and good luck to the judges on...judging and stuff.

Sometimes we do need luck. The last time I was a judge, if I remember right, I had a few difficult choices to make.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


Just over 17 hours gone, and I haven't received a single entry yet.

Looks like the Ogres will take their own time...

[hammerfan]

UPDATE


Just over 17 hours gone, and I haven't received a single entry yet.

Looks like the Ogres will take their own time...

Keep in mind, sweetie, that this is a holiday weekend in the U.S. It's the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day Weekend. Lots of people go away for the weekend, or have plans. They could very well stretch it to the 72 hour limit.

[_____V_____]

Judge "Someone"!

Remember the 3rd Judge?


No secret anymore.


Tonight.


After a long absence.


The much-awaited return.

[roshiq]

Just finished mine. Hope to send it soon. :)

[newb]

Remember the 3rd Judge?


No secret anymore.


Tonight.


After a long absence.


The much-awaited return.

http://therecoveringpolitician.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/59-Bugs-whats-up-doc.jpg

[_____V_____]

Ahem! Someone deduct Newb's points! :rolleyes:

:p


And the FIRST ENTRY HAS BEEN TURNED IN, and duly sent to the Judges for evaluation, criticism and analysis!

5 Ogres remain.

[hammerfan]

Once you have all the entries, how long do the judges have to deliver their verdict?

[newb]

Ahem! Someone deduct Newb's points! :rolleyes:

:p


And the FIRST ENTRY HAS BEEN TURNED IN, and duly sent to the Judges for evaluation, criticism and analysis!

5 Ogres remain.

ha....just an educated guess.....sorry if I "Doc Blocked" ya.;)

[ferretchucker]

ha....just an educated guess.....sorry if I "Doc Blocked" ya.;)

You, sir, are not only a detective, but a comedic genius. Bravo!

[Doc Faustus]

Honestly, Newb, this is how rumors get started.

[Doc Faustus]

You, sir, are not only a detective, but a comedic genius. Bravo!

Like Peter Sellers.

[newb]

Honestly, Newb, this is how rumors get started.

there you are

I hope you've been spending your time away from here writing?

[Doc Faustus]

Writing. Promoting. Recording. Painting when the spirit moves me.

[newb]

Writing. Promoting. Recording. Painting when the spirit moves me.

cool.....great to see you back;)

[Doc Faustus]

I'm going to try to stick around, but I'll at least be present to judge. When V said he was doing this again, I couldn't say no. I make it a priority to help new writers find their way and get better at their craft.

[_____V_____]

Welcome back, Doc!

And thank you, your Honor. :)

Once you have all the entries, how long do the judges have to deliver their verdict?

You can take your time. The sooner the better. ;)

Remember to add your view on the entry, and grade it on a scale from A-E. Then PM to me.

[hammerfan]

Welcome back, Doc!

And thank you, your Honor. :)



You can take your time. The sooner the better. ;)

Remember to add your view on the entry, and grade it on a scale from A-E. Then PM to me.

So you want them one at a time, not all at once?

[ferretchucker]

I think all at once is perhaps fairest, to ensure no "relative decisions" are made i.e. award a grade B to one piece but then later on realise it was grade C in comparison to others, and as such have to unreasonably boost the others to compensate. It would skew the average results in the long run.

[_____V_____]

So you want them one at a time, not all at once?

Any way you deem fit.


The SECOND entry has come in via email, and I have duly emailed it to all 3 Judges promptly. Your Honors, please check your emails.

Decisions have started to come in as well!


4 Ogres remain.

24 hours till the deadline expires.

[_____V_____]

The deadline for the remaining Ogres expired about 23 hours ago, but since Judge Hammerfan pointed out that the weekend was a holiday, and this being the very first Test of HDC Idol II, the deadline stands extended by 24 more hours starting from now.

So Ogres - Despare, Fortunato, Leezuki & Fearonsarms - you have another 24 hours to turn in your entries. After these 24 extended hours are over, you will lose your chance at scoring in the first Test.

[hammerfan]

I believe they have one hour, right, V?

[_____V_____]

41 minutes left now, Judge Hammerfan.

No news from Despare, Leezuki was online earlier but nothing from him, Fortunato said his school has started now (he might skip this first Test but hasn't said that yet), and nothing from Fearsonarms either.

Looks like the first Test for the Ogres will be limited to 2 entries only.

Still, let's wait and see.

[hammerfan]

That's a shame that it's getting off to such a slow start. :(

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


The extended deadline has now passed us, and only 2 Ogres have turned in their entries.

I now request Judge Neverending and Judge Doc Faustus to evaluate, criticise, analyse and award the entries on a scale of A - E.

Roshiq's entry has been sent to you via PMs, and Zombieness's entry has been sent to you through e-mail.

I have already received Judge Hammerfan's critique and grades.

Once I receive the other two Judges' grades, the entries and their criticisms will be posted.

[Freak]

So glad I didn't sign up for this.

[ferretchucker]

I can't wait for my first challenge!

[hammerfan]

I can't wait for my first challenge!

Hopefully your team will have a better turnout than the Ogres did!

[Zombieness]

Sorry for the organizers if they've been discouraged by this rather mediocre start to the contest - I'm sure it'll start to pick up some speed soon :)

[Fearonsarms]

So glad I didn't sign up for this.

I thought I'd made it clear in my initial post that I wouldn't be involved in this-clearly not.

[Fearonsarms]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58379&page=4

[ChronoGrl]

I can't wait for my first challenge!

Ditto!



AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SKIN THE FERRET ALIVE MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[hammerfan]

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58379&page=4

"not sure" doesn't translate to no, I wont' be participating.

[Doc Faustus]

Question: Should I post my grade and comments publicly or just PM them to you?

[The Villain]

I hope this slow start doesnt translate as lack of interest. I'm really excited for my challenge!

[neverending]

Question: Should I post my grade and comments publicly or just PM them to you?

He said to PM them to him.

[_____V_____]

Thank you, Your Honors.

I have received the grades from all 3 Judges, and so it's time to see them.

Here we go...

[_____V_____]

THE FIRST TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


Choosing from all the books of the genre you have read till now, pick a book and turn it into a suitable horror film with a working story outline. You are free to make necessary changes which might enhance the look of the film, and make it appeal to wider audiences worldwide.

Ogre Zombieness's entry -

Hiya. Here’s my entry. I chose the book Cell by Stephen King (partially because it was a good read. Partially because it was the closest book near my laptop at the time being)..

Enjoy!

A young man, Clayton Riddell, wakes up one morning late for his meeting with a company planning to publish a graphic novel he made. Before leaving his hotel, Clayton quickly calls his 13-year-old daughter, Jenny, and wishes her luck with her choir concert that she is to perform that evening.

Clayton reaches the publishing company and struggles to find his way to his meeting inside the building. A middle-aged man named Tom McCourt offers to help him. They enter the elevator, which loses power, and abruptly stops for a while. Outside they hear screaming and shouting.

The elevator restarts again and exits to the sound of disaster in the streets below, and rush to a window where a crowd have gathered and look upon as two large trucks collide into each other and a small van crashes into the lobby of a nearby store. A young girl named Alice Maxwell shrieks and darts to the stairs, fearing that her mother – an interior decorator who went down to their car to fetch some of her sketches for the employees lounge, might have been injured. Clayton and McCourt try to stop her, but end up following behind her.

Outside a better view of the chaos is shown – mad, animalistic people run around attacking pedestrians. McCourt, Alice and Clayton take cover from another wild car in a bookstore, where two men hide behind the front desk. One of them is injured with a heavily bleeding neck and the other is repeatedly trying to reach 911. Clayton and McCourt go down to try to calm the bleeding man.

The caller suddenly drops the phone and attacks the injured man – clawing and eventually cutting open his throat with rage. The man then attempts to attack McCourt, but Clayton narrowly defends him by strangling the madman with his belt. Clayton realizes that something happened to the phone lines and subsequently tosses his phone against the wall. Alice and McCourt do the same. Alice pleas them to go back and find her mother, but they decide against it, telling her that her mother would have already found safety or otherwise they wouldn’t have anything to find. Alice does not protest, and instead becomes very mute. She says the her mother would’ve gone back to their home in the North once she realized Alice wasn’t in the building, and coincidentally Clayton’s daughter is up North as well. The three decide to treck together.

The trio leaves the scene as large pieces of burning debry from a plane gone out of control starts to fall from the sky. They survive and reach McCourt’s suburban home as night falls, and decide to refresh for a few hours before trekking back to Maine. Clayton becomes increasingly stressed at the thought that Jenny – or her mother – might use their phones. He lies awake for the greatest part of the evening but is awoken by a sound coming from the living room. There, he finds that two altered beings have entered the home. He tries to make his way to upstairs where Alice and McCourt’s rooms were to be found, but is caught and attacked. The noise catches the attention of more altered beings around the home. Clayton finally manages to shake off the two already in the home, and wakes Alice and they retreat to McCourt’s room. The three jump from the window mere moments before a group of altered break the door down. McCourt then throws a lit match through the window, and the curtain catches fire and soon the entire house is ablaze.

They find a deserted school, where each of them fall unconcious and have a vision of a man (called ‘The Raggedy Man’), who commands them (who are now ‘Flock-killers’ after burning an entire flock’s equvilent in their home) to travel north to Kashwak. They regain reality, and upon realizing that each of them experienced the same dream, they decide to obey the demand and steal the school bus.

On a highway, a group of normal humans intercept them and try to break into the bus. McCourt is barely able to flank around the group, and the three are forced to leave the bus and run when a moltov cocktail sets fire to the back seats.

They arrive in Kent Pond, where Clayton’s home is in a state of disarray. He finds a note from Jenny, stating that after Shanon (Clayton’s wife) became turned into a ‘Phoner’, she was forced to kill her and ‘heard a voice’ telling her to go to a place called Kashwak.Clayton goes outside to the backyard and sits alone for a while to mourn the loss of his wife.

A man named Ray, a neighbor of Clayton, runs to him and hands Clayton a cell phone and a set of keys. He quickly tells Clayton to use the phone ‘when the time is right’, and then slits his throat with a knife before Clayton could answer his question.

Alice walks in on the scene and when she sees Ray’s body and Clayton holding the phone, believes he became mad and in a split second breaks down. McCourt tries to calm her down but she picks up Ray’s knife and starts to try to stab them. Clayton is forced to wrestle the knife from her and accidentally stabs her through the chest. She dies in his arms.

Clayton, guiltful of the incident but still intent on finding his daughter, buries Alice and Ray before leaving with McCourt to get to Kashwak.They reach the town in the Ray’s car. It is filled with Phoners all around – each of them aggressive but not attacking.

Clayton then experiences another vision while driving (causing them to crash in a lamppost) in which he’s locked inside a stadium with The Raggedy Man. The Raggedy Man congratulates Clayton on getting as far as he has, and invites him to either join ‘The New World Flock’ or be killed. Clayton tries to bargain with The Raggedy Man, exchanging his life for his daughter’s freedom, but wakes up abruptly.

Sees that McCourt has been dragged out of the shattered car window. McCourt is then mauled violently to death before the car by a group of Phoners. The hundreds of phoners then movie into the shadows, until only 11 remain around the car. The one closest is The Raggedy Man – who looks exactly as he did in the visions. Clayton climbs out of the car with Ray’s phone, hopeless and broken, and answers a sudden incoming call (planning to become one of them in a form of suicide).

The car then implodes and Clayton is sent flying through the air. The Raggedy Man is killed instantly when a metal shard slices through his skull, and as he falls down, dead, the hive mind that connected all the altered. All around in mere moments, the phoners turn from rabid to aimless and distant creatures. Clayton looks up at the sky and thanks Ray for his ingenious plan, and passes out.

A year later, Clayton is on a small plane with his daughter in his arms. By the way she lies and stares into the distance, she’s revealed to have turned into a phoner. The plane is shown flying over Paris, where a cure to the virus has apparently been developed.

Clayton pulls out a cell phone to look at pictures of her, him and Shanon and the happiness they experienced before the world changed. The battery dies and the phone screen fades to black, before the rest of the scene fades to black in the same way, ending the film and leaving Jenny’s fate ambiguous.


Judge #1's verdict -

I give Zombieness a C-.

Not enough detail and very disjointed. I was left with a myriad of questions. The part where Ray hands Clayton a cell phone and tells him to use it when the time is right, then slices his throat.....he says Ray slices his throat before Clayton can answer his question. I didn't see where Ray asked him a question.


Judge #2's verdict -

The story is exciting with well motivated characters. It would make a good screen adaptation. Nothing too deep, just a solid horror action film. No mention is made of the last clause in the assignment: You are free to make necessary changes which might enhance the look of the film, and make it appeal to wider audiences worldwide.

GRADE: C


Judge #3's verdict -

There was talk of adapting Cell into a movie and in all honesty, I think any King text has a more than solid chance of getting adapted into a film. If you had picked a piece of short fiction or a novella instead of a big, popular doorstop of a novel, I would have thought the choice was more inspired. I don't feel like a lot of creativity and thought went into this. Whether you're dealing with publishers, studio readers or any creative professional, remember that surprise is imperative. Consider yourself fortunate that your other teammates submitted nothing.

D


Overall Grade - C-

[_____V_____]

Ogre Roshiq's entry -

THE GREEN FEATHER


Based on Robert McCammon's Boy's Life

McCammom's Boy's Life offers many things. It is, in part, a mystery, but there are also enough dark moments in the story to consider it a horror story as well. But more than that it is a magical and very beautiful universal tale about being a boy and growing up in our very common word surrounding of good & evil.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g348/sanjidhdc/BoysLifecover.jpg

The year is 1964. On a cold spring morning before the sun, 12-year-old Cory Mackenson is accompanying his father on his milk delivery route. It's on this route that Cory begins to come of age, as he and his dad witness a shocking accident that at first starts sinking with a menacing mystery. Corey and his father are just rounding a bend in the road when a brown car veers in front of them and drops down into the lake. There is a man behind the wheel, and Saxon's Lake is bottomless, so without any hesitation Cory's father makes a desperate attempt to save the driver, but instead comes face-to-face with a vision that will haunt and torment him: a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel, naked and savagely beaten, a copper wire knotted around his neck. The lake's depths claim the car and the corpse, but the murderer's work is unfinished as, from that moment, both Cory and his father begin searching for the truth.
Zephyr is a sleepy, comfortable small town of Alabama. It’s a peaceful, idyllic place where Cory lives with his parents and pals around with his best friends - Davy Ray Callan, Johnny Wilson, and Ben Sears. It's 1964 and life is perfect for the boys. But now, the murder of an unknown man who lies in the dark lake, his tortured soul crying out for justice causes Cory's life to explode into deepening puzzles.
Tom Mackenson has seen dead bodies before, but never anything like this and the memory of what he has seen haunts him from that moment on and the dead man invades Tom's dreams calling for him to "Come join me down in the dark." One of the hardest things for Tom to deal with is the fact that the killer must surely be a local person, because only a local would know that the lake was so deep. In fact, if Tom and Corey hadn't witnessed the car going into the lake, no one would ever have known anything about the murder. Another thing that haunts Tom is the sad fact that nobody knows even seems to know the identity of the dead man. Their world no longer seems so innocent: a vicious killer hides among apparently friendly neighbors.

While his father is risking his life in the lake, Cory glances over towards the woods and sees someone standing there watching and wearing a long, dark coat. Cory looks away for a moment and when he looks back the figure has gone. Cory does not tell anyone about what he has seen, but later, while his father is talking to the sheriff, he walks over to where he thought the figure had been standing, but can see no signs of anyone ever being there. When he gets home though, he finds something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. It is a single, green feather...which later leads him deeper into the mystery.

Over the following months, both Cory and his father struggle to understand how life has now changed. Cory tries to understand his father's struggles and the struggle between good and evil that he has been forced to realize is taking place in his quiet little town. His father struggles with the sudden, harsh, realization that life isn't nearly as perfect or safe as he once believed it to be. It is now a darker world and a world of change. If and how they can accept that change is a large part of the story.

As days pass, Cory is faced with The Lady, an ancient, mystical woman who can talk to dead people, practices voodoo, and can bewitch the living, a violent clan of moonshiners, bullies, and the fact that a girl he calls "The Demon" has developed a crush on him and intends to make him miserable if he doesn't pay attention to her.

Boy's life is written in the first person and as the story is narrated to the reader by Cory; so there will be time to time monologue from his character in the film also...for example, after that mystical, magical things starts happening in Zephyr, Cory puts it:
"We had a dark queen who was one hundred and six years old. We had a gunfighter who saved the life of Wyatt Earp at the O.K. Corral. We had a monster in the river and a secret in the lake. We had a ghost that haunted the road behind the wheel of a black dragster with flames on the hood. We had a Gabriel and a Lucifer, and a rebel that rose from the dead. We had an alien invader, a boy with a perfect arm and we had a dinosaur loose on Merchants Street."

Other, equally unsettling transmogrification occur: a friend's father becomes a shambling bully under the influence of moonshine, decent men metamorphose into Klan bigots and "responsible" adults flee when faced with danger for the first time. With the aid of unexpected allies, Cory faces hair-raising dangers as he seeks to find the secret of the dead man in the lake.
His quest to understand the forces of good and evil at work in his hometown leads him through a maze of dangers and fascinations: the vicious Blaycock clan, who defend their nefarious backwoods trades with the barrels of their guns; a secret assembly of men united by racial hatred; a one-hundred-six-year-old black woman named the Lady who conjures snakes and hears voices of the dead; a reptilian thing that swims in the belly of a river; and a bicycle with a golden eye.

As Cory searches for a killer, he learns more about the meaning of both life and death. A single green feather leads him deeper into the mystery, and soon he realizes not only his life, but the sanity of his father may hang in the balance. Events such as Cory's dad seeing the dead body, Cory's dream while sleeping on Davy Ray's grave, and finding out who the real killer is all result of Cory's quest. When Cory's dad first saw the dead body in the car and looked into the face of murder, it rocks Cory's whole view of his hometown, and that everything is not as perfect as it seems. The next event, when Cory falls asleep on Davy Ray's grave and dreams of all the evils in the world, is when Cory fully reaches loss of innocence. He sees how evil the real world is, and how different it is from Zephyr. He knows that what happened with the dead man is not as bad as it gets, no matter how malicious it seemed at the time. The last event, when Cory discovers that the kindhearted veterinarian Dr. Lezander is the killer, is when Cory begins the next stage for quest, the seeking.

Cory's story with its pervading sense of childhood innocence tempered and compromised by experience is as such that it transcends the horror genre despite the understated supernatural elements. The story provides some intense action, a murder mystery, a horrifying and dramatic flood description. It portrays the excitement, despite the ignorance, of youth. It also included the most amazing description of the feeling of having a new bike and riding it.
This is a story of growing up during a time when the entire world seemed to be changing. It is the story of wisdom, courage, and truth--the kind of truth that everyone must eventually face. It is a story of life and of death. And most importantly, it is a story about the magic of childhood.
The story is set in the early 1960s and makes observations about changes that were happening in America at that time with particular emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement--several of the characters are even connected to the Ku Klux Klan. This is an affecting tale of a young man growing out of childhood in a troubled place and time and that offering is universal.


TBC...

[_____V_____]

Cast & Characters:

Cory Mackenson: Cory is the protagonist in the story. He has a small-boned frame, and is a skinny, gawky kid of average looks and height. Cory does not get noticed very often, so he stays quiet around people he does not know. Cory enjoys writing stories in his free time, making his stories on paper show life the way it should be, or the way he imagines it, he believes in magic and likes to read comics. He is a regular 12 year old. At the beginning when the man dies and finds a green feather, that's where his troubles begin.

Cast: Joel Courtney (Super 8)

Johnny Wilson: A soft-spoken, part native-American friend of Cory's who gets a severe concussion when fighting with the Branlin brothers, the local bullies. Johnny is a philosophical boy and has been a stoic his entire life from living with day to day mocking. Cory worries about him throughout the summer, but Johnny teaches Cory a lesson when, there is another confrontation with the Branlins. Johnny uses fighting skills and strength he had worked on all summer to defeat the Branlins. Cory realizes that it takes courage and hard work to earn peace.

Cast: Asa Butterfield (Nanny McPhee Returns, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas)

Tom Mackenson: Cory's father, a quiet and kindhearted man, who loses his job as a milkman and has to work at a super market. His one desire in life is peace, which he learns to fight for at Cory's suggestion.

Cast: Michael Biehn (Terminator, Aliens, Bereavement)

Davy Ray Callan: Cory's hot-headed, sarcastic friend who empathizes with a triceratop" that is caged and abused in a traveling circus. He frees the triceratops, wreaking minor havoc on the entire town of Zephyr. He dies towards the end of the story by shooting himself accidentally. The explanation he gives Cory is that he saw Snowdown, the local myth, which is a white stag no hunter can bag. Davy explains that when he saw Snowdown, he was so shocked he tripped and shot himself in the stomach.

Cast: Ryan Lee (Super 8)

Ben Sears: Cory's chubby, somewhat slow friend, who turns out to be braver than Cory thought. Cory realizes, during a sleepover, that Ben's father is a violent alcoholic, though Ben has never mentioned it.

Cast: Zach Mills (Super 8, Changelling, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)

Dr. Lezander: The local veterinarian who pretends to be a Dutch survivor of World War II. He is friendly and gives nicknames to the town's residents at weekly church services. His outward appearance hides sinister secrets. In the final chapter, it is revealed that his real name is Gunther Dahninaderke and he is actually a former Nazi, who was the doctor of Esterwegen concentration camp in World War II.

Cast: Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Slither)

Rebel: Cory's dog that gets hit by a car, and dies, but Cory prays him back to life. Cory slowly realizes that he has to let Rebel die so he can be at peace, but not before spending some time with Dr. Lezander, and noticing some important things about him.

(No Casting given)

The Lady: The Lady is the undisputed leader of Bruton, and is well respected by everyone in Zephyr. She is 106 years old, and has lived to see many different things in her life. Her hair is whiter than fresh snow, and in contrast her wrinkled skin is as black as the night sky. She is small and frail with protruding bones, but commands attention with her stature and attitude. The most striking thing about the Lady's appearance is her intense green eyes. She is a very wise woman, and has answers to many people's questions. A special talent of hers is being able to see into the land of the dead, and talk to those on the other side. Some credit her with magic, but to her it is just a unique way of doing things.
White people tend to fear her, including Tom Mackenson. She is very in touch with the supernatural, such as Ol' Moses, the huge creature in the river, and spirits who are "on the other side of the river" (dead). She gives Cory Rocket, his bike, as thanks for saving a young boy from Ol' Moses during the flood.

Cast: Ruby Dee (American Gangster)

The Moon Man: The Lady's mysterious husband, known to all as the Moon Man, is black but has a very pale birthmark on his face and head that give him a very unusual appearance. He is generally a soft-spoken gentleman.

Cast: James Earl Jones

Dick Moultry: The town bigot, Moultry is an obese, cowardly, angry, self-centered KKK member. Ironically, he is caught under a bomb that is mysteriously "mistakenly" dropped in Zephyr on Christmas Eve, and which Cory attributes to the Lady's supernatural power. The bomb does not go off, but pins Moultry in his basement. He needs the help of Mr. Lightfoot, the local fix-it man who has a prodigious ability with all machines, to get out from under it. He refuses Mr. Lightfoot's help at first, on the grounds that Mr. Lightfoot is black. Being an unintelligent, rigid bigot, of course, Moultry learns nothing from the experience.

Cast: Giovanni Ribisi (Gone in 60 seconds)

Vernon Thaxter: The middle-aged son of the richest man in town, Vernon Thaxter refuses to wear clothes. He is crazy in some ways, yet makes predictions that are important to the solving of the murder. He is goodhearted in general, coercing even the most racist people in Zephyr to help build a dam in Bruton, the place where all the black citizens live, against a coming flood. He, like Cory, is a writer, but his writing disappointed his father, who in turn blamed Vernon for his mother's death (Vernon's father may be dead during the story, but Vernon keeps this a secret so no one will dare bother/insult him).

Cast: Ed Helms (The Hangover)

Mr. Hargison: The local mailman, who saves Cory and his friends during the first fight with the Branlins. He is friendly with Tom Mackenson until they discuss the matter of the KKK, which Hargison secretly belongs to.

Cast: Noah Emmerich (Truman show, Super 8)

The Demon: A girl in Cory's class who disgusts the other students with her nose-picking, etc., but wins their respect at the end when she glues Leatherlungs, their oppressive teacher, to her chair.
According to Cory..The Demon's name was Brenda Sutley. She was ten years old, and she had stringy red hair and a pallid face splashed with brown freckles. Her eyebrows were as thick as caterpillars, and the untidy arrangement of her features looked like somebody had tried to beat out a fire on her face with the flat side of a shovel.

Cast: Chloe Moretz (Let Me In, Kick-Ass)

Leatherlungs: One of Cory's teachers, who is considered to be half-crazy and a "burnout" by the other teachers. She bullies Cory, specifically for his trouble in math, and at one point he gets so angry that he hits her. At the end, she gets what she deserves when the Demon glues her (with very strong, homemade glue) to her chair.

Cast: Catherine Keener (40 year old virgin, Where the wild things are)

Mrs. Neville: Cory's teacher in the beginning of the book, who encourages him to enter a short-story contest. Cory resents her, simply because she is a teacher, but finds out later that she was dying of cancer at the end of the year. She passes away during the summer.

Cast: Vera Farmiga (The Orphan, The Departed, Source Code)

Reverend Blesset: A very right-wing Baptist preacher, who strongly opposes the Beach Boys and their music. He gives a sermon saying that their music is from the devil, and is trying to make children sexually crazed, immoral delinquents. He illustrates this point with an angry spider monkey, who he calls Lucifer, but this backfires when Lucifer escapes and proceeds to wreak havoc on the town.

Cast: Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, 2012, Defendor)

Screenplay & Directed by: Frank Darabont

------*****------


Judge #1's Verdict -

for roshiq's entry - I give him a B.

Very enjoyable story. I'm giving him a B because it didn't knock my socks off.


Judge #2's Verdict -

A very complete and well thought out proposal. The story is rife with dramatic situations and metaphors. I would caution about the use of a narrator, as that can sometimes lead to a reliance on telling things instead of showing, in what is primarily a visual medium. The setting in a small town in the 60s of America has great potential to allow comment on the situation today, with racism still very much alive today. Casting seems solid, but I'd like some explanation of why you chose Frank Darabont as director. No mention is made of the last clause in the assignment: You are free to make necessary changes which might enhance the look of the film, and make it appeal to wider audiences worldwide.

GRADE: B


Judge #3's verdict -

I love Boy's Life. It's a great book. Becoming a modern classic. But I've got a few problems with your choices. First of all, Boy's Life is loaded with plot. Very few books have so much meaningful content and do so much to build a big childhood world. So, I think Boy's Life would be better as a miniseries for tv. It's an inspired choice, but I don't want to see it done as one film, two films, or a very gimmicky three films even. The way it's told, it's way more conducive to five or six one hour episodes. Hurting the pacing or losing material doesn't do the text any favors. Second, your casting feels a little too on the nose. I would like to have seen some slightly more adventurous choices. Otherwise, an inspired choice and I'll be damned if you didn't work hard.

B


Overall Grade - B

[_____V_____]

ANNOUNCEMENT

Fortunato and Fearonsarms won't be with us anymore, and Despare & Leezuki are marked as "Absent" for the First Test for the Ogres.

We will have a team shuffle once the First Test is over, to even things up between both groups.

The First Test for the Goblins will be up within the next 24 hours.

[ChronoGrl]

Jeez! The judges are tough!! Not gonna lie - Glad I didn't have to go first. :o

[hammerfan]

Now you know what to expect. ;)

[roshiq]

Thanks to the judges for their frank, thoughtful & fantastic examinations.

Agree with NE that I didn't point out much of necessary changes for a screen adaptation as I thought it'd better if it stick truthful to the original source as much as possible. Additionally I think this sort of children adventures (which they made rarely these days) always has an appeal to the audiences of all ages worldwide. Now why did I chose Frank Darabont for the writing & directing it? First of all, why not? Mr. Darabont is one of the finest directors in Hollywood today who is a master of portraying any good human tale of love, loss, betrayal & friendship with the required emotional appeal all over and also an expert to blend with it or handle the supernatural elements perfectly. After films like Shawshank, Green Mile, Majestic & Mist from him I think it'd be an interesting project for him to work with. As the heart of McCammon's Boy's Life got a somewhat similar kind of appeal of some Stephen King's as well as even Ray Bradbury's works. A children mystery-adventure set on 60's America will be an easy but intriguing challenge for him.

Our honored judge#3, Mr. President made a very good point that I like to agree also...yeah, a miniseries for the tv would be better as it got so much sub plots & events occurring one after another but the thing is personally I always like to prefer the big screen for this sort of stories & plus a Frank Darabont treatment will surely be awesome to see, IMO.

Thank you, judges. Hope to come up with a better performance next time.:)

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS


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

For this first task, the common theme I have chosen is - FAVORITE WRITERS.

Here is your task, Ogres -

Out of the 10 listed famous writers, choose a writer and a short story written by him/her of your choice, and turn it into a movie adaptation, making necessary script/screenplay changes so that the movie appeals to wider audiences worldwide:-

M.R. James, Ramsey Campbell, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Robert E. Howard, Walter de la Mare, Sheridan Le Fanu, E. Nesbit, Henry James and Marjorie Bowen.

Goblins - The Return, Nightmare of Death, Ferretchucker, The Villain, Horrorzack and Chronogrl - get on it ASAP. Time to get creative and go to work.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 72 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[hammerfan]

Good luck, Goblins!

[ferretchucker]

First day back at college tomorrow, so tonight is spent with hurried homework. Will get to work on this tomorrow.

[ChronoGrl]

!@#$!

I think I've mentioned before how pathetically poor my literary horror knowledge is. Methinks Chrono may be screwed in Challenge #1. :mad:

Scratch my initial comment - I wish I had the Ogres' challenge - At least I'd be able to pick from ALL horror... *sigh*

Regardless, I'll get it done - You'll be seeing SOMEthing from me by the end of the 72 hours. :D



NOTE TO SELF: If my calculations are correct, "72 Hours From Now" = 01:52 PM EST on Saturday.

I'm putting this down so that I don't forget. :P

[The Villain]

Wow i've never read anything by any of them. This should be interesting....

[Doc Faustus]

Many of them have public domain short fiction that you can find online.

[The Villain]

Thanks. I found a bunch. It's a lot of extra work that i'm gonna have to do and quickly but i knew this wouldnt be easy and i welcome the challenge

[_____V_____]

Into the first day for the Goblins, and I have received no entries so far.

Looks like this might end up as a last minute dash for them!

[ChronoGrl]

Mine'll be in tonight - I've got my story and just need to sit down and write an adaptation concept around it. Looking forward to it, actually. :-D

[roshiq]

Very much looking forward to see some awesome ideas flashing out from this challenge.

Go Goblins, Go! :)

[Doc Faustus]

By the way, anybody interested in a Weird Fiction Horror and Bizarro online writing workshop in October, I'm running one. It's twenty dollars for a month of lessons and critiques. http://chainsawnoir.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/more-on-my-october-weird-fiction-workshop/

[The Villain]

Just signed up Doc. Can't wait

[neverending]

I was going to suggest it to you Villain. Glad you signed up. I took Doc's last workshop and had a great time. I'd be taking this one too if October wasn't such a busy time for me.

[The Villain]

I was going to suggest it to you Villain. Glad you signed up. I took Doc's last workshop and had a great time. I'd be taking this one too if October wasn't such a busy time for me.

Thanks for planning on suggesting it. I need a lot of help and i just love writing so much.

[Doc Faustus]

Thanks, Lee! And thanks for signing up, Villain! I'm looking forward to this workshop.

[The Villain]

Thanks, Lee! And thanks for signing up, Villain! I'm looking forward to this workshop.

So am i!

So i picked my story and i've started to adapt it. I'm a little worried that this won't be my best work. I'm working a lot and am really tired at the moment so that's going against me. But i knew what i was getting into when i said i would participate. It might be close for me finishing it though. I have til Saturday right?

[ChronoGrl]

Mine'll be in tonight - I've got my story and just need to sit down and write an adaptation concept around it. Looking forward to it, actually. :-D

Yeesh - Scratch that - Might be turning this in tomorrow or Saturday morning - Been working on it for a while tonight and I'm exhausted.

I have plans to go visit some friends tomorrow night - Is it wrong that I want to cancel with them so I can finish this up? :p

I might have to wrap it up tomorrow during work... Wasn't planning on working during work anyway. :cool:


So i picked my story and i've started to adapt it. I'm a little worried that this won't be my best work. I'm working a lot and am really tired at the moment so that's going against me. But i knew what i was getting into when i said i would participate. It might be close for me finishing it though. I have til Saturday right?

I'm not sure where you live, but by my estimates we have until 01:52 PM EST on Saturday, so that would be Saturday afternoon my time, not Saturday night - Could be p.m. your time, but hope that helps.

[The Villain]

Yeesh - Scratch that - Might be turning this in tomorrow or Saturday morning - Been working on it for a while tonight and I'm exhausted.

I have plans to go visit some friends tomorrow night - Is it wrong that I want to cancel with them so I can finish this up? :p

I might have to wrap it up tomorrow during work... Wasn't planning on working during work anyway. :cool:



I'm not sure where you live, but by my estimates we have until 01:52 PM EST on Saturday, so that would be Saturday afternoon my time, not Saturday night - Could be p.m. your time, but hope that helps.

Yup thats the same time i got. I just decided i wanted to do a different story. Really exhausted right now. I'm gonna have to work really hard on friday after work. Hopefully i won't be too tired. Still though, i'm enjoying this.

[ChronoGrl]

Yup thats the same time i got. I just decided i wanted to do a different story. Really exhausted right now. I'm gonna have to work really hard on friday after work. Hopefully i won't be too tired. Still though, i'm enjoying this.

Oh - I misread what you typed - You said "Saturday, right?" when I thought you said "Saturday night." :D

[The Villain]

Oh - I misread what you typed - You said "Saturday, right?" when I thought you said "Saturday night." :D

Oh okay that makes sense.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


The Goblins have used up 48 hours out of their scheduled 72 hours, and I have received NO entries so far.

Looks like it will indeed be a last-minute dash!

[horrorzack]

I think Im going to drop out of this. :F

[ferretchucker]

I won't be able to participate in THIS challenge. Unfortunately, between returning to college and work, I haven't had a great deal of time to find/read some of these stories and certainly not to plan an adaptation. I know the penalty and I accept it. I just hope I succeed enough in the next challenge to bring my score up. This is not me dropping out!

[hammerfan]

Well, this is going well, isn't it?

[The Villain]

I just sent my entry to V via email. I'm not sure how i feel about it. I did it very quickly while very tired and im not used to writing out a movie. Hopefully the judges will like it, if not theres always other challenges.

[hammerfan]

I'm sorry you felt like you had to rush it. You did still have time.

[ChronoGrl]

Mine is done - Waiting for the boyfriend to proofread it before emailing it in. It'll be in the mail tonight or tomorrow morning... Had a rough day so I'm not feeling that confident about it, but it is what it is...

[The Villain]

I'm sorry you felt like you had to rush it. You did still have time.

There may have been time left for me to turn it in but that doesn't mean i personally had time. Worked from 7 - 5 today, didn't get home until almost 6 and i was exhausted since my job is manual labor. Tomorrow i have my daughter all day so i wouldn't have time to write then. Basically i came home from work and immediately started working on this.

I'm not making any complaints. I knew how this would be when i said i would do it but basically it probably won't be my best work. I'm just gonna have to deal with it though as i am enjoying this and look forward to the rest of it.

[The Villain]

Mine is done - Waiting for the boyfriend to proofread it before emailing it in. It'll be in the mail tonight or tomorrow morning... Had a rough day so I'm not feeling that confident about it, but it is what it is...

Proofread.......knew i forgot something :o

[hammerfan]

I didn't know you have a child! How old is she? What's her name?

[The Villain]

I didn't know you have a child! How old is she? What's her name?

Yup i'm a daddy :)

She's 2. Her name is Hope.

I see her on the weekends now since me and the ex split about a year ago. We just finalized everything in court finally.

[hammerfan]

Aww, I bet you're a good Daddy!! Enjoy your time with her!

[The Villain]

Aww, I bet you're a good Daddy!! Enjoy your time with her!

Thanks. I always do :)

[horrorzack]

I won't be able to participate in THIS challenge. Unfortunately, between returning to college and work, I haven't had a great deal of time to find/read some of these stories and certainly not to plan an adaptation. I know the penalty and I accept it. I just hope I succeed enough in the next challenge to bring my score up. This is not me dropping out! Wait a second. You can do that? Then Im back in since the next challenge didnt start yet.

[GraveDigger]

Can ANYONE explain this to me. I got lost :confused:

[ChronoGrl]

My entry is in. :D

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


I have received 2 entries via email, and promptly forwarded them to your email Inboxes, Judges.

Still waiting for 4 more Goblins - The Return, Nightmare of Death, Ferretchucker, and Horrorzack - to turn in their entries.

The deadline expires in 8 hours from now.

[hammerfan]

Entries received. I have an eye appointment this morning, so I'm going to wait until I get back to read them. I want to be able to give them my full attention. I'll be sending my critique to V sometime this afternoon.

[_____V_____]

The deadline passed about 2 hours ago. No more entries were submitted.

I now have the grades from 2 of our esteemed Judges. As soon as I receive our 3rd Judge's grades, entries will be posted.

[neverending]

Won't be till next week.

[_____V_____]

Won't be till next week.

Take your time, your Honor.



ANNOUNCEMENT

Like I promised, it's time for the TEAM SHUFFLE!


Fortunato and Fearsonarms have opted out, so in order to even things up, Horrorzack is hereby drafted into the OGRES!


New Teams :-

The Ogres

Despare
Roshiq
Zombieness
Leezuki
Horrorzack


The Goblins

The Return
Nightmare of Death
Ferretchucker
The Villain
Chronogrl


The new Teams will be effective from the 2nd Test onwards.

[horrorzack]

yaaaaaay! Im an ogre!

[ChronoGrl]

I wanna knooooooooooooooow my scooooooooooooooooore.

*whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine*

[hammerfan]

I wanna knooooooooooooooow my scooooooooooooooooore.

*whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine*

I handed in my verdict, you can't blame me! :-D

[The Villain]

I'm afraid to know my score

[neverending]

All scores are in. We just have to wait for V.

[ChronoGrl]

Tick tock, Mr V...

*Bond Villain Voice*

...

(also imagine me swinging a pocket watch menacingly)

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS


Out of the 10 listed famous writers, choose a writer and a short story written by him/her of your choice, and turn it into a movie adaptation, making necessary script/screenplay changes so that the movie appeals to wider audiences worldwide:-

M.R. James, Ramsey Campbell, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Robert E. Howard, Walter de la Mare, Sheridan Le Fanu, E. Nesbit, Henry James and Marjorie Bowen.


The Villain's entry -

I’ve decided to go with The Fearsome Touch of Death by Robert E. Howard. I’ve pretty much only loosely used this story as a basis for an idea I came up with while reading it. Sorry for the length but since it is almost completely different from the short story I felt that it was necessary plus I was trying to come up with enough details to fill in a whole movie.

A Night with a Corpse

Based on “The Fearsome Touch of Death” by Robert E. Howard

The movie starts with a young man named Fred and a young girl named Rose lying in bed together. They are talking about a trip that Fred is taking to reunite with some of his friends that he hasn’t seen in awhile. Rose wishes she could go with him but unfortunately she has to work. They talk about his friends and the good times he used to have with them in college especially his best friend Adam Stein. He talks about how he hasn’t seen them in so long and wishes she could come and meet them. She promises him that she will meet him there after work. The two then began to kiss and the scene fades to black as things go further. Later Rose is seeing him off and he gives her Adam’s number to reach him just in case he doesn’t have service or his phone dies. She wishes him off and he drives away.

Later as he is speeding down the road his phone rings. He quickly answers it and begins speaking to Adam. Fred tells him where he is and Adam warns him of a bad weather situation coming his way. But Fred is already late and is in a hurry but he tells him that he will be careful.

The movie skips forward to the storm. Rain is crashing down on Fred’s car to the point where he can barely see. Thunder and lightning crack off in the distance shaking his nerve. But Fred continues to drive quickly desperately wanting to reconnect with his friends that he hasn’t seen in awhile.

Suddenly his car starts to slide and Fred loses control. He begins freaking out while also trying to stop the car but it continues to slide wildly. Fred looks out his window and notices that he is heading right for a telephone pole but it is too late and his car slams hard into it.

Fred sits motionless in the car with a gash on his forehead that is bleeding. The wipers continue to move pointlessly against the windshield until finally the car dies killing the wipers along with it. Fred begins to stir suddenly and touches the wound on his head. He immediately recoils from the pain. He looks around wondering what is going on and then the memory returns to him. He breathes a sigh of relief that he is still alive and then tries to start his car but it won’t even turn over. Fred curses angrily and slams his fists on the steering wheel. This was a bad idea as Fred is still dizzy and the excursion of anger causes him to feel like he will pass out.

He tries his phone next but he doesn’t have any service and his battery is low. He swears again and lies his head down on the steering wheel. He wonders what he should do and then he notices a large house. He has crashed right in front of it. Hoping the occupants have a phone he decides it is his only option. Quickly he dashes out of the car through the pouring rain towards the house. He reaches the porch safe from the rain. He knocks on the door but no one answers. He knocks a few times more and then calls out but still there is no answer.

While he waits he looks over at his car and can barely see it through the rain. He can just make out the damages the crash has done. Suddenly he notices something else, there appears to be someone in his car. Fred isn’t sure but it definitely looks like someone is sitting still in the driver’s seat. He’s a little confused and to be honest spooked about it and decides to check it out. Just as he takes a step the front door slowly swings open with a high pitched squeak.

He looks back over his shoulder and sees the open door but no one to greet him behind it. He calls out to see if anyone is there but just as before he gets no answer. He looks back out at his car and lighting cracks nearby. Fred jumps at the suddenness of it and decides to forget all about the car. Quickly he enters the house and closes the door. There are no lights on pitching the house into darkness. The only lights he gets are from the windows nearby which only vaguely make out what stands before him.

There is a large staircase nearly in front of him and a room off to the right. Another room stands off to the left as well as one directly in front of him. The doors to the left and right are open but the one in front of him remains closed. Fred calls out and says he’s been in an accident. There is still no answer. He calls out again saying he needs to use the phone. No answer.

Deciding that the house is empty, Fred decides to search for a phone hoping that the darkness is from the storm and not from in-occupancy. He tries the door to the left but it is empty except for a few boxes. He finds the right one almost the same except for the large table that sits in the middle of the room. He guesses that it must be the dining room. An old piano covered in dust sits off to one corner.

Fred walks through the dining room to the next room and finds the kitchen. It is a complete mess. Old food, cans, pots, plates and other assorted items line the table, counters and even the sink. There is mold growing on almost everything. He checks quickly for a phone but finding none, he leaves the room and exits back to the foyer.

The emptiness of the house is starting to make him worried and as he climbs the staircase he mutters that the house is deserted and he’s not going to find a phone. Upstairs he finds a few bedrooms and a bathroom all in the same situation as the other rooms, empty and filled with boxes and mold. He yells out again hoping that someone, anyone will hear him but the only answer is a loud crack of thunder.

Fred realizes that he’s not going anywhere and enters one of the rooms. By this point it is so dark he can only just barely make out shapes in the rooms. In front of him, there seems to be a bed. He is tired and contemplates sleeping there but decides that it would be too strange and decides to rest on a wooden rocking chair that sits directly in front of the bed facing him.

He quickly falls asleep. Outside lightning strikes hard revealing that there is a lumped shape hidden under the sheet on the bed. Another strike shows a hand coming out from under the sheet. Another shows the hand reaching up and pulling the sheet down. The last strike shows the horrifically withered face of the dead old man that lies on the bed. He turns his head and stares at Fred sleeping in the chair. There are black holes where his eyes should be.

Suddenly Fred bursts awake unable to breathe. He begins coughing wildly and then begins sucking in air as if he was drowning. He knows that something in his dream had scared him very badly but he can’t remember what it is. Suddenly he notices the lumped shape on the bed. Carefully he gets up and walks over to it. The sheet is pulled all the way up and there seems to be something underneath. Breathing heavily and with eyes wide open, Fred pulls down the sheet underneath revealing the dead man. Fred gasps and he tumbles backwards in fright, he trips over the chair and lands hard on the ground.

Quickly he turns himself over and looks over at the bed. One of the old man’s arms has fallen to the side and dangles uselessly. Fred slowly gets up and makes his way back to the man. He takes a good look at him. He is very skinny, sickly so and his skin is so pale that it is almost translucent. He has long white unkempt hair and his fingernails are black. He is grateful that the eyes are closed.

Fred wonders what happened to the man and who left him that way. Certainly the old man hadn’t stripped himself naked and lied in the bed with the sheet pulled over his head waiting to die. Fred decides he really doesn’t want to know and decides to leave. Suddenly the old man’s eyes shoot open revealing the dark empty spaces underneath. Fred screams and runs out of the room almost tripping over the chair again. He dashes down the staircase and slips near the end and falls painfully to the ground. He spins back and looks upstairs hoping that the old man isn’t chasing him. There is no one there.

Fred picks himself up and runs to the door. He tries to open it but it won’t budge. We see a view from the door as Fred tries to pull it open. Blurry in the background the old man can be seen walking out of the room and descending down the steps. Fred hears something and we go to a close up of his face. He is breathing heavily and a drop of sweat rolls down his face. Quickly he turns around but there is nothing there.

He turns back to the door and is finally able to open it. He pulls it open and stares into the face of the old dead corpse that is now on the porch. Fred shrieks again and runs off. He runs back up the stairs and hides behind a row of boxes. Frantically he pulls out his phone and sees that his battery is almost dead. He dials 911 but before the call can be placed it goes dark.


(TBC...)

[_____V_____]

As he is calling we can once again see the old man walking slowly down the hallway in the background. Fred stays behind the boxes for awhile trying to calm himself down until once again he thinks he hears the old man. He leaps up screaming leave me alone but the old man is gone again. Fred thinks that he is going crazy. He walks down the hall towards the stairs but gazes at the room where he found the old man’s body. He feels compelled to go in but desperately doesn’t want to. Finally he is able to pry himself away.

For awhile he tries to find a way out but without any luck. He finally decides to break a window but the only thing he remembers seeing that is heavy enough is the chair in the room where he first found the old man and he does not want to have to go back in there.

Unfortunately he decides that he has to. He slowly walks back upstairs. He hears a creaking noise before he enters and when he looks in he knows why. The old man is now sitting in the chair rocking back and forth. Fred shakes in fear unable to move. The old man suddenly stops leaving them in silence. Slowly he turns his head towards Fred staring at him with the large gaping holes where his eyes should be.

The old man suddenly begins screaming and Fred does the same. He runs away from the man and down the stairs again. He runs into the room on the left and hides again. He is so afraid he starts to cry. The old man enters the room but doesn’t seem to see Fred huddled in the corner behind the boxes and so he leaves. Fred stays there for awhile trying to get his phone to work. He talks to himself about Adam and his friends and about Rose.

Finally he gets up the nerve to leave the room. The front door is closed again and he tries to open it but it doesn’t budge. He punches the door and yells but quickly regrets it as he doesn’t want to warn the old man. He looks around but he is met with only silence. Suddenly he remembers the door by the staircase, the one directly in front of him when he first walked in. He hasn’t checked it yet.

Carefully he makes his way to the door and opens it. It leads down into a dark basement. He hopes that there is another way out down there or at least something he can use to break the windows. He walks down the stairs. As he reaches the room, the door behind him slams shut filling the room with darkness. Fred screams out from panic and breathes wildly. Shuffling and heavy breathing is all he hears for awhile until there is a click and a dim light appears. Fred has found a swinging light bulb hanging from the ceiling and pulled the string.

He grips above the bulb and tries to direct it around so he can see but he can’t really make anything out. His hand slips and he grabs the bulb burning his hand. He yelps in pain and the bulb swings away from him illuminating the figure of the old man on the other side of the room. Fred yells and falls to the ground. The bulb continues swinging first showing Fred scared on the ground, then the old man getting close and back and forth. Just as the old man is upon him, the light goes out and Fred screams.

The movie skips ahead to the next day. It is a beautiful day showing no signs of the storm from the night before. Rose is driving down the road. She looks worried. She picks up her phone and goes through her phone book. She finds Adam Stein’s number and calls it. Adam answers and Rose says who she is. She tells him that she hasn’t been able to get a hold of Fred. The scene switches to Adam who is also driving down the road. He tells Rose that he hasn’t been able to get a hold of him either and has gone looking for him. Adam tells her that Fred told him where he was last night and is searching for him.

The scene switches back to Rose and she says that she is on that road and very close to Adam. They agree to meet up and look for him together if one of them doesn’t find him first. Rose hangs up and continues down the road very upset. She is driving for awhile and then she comes around a turn and sees Fred’s totaled car. A young man who she can only guess is Adam is standing over it and looks upset. He sees her and more alarm shows on her face. Rose pulls over and jumps out of the car.

Adam yells her name to stop her and runs forward. Rose runs towards the car but Adam runs up and stops her from reaching it. She screams at him to let her go but Adam won’t and tells her she doesn’t want to see it. He says he sorry. The scene begins to move away from them towards the car as Rose asks him what he’s talking about. The camera gets to the driver’s side window and we see Fred’s mangled dead face lying against the steering wheel at the same time Adam tells her that he’s dead. Rose begins screaming and crying.

Off in the distance, you can catch the blurry image of a dead old man in one of the windows. It is something that you might miss. The screen fades to black and the movie ends.


Judge #1's verdict -

I give Villain a C+. Very well thought out. Definitely a movie I would see!


Judge #2's verdict -

Effort was put into this. It seems plenty cinematic in its telling. I can't say I'm especially impressed with this work, but work was certainly done. I would have liked to have seen more of your process on this. I don't know why you picked the story and to be honest don't remember this particular piece of fiction all that well.

I know there isn't anything in the assignment that says you must describe your process, but I don't know the why and wherefore about this piece, so can only give it a C, as there is nothing distinctly inferior in the work.


Judge #3's verdict -

Even if you based this on an old story by a classic writer, this film would not play well today, simply because the ending is clearly telegraphed from the very beginning. There are absolutely no surprises. Additionally, there's not enough here for a feature film. As written it would play, at the most, about an hour. Good for an anthology TV series, but not a complete feature.

Grade C-


Overall Grade - C

[_____V_____]

Chronogrl's entry -

Chrono’s Answer – The Fall

This was a tough one – Many iconic authors to choose from. Ultimately I wanted to steer away from Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, E. Nesbit, and Henry James specifically as I thought they might be the more “obvious” choices. Therefore the question was who do I want to choose?

I thought, What kind of movie do I want to see more of? Well, that answer was simple – Creepy slow-burner psycho-thriller; I honestly feel as though this is an underrepresented genre and I wanted to pick a story that focused on a character’s personal torment– I love movies that focus so closely on and through the character that you start to feel as they feel.

So, I turned to Ramsey Campbell, a modern master of the psychological thriller, and focused on his story “The Scar.”

Why? The story is simple, yet it offers an opportunity to take an average, struggling character, and put him in an absurd and horrifying situation – in my mind that is the core of a solid, unsettling film.

How? In conceiving this piece, I thought specifically of Black Swan and how Aronofsky artfully paints the tragic tale of a tortured heroine. The crux of the success results not only through film but through skillful sound direction that makes you feel as dizzily uncomfortable as the character Portman portrays. I had a similar experience when watching Punch Drunk Love – That was one of the first few raw character pieces where you felt what the main character felt, thanks to Paul Thomas Anderson’s weaving a dizzy combination of visual and sound effects.

I envision this movie to be in a similar style to the pieces above – Strictly first-person; not only will we follow Lindsay, but we will feel his self-consciousness, feel his paranoia and alienation – I want this movie to be a paranoid schizophrenic’s constant stream of consciousness – In particular, I’m thinking about how unsettled The Possession of David O’Reilly made me feel; closely following the unsettled and possibly unreliable narrator.

Who?

Cast of Characters

Lindsay: Lindsay is the intensely socially awkward and needy brother of Harriet and is in his 30s. Lindsay is lonely, alienated, and completely paranoid. Lindsay is the younger brother to Harriet, by about 10 years and clings to his sister and her children as his sole social interactions and the only people (he feels) cares about him – He desires so badly to somehow impress them, to gain their respect, to gain their thanks, but not in a malicious sense – He craves their praise and approval – He visits the family (Harriet and Jack Rossiter and their two children) once a week, on Wednesdays for dinner, and then goes to the pub around his house on Thursday nights with Jack. Lindsay looks forward all week to the Wednesday visits, but is incredibly self-conscious about his Thursday nights with Jack – He feels as though Jack makes this Thursday visit to satiate Harriet’s desire for her brother and husband to be close (Lindsay thinks Harriet pities him for not having any friends). Lindsay loves his sister, Harriet above all else.

As Harriet describes Lindsay to Jack in “Scar”: “You know I always had the best of everything and Lindsay never did – unhappy at school, always being put down by my father, never daring to open his mouth… He finds it difficult to talk to people…”

Lindsay is constantly caught in, and obsessed with, inaction – He sees violence happening around him and struggles with his inability to act. He sees Harriet’s perfect family and struggles with the inability to help, connect, or contribute to their family. He is obsessed with a book that he has read over and over again, The Fall, wherein “a man… whose friend is in danger from someone and he finds out – and he finally pulls this someone off a cliff and gets killed himself.” This scene – The scene of the friend pulling the victimizer off the cliff, is a scene/vision that Lindsay is obsessed with and constantly returns to. It is his symbol of his own vulnerability and his fear of acting as well as his desire to be a hero somewhere, in someone’s eyes.

Lindsay lives in Lower Brichester, the “seedier,” side of town and his apartment is a mess, something that he is profoundly self-conscious about and so never invites the Rossiters over. He has to walk through dirty, derelict streets and alleyways past an abandoned, broken house to get to the bus stop that he uses both to get to work (at the grocery store to bag groceries) and to get to the Rossiter’s house (to visit his family). Lindsay can also walk to the Rossiters’ house from his apartment, though it’s a significantly longer walk. Likewise, Jack or Harriet can walk from the Rossiters’ house to Lindsay’s, but would have to pass through dangerous streets and alleyways. The pub that Lindsay and Jack visit is within walking distance of Lindsay’s flat, through the seedy streets and passed the unsettling abandoned house.

Jack: Jack is Harriet’s husband of 15+ years. He is the well-to-do owner of a jewelry store, on the richer side of town, one which he inherited through his family. He is handsome, yet stern, and in his 40s. He’s loving, yet a no-nonsense sort of man, who seems to just tolerate Lindsay for the sake and love of Harriet. Jack is seen by Lindsay as an incredibly successful man, and the ideal husband, since to Lindsay, his sister’s life is the epitome of what is sacred and what he can never have. Jack is strained when near Lindsay, but does try to humor him for the sake of Harriet. Jack is very affectionate to Harriet and also very business-minded, his jewelry store being one of the prime concerns of his, after his wife and kids.

Harriet: Harriet is the beautiful 40-something sister of Lindsay and wife of Jack. She loves her brother Lindsay and worries about him, where he lives (constantly pleading with him to move), his lack of friends and social outlets. She is soft, though strong at the same time.

Douglas and Elaine: The Rossiter children, 8 and 10. They love their parents and Lindsay unconditionally.

Where?

Lower Brichester is the main location of the film, around Lindsay’s apartment. Incidentally, this is a common location that reappears in Campbell’s work and should serve as a pure metaphor of modern poverty and urban dereliction. Good description of Lower Brichester (taken from Wikipedia and Campbell’s "The Tugging") (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Valley_%28Cthulhu_Mythos%29) – While I have a clear vision of the city, I think that this description epitomizes what I’d want to capture on film:

The seedier side of town is known as Lower Brichester, a neighborhood described in "The Franklyn Paragraphs" as "the sort of miniature cosmopolis one finds in most major English towns: three-storey houses full of errant lodgers, curtains as varied as flags at a conference but more faded, the occasional smashed pane, the frequent furtive watchers." In "The Tugging", a tale with an apocalyptic theme, the neighbourhood is depicted as being in an advanced state of "dereliction":

Dogs scrabbled clattering in gouged shop-fronts, an uprooted streetlamp lay across a road, humped earth was scattered with disembowelled mattresses, their entrails fluttering feebly. He passed houses where one window was blinded with brick, the next still open and filmy with a drooping curtain.... (W)hole streets were derelict...gaping houses and uneven pavements.... Houses went by, shoulder to shoulder, ribs open to the sky, red-brick fronts revealing their jumble of shattered walls and staircases.

The observer finds himself sympathizing with the district's "abandonment, and indifference to time".

In particular, the location of the film revolves around Lindsay’s apartment, the bus stop, and the abandoned derelict building within view of the bus stop, which is one of the centers of Lindsay’s obsession.

What?

Themes

Alienation: The essence of Lindsay’s plight is alienation – He is alienated by society and feels even alienated by his own family. He is the symbol of the everyman who does not have a community to seek shelter in – and the communities that he sees are either violent, dangerous, and unsafe (Lower Brichester), or easily violated (the Rossiters). I find isolation and alienation to be a common theme amongst strong character pieces, and if done well it can truly strike a sympathetic and biting emotion with the viewer – I want the audience to feel this isolation and feel the uncertainty and fear that Lindsay has of his own corrupted surroundings.

Degradation of Urban Society: Lower Brichester is a frightening urban hole that houses the socially and financially bereft. This is a city outside of time, space, and even government, with either no police presence, or the presence of police that turns the other way. Lower Brichester represents the decay of urban society and how government/police ignore the crime and the corruption of the poor. This in itself is a single kind of horror – the idea that a community, a people can live without the protection of its state… As a result, the evil seeps out and starts to take over even the more affluent and supposedly protected parts (e.g. The Rossiters).


(TBC...)

[_____V_____]

changes from the original story

“the scar” is a pretty short story, so i made quite a few changes/additions to flesh out the film:

1. The movie will be strictly lindsay-focused. In the book, the reader is present for jack’s mugging. Since i want the camera to follow lindsay around, this, instead, will appear off-screen, which hopefully will also build more mystery around the occurrence. I think that, in order to accomplish this, we will need a stream-of-consciousness voice over from the lindsay character almost constantly so that we can be just as trapped as he is in his confused, paranoid mind. When i think of voice over, i think particularly at the beginning of eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, the mumbling stream-of-consciousness of joel – muttering, mumbling, confused, and ultimately unhappy.

2. Building lindsay’s character – the story implies a lot of what i wrote out above about his character, so fleshing it out was necessary to create a truly colorful character piece. Also, while the book hints to lindsay’s obsession with his book (which i named the fall above; the book does not have a name in the story), so in the movie i imagine seeing him return to the cliff scene over and over again – in dreams and also in the movie’s intense moments. There are more obvious embellishments too, where i plan on “starting” the movie prior to where we come in on the story, in order to build lindsay’s character before he actually sees the scarred jack.

3. Absurdity – the story hints at certain elements of the absurd, but i would like to expand on them a bit more in the movie. In essence, i want lindsay to become not only a main character, but an unreliable narrator – while you feel his fear and uncertainty, i also want you to doubt what you see with your eyes… i want the audience to be uncomfortable and never feel quite safe because lindsay, himself, never feels quite safe – we are not entering into a safe place here, not in lower brichester, nor in the mind of lindsay. When i mention the “absurd,” i again think of how the possession of david o’reilly weaved the horror of david in with the almost absurd, yet believable visions of his monsters and demons – i want lindsay’s visions of the cliff, as well as the scarred jack to be on the line of the absurd – are we living in a world where these horrible things can honestly happen? Or is it all in his head?

4. The confrontation – in the story, when lindsay goes to the rossiters (after he has been asked not to), a man comes out of the house. I changed “the man” to a “policeman” to emphasize that no one is safe, even with the police. Also hopefully this will add to the absurdity (what world do we live in if the police will let something like this happen?). Also, in the story jack goes along with lindsay to the abandoned house at the end. In the adaptation, i add a chase, hopefully to add to the heightened confusion that lindsay feels.

plot summary

the movie opens in a dream sequence: A beautiful cliff’s edge, and a woman in flowing skirts held at gunpoint by a masked man. Lindsay run towards the man, catches him, and the two hurtle off the edge of the cliff. Lindsay wakes up panting in a sweat in his bedroom. There is a picture on the wall behind him of the same cliff we saw in his dream – the type of picture that appears to be torn out of a nature or natural geographic magazine and taped to the wall. The book the fall is open on lindsay’s chest. It’s worn from many readings. Lindsay’s bedroom is shabby – an alarm clock with the minute hand broken off. Above his desk is a cheap calendar with the days crossed off, with wednesdays and thursdays circled. We can see that it’s a wednesday. Next to the calendar are photographs taped on the wall with scotch tape – a few photographs of just harriet, a photograph of harriet and her two children, douglas and elaine, a photograph of harriet and jack on their wedding day, a creased photograph of harriet as a child of 12 holding lindsay as a baby.

Lindsay’s apartment is bare and disheveled. He eats a can of pasta for breakfast, pulls on a sweatshirt, and heads out to work. He walks down a few streets to the bus stop - lower brichester is as described above, but less threatening during the day. At the bus stop, lindsay fixates on a particular broken-down house while school girls start to congregate. While waiting for the bus, a teenager starts to harass the girls and lindsay stares, but is too scared to intervene.

We follow lindsay through his day – he takes the bus to a super market, where he bags groceries. Lindsay is clearly uncomfortable in his skin as customers interact with him. In the evening he takes the bus to the rossiter’s for his wednesday night dinner. Lindsay spends time with the children, reading them stories about knights in shining armor rescuing princesses. At dinner he tells jack and harriet about how, at the bus stop, school girls are getting harassed but there is no police presence to help them. Jack’s response is “well, lindsay, why don’t you step in?” which shames lindsay. Harriet goes upstairs to put the children in bed and jack joins her. Lindsay walks to the stairs to listen to their conversation – harriet chides jack for his comment to lindsay and jack says that lindsay complains too much about the violence in his area but doesn’t make the effort to move out. Lindsay is frustrated and wishes that he could somehow impress them and that they looked up to him instead of him looking up to them.

At the bus stop, waiting for the bus to take him home, lindsay is amongst a group of people, one of them a man with his hood covering his face, on the bus ride on the way home, lindsay thinks that the same man, with the hood, looks like jack, but with a scar on his face, from his cheek bone to his jawbone. Lindsay fixates on the man, and when they both get off at his bus stop, the man walks to the broken-down house, where he is greeted by another man with a grey mask covering his face, lindsay is horrified and paranoid and confused – it’s hard to tell if what he sees is actually happening or if it’s in his head. On the walk to his apartment, he thinks he sees the plaid skirt of one of the schoolgirls peeking out of a dumpster, but he hurries on.

The following evening, lindsay meets jack in the pub and tells him about how he thinks he saw a man that looks exactly like him, but with the scar on his face. Lindsay also says that the original german folklore concept of the “doppelganger,” if you saw someone who looked like you, that meant that you were going to die. The conversation becomes awkward and jack tries to laugh it off, but it’s obvious that he’s annoyed with lindsay’s choice in conversation.

On the way home, lindsay obsesses over the scarred man, worrying that something is going to happen to jack. He repeatedly asks himself, “who’s going to take care of the children if something happens?” at his bus stop, he focuses on the broken-down house, which has bags of garbage out front, but there is no one there. There’s the ominous sound of broken glass and the sound of a fight breaking out. Lindsay sees a police car that is idled, but there is no police presence.

That night, lindsay has the same cliff dream, except this time the masked man has a scar running from his cheek bone to his jawbone. Again, lindsay wakes up sweating.

The following day, lindsay receives a call from harriet. Jack’s jewelry shop was broken into over night. No one was hurt, though the display cases were broken and the police are investigating.

Lindsay’s next visit to the rossiters is tense – jack is upset about the jewelry break in and seems to have less patience than usual about conversation. Lindsay recommends that jack reads the fall to take his mind off of things, and describes the scene on the cliff. Jack dismisses it, saying that lindsay has recommended that story repeatedly and that nothing can take his mind off of the break-in. He says that the police are doing nothing about it. He is angry and storms upstairs. Harriet follows after him, lindsay overhears them talking through jack’s frustration and about how he doesn’t want to see lindsay for a while. Harriet of course presses him to keep their thursday night meeting at the pub to get jack’s mind off of the break in. Lindsay feels guilty and helpless. He’s frustrated and is convinced that it was the scarred man who broke into the shop. However, he does not think that the rossiters will believe him if he tells them about the scarred man. He knows that he told jack, but wonders if he should tell harriet about it – would she believe him? Harriet always believes him, but is this too much?

Upstairs, jack embraces harriet – he pulls her close and they kiss deeply. They hold each other and kiss, jack disrobes her and pulls her down to the bed, where they begin to make love. Suddenly, jack’s face becomes the angry face of the scarred man and harriet begins to scream. She screams as he forces himself upon her… and lindsay wakes up in a sweat. He’s in his room and is unsure how he got home. Wednesday is crossed off, so he must have gotten home somehow.


(tbc.....)

[_____V_____]

That night, Lindsay goes to the pub to meet Jack. He waits, but Jack never shows. He’s convinced that Jack is standing up because he’s upset with Lindsay. Lindsay walks home, passing girls yelling in the street at a group of policemen. There’s a police car with lights flashing and a crowd gathered that the police is trying to disperse. He thinks he sees the man with the grey mask pulling a trash bag into the abandoned house. Lindsay is panicking. When he gets home, he listens to his answering machine – There is a message from Harriet. Jack was mugged while on the way to meet Lindsay and is in the hospital. We have flashes of Lindsay’s mind where he plays over The Cliff Scene – Himself grabbing the Scarred Mask Man over the cliff.

Lindsay visits Jack and Harriet in the hospital – Jack’s face is bandaged and he is mumbling, under the influence of pain medication. Jack keeps repeating, “It’s not what he said he’d do to me… It’s what he said he’d do to Douglas and Elaine…” Harriet is, of course, worried and horrified, and Lindsay is panicked, thinking that this could have been avoided if he had just told them about The Scarred Man.

When Jack is finally home and the bandages are off, Jack has a fresh scar from his cheekbone to his jawbone. Lindsay is horrified and is convinced that the Scarred Man is going to kill Jack.

Lindsay continues his Wednesday night Family visits, and he sees a gradual change in Jack. The scar suddenly looks older, much older, and no longer fresh. Jack starts to act aggressively toward Harriet and refuses to see Lindsay on Thursday nights. Lindsay is scared for Harriet and, within his stream of consciousness rants, constantly asks himself, “Who’s going to take care of the children?”

One Monday night, Harriet surprises Lindsay by stopping by his place. He is self conscious and hesitant to let her in. She tells him that she’s starting to become afraid of Jack’s mood swings and she doesn’t think that Lindsay should visit any longer on Wednesday nights. This throws Lindsay into a fit, the thought of him not seeing Harriet ever again. He wrestles with telling Harriet about the Scarred Man, but doesn’t think that she’ll believe him.

Lindsay is tortured with the thought of not being able to see Harriet and the children every Wednesday. He keeps repeating to himself, “Who’s going to take care of the children?” He dreams of The Cliff – Grabbing the Masked Scarred Man and pulling him off of the cliff. That Wednesday, he puts a flashlight into his pocket and makes the trip to The Rossiters’ house. As he walks up the street, he sees a police car parked out front and he hears screams coming from the house, the sound of the children screaming. As Lindsay approaches the house, a policeman is walking out, adjusting his hat casually as screams still fill the ari. Lindsay asks the policeman what’s going on and the policeman says, “I stopped by The Rossiter’s to follow up with Mr. Rossiter about the break in at his story… The children started to claim that he was not their real father… So he disciplined them… Thank God there are still parents out there that know how to discipline their children…” The policeman tips his hat and gets into his car as Lindsay goes to the house in horror.

Jack meets Lindsay at the door and is furious that Lindsay has come by the house without their permission. He threatens Lindsay, telling him to leave – Lindsay resists and says that he absolutely has to see the children. Jack refuses, pushes Lindsay out of the house. Lindsay snaps and screams, tearing at Jack’s face. The scar starts to bleed. Lindsay turns to run and Jack takes chase.

Lindsay runs past the bus stop, through the streets and alleys of Lower Brichester. As he passes, he sees various horrors, such as a police officer raping a school girl. His vision blurs with the vision of The Cliff – Running toward the Masked Scarred Man. Eventually he gets to the steps of the abandoned house. Jack pulls Lindsay by the shirt and pushes him into the side of the house. Lindsay pleads, “I have one thing I have to show you before you do anything. Come in with me.” Jack lets him go and they enter the decrepit house – Lindsay pulls out his flashlight to light the way - The walls are full of what looks like bullet holes with mould. The smell is almost unbearable. Lindsay walks through the shattered living room to the kitchen, where there is a door to the basement. He opens the door and walks down the steps, slowly, his mind flashing with the vision of The Cliff, his breath fast and uneven. When he reaches the bottom, he sees a shape that he can barely make out, even with his torch, until he pulls the light switch… A naked Jack is lying on the floor, completely covered in red blood. The floor and the wall are also red. The Scarred Jack smiles evilly and says, “Did you find what you were looking for?” Lindsay takes the flashlight and hits The Scarred Jack in the face and flees up the stairs. He runs through the house, hearing the sound of an ambulance in the distance. His vision is cut by the vision of The Cliff. Finally, opening the door to leave the house, he is confronted by the Man with the Grey Mask. As a hand clamps over Lindsay’s mouth, we hear the Man in the Grey Mask say (in Lindsay’s voice) “Be still, now. Someone’s got to take care of the children.” Lindsay is hit in the head and everything goes black.

[END]

Recommended Cast/Crew

Director: Philip Ridley (The Passion of Darkly Noon, The Reflecting Skin) – I feel as though Ridley is capable of creating an intense psychological thriller and creating an atmosphere that is unsettling and also unreal.

Lindsay: Jim Sturgess (Heartless, Across the Universe) – With Heartless, Sturgess definitely proved that he is able to portray a broken everyman – I think that he will be able to reprise that role here in The Fall.

Jack/The Scarred Man: Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Mutant Chronicles) – For Jack, I wanted to find someone handsome, yet menacing, and also about 10-years older than Lindsay. Pertwee definitely fit the bill – I think that he can make the transition from Jack to The Scarred Man with art.

Harriet: Catherine McCormack (28 Weeks Later, Shadow of the Vampire) – For Harriet, I wanted a beauty who is in her 40s, strong and yet fragile.


Judge #1's verdict -

I give Chrono a B. She really did her homework, and I was completely engrossed in the story....I didn't want it to end!


Judge #2's verdict -

Campbell is a master and this is one of his best and most notorious stories. Your casting choices are good. Your use of the text is good. Your explanation of how, what, where and why are quite thorough. You make a point by point explanation regarding how to execute intimate literary horror on film. I'm not totally floored, but this is thorough work with a lot of thought behind it. You should be proud.

B


Judge #3's verdict -

You're attempting a very complex story here, and some equally complex ideas and themes, and I applaud you for that. Parts of the story get muddy for me, but I guess that would eventually get resolved. It reminds me a lot of Cronenberg's Spider. I would look to Spider as an example of a complex psychological character study with a convoluted plot, that manages everything brilliantly. Though Spider deals a lot with internal dialogue and memories, there's no narrator. Cronenberg manages to tell everything neccessary with images and dialogue. You mentioned you wanted to rely heavily on the main character narrating his thoughts. This can backfire in a film. I would urge you to find ways of conveying your ideas through the action and dialogue. There are a couple of things that kept nagging at me when I read the treatment. Lindsay seems to get left in his inlaw's house unattended a couple of times. Even if he's a relative, this seems a little odd. Particularly the second time- his sister and her husband go upstairs for an extended scene and leave Lindsay alone downstairs. And where are the kids during all this? For all the concern Lindsay has for the children, we hear precious little about them. As characters, they're woefully undeveloped. Still, you aimed high, so I grade you high.

B.


Overall Grade - B


(Note to Chrono - Boy, you used a lot of formatting in your entry! Hope I covered all of them adequately and didn't miss anything. :))

[ChronoGrl]

Judges - Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to read my entry - It was really long-winded (once I started, I couldn't stop!), so I appreciate your time and consideration.

Judge #3 - I really appreciate your feedback - Totally get you with the voiceover; I struggled with it - Wasn't sure if it was a wise choice, though I just couldn't get Jim Carrey's mumbling voiceover out of my head from Eternal Sunshine - I really liked how that was executed... But, ultimately, I agree with you... I cite Black Swan, but Portman's performance warrants no voiceover, it's so incredibly strong... Plus OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT SPIDER! That's a very apt comparison and - you're right - That style is close to what I'm trying to accomplish here with the Reality vs. Paranoid Narrator (and MAN - Ralph Finnes - What a performance!).

Re: Lindsay seems to get left in his inlaw's house unattended a couple of times. Even if he's a relative, this seems a little odd. Particularly the second time- his sister and her husband go upstairs for an extended scene and leave Lindsay alone downstairs. And where are the kids during all this? For all the concern Lindsay has for the children, we hear precious little about them. As characters, they're woefully undeveloped.

I get the point about him being "left alone" - Didn't realize that it seemed as though that happened a lot, but I get the critique (and I can see myself getting annoyed with the same if I saw the movie - I guess he's supposed to be more sympathetic and less creepy)... For the second time they're left alone - That really manifested out of me kinda wanting to either have Lindsay watch his sister and Jack having sex or have a wet dream about it... but I didn't want him to seem TOO creepy, so I turned it into an odd dream sequence. Thanks for pointing that out.

In terms of the children - I like the idea of them being these all-important entities that are ultimately off-scene. That is how their presence is in the story, and I like them on the outskirts - It's more about Lindsay's obsession over them, and not necessarily their actual characters... Hope that makes sense. ;) I understand your critique, but just wanted to give the thought behind it - Their omission is purposeful because I wanted it to be more about Lindsay - I do think that they could be more present, though - Timing and pace is hard to convey in a treatment, so I think that they could be a lot more present toward the beginning of the movie.


V - Thanks for posting - I know my enhanced text can be a pain, but it looks perfect. ;)



Also - This challenge served as my introduction to Ramsey Campbell - I actually purchased his short story collection Alone with the Horrors: The Great Short Fiction of Ramsey Campbell 1961-1991 for the purpose of this challenge... I'm really looking forward to reading his other works - Thanks for bringing him to my attention!

[Straker]

Just wanted to say, I am loving reading peoples work. I think the time and effort you have all put in is amazing. I'm sure its not easy putting your ideas out there to be critiqued, even in an informal setting like HDC.

[The Villain]

Whew i was expecting worse from the judges. What everyone said i actually expected to hear. I had a lot of trouble with this challenge and didnt have much time to do it in. Hopefully ill do better with the next one.

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


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

For this first task, the common theme I have chosen is - A TO Z STORY.

Here is your task, Ogres -

Write a short horror story in about 200 words, using words starting from A to Z in the story (at least once). Please note that no alphabet should be left out.

So Ogres - Despare, Roshiq, Zombieness, Leezuki and Horrorzack - put your thinking caps on and get creative.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 96 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[horrorzack]

Ooooh. This is interesting :D. I have my subject I just need to write it out.

[Doc Faustus]

If any of you bring up quick brown foxes and lazy yellow dogs, heads will roll.

[roshiq]

Not good in writing stories...but I'll give a try just to stay in the competition...:(

Btw, do we need to use those "A to Z" words in alphabetical order or randomly as just where it fits?

[The Villain]

Damn why couldn't i have gotten this one!!!

[_____V_____]

Not good in writing stories...but I'll give a try just to stay in the competition...:(

Btw, do we need to use those "A to Z" words in alphabetical order or randomly as just where it fits?

I think you will do wonderfully well, Rosh. ;)

Not necessarily in alphabetical order. They can be anywhere in your story - just remember that you have to use at least ONE word for each letter of the alphabet in your story.

(the toughies will be the Q-word and the X-word, if you know what I mean) :D

[ChronoGrl]

Very cool challenge... Tough, but cool - Thought about it a lot last night - I actually have a concept - Kinda wish this was for the Goblins. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

[ferretchucker]

Oooh, a challenge like this would be perfect! Lucky Ogres!


Now, this is a sidenote for which I thought it wasn't worth reviving the original Idol thread.

Neverending, I recall a remake challenge last year where I suggested a Jaws remake (not that I agreed with it, and I wouldn't pick that film again in a million years. It was a bad choice) HOWEVER, what I did suggest was Bill Pullman for the part of Quint. You weren't sure about that casting and instead suggested Harvey Keitel. Now, that was an equally fine choice, and I do not say this out of bitterness, just that I feel it is relevant. If EVER there were proof that Bill Pullman is a fine, under appreciated actor capable of playing an excellent variety of characters, it is Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Not sure how big it was in the US, but I've always loved Torchwood, and I know this new series was shown on a channel called Starz. Pullman plays a character who is the definition of unsettling. Slight twitches and mannerisms allow you to fear and despise him without him even uttering a word. Again, this is not a "FUCK YOU, NEV, I WAS RIGHT". (I'm petty, but not THAT petty :D ) Just that I felt Pullman needed a big-up ;)

[roshiq]

Today after lunch, I made an attempt to write a story after quite a long time. Whether anyone take it as an excuse or whatever but the truth is I've never actually succeed in writing down a whole story (of my original idea) before...even in my first language/mother tongue--Bangla. And that frustrated not only me but also my friends here as they always been a great listeners to my 'ideas & plots'. Anyway, after writing the first paragraph of my story I recalled that there's a limitation of using only about 200 words in the challenge along with the "A to Z" ground rule. Then I looked down at the bottom of my word sheet and it says near about 300 words and that just for a paragraph when the main events were still long away from happening.

Anyway, I'm pretty glad right now that I've finally able to done it. I don't care whatever crap it turned out but at least satisfied knowing that at last I've finished writing down a story through a good challenge.

I'll send it to V, very soon.:)

[newb]

Today after lunch, I made an attempt to write a story after quite a long time. Whether anyone take it as an excuse or whatever but the truth is I've never actually succeed in writing down a whole story (of my original idea) before...even in my first language/mother tongue--Bangla. And that frustrated not only me but also my friends here as they always been a great listeners to my 'ideas & plots'. Anyway, after writing the first paragraph of my story I recalled that there's a limitation of using only about 200 words in the challenge along with the "A to Z" ground rule. Then I looked down at the bottom of my word sheet and it says near about 300 words and that just for a paragraph when the main events were still long away from happening.

Anyway, I'm pretty glad right now that I've finally able to done it. I don't care whatever crap it turned out but at least satisfied knowing that at last I've finished writing down a story through a good challenge.

I'll send it to V, very soon.:)

see......this forum can be very inspiring........WTG Rosh

[_____V_____]

UPDATE

And we are into the final 24 hours for the Ogres, and I have received ONE entry so far...

...which has been duly forwarded to the Judges.

Your Honors, please check your PMs.

[neverending]

As always, I work weekends. Can't get to this till next week.

[hammerfan]

I won't be able to get to it til tomorrow

[ChronoGrl]

Today after lunch, I made an attempt to write a story after quite a long time. Whether anyone take it as an excuse or whatever but the truth is I've never actually succeed in writing down a whole story (of my original idea) before...even in my first language/mother tongue--Bangla. And that frustrated not only me but also my friends here as they always been a great listeners to my 'ideas & plots'. Anyway, after writing the first paragraph of my story I recalled that there's a limitation of using only about 200 words in the challenge along with the "A to Z" ground rule. Then I looked down at the bottom of my word sheet and it says near about 300 words and that just for a paragraph when the main events were still long away from happening.

Anyway, I'm pretty glad right now that I've finally able to done it. I don't care whatever crap it turned out but at least satisfied knowing that at last I've finished writing down a story through a good challenge.

I'll send it to V, very soon.:)

Well, that's awesome Roshiq! That's actually a huge accomplishment. Can't wait to read it.


Zero - Glad to see you back. Ripley won't stop talking about you. ;)

[Zero]

Zero - Glad to see you back. Ripley won't stop talking about you. ;)

Hi to Ripley!!

[_____V_____]

UPDATE

And we are into the LAST 90 minutes till the deadline for the Ogres, and I have sent in the SECOND entry by a Ogre to the Judges.

Your Honors, please check your PMs.

3 Ogres are STILL absent - Zombieness, Leezuki & Horrorzack.

Will they be able to dash in within the deadline?

[_____V_____]

And so the Deadline ticks over!

3 Ogres are marked as absent for this Second Test.

I now await the verdicts, after which the entries and their Grades will be posted.

[hammerfan]

Where do we stand on this?

[_____V_____]

Still waiting on one more Judge to turn in their verdicts. Once they are in, the entries and the grades will be up.

[hammerfan]

OK, thanks V.

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


Write a short horror story in about 200 words, using words starting from A to Z in the story (at least once). Please note that no alphabet should be left out.


Roshiq's entry -

The Town Where Death Comes Slowly


"Many Years ago there’s an Indian family moved into this small town of Zanesfield, Ohio. After some weird incidents of death beginning to occur around them, the town folks started to blame them for practicing some sort of black magic. They burned their house down and that killed every one of them. But that just unleashed a terrible curse that every generation of inhabitants lived from that time has no escape from it.”

Dr. Boris then stops for a moment. Xavier was listening, sitting in a sofa, looking tired & shocked.

"And the curse is here human death comes quietly, with fantastic symptoms." Dr. Boris continues. "At first, people just start to notice you less as if you don’t exist anymore. Next you'll lose your shadows in broad daylight. Then your images will starts to disappear from everything, people captured & stored. And finally you'll lose reflection in the mirror. Many tried to get rid of it, even by moving into other towns but none succeed. It's like one of those rare, pathetic diseases where you know you're going to die soon but nothing can help you out."

Xavier stops the video, picks the hand mirror & sees...yup, he's fading.


Judge #1's verdict -

I give roshiq a B-.

I enjoyed the story, and actually wanted more. I found myself wishing it was a novel.


Judge #2's verdict -

You used every letter, as instructed, and you came in at 199 words. You fulfilled the requirements of the assignment. You also crafted a complete story - beginning, middle and end. Despite some minor language issues, you did a good job.

GRADE: B


Judge #3's verdict -

I respect that this is the first time you've written a story in English, but, I don't feel right factoring that into my score. Publishers and producers wouldn't take that into consideration and neither will I. Fairly creative, but there's a lot of awkward usage and you've gotta grade writing on writing.

C-


Overall Grade - C+

[_____V_____]

Despare's entry -

Anne was born clairvoyant but on this day she could see something new... damnation was expected to be brought down upon her because she was soon to be found out. You see, God hates invokers, psychics, and the such so for her to stay safe from the elders she'll just have keep lying and she must not predict the future for anybody. Questions came to her from her friends in the village like never before, it was as if a neon sign was hovering above her that read "Psychic" and suspicious eyes fell on her with the weight of bricks. "Run and save yourself tonight!" A voice inside her yelled, vexing her in a way she couldn't explain. This puritan village was full of xenophobes and closed-minded fools who couldn't deal with a gift like hers. She'd have to leave, take her zebu and try to make it over the undulating hills of sand that stood between her and... someplace else. It would be an ordeal but she had to leave tonight. It didn't matter where she ended up living, as long as she indeed ended up living.


Judge #1's verdict -

I give Despare a B.

I really like this story, and it has a good flow to it.


Judge #2's verdict -

You used every letter, as instructed, and you came in at 188 words. You fulfilled those instructions. However, the assignment was to write a story. Despite excellent descriptive skills, this isn't a story. It's only the setup. There's no resolution. Since the instructions stated to write a story "around 200 words" there's no excuse for come in at such a low word count and not offer us a complete story.

GRADE: B-


Judge #3's verdict -

That was indeed a thing you turned in.

For using the word zebu, I'm going to up your grade to a C.



Overall Grade - B-

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS


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

For this first task, the common theme I have chosen is - VINTAGE LIMERICKS.

Here is your task, Goblins -

Write an effective limerick based on any vintage horror movie of your choice. (vintage = pre-Romero's Night of the Living Dead era)

Your limerick must capture the essence of the movie.

(limerick = 5-line meter in the rhyme scheme of a-a-b-b-a)

Goblins - The Return, Nightmare of Death, Ferretchucker, The Villain and Chronogrl - put your thinking caps on and get to work.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 96 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[ChronoGrl]

Very cool entries from Despare and Roshiq... Roshiq, congrats on your first English language story!

That was a tough challenge, though I think I'd prefer it to our limerick. ;)


Now, according to my calculates...

96 hours should = Sunday, September 25th at 1:42 a.m. EST. Please let me know if I'm off.

I'ma gonna go ruminate on this now. :D

[hammerfan]

If The Goblins don't get their submissions in before Friday at 5:00 pm eastern time, you'll have to wait until some time on Monday for my grade. I'm going to Washington, DC for the weekend.

[roshiq]

Very cool entries from Despare and Roshiq... Roshiq, congrats on your first English language story!



Thank you:)



I enjoyed the story, and actually wanted more. I found myself wishing it was a novel.

Actually initially I thought about it like that in a broad set up with lots of characters & few sub plots but that was years ago and later lost the interest as I've always being a very lazy "writer" with poor/wrong choice of words. :o

[The Villain]

Well at least this one won't take me as long as the other one.

[The Villain]

Having a harder time with this then i thought. When i write, i like to write a lot so limiting myself to five lines is really hard.

It's also hard trying to capture the essence of the movie while also making it funny. That seems contradictory to me. At least i have a lot of time.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE

48 hours have passed, and no entries in so far.

[ChronoGrl]

Mine's in. :D:cool:

[The Villain]

As is mine. Do you think anyone else is gonna do one this time Chrono or is is just going to be me versus you for the final? :D

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


Received TWO entries from the Goblins - one via PM and one via email - and promptly forwarded them to the Judges.

Still waiting on THREE more Goblins. 24 hours left till the deadline expires.

[ChronoGrl]

As is mine. Do you think anyone else is gonna do one this time Chrono or is is just going to be me versus you for the final? :D

I wouldn't mind some more competition, but let's face it - It's not like they could compete with US anyway. ;)

Can't wait to see your limerick - Good luck!

[The Villain]

I wouldn't mind some more competition, but let's face it - It's not like they could compete with US anyway. ;)

Can't wait to see your limerick - Good luck!

Yeah were awesome :D

I'm excited to see yours as well. Good luck to you too.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


Less than 12 hours remain till the Deadline, and I still wait to receive from THREE more Goblins.

[_____V_____]

And so the Deadline for the Goblins ticks over.

I now request all Judges to send me their Grades, after which the entries will be posted.

[ferretchucker]

Again, I apologise. This week I've been SWAMPED. Was on the other side of the country on Wedneday, has College and then assisting with a parent's evening for a lower year in the evening, after which I had to make a curry for some Danish exchange visitors to the school. They came on Friday, which again, I had to stay late into the evening to assist with their stay. By the time I got home it was 11 and I had to be up for work at 6:00am, which I didn't finish until 3:00pm. THEN I was out at an 18th birthday party, then I was up for work at 5:00am today.

In short - my week has been fully booked :(

[_____V_____]

THE SECOND TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS


Write an effective limerick based on any vintage horror movie of your choice. (vintage = pre-Romero's Night of the Living Dead era)

Your limerick must capture the essence of the movie.

(limerick = 5-line meter in the rhyme scheme of a-a-b-b-a)


Chronogrl's entry -

For this challenge I chose The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) - This is a film that is near and dear to my heart and when I think of "classic horror" as well as "films that introduced me to the genre," this is certainly one of them. It was one of my dad's favorite movies, and I would watch it with him over and over again... But what really sticks with me about this film isn't necessarily the nostalgia value - It always struck me, even as a young girl, as an incredibly and profoundly sad and hopeless tale - Here is a story of loneliness, of isolation, of literally being diminished to the point of irrelevance - Becoming smaller in (overwhelmed by) a world that cannot help or that does not care... This literal and figurative sense of being absolutely and uncontrollably overwhelmed by the world is the essence that I wanted to capture in my limerick:

Radiation has taken its toll
This shrinking I cannot control
It's not just that I'm tiny;
All my hopes have been stymied -
The world has swallowed me whole


Judge #1's verdict -

A very good effort. Good rhythm. I would transpose the first two lines- introduce the character and the problem first, and the cause second.

Grade B


Judge #2's verdict -

Inspired. Understands the point, captures the tone to a certain extent. Keep working and growing.

B


Judge #3's verdict -

I give Chrono a B.

I like the fact that Chrono gave a little background as to why she chose that particular movie.


OVERALL GRADE - B.




The Villain's entry -

A bomb was dropped
and a giant lizard popped
out of the ocean floor
to let out a roar
that said Godzilla cannot be stopped


Judge #1's verdict -

The rhythm is off. The first 2 lines should match, in length. If you changed the first line to read "A bomb on Tokyo was dropped" it would scan better.

Grade C.


Judge #2's verdict -

Arrhythmic. Doesn't really convey the feel of the movie, which is dead serious. Disappointing. But, I'm going to reward you with a higher grade for having the courtesy to submit something.

Villain, you get a C.


Judge #3's verdict -

I give Villain a C.


OVERALL GRADE - C

[_____V_____]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT


For all the absentees of HDC Idol II so far,


Ogres -

Leezuki,

Horrorzack, and

Zombieness. (disappeared after the 1st Test)


Goblins -

The Return,

Nightmare of Death, and

Ferretchucker.


Our esteemed Judge #2 has something to say to all of you -

All the rest of you have excuses and have things to occupy your time.

And that's fine. It's only a game.

But I'm editing a three hundred page book, preparing for a writing workshop and writing a bunch of things at once and I'm giving my time to encourage and help people that want to become better writers. If any of them are here.

Next time, I'd like HDC to give me a reason to devote my energy to this.


So, if any of you absentees are reading this thread, please start participating from the next Test onwards. If you confirmed your participation in the teaser thread, it is your duty to do so.

[ChronoGrl]

Man - What does it take to pull out an A? Or even a B+? I was pretty damn proud of my entry. :mad:

I actually disagree with Judge #1 re transposing the lines - I feel as though "Radiation has taken its toll" would grab the Reader more than "The shrinking I cannot control;" I think that it's something that would make me want to read on - Introducing the "shrinking" first might be silly...

Regardless, thanks again to the judges who are putting their time in review and consideration.

[_____V_____]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


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

I will take this chance and request the absent Ogres - Horrorzack, Leezuki & Zombieness - to give an effort in this Test.

For this task, the common theme I have chosen is - HORROR DIRECTORS.

Here is your task, Ogres -

Think of a suitable and unique outline for a script, to be turned into a movie adaptation by any of these 5 renowned directors :-

Terence Fisher, James Whale, Brian De Palma, Tod Browning, William Castle.

Ogres - Despare, Roshiq, Zombieness, Horrorzack and Leezuki - put your thinking caps on and get to work.

You may research your chosen director's works, study their films, and frame your scripts according to their style of film-making. Remember, the script/film MUST be unique.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 96 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[The Villain]

A C was really all i was expecting. Once again i wasnt feeling the challenge. Hopefully soon i'll get something that i feel i can actually do justice to.

[horrorzack]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


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

I will take this chance and request the absent Ogres - Horrorzack, Leezuki & Zombieness - to give an effort in this Test.

For this task, the common theme I have chosen is - HORROR DIRECTORS.

Here is your task, Ogres -

Think of a suitable and unique outline for a script, to be turned into a movie adaptation by any of these 5 renowned directors :-

Terence Fisher, James Whale, Brian De Palma, Tod Browning, William Castle.

Ogres - Despare, Roshiq, Zombieness, Horrorzack and Leezuki - put your thinking caps on and get to work.

You may research your chosen director's works, study their films, and frame your scripts according to their style of film-making. Remember, the script/film MUST be unique.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 96 hours, starting from NOW! All the best! Can the script be based off a myth that was never made into a movie?

[_____V_____]

Can the script be based off a myth that was never made into a movie?

Yes .

[roshiq]

Remember, the script/film MUST be unique.


Damn!:( I didn't notice it first but I even started to thinking about a very fun project. I was very much glad to work with at first but the problem is it isn't actually so much unique, I guess. An entirely "fresh" film adaptation of a popular classic novel which got some movie treatments already. Damn! It'd be so much fun to work with.

[The_Return]

Sorry I've been absent...I have been busy, but that's really no excuse. If you'll still have me, I'm on board 100% from here on out.

[_____V_____]

Sorry I've been absent...I have been busy, but that's really no excuse. If you'll still have me, I'm on board 100% from here on out.

Definitely, buddy. Welcome back. :)

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


Nearly 57 hours and 35 minutes have passed, and I have received no entries from the Ogres so far.

[roshiq]

Hopefully I'll submit my entry within next 48 hrs. The planning phase is over. I'll start my writing tonight. Then hopefully send it tomorrow.

[KaydenTheron92]

Maybe im bein a bit stupid ... But what does the winner get?

[The Villain]

Maybe im bein a bit stupid ... But what does the winner get?

Ask Chrono ;)

[ChronoGrl]

Fame... Fortune... The privilege to bed any member at any time...

ZERO! You're up next!

[roshiq]

Sent my answer to V via PMs and it took 6 PMs to submit my answer! I hope the judges don't get bored while reading it.:o

[Doc Faustus]

The prize is nebulous and people will be working hard. So, what the hell? Here we go: I personally lay down for the winner:
1.)an interview in the second issue of my ezine Nuckelavee
2.)Free critique of your first script/novella/short story
3.)Free PDFs of my entire back catalogue
4.) A signed copy of my next book when it comes out.
5.) Free participation in my next workshop. (Not the October one. I'm not sure when the next one will occur, but the winner will get it).

[neverending]

The prize is nebulous and people will be working hard. So, what the hell? Here we go: I personally lay down for the winner:
1.)an interview in the second issue of my ezine Nuckelavee
2.)Free critique of your first script/novella/short story
3.)Free PDFs of my entire back catalogue
4.) A signed copy of my next book when it comes out.
5.) Free participation in my next workshop. (Not the October one. I'm not sure when the next one will occur, but the winner will get it).

Holy crap! Can I quit being a judge and be a contestant???

If that doesn't motivate you contestants then something is out of whack...

[Doc Faustus]

I hope it will provide some motivation. These guys are gonna bleed, sweat and cry. I want them to know that good work will not go unappreciated.

[_____V_____]

The prize is nebulous and people will be working hard. So, what the hell? Here we go: I personally lay down for the winner:
1.)an interview in the second issue of my ezine Nuckelavee
2.)Free critique of your first script/novella/short story
3.)Free PDFs of my entire back catalogue
4.) A signed copy of my next book when it comes out.
5.) Free participation in my next workshop. (Not the October one. I'm not sure when the next one will occur, but the winner will get it).

Fantastic! Thanks a TON, Doc.

There you go, guys. What better motivation than this superb prize for the HDC Idol II winner?!

Come on! Let us see some involved participation now.

[_____V_____]

The deadline has passed us, and I have received only ONE entry so far, which has been duly forwarded to the Judges.

Extending the deadline for a further 24 hours to see some more involvement from the Ogres (hopefully).

You now have a further 13 hours and 40 minutes at your disposal, starting from now.

Come on, Despare, Zombieness, Horrorzack and Leezuki!

[ChronoGrl]

The prize is nebulous and people will be working hard. So, what the hell? Here we go: I personally lay down for the winner:
1.)an interview in the second issue of my ezine Nuckelavee
2.)Free critique of your first script/novella/short story
3.)Free PDFs of my entire back catalogue
4.) A signed copy of my next book when it comes out.
5.) Free participation in my next workshop. (Not the October one. I'm not sure when the next one will occur, but the winner will get it).

Wow - VERY cool, Doc. :)

[roshiq]

The prize is nebulous and people will be working hard. So, what the hell? Here we go: I personally lay down for the winner:
1.)an interview in the second issue of my ezine Nuckelavee
2.)Free critique of your first script/novella/short story
3.)Free PDFs of my entire back catalogue
4.) A signed copy of my next book when it comes out.
5.) Free participation in my next workshop. (Not the October one. I'm not sure when the next one will occur, but the winner will get it).

Awesome! That's really very nice of you, Doc.:)

But darn! It'll be really frustrating if no other entry show up this time. :(

[ChronoGrl]

Awesome! That's really very nice of you, Doc.:)

But darn! It'll be really frustrating if no other entry show up this time. :(

Looks like it's just gonna be me, you, and Villain; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. ;)

[The Villain]

Looks like it's just gonna be me, you, and Villain; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. ;)

Which one am i?

[_____V_____]

Well, the extended deadline has also passed and I have received no further entries.

I have also received the verdict from one Judge. I request the other two Judges to send me their grades as well.

After the 3rd Test for the Goblins, the two groups will be merged as one.

[horrorzack]

I am typing my entry now how long exactly does it have to be.

[Doc Faustus]

As long as it has to be.

[ferretchucker]

I feel terrible for missing the first two challenges, and I do fully intend to participate as much as possible. However, in 2 weeks time I go to China for 10 days :( BUT, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

[ChronoGrl]

Which one am i?

The Ugly. ;)

I feel terrible for missing the first two challenges, and I do fully intend to participate as much as possible. However, in 2 weeks time I go to China for 10 days :( BUT, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

Well that's kinda awesome and random... What?! Where?!

[The Villain]

The Ugly. ;)

Wow thanks Chrono :p

[_____V_____]

I am typing my entry now how long exactly does it have to be.

The deadline has passed, Zack.


I feel terrible for missing the first two challenges, and I do fully intend to participate as much as possible. However, in 2 weeks time I go to China for 10 days :( BUT, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

I wonder...

Anyways, have a good trip.

-----



Received grades from 2 Judges. Waiting for one more verdict to come in before I post Roshiq's entry.

[roshiq]

Received grades from 2 Judges. Waiting for one more verdict to come in ....

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g348/sanjidhdc/funnymonday.jpg

:D

[hammerfan]

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g348/sanjidhdc/funnymonday.jpg

:D

Baby kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[roshiq]

As some of the judges & contestants are quite busy lately, so I propose how about to take a break for a month? We can start all this later just right from here when we all have some decent amount of time to 'waste' for this contest.

[neverending]

I'm sorry Roshiq... been working a lot this week. I'll have your verdict by Thursday.

[roshiq]

Oh, no! I'm sorry:o

I'm just curious about the final verdicts, as the days goes by now it kinda seems the whole thing was bit insanely funny:D

[_____V_____]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES


Think of a suitable and unique outline for a script, to be turned into a movie adaptation by any of these 5 renowned directors :-

Terence Fisher, James Whale, Brian De Palma, Tod Browning, William Castle.


Roshiq's entry -

From the great selection of directors in this challenge I like to choose Tod Browning and presenting here an idea for a film that I think he could suitably make back in 30's.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g348/sanjidhdc/TodBrowning.jpg

The reasoning to choose Tod Browning: Though I have seen only 5 of his films (The Unknown, Dracula, Freaks, Mark of the Vampire & The Devil-Doll) but I think he was one of the quite underrated but greatest horror film makers of his era. As he traveled extensively with sideshows, carnivals, and circuses in his early years of life, we can see those experiences had left a great impact on his films like The Unknown, The Unholy Three and Freaks. As I read about him I came to know that Browning wrote original stories and collaborated on the scripts for many of his films. After 1927 he also functioned as his own producer, giving him an autonomy enjoyed by few directors within the studio system of the period. Browning's films were popular with audiences, but it was a long time before his work created the controversy. In his own time he was accused of being ridiculous, exploitative, and even downright sick. With their bizarre plots and grotesque characters, brooding atmosphere, and emphasis on physical and spiritual deformity, Browning's films reveal a profound obsession with the dark side of human nature.
Particularly the film that amazed me most is Freaks (1932). A ghastly tale of lust, greed, and vengeance set in a traveling European sideshow, it challenge our fears of the abnormal by offering as its heroes a real-life mixture of midgets, dwarfs, armless and legless beings, pinheads, mongoloids, bearded ladies and Siamese twins, all presented with sympathy and compassion. By contrast, the villains are a pair of acrobats, depraved creatures beneath their perfect physiques. Surely Browning is one of those great film makers who are ahead of their time. His compassion for the characters that suffered a great deal in life and neglected by the society or humiliated by other people touches me most as a viewer. And in this regard I tried to develop a story & frame an outline of a screenplay that could comfortably fit with the works of this great film maker. It's my bad that I haven't read any books/stories of Tod Robbins as 2 of Tod Browning films (The Unholy Three and Freaks) based on the works of this great author. Otherwise instead of developing an original plot, a good story from Tod Robbins can be a safer choice for me.


LITTLE LILY


Lead Cast & Characters:

Dr. Donovan....played by Lionel Barrymore
Marcel the Magician...played by Bela Lugosi

Opening sequence: A young girl is walking alone on a country side road at night. There's a coach on the other side of the road as if waiting for someone. Suddenly two tall, vicious looking gigantic men come out from the dark of the woods beside the road and forcefully take that girl into the coach. The girl tried to scream but couldn’t able to do that as one of them grabs her mouth with a big hairy hand. Then the carriage runs away.

The next scene opens with a close up shot on a poster/banner: "Marcel-The Great Magician!" There is also a drawing of Marcel's image on that poster/banner where he's wearing a black robe & tipping his long black hat with a black stick, smiling.
The sound of a typical carnival/circus crowd coming from behind...people are laughing, yelling, kids are playing or running for a show, sound of trumpets & drums etc. etc. The camera moves towards the entrance of Marcel's show next to the poster/banner where a group of satisfied audience are just coming out like after an end of a show. After everyone leaves, from the left side of the camera a gentleman (wearing a long black coat & hat) moves towards the entrance & enters.

Inside the Marcel's Tent:
The gentleman walks towards to the stage which is now covered with a curtain. As he comes close to the stage a kid pops out from a corner of the curtain and says "Excuse me, Sir. The show is over. But there will be one last show tomorrow."

The Gentleman: "Where is the magician? I need to talk to him."
The kid pops out and in the next scene he enters into the Marcel's booth or green room where he's seating on a desk & feeding a rabbit. He sees the kid & says "Hi, Master Monty! How was my show tonight?"
Monty: "It was fantastic, Marcel. I think it’s the best so far."
Marcel: "No-No! There's still one more show left tomorrow. I'm going to show some new ones and will try my best to make it something utterly fascinating & memorable for my crowd."
Monty: "Oh, that's sound really exciting! I'm sure you'll do that Marcel. You are the best in this business after all. Oh, by the way there's an old gentleman wants to meet you. He's waiting in front of the stage. Do you want me to bring him here?"
Marcel: "Old gentleman? Okay, yes...please let him in."
In the followed scene as the gentleman enters Marcel stands & greets him in a polite manner.
Marcel: "Hello, sir"
Gentleman: "Hello Mr. Marcel. At first I should introduce myself. My name is Charles Donovan but you can call me Dr. Donovan. I live at the end of this town, down the valley in our family mansion. I used to work in Cambridge as a Professor of medicine but now I'm retired & practicing privately. Anyway, I just came to you with a very personal request and I sincerely hope you are not going to refuse me."
Marcel: "Oh, really? What can I then do for you sir?"
Dr. Donovan:"I want you to perform a little show for my daughter in my house tonight."

Marcel: "In your house..?? Why don't you bring her here tomorrow? There's still one final show left & that's tomorrow night. You & your daughter are most welcome, sir."
Dr. Donovan: "No, Mr. Marcel, you don't understand. I can't bring her here. She has been sick in a rare kind of disease from the day she was born. Her mother, my beloved wife, Martha died on that very same day. Since then she is under my great supervision of medical treatment. The thing is she is my only child and today is her birthday. I'm just trying my best to make her feel as the happiest girl in the whole world, at least for tonight. Though I've already bought lots of gifts for her but the thing is she's always been very much fond of magic shows and I'm sure your presence & some magic in my house tonight will make this day very special for my little girl, Lily. I'm assuring you, you'll be highly paid."
Marcel: "Then as it's for your little girl, I can't refuse you, sir. And you know; now days this kind of extra earnings is always good for a poor magician like me."
Thus simple minded Marcel accept Dr. Donovan's offer and then as the doctor tells him there's his coach is waiting outside the show premise, Marcel starts to pack his things (props for the magic) up.
Next scene: As Marcel & Dr. Donovan coming out from the premise, Marcel sees a crowd around a little boy, the boy is weeping. He goes towards the crowd & asks "Hey, what happened to our Toby? Why he's crying?"
Some guy in the crowd: "His sister Megan went to the town this afternoon but still hasn't come back yet. Though we have already send some boys to look for her but we're worrying whether she is gone missing too. And if she is, then you know this will be the third night in a row that a girl gone missing this year from our shows Oh, Jesus..what a god damn place we came this time!"
Marcel: "Oh, come on, Brad...how could you say this things? I'm sure there's nothing happened to Megan. She's fine. We'll soon find her out."
Then from the back Dr. Donovan grabs a shoulder of Marcel & whispers to his ear: "Please Magician, we are already late. You can join the search party later, even I think within an hour at best, as soon as you finish off your business in my house. My little girl is eagerly waiting for his daddy's last big surprise of the day."
Marcel hesitates for a while but eventually agrees with Dr. Donovan and they leave the premise.

Next there will be three shots consecutively.

1st: Dr. Donovan & Marcel ridding in the coach.
2nd: The coach is running through a country side road. There's full moon in the sky & fogs in the air. (Long distance shot with tensed & dramatic music in background)
3rd: The coach is entering into the large dark mansion of Dr. Donovan. There's a heavy fog in the ground. As soon as the coach goes through the large gate someone closes it. (Long distance shot)

Next scene: The coach stops. And as Dr. Donovan & Marcel comes out from the coach they see a strange man quite frantically laughing & dancing before them and repeating in a loud voice: “Master brings the Magician! Master brings the Magician!"
Dr. Donovan: "Oh, Paolo! Stop it! You'll ruin the surprise for Lily. She can hear you from her room."

Paolo calms down. Dr. Donovan then tells Marcel by keeping his voice down: “Don’t mind, Magician. Paolo is kind of eccentric & childish sometimes but he has been a very royal servant to me for the last ten years.”
They start walking towards the main door. Paolo is behind them.


(To Be Continued...)

[_____V_____]

Continued...

Dr. Donovan: "Magician, I think I need to tell you something more about Lilly...my little Lily. The thing is she's a very sensitive child and as a child it sometimes gets quite difficult for her to follow & adopt with her constant required treatments & medications. And for that she sometimes gets bit upset with me. Moreover, she doesn't like to talk that much like any other child of her age. Even she hasn't been talk to me since last Friday. It doesn't bother me now as I'm giving my full concentration to get her well soon. So in case if you find your main audience tonight kind of less responsive then please I like to humbly request you to take it naturally. Just go in there & show some of your best magic. I believe that will at least make her happy inside."
Marcel: "Don’t worry, sir. It'll be all fine. I'm sure soon or later she will realize you are the best father in the whole world."
And as they are about to enter inside the house Dr. Donovan stops for a moment & says: "Thank you, Mr. Marcel. Thanks a lot, for coming to my house tonight."
Next scene:
Location: Inside Dr. Donovan’s mansion. A big & beautifully decorated seating/drawing room. In the center of the room Marcel is ready to start the show with his regular props, wearing the black robe & the hat, now waiting for his main viewer to appear in the room. There's Paolo standing in a corner, looking pretty excited. Some moments later Dr. Donovan enters into the room through the large door with a wheel chair where a pretty little girl is seating on it. There's a pale, sad look on her face.
As they enter into the room Palo starts clapping bit hysterically with a big grin on his face. Dr. Donovan raises a hand and signals Paolo to stop the clapping. Then he kneels down, seats beside the wheel chair & holds a hand of her daughter and allows Marcel to start the show.
After an exciting & fun introduction Marcel showed every caricature & played all of his interesting magic tricks that he always used to show to his younger audience to amuse them where most of the time he gets a very positive response but this time he only able to see something like a blink of a smile in Lily's face. Except for Paolo, he enjoyed it thoroughly and Dr. Donovan joins him particularly in the clapping part at the end of the show.
Dr. Donovan: "Thank you, Magician! That's truly fantastic. I'm sure Lily enjoyed your show very much."
Both of them look at Lily and see a little smile on her face.
Dr. Donovan: "Oh, it’s almost bed time for Lily. Please wait for me, Magician."
Dr. Donovan holds the wheel chair & leaves the room with Lily. Paolo follows them.
Marcel begins to pack his things up. But just after a while he hears a voice, almost like coming from the void. It's Lily's voice.
Lily: "Magician! Magician! It's me...Lily!"
Marcel quickly takes a look around him but sees no one in the room.
Lily: "Please help my papa...please save those girls...save me!"
Marcel suddenly realizes Lily is actually talking inside his mind.
Lily: "After some recent experiments papa conducted on me I can now do this thing...talking inside anyone's head. But you have to help us, Magician. Papa is going crazy...she brought those girls and lock them up in the secret dungeon under this house. And then...and then...Noooo!"
Lily screams. Marcel kneels down on the floor, holding his head with both hands. He feels a headache for a while and then stands up. There's no Lily's voice now.
Marcel sees Dr. Donovan is standing on the door.
Dr. Donovan: "That’s an extraordinary side effect resulted from my experimentation on her lately. I suppose she told you everything. Oh, the girl is suffering me from the day she was born."
Marcel: "What's going on here, Doctor? Tell me what you have done?...You kidnapped those girls from our shows?!"
Dr. Donovan: "Oh, those are few little sacrifices for a greater cause."
Marcel: "What cause? Why are you doing this? What's actually wrong with your girl?"
"Wrong! What's wrong with her?!" Dr. Donovan just burst into great anger. "Haven’t you notice? She is a dwarf, Magician! She is like one of those little people in your shows. My only little child in this whole damn world is a midget, Magician! Yes...She is a midget!" Dr. Donovan now weeps a little, "And I just can't accept this anymore. At the age of 20, she just looks like a 6 to 7 years old girl."
Marcel: "But why don’t you accept her like the way she is? It's the way God made her. What can we do?"
Dr. Donovan (back to the angry mood): "Go and tell this rubbish to the world outside and ask them why they don't treat her like a normal child? You know well...they will never do that. She & her kind always have been a laughing matter for them...a circus material...a freak of nature! I just want to see her grow up like any other normal child and that's why I have devoted all my knowledge to make a cure for this your God's twisted little curse. I won't stop until the day I succeed."

Marcel: "But how the hell those innocent young girls come between you & your daughter? Why you need them? For God's sake please tell me what have you done with them?"
Dr. Donovan: "Oh, you won't understand that, Magician. Just know that for my new ongoing research every day I need some very fresh human tissues & body samples. They are just fulfilling my research requirements."
Marcel: "Oh my God! Yes...I can understand now, your daughter was right, you are really going insane, doctor!"
Dr. Donovan: "I don't like to waste anymore time on you. There's a crucial experiment I need to conduct tonight. Anyway, I think unfortunately you have already known too much about my family matters and that's a great threat for my research. So I can't let you go, Magician. You will join with those 'missing girls' soon...very soon!”
Marcel: "What do you mean...?"
Dr. Donovan then just yelled two names..."Marco! Polo!"
As Marcel make an attempt to run away but he just meets with two tall, vicious looking gigantic guys at the doorway.
Dr. Donovan: "Take him into the dungeon and lock him up in a cell. I'll later decide about his fate after my experiment."
The giants grab his hands from both sides and force Marcel to walk with them.
Marcel looks back at the doctor & says "You know doctor...I always liked to believe scientists like you are the greatest magicians in the world. But you proved me wrong tonight. You are a disappointment of your kind. You are a mad!"
Dr. Donovan gives no reply this time, just smiles. And the screen fades off on his face.
In the following sequence the camera follows Paolo & the giants as they are now taking Marcel into the underground dungeon of Dr. Donovan's mansion. It's a long corridor where in the both sides there's heavy iron door cells. The screaming of the captive girls is coming out from some of the cells. They put Marcel in one of the empty cells and lock the door. Paolo keeps the key and tells the giants to go to the doctor as he may need them soon for his work. The giant duo doesn't argue or say anything, just leaves the dungeon area.
Few moments later Paolo takes a peek into Marcel's cell through the little iron rod window.
Frustrate Marcel is seating inside.
Marcel suddenly stands up, goes to the window & calls Paolo.
Marcel: "Hey Paolo, do you like to see some more magic?"
Paolo responds positively. Then Marcel pulled a locket out from his pocket & swings the locket and tries to hypnotize him. He succeeds and commands Paolo to open all the cell doors one by one. As Marcel & the captive girls get free they first get the information from Paolo about the way out from the mansion. Then Marcel asked about Lily & where he can find her now. Hypnotized Paolo tells him to go to the laboratory upstairs where the doctor is about to beginning a new experiment on her. Then Marcel tells the girls to run away from the mansion, seek for help & call the police, he'll join them later after rescuing Little Lily from the mad doctor. Marcel locks up Paolo in a cell and goes & finds out the doctor's lab.
As he enters into the big lab he sees senseless Lily and another girl is lying down on two surgical beds in the center of the room. It seems Dr. Donovan is about to beginning an operation. There are shelves filled with jars & equipments, different big electrical machinery around the room.

"How the hell he gets free? Where’s Paolo?" naturally Dr. Donovan is very much shocked to see Marcel in the lab.
Then Marcel sees the giant duo are coming towards him from both of his sides.
Marcel: "There are still some tricks left to show you, doctor!" Marcel drops some marble like balls from his pocket in the floor. They explode & create a lot of smokes around the whole room quickly. Marcel swiftly vanishes into the smokes. The giant duo & the doctor can't able to see him or anything in the smoke. Then there are sounds of jars breaking down on the floor and instantly the giants' starts to screaming as if Marcel threw some acid on them. Then it starts to become visible that Marcel is fighting with the doctor now. As their fights results some shelves, machinery & equipments falling down on the floor and that leads to a heavy fire quickly spreading around the room. After a while the doctor gets stuck under a heavy machine as it falls over him. Marcel tries to pull him up but fails. Moreover, as they both see the fire is now heading towards him, Dr. Donovan then tells Marcel to save his daughter & the other girl from the fire instead of him and leave the mansion as quickly as possible. Marcel accepts his final request & save the girls from the fire.

[_____V_____]

Continued...


Next scene: Marcel is coming out from the mansion with the two girls who are still senseless. Meanwhile fire spreads the whole mansion.
Last scene: The other girl wakes up but Marcel is still trying to recover Lily's conscious. In last shot Lily opens her eyes & sees Marcel and now she gives him a big smile.

THE END


Supporting cast & Characters:

Lily...played by Tiny (from the doll family) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Earles)

Paolo...played by Dwight Frye

Directed by Tod Browning



Judge #1's verdict -

There is a certain amount of cliche here, but plenty of novelty as well. There are enough elements that you can definitely see in a Todd Browning movie and the perversity you see in 30s horror. I feel it is enough of the 30's and there was enough work exhibited here that I feel you didn't do one of my favorite directors a disservice.

A hardearned B+.

I think this ups the game and shows your knowledge of and appreciation of vintage horror. You've done your homework for a long time and it shows.


Judge #2's verdict -

I give roshiq a C.

I struggled to finish reading it. I didn't care about the characters at all. Not a movie I would spend money on.


Judge #3's verdict -

This is a very good proposal. It would make a good, if somewhat tame, film by Browning. The subject matter is appropriate for the director, and Lugosi's role is similar to his turn as Chandu the Magician. You have a tendency to describe or tell things which could be shown. I may sound like a broken record, saying this in almost every piece of feedback I give, but film is a visual medium. You need to show things as much as possible, to keep the audience interested.

For instance, we meet Lugosi's character first sitting down backstage after his show. Why not show us a bit of his act, so we can see what a great magician he is? You may say it wasn't that way in the story, but that's why it's called an ADAPTATION.

GRADE: B


OVERALL GRADE - B-

[ferretchucker]

Wow...now I'm scared! When the judges aren't won over by length (feel free to make dirty jokes) there isn't much else I have! :eek:

[ferretchucker]

The Ugly. ;)



Well that's kinda awesome and random... What?! Where?!

Going to Shanghai with my Sixth Form. Going to visit a school out there to see how they teach literacy and numeracy, since they've got the highest attaining system in the world there for those two. Got to then report back to some high ups in the education system what we see. :D But the other 5 days will be touristy stuff.

[ChronoGrl]

Going to Shanghai with my Sixth Form. Going to visit a school out there to see how they teach literacy and numeracy, since they've got the highest attaining system in the world there for those two. Got to then report back to some high ups in the education system what we see. :D But the other 5 days will be touristy stuff.

What's a Sixth Form? DAMN YOU AND YOUR CRAZY FOREIGN LANGUAGE

[_____V_____]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS


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

I will take this chance and request the absent Goblins - The Return, Nightmare of Death & Ferretchucker - to give an effort in this Test.

For this task, the common theme I have chosen is - CONTEMPORARY INNOVATORS.

Here is your task, Goblins -

Choose a horror film from the 2000s and turn it into a universal (in both senses of the word) horror classic of the 1940s, complete with casting and a selected director. BUT, bear in mind that it should NOT be a Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolf man film.

Goblins - Ferretchucker, Nightmare of Death, The Return, The Villain and Chronogrl - put your thinking caps on and get to work.

You may do some research on your chosen film, and on the films of the 40s to inject that fine vintage feel into your entry. But remember, you cannot copy an entire script/storyline from a 40s horror film.

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 96 hours, starting from NOW! All the best!

[hammerfan]

I'd like to put my two cents worth in here and say it's much easier (for me at least) to read in email format as opposed to a private message here. Thanks!

[ChronoGrl]

Choose a horror film from the 2000s and turn it into a universal (in both senses of the word) horror classic of the 1940s, complete with casting and a selected director. BUT, bear in mind that it should NOT be a Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolf man film.


Ok - I feel like an idiot, but I really don't understand what you're asking of us...

Take a new film and make it olde-timey?

[_____V_____]

Ok - I feel like an idiot, but I really don't understand what you're asking of us...

Take a new film and make it olde-timey?

Exactly .

[ChronoGrl]

Exactly .

Bleah.

Ok.

Well, I think I know what movie I'd convert, though I'll probably get dinged on being "obvious" or "not really challenging convention of the time" or something to that extent.

It's a little frustrating and de-motivating that attendance is so low.

[hammerfan]

It's a little frustrating and de-motivating that attendance is so low.

I agree. I don't know what to do about it, though.

[roshiq]

Thanks a lot to the judges for their appreciation for Little Lily. Glad you liked it. It'll be a great boost for moving forward in the competition.

And yes... I agree, even when I was writing down it I felt it'd be better to give some background about Lugosi's character-Marcel as well as to add some details about his magic. But the thing is I'm not good with or know a good deal about 'magic' stuffs or more precisely, thought it'd make the story lengthier as I wanted to go into the main events as quickly as possible; after all it's only an outline for a screenplay to give about the basic idea which can be improvised further in the next phase...writing down the 'screenplay' with necessary details that was missing in the outline.

Btw, I wasn't aware about Lugosi's portrayal of Chandu the Magician as I haven't seen any film on this character. It just came to my mind that he could be good in a role of magician.

Anyway, thanks again and best of luck to the Goblins...wish I could have their new challenge. Looking forward to see some interesting entries from the contestants. :)

[The Villain]

Are we supposed to choose a director and cast of today or the 40's?

Also i'm not sure if im even going to be able to do this as i've had some serious writer's block lately. If i do, it probably will be pretty short. Just a heads up.

[ChronoGrl]

More clarifying questions:

Should we pretend that it's 1940 right now and simply adapt a 2000's film? Does that mean that we could change items of the film to adapt to the 1940s era?

Should we assume that the audience is the audience of the 1940s?

When you say:

BUT, bear in mind that it should NOT be a Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolf man film.

Please clarify this statement - I'm sort of mind-boggled by this...

I assume that you mean that it would wrong to use 2010's The Wolfman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780653/), but please help me understand...


Also, with this:

and turn it into a universal (in both senses of the word)

Are we assuming that the Production Company has to be Universal?

[neverending]

Amanda, you are overthinking...

[ChronoGrl]

Amanda, you are overthinking...

True - This is the reason why I don't do so hot on standardized tests (my poor score on the GMAT is rather fresh in mind... though I just found out that I DID kickass on the writing portion, which was a nice boon...).

You know my chronic fear of failure - I'm not happy that my scores haven't broken into an A so I don't want to lose points for misunderstanding the challenge.

[roshiq]

More clarifying questions:

Should we pretend that it's 1940 right now and simply adapt a 2000's film? Does that mean that we could change items of the film to adapt to the 1940s era?

Should we assume that the audience is the audience of the 1940s?


Yes to all, IMO.


When you say:

Please clarify this statement - I'm sort of mind-boggled by this...

I assume that you mean that it would wrong to use 2010's The Wolfman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780653/), but please help me understand...


Avoid those films that has something related to those original films; character wise may be. Moreover, I think the studio was bit packed with the sequels of those popular monsters in 40's, that's why the challenge is looking for something fresh but acceptable (& make-able) for that particular decade.


Are we assuming that the Production Company has to be Universal?

Yes & it'd be better if it has an universal appeal as well.


Darn, the challenge is not so easy as I though earlier!:o

[_____V_____]

What Roshiq said.

Amanda, you are overthinking...

And I agree with NE as well.

[ChronoGrl]

Avoid those films that has something related to those original films; character wise may be. Moreover, I think the studio was bit packed with the sequels of those popular monsters in 40's, that's why the challenge is looking for something fresh but acceptable (& make-able) for that particular decade.

Ok, that actually helps a lot. Thanks! :D

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


Nearly 48 hours have passed and I have received no entries from the Goblins so far.

[roshiq]

Amanda, you are overthinking...

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g348/sanjidhdc/Jigsaw.jpg

:D:D

[ChronoGrl]

96 Hours = Tuesday, 10-11-2011, 02:25 AM EST, correct?

Sweet - That means I can put this off until tomorrow. Not gonna lie, but I'm giving myself a headache with this.

[Doc Faustus]

I'd pick Ichi the Killer.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


71 hours and 46 minutes have passed, and I have yet to receive an entry.

A little over 24 hours remain...

[ChronoGrl]

It'll be done tonight. This weekend was focused on (finally) writing my essays for entrance into Babson College's Evening MBA program as well as getting the word out for the Cure-a-thon.

Now that they're done and I've applied (HOORAY!), I really have no excuse.

I know what movie I'm going to do, it's a matter of writing it down.

FYI - I'm a bit burned out from work and lame-essay-writing (not that MY essays were lame of course - The topics they give you are RETARDED), so this effort isn't as inspired as my last two unfortunately.

[The Villain]

I'm probably not going to be participating in this one. I've got a serious case of writers block and a lot of personal problems i've been trying to work out lately so i havent had any time to write.

[ChronoGrl]

OK - Mine's been emailed. Not very inspired, but it's done.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE


24 minutes left till the deadline expires, and I have received TWO entries from the Goblins, which have been duly forwarded to the Judges via e-mail.

[ferretchucker]

I suck...

Not been checking HDC a lot lately. Sound like a broken record, but sorry to have messed you about V. I know participation's not been great and I should have been one to help. I'm off to China in 3 days, so I'll have to back out. Again, sorry. Hope it all goes well.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE

Received the grades from 1 Judge so far.

As soon as I get them from the other 2 Judges, the entries will be up.

[roshiq]

I'd pick Ichi the Killer.

Wow! as a crime-noir thriller, I guess.

Anyway, I'd pick any one of the following films:

Right at your Door
Ginger Snaps (as a kind of a sequel to Val Lewton's Cat People!)
Dark Water
The Orphanage
The Others
A Tale of 2 sisters

[horrorzack]

Wow! as a crime-noir thriller, I guess.

Anyway, I'd pick any one of the following films:

Right at your Door
Ginger Snaps (as a kind of a sequel to Val Lewton's Cat People!)
Dark Water
The Orphanage
The Others
A Tale of 2 sisters

But however the others takes place in the 40's

[Doc Faustus]

Wow! as a crime-noir thriller, I guess.

Anyway, I'd pick any one of the following films:

Right at your Door
Ginger Snaps (as a kind of a sequel to Val Lewton's Cat People!)
Dark Water
The Orphanage
The Others
A Tale of 2 sisters

As a noir horror piece. With Lon Chaney Jr. as the Ichi type character and Boris Karloff as the Kakihara analogue.

[Doc Faustus]

Sorry I took so long getting back to you. Got too many irons in the fire to count. But I'll have the grades ready within a couple hours.

[Doc Faustus]

They're in your email box, V.

[_____V_____]

Thanks a lot, Doc. Better late than never! :D

[_____V_____]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS

Choose a horror film from the 2000s and turn it into a universal (in both senses of the word) horror classic of the 1940s, complete with casting and a selected director. BUT, bear in mind that it should NOT be a Dracula, Frankenstein or Wolf man film.

The Return's entry -

For this assignment, I’ve chosen to adapt 2001’s Jeepers Creepers. Despite it’s flaws I consider Jeepers Creepers to be one of the most stylish, entertaining horror movies of the decade, and I think I could adapt perfectly well to the style of Universal horror.

For starters, the cast and crew:

Director: Karl Freund

- My first choice would actually be Jacques Tourneur, but due to the “Universal” theme of the challenge I decided to stick with someone from their stables.

Stop-Motion Creature Animation: Willis O’Brien

Cast:

Glenn Strange as The Creeper

Evelyn Ankers as Patricia Jenner

David Manners as Darrell Jenner

Maria Ouspenskaya (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0653642/)as Ms. Hartmonov

Dwight Frye as Mr. Felinier (Our version of The Cat Lady)


These are the only characters that would be essential, the rest of the roles could be filled by any of Universal’s stock actors.


A few of the changes that would have to be made:

Rather than returning from college, the siblings would merely be out for an afternoon drive in the country to catch up on each others lives.

While the plot would remain largely the same, I’d like to keep everything very simple, and largely imply the horrors on display. The Creepers lair in particular would mostly feature lab equipment and preserved heads in jars and such, rather than bodies lining the walls.

The Creeper would still remain cloaked for the most part, but when revealed I see a wonderful stop-motion monster.

Jeepers Creepers already has hallmarks of classic horror. Simply adapting the time and removing the gore in favour of horrible implications would not only relocate it perfectly to the time period, but also make things much more terrifying.


Judge #1's verdict -

Good choice of film, good cast and crew. Not sure about the choice of stop-motion for the monster. I guess it could work.

GRADE C

Judge #2's verdict -

I give The Return a B-.

While I enjoy his choice of movie and cast, I feel like I'm missing something, just can't put my finger on what.

Judge #3's verdict -

My grade - D

"I understand you can do better. You understand you can do better, so there's that. Do better next time. Willis O' Brien stop motion for the monster would have been a great genre innovation, but by the same token, nobody in the forties would have thought to have a stop motion monster in a B unit horror film."


OVERALL GRADE - C

[_____V_____]

Chronogrl's entry -

I choose the film Crazy Eights (2006) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470993/)

Why?

Initially I misread the challenge – I looked at the iconic films of the 1940s and thought to myself, “Crap – I need to find a film of the 2000’s that will fit into this sequel-obsessed mess.” I toyed with the idea of painting Let the Right One In as a “Dracula’s Daughter” (until I found out that there actually was a Dracula’s Daughter… and, oh yeah, I had also misinterpreted the challenge).

So – Why Crazy Eights? I wanted to diverge from Monster- and sequel-obsessed trends of Universal in the 1940s and instead look to movies like RKO’s Cat People, which focused more on the psychological aspects of fear instead of the physical aspects of fear as well as Paramount’s The Uninvited, whose focal point of fear is both the unknown and apparitions, as opposed to physical monsters.

Quite frankly, I think that Universal could have benefited from diverging from monster movies into the psychological noir films – They would have become ahead of the curve when noir started to become popular in the 1950s.

The plot of Crazy Eights is simple – Six people are brought together at the funeral of a childhood friend. While settling the estate, they discover a map, which leads them on a search for a long forgotten time capsule, at the request of their dead friend. What they discover reawakens repressed childhood traumas and leads them on a journey through their long abandoned childhood home: a home with a terrible secret and a mysterious dead girl who will lead them to their strange fates. (source: IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470993/plotsummary)). What is deliciously simple will unravel quite well on film as our characters start to disappear while the mystery of their childhood is slowly revealed. This is a murder mystery with a juicy secret – The “Crazy Eights” (it is revealed that that’s what they called themselves on the ward) were subject to experiments as children and vowed to escape the hospital – When they finally did escape, they decided to hide the youngest in a chest in an old barn – All with the best intentions – To come back for her – But she died in the chest… And it’s her spirit that is haunting our characters within the house that they find themselves in.

Genres – This movie will appeal to the 1940s audience because not only is it a simple haunted house film ripe with suspense, but this guise is also a vehicle to allow the characters to psychologically unravel. We also have a wonderful mystery on our hands, which will appeal to the fans of noir and whodunits. Not to mention, it’s different enough to be distinguished from the Universal Monster films, yet can be molded to be suspenseful, yet tasteful (changes will have to be made to make the film less bloody – Characters will disappear instead of being mangled).

Director: Jacques Tourneur (Cat People), for his ability to create a successful psychological thriller

Cast (I looked for 1940s film stars who would have been around their 30s in the 40s – they need to be all the same age):

Jennifer Jones: Simone Simon (Cat People)
Gina Conte: Anne Nagel (Black Friday, Man Made Monster)
Beth Patterson: Ellen Drew (Isle of the Dead, The Monster and the Girl)
Father Lyle Day: Robert Paige (Son of Dracula, The Monster and the Girl)
Wayne Morrison: John Carradine (House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula)
Brent Sykes: Dick Foran (The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb)


Judge #1's verdict -

I like the creative aspect of making a thriller. Would have liked more details.

GRADE C

Judge #2's verdict -

I give ChronoGrl an A.

Crazy Eights works very well for a Universal movie. And, of course, she shows that she gave it quite a bit of thought. And I love her choices for the cast and director.

Judge #3's verdict -

Grade C

The work is there, as usual. The premise of the movie is reasonably interesting and it does go pretty well with the 40s. I'm not excited by this, though. Push yourself creatively. Next time, show me something really imaginative. Ingenuity is as important as effort.


OVERALL GRADE - B-

[_____V_____]

ANNOUNCEMENT


The Merger -

Here's the complete Group for Round 2 of HDC Idol at the end of the Preliminary Rounds, along with their overall Grades -


Despare - B-
Roshiq - B-
Zombieness - C-
The Return - C
The Villain - C
Chronogrl - B


The Winner of the Preliminary Rounds is - CHRONOGRL.


Ogres - Leezuki & Horrorzack have been eliminated for missing the first three Tests continuously.

Goblins - Nightmare of Death & Ferretchucker have been eliminated for missing the first three Tests continuously.


The first Test for Round 2 will be up within the next 24 hours.

[newb]

these judges be tough

http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/jezebel/2008/06/judgejudy_gawker.flv.jpg

[Despare]

I'm very sporadic and to be honest I just don't have the time I wish I did to take part in this awesome contest you've put together V. To be honest, anytime I see an outline I tend to cringe anyway as I hate them so not having the time to do one and at least help with participation is a double tap to me because I'd love to push myself through one but just can't make it. I'll do what I can, when I can, and my lack of participation in no way reflects on the game itself. :)

[_____V_____]

ANNOUNCEMENT


All qualifying participants will start again, afresh, with a wiped clean board. Be prepared for Round 2.

The first Test of Round 2 will be up within the next 24 hours.

[_____V_____]

THE FOURTH TEST OF HDC IDOL II - ROUND 2


For this task, the common theme I have chosen is - REMAKES.

Here is your task, contestants -

Choose a suitable horror film from the past to be remade into a contemporary horror film, interjected with your own unique changes in the storyline, complete with a script outline, casting, a chosen director and a suitable Hollywood studio. Also, give the reason why you chose that particular film.

Contestants - Despare, Roshiq, Zombieness, The Return, The Villain and Chronogrl - put your thinking caps on and get to work.

You may do any amount of research on your chosen film, and on the films of that period. But remember, you cannot copy an entire script/storyline from your chosen horror film. (you have to add your own touches to the original story)

Once you are finished, please PM your entry to me, or send it via email to [email protected]. Do NOT post your entry directly in this thread.

You all have 120 hours at your disposal, starting from NOW! All the best!

[hammerfan]

Bumping this since no one replied. Want to make sure the contestants see it.

[ChronoGrl]

I saw it. Was going to ask if the deadline could be over the weekend since free time during the week is scant... However, I know what movie I want to remake and the whatnot, so I think I should be able to get it down for Friday.

[hammerfan]

I'll mention now that I won't be around on Saturday - my nephew is getting married that day. I will be around on Sunday, so I'll be able to review submissions then.

[_____V_____]

UPDATE

75 Hours and 45 minutes have passed, and I have received NO entries so far.

[ChronoGrl]

Any way we can move the deadline to Saturday a.m.? Maybe that'll help with participation?

If not, no biggie - Let me know either way.

[_____V_____]

We shall see.

[ChronoGrl]

LOL

Ok......................

[_____V_____]

Into the last 24 hours till the deadline.

I will wait till the clock says 12 hours left before making a decision on the extension.

[Despare]

I didn't notice this until today haha. Extending the time limit still won't guarantee I have time to participate but maybe. Depends on if I get water back or not, it's been one hell of a project I'll tell you that.

[ChronoGrl]

Ugh - Came down with some kind of stomach bug yesterday and I'm feeling fairly miserable. Was planning on doing this last night but spent it curled up in bed... Which is my plan for today as well. :(

[hammerfan]

Ugh - Came down with some kind of stomach bug yesterday and I'm feeling fairly miserable. Was planning on doing this last night but spent it curled up in bed... Which is my plan for today as well. :(

Oh damn, stomach bugs suck! Hope you feel better soon!!

[ChronoGrl]

Oh damn, stomach bugs suck! Hope you feel better soon!!

Thanks - I'm being a baby about it - Lying around and just eating Gingerale and saltines definitely helped - Taking it easy today, which is nice.

[The Villain]

I really wanted to do this one but between working all the time, spending time with my daughter, a new relationship, a lot of personal problems and trying to finish this book i have no time and even if i did i probably wouldnt put in my best effort. I had a movie in mind too.