HDC Idol 2008-09

[_____V_____]

THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


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

For the second Test, the common theme chosen is - CELEBRITY SHOES.


Here are your tasks, Elves :-

- Dante's Inferno : You are Stephen King. Your recent novels and story ideas have met with a lot of critical and harsh reviews. You fear a bout of writer's block impending ahead, but dont want to disappoint your millions of fans. What would your next story idea be, which would prove to be a bestseller worldwide?


- Disease : You are dutch producer John De Mol. You have purchased Hammer House of Horror in 2007 under your firm, Cyrte Investments, and now plan to revive the studio which revolutionised horror through the 50s, 60s and 70s. An online serial was your first step to show today's world that Hammer Horror was back. Now you plan to make movies. Which flick would be your first, under the revived Hammer Horror banner today?


- Gorephobia : You are George A Romero. Diary of the Dead went with mixed reviews, and the newest "Dead" movie you are making doesn't have your heart in it. You feel deep inside that you are in need of a fresh idea which would make critics rave about your work and also burn the BO charts. Do you have it in you?


- Miss Macabre : You are Jamie Lee Curtis. You have become pretty fed up of movies and want to start your own horror show on TV. You watch several Masters of Horror episodes and have a brainstorm of adapting short stories/works into a TV series, which would have episodes of 1 hour each. Which short stories/literary works would you choose, and why?


- Novakru : You are Sigourney Weaver. You have noticed older stars return with a bang to the silver screen, and are desperate to give your alter-ego another go. Two problems - your age, and the two AvP flicks which have sucked the life out of the franchise you pretty much ruled. James Cameron and Ridley Scott promise to return with full funding and backup if you have a novel idea painted for the franchise. Are you game?


- Papillon Noir : You are Anne Rice. After enjoying tremendous success through the late 70s and 80s through your vampire and romance-themed novels, you have been dabbling in religious works in the past 5 years. But the inner writer in you desperately wants to churn out yet another typical Anne Rice work which would become an overnight sensation with teenagers the world over. Do you have such an idea brewing inside you?


- Posher778 : You are John Carpenter. After finishing L.A. Gothic with Sean Keller (aka our own Roderick Usher), you are raring to do another flick, which would be based on a script of your own idea. Given the recent trend of horror at the BO, what would your script be like?


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

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

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

[ferretchucker]

Thanks judges for the kind marks, and well done to everyone else in y team, especially you Chronogrl!

[novakru]

I would kick my old ass in shape with the Navy Seals for 3 months prior to pitch day.. AND throw out the idea that fans have been wanting for years.
Make #3 a dream and the 4th will be completely ignored.
Go back to the original theme.

Burke succeeded getting a pod to Earth because he had planted a third pod inside one of the dead soldiers that had been bagged up to take home for burial.
The opening credits would show these scenes with the original score in the background...

HANG ON


I have housework to do and kids to pick up, will finish this LATER....

[Papillon Noir]

Early Anne Rice works had adult themes of vampires and sexuality (often bi-sexuality). The timelines are set in a combination of Ancient Egypt, Colonial America and Europe and modern-day America, with the central setting in New Orleans. Her later works deal mainly in a religious subject matter. If Anne Rice was to write another novel today, and gear it towards teenagers (no doubt from the recent Twilight craze), I think she would combine her past themes, but tone down her erotic scenes for the young adult group.

One of the easiest ways to appeal to the teenage audience is to have the story set in high school. Unfortunately, high school typically operates during the day, so the setting would have to be more the theatrical type as teenagers who perform musically or theatrically would typically have tutors. In Anne Rice’s previous works she had a rock star vampire and a theatre of vampires, performing as vampires. In this vein, a carnival side show of the 1930’s would allow of group of teenage vampires to blend in with society and also to move around (lest their feeding become suspicious). Also, the different side show acts would allude to the typical high school cliques and social standing within the group.


So begins our story: Le Carnivale Noir (The Black Carnival)

Le Carnivale Noir is a side show carnival operating in Louisiana in 1931. They are a rather unique carnival as they consist entirely of vampires masquerading as humans masquerading as vampires and other creatures of the night. Most of the vampires appear to be teenagers though many of them have been alive much longer. They have just arrived in New Orleans where they will be joined by a new and mysterious act.

Cecilia is a contortionist working for the Le Carnivale Noir and is romantically involved with Nathaniel, the strong-man. Cecilia’s on again/off again friend, Meredith is a stripper in the burlesque act.

The story flashbacks to when Cecilia and Meredith first met in then end of the 19th century. They became vampires together and have had a tumultuous relationship since as occasional lovers until they joined the carnival in the late 1920’s. Because of Cecilia’s unique flexibility, she was given a higher status and pay as a contortionist, while Meredith has resentfully worked as a stripper.

Soon after, Nathaniel joins the carnival and quickly associates himself with the trampy Meredith. Cecilia is more demure, but wins Nathaniel’s heart and the two begin seeing each other behind Meredith’s back. Meredith has fallen hard for Nathaniel and is crushed to find him in love with Cecilia.

The story flashes forward where this new carnival act is introduced. It is an Egyptian Mummy act. The headliner is Ptolemy, a mysterious brooding figure that takes an immediate interest in Cecilia, in which Nathaniel responds by attacking him.

It becomes apparent that Ptolemy and Nathaniel know each other and the story flashbacks to the 1770’s. Ptolemy (who was called Thomas then), was actually Nathaniel’s sire and occasional lover. The two had a falling out and vowed to kill each other if they ever saw each other again.

Ptolemy begins seducing Cecilia in secret, of which Meredith finds out about and encourages, hoping to win Nathaniel back for herself. Meredith plans to expose Ptolemy and Cecilia, but it backfires and Nathaniel rejects Meredith believing that Cecilia is still faithful to him.

Meredith, in a crazed rage attempts to burn the Ptolemy’s trailer with Ptolemy and Cecilia in it. Meredith ultimately exposes them and Cecilia gets trapped in the fire. Nathaniel, realizing that he’s been betrayed, still rushes in to save Cecilia, but becomes trapped himself. Both Nathaniel and Cecilia appear to perish in the blaze. The carnival quickly leaves town. The next night a hand comes out of the ground where the trailer burned, it is unclear whether it is Cecilia’s or Nathaniel’s.

[neverending]

A very interesting plot Noir... quite detailed and does seem to be rather Riceish.

I'm left with a few questions, however. Why 1931? Does the year have some specific bearing on the plot? If not, why not? Is this a stupid question- why doesn't a group of teenagers wandering the country in a carnival arouse any suspicions? Like, why aren't they in school?

I like the setting of the carnival though... was there a specific reason for setting it in 1931 instead of, say, a modern day sideshow/circus like Jim Rose's?

A very good entry overall.

[missmacabre]

For mine, are you guys looking for a whole seasons worth of episodes or just a few episodes to give you a feel for the type of stories I would choose?

[roshiq]

Celebrity Shoes offered nice challenges to work on. But I have to admit Alternative Reality were the toughest among the 1st round of qualifying stage.

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by missmacabre

For mine, are you guys looking for a whole seasons worth of episodes or just a few episodes to give you a feel for the type of stories I would choose?

Either of em, which makes you more comfortable.

I think the Judges have the say here.

[Papillon Noir]

Originally Posted by neverending

A very interesting plot Noir... quite detailed and does seem to be rather Riceish.

I'm left with a few questions, however. Why 1931? Does the year have some specific bearing on the plot? If not, why not? Is this a stupid question- why doesn't a group of teenagers wandering the country in a carnival arouse any suspicions? Like, why aren't they in school?

I like the setting of the carnival though... was there a specific reason for setting it in 1931 instead of, say, a modern day sideshow/circus like Jim Rose's?

A very good entry overall.

Thanks. :)

I picked 1931 because the 1930's were the height of the side show era and I wasn't sure when exactly it ended or started to die down. 1931 is just a year that I thought would definitely work. The movie Freaks came out in 1932 and I thought that the movie may have had some negative public reactions that may have caused low turnout for the side shows, so I wanted to have it set before then.

Also, carnies didn't typically attend regular school, but were taught by their parents as they moved around frequently. Also, because of the Great Depression and a manual labor work environment, a lot of kids didn't go into high school and dropped out beforehand.

In regards to having it set in the 1930's instead of today, is that today there is a paper trail for everything. You need ID, kids have to attend school up until 16. Back then, no one really had ID other than a driver's license, which didn't have your picture on it or anything. It was much easier to move around the country with whatever identity you wanted.

[Doc Faustus]

Originally Posted by missmacabre

For mine, are you guys looking for a whole seasons worth of episodes or just a few episodes to give you a feel for the type of stories I would choose?

Go premise first. You don't have to write a complete series bible or anything.