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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!

Quote:

Originally Posted by _____V_____ (Post 906323)

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?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl (Post 906337)

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 .

Quote:

Originally Posted by _____V_____ (Post 906345)

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl (Post 906351)

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.

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. :)

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.

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:

Quote:

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, but please help me understand...

Also, with this:

Quote:

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

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

Amanda, you are overthinking...

Quote:

Originally Posted by neverending (Post 906442)

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl (Post 906441)

Yes to all, IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl (Post 906441)

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, 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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl (Post 906441)

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

What Roshiq said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by neverending (Post 906442)

Amanda, you are overthinking...

And I agree with NE as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roshiq (Post 906450)

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

UPDATE

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jigsaw (Post 906442)

Amanda, you are overthinking...

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...hdc/Jigsaw.jpg

:D:D

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.

I'd pick Ichi the Killer.

UPDATE

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

A little over 24 hours remain...

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Faustus (Post 906721)

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by roshiq (Post 907174)

But however the others takes place in the 40's

Quote:

Originally Posted by roshiq (Post 907174)

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

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.

They're in your email box, V.

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

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE GOBLINS

Quote:

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 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 -

Quote:

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 -

Quote:

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 -

Quote:

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

Chronogrl's entry -

Quote:

I choose the film Crazy Eights (2006)

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). 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 -

Quote:

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

GRADE C

Judge #2's verdict -

Quote:

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 -

Quote:

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-

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.

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. :)

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.

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!

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

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.

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.