That made me laugh out loud! The boss came out to see what I was doing!

Getting people in trouble at work.... It's what I do best. ;)

Do you know what a horizon is?

Deducts points from bwind....

If you checked IMDB, you would know already. :)

Usually when people say looms in the horizon, they mean it's up ahead. As in, yet to come. Honestly, they'll let anyone judge nowadays...:rolleyes:

:p

That was my point, Mr. Obvious.... deducts points from ferrett when it's his turn.

So it's pre october 1968? It wasn't made obvious enough! Jeez!

*nudges Ferret* Don't help him! He's competition, remember? :rolleyes: :p

Sorry Butterfly (Can I call you butterfly). I'll try better next time.

Yes, please. It's much better than "Paps" :)

I do know whatthe phrase generally means, but I don't see how it's relevant to my question if the film hasn't come out yet.

What confused me was the wording of the question, not anything pertaining to the film itself.

Thanks Cuz. That's what I was saying. The question just said 1968, which is the same year the film came out.

Also, what is the relevance to referencing a film that wasn't out and that no one expected to be a success before it's release? I already know how I plan on answering this question, I am just trying to figure out how/why Night of the Living Dead factors in to the question at all. (To determine how or why it should be referenced in my answer.) If this question was immediately after NotLD came out and surprised everyone with it's succes, that'd have obvious relevance, but since it's not out and no one's expecting it do anything special, I probably wouldn't be paying any attention to it.

There go more points....

I'll get 'em all back when I drop my winning answer.

Besides I can tell that you're just jealous that you have yet to be included in my backstage affairs like Hammerfan & Roderick. Don't worry NE, like I said, there's plenty bwind22 to go around. Certainly enough for all the judges. *wink, wink*

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

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

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

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

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

Well, my friend, an important thing about working in the genre is research. If you had done your research you would know that Price had already been in an adaptation of the Cask as one of Corman's three Tales of Terror. Public domain perhaps, but you wouldn't want Price to be seen in the same Poe story twice, and neither would Poe. Nor would Roger Corman who might be less than happy to see another Cask of Amontillado with Price. In principal, pretty solid, but it couldn't happen. Sloppy.

With all due respect, those are three short stories and I am pitching a feature here. Not to mention Price is far more suited for the Narrator role of Montresor than the doomed Fortunato. Where Corman went wrong, Hitchcock could get it right.

Valid point, but people already connect Vincent Price with that adaptation of the story. If he starred in a feature length Case of Monsieur Valdemar the same issue would be there.

imagine this coming from the stuffy-nose, gurgling-fat-in-the-back-of-the-throat voice of Hitch

"Poe? That's for that untalented hack, Corman. I don't follow trends, I set them."

not a bad pitch, but I'll pass.

As mentioned already- Price had previously appeared in Cask of Amontillado. He did a great job.

Hitchcock doing a period piece? His interest was strictly modern. I really doubt he'd be interested. Really doubt. Not to mention- there's no woman. Hitchcock needs a beautiful woman in a script. No backtracking- you didn't mention it, so you didn't intend it.

Casting Lugosi? Difficult- he died in 1956.

Poorly researched, poorly thought out, IMO. Doesn't play to any of the strengths of Hitchcock, and casting dead actors would get you laughed out of the pitch meeting right away.

This will get low marks from me. Even lower for arguing with the judges.

If you want to be the HDC Idol, you're going to have to step up your game.

I did mention secondary characters and subplots being added. The core story revolves around 2 male leads though.

Ouch! Nailed me on that one and I even looked it up. Apparently I am dyslexic, retarded or just can't count.

Well then it's a good thing America is voting and not y-
*Ryan Veacrest leans over and whispers in bwind22's ear.*
Oh. Nevermind then.

Seriously though, I thought V said we were supposed to win over the judges but in looking back at the original rules I now see we're not supposed to challenge the judges integrity. Is that same thing as defending our answers?

yikes.....glad I opted out of this one....these judges are TOUGH.:D

Agreed. Tougher than I expected, but not tougher than I'm willing to subject myself to. (Can I borrow your glutton for punishment pic?)

Although, I am glad I went first because I suspect the beating I'm taking here could scare a few of my competitors into not submitting any answer at all. ;) (If I were a judge, I'd give me some bonus points for having the balls to go first not only in my group, but in the whole competition.)

Well, not all the judges have spoken yet- you might get a softball from hammerfan.

Good point. The super tough judges already decimated my answer with logic and common sense so there's nothing left for Austin and hammerfan to do except praise my punctuation and sentence structures. ;)

I'm thinking Hammer is gonna be the Paula of the group. She's just too damn nice to come down hard on anybody.

I picked her as the Paula right off the bat, but then Rod wanted in on the backstage affair plans I had and dubbed himself Paula.

By the way, this is all part of my master plan to make myself into the underdog early on so that I can lower everyone's expectations of me and then come on strong in the finals witha surprise victory. If I aced this question, the judges would be even more picky with my next rounds, but now as long as I don't cast a dead actor in the lead in the next rounds, they'll see it as an improvement. (Sheer brilliance!) :D

THE FIRST TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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



The Ogre bwind22 has turned in his answer, which has been critically dissected by 3 judges already.

2 are yet to bash him, after which I will request all Judges to send me their grades for bwind's entry. On a scale from A to E.


All other Ogres, you are requested to turn in your entries before TG day arrives. We will take a break for 24 hours in honor of TG.

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

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

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

A competent but uninspired answer. No surprises.

I understand it's a "no frills" answer but I made choices that I thought would be best for the film.

Who knows the story better than the guys who wrote the first two?

And how would an audience react after seeing two movies with Sigourney Weaver as Ripley only to turn up for a third with someone else in the role? I think that audiences would reject it and it would bomb.

Those are just my opinions and that's why I made the choices I made.

Not arguing, just stating my case :D

I have a request/suggestion, V...

Don't you think it'd be prudent to have judges wait until all the entries from a group have been submitted before sending grades in? What if someone gives me an E only to realize later that half the answers were worse than mine? Or vice versa, what if they gave me an A only to realize there were several better answers given later? I'm just sayin... Seems logical to wait until they have an idea of what I'm up against before casting their ballots.

Just my 2 cents, it's obviously your call since you are the one wearing the Ryan Veacrest outfit.

How bout some new characters to spark interest? Naturally you bring back Ripley and the creative team- but aside from that- what are you bringing to the table?

I partially blame the question- you got thrown a softball this round, compared to others.

I agree with this.

Yes! I knew I could get you to agree with me on something today!

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


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

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

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

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

Well, it's a bold & intriguing answer... a story barely 3 years old, when Universal is bringing the great classics of the ages to life. It's hard to imagine any studio taking a risk on a little known writer of stories as strange as this. Still- if they would have, it could have changed the face of horror cinema forever.

Not to mention one writer's tragic life...

I like it.

THE FIRST TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


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

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


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


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


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

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

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

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



3 entries by the Ogres so far.

As regards the judgement on the grades, I leave it entirely to the Judges. Some of them might like to evaluate an entry impartially and individually, separate from the others, while other Judges might like comparative evaluation and analysis.

It is their decision, and jurisdiction any which way they like to do it.

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

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

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

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

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