Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Game begins Thursday, August 20 at Noon EDT

Some slots still open - join us now


<img src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2724191/2/istockphoto_2724191-movie-slate-clapboard-vector-300dpi-jpg.jpg">

Remember the <a href="http://forum.dvdtalk.com/video-game-talk/544860-dvd-talk-video-game-draft-thread.html">draft</a> <a href="http://forum.dvdtalk.com/hd-talk/499484-2007-dvdtalk-hd-dvd-blu-ray-draft.html">threads</a> from <a href="http://forum.dvdtalk.com/music-talk/442618-musictalk-draft-game-draft-thread-all-welcome-play.html">a few years ago</a>? Have you ever taken part in a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_sport">sport fantasy game</a>? If so, this will make it easier to understand this game.


Goal of the Game:

The goal of Be the Producer is to create the movie that most DVD Talkers will want to go to. You'll do this by drafting the cast and crew of your movie, as well as a few other elements.

The type of movie you will be producing is a summer blockbuster that will tie together two disparate franchises, like Alien vs. Predator or Freddy vs. Jason. The franchises don't need to be existing movie franchises: you can pick from TV shows, video games, books, comics, etc. What the movie itself will be about is completely up to you: it can be a big sci-fi epic, an action movie, a buddy-cop comedy, a road trip movie, anything that generally is considered a summer blockbuster.

There will be 13 "positions" you will need to fill:

[_] Franchise #1
[_] Franchise #2
[_] Director
[_] Actor #1
[_] Actor #2
[_] Actor #3
[_] Sup. Actor #1
[_] Sup. Actor #2
[_] Sup. Actor #3
[_] Cameo Appearance
[_] Screenwriter
[_] Flex position (Hit Song OR "Punch-up" Screenwriter)
[_] Score / Composer

Details on each position are below. You may find this <a href="http://www.fantasticdamage.com/blog/BtP1.xls">Excel file</a> (or its <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Asm-9xufUpeedHFQbWlNeF9Ga0cxa284VVN5Rk9Ub2c&hl=en">Google Docs counterpart</a>) helpful.


Playing the Game / Drafting Your Positions

Each weekday at Noon EDT, there will be one round of drafting where you will get to fill in one or more of your positions. Drafting will be done by posting your draft choice in this thread. For example:

Once you have posted your pick, it is yours. If someone else has posted it before you, then you will need to re-pick. Don't edit your post, just post a new one. Edited posts will be disqualified.

Keep in mind that other people playing may want to use some of the same actors, directors, and franchises as you so you will need to be flexible. You will need to weigh what is most important in your film. If you want to make Batman vs. Qui Gon Jim, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Christian Bale and Liam Neeson, you'll need to weigh what is the most important to you. Is it the director? Is it Batman? etc. Early in the game you'll only get one pick per day, so prioritize wisely.

This is the draft schedule, with dates and how many picks you can make:

Thursday, August 20: 1 pick
Friday, August 21: 1 pick
Monday, August 24: 1 pick
Tuesday, August 25: 2 picks
Wednesday, August 26: 2 picks
Thursday, August 27: 2 picks
Friday, August 28: 4 picks


On days when there are multiple picks, you will need to make a post for each pick. You cannot simply post two or three picks in the same post.



Details/Rules on Each Position





Setting Up / Marketing Your Movie:

Once all your picks are done, you need to make a brief synopsis of what your movie is about. Fill in any gaps we don't know about: what is the plot about? Who is doing the digital effects (if any)? What weekend is it coming out? Will it be in 3D, or IMAX? Is it live-action, animated, or shadow-puppet? Feel free to give any details that don't interfere with the specific positions picked above. That is, all other actors in your film are unknowns, and you don't get to pick the other bands on your movies soundtrack.

There's a number of members here who are adept at Photoshop and other image editing tools. Have them help you create a one-sheet or some type of marketing piece - if you're skilled enough to make a fake trailer, go for it. You're selling the movie to the DVD Talk audience.



The Tournament

Our friends woody5254 and Suprmallet have graciously agreed to help run and oversee the tournaments. How they will be run will be up to him and how many entries we get.

The tournament will probably start about a week after the last picks are made, to give everyone time to prepare.


<hr>


Please let me know of any questions or concerns you have below.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Current Players

The Bus
orangecrush
Groucho
wishbone
Ash Ketchun
sauce07
Michael Corvin
woody5254
Suprmallet
JasonF
Mano
devilshalo
Fist of Doom


Franchises selected
Aliens
Animal House
Back to the Future
Beach Party
Beverly Hills Cop
Calvin & Hobbes
Death Wish
Evil Dead
High School Musical
James Bond
Jason Bourne
Leon
Masters of the Universe
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sherlock Holmes
Spinal Tap
Star Wars
Terminator
The Expendables
The Last Starfighter
The Little Tramp
The Lord of the Rings
The Muppets


Directors selected
Alfred Hitchock
Brad Bird
Christopher Nolan
David Fincher
Edgar Wright
Frank Darabont
James Cameron
John Woo
Martin Scorcese
Ridley Scott
Sam Raimi
Walter Hill



Actors selected
Alexander Gould
Anne Hathaway
Brad Pitt
Bruce Campbell
Charles Chaplin
Chris Farley
Christian Bale
Clint Eastwood
Clive Owen
Daniel Craig
David Bowie
Don Cheadle
Eddie Murphy
Edward Norton
Gary Oldman
Harrison Ford
Ian McShane
Jean Reno
Johnny Depp
Justin Long
Matt Damon
Michael J Fox
Nicolas Cage
Robert Downey Jr.
Scarlett Johansson
Sean Connery
Simon Pegg
Sir Alec Guinness
Sylvester Stallone
Yaphet Kotto


Supporting
Alan Rickman
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Delroy Lindo
Guy Pearce
John Belushi
Keira Knightley
Monica Bellucci
Naomi Watts
Natalie Portman
Nick Frost
Penelope Cruz
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Sir Anthony Hopkins
Ted Raimi



Screenwriter
Bill Watterson
David Mamet
Edgar Wright
James Cameron
Quentin Tarantino


Flex
Andrew Stanton
David Bowie
James Cameron
Quentin Tarantino
The Beatles


Score
George Gershwin
Trent Reznor

To see everyone's picks, take a look at the <a href="http://www.fantasticdamage.com/blog/BtP1R.xls">Excel</a> spreadsheet.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

So can I just go ahead fill in my answers to the catagories?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Director isn't in your 13-slot checklist.

Also, when does this start?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Also, can you have the same person write and direct?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Some clarification: You can't add IPs that are outside of what you've picked. If you picked Batman vs. Decepticons, you can't have Superman appear, or Wolverine, or Voltron. But it would be OK for The Joker or Optimus Prime to appear: they would be the Supporting characters of course.

The "vs." is to be taken semi-lightly. This can be a romance, a buddy-cop comedy, a fantasy epic, etc. But you're required to use (and limited to) only two IPs. If you do a buddy-cop comedy using SpongeBob and Freddy Krueger, you can't say that the villain is Lex Luthor: the villain just has to be someone generic (i.e. not previously established).

The actual title of the movie, how long it is, the rating, whether it's in IMAX, 3D, animated, CGI, shadow puppets, etc. is all up to you. Anything else you'd like to add that is outside of the basic scope of the game (who distributes it, who the cinematographer/art director is, who does special effects) is all up to you.

You won't be announcing complete details of your movie until the tournament begins. A synopsis is required but can be brief ("Iron Man and Silent Bob take a roadtrip") or extensive.

<hr>

There's no PMing. On the day that the "draft" starts, you make your first pick. Let's say you have your heart set on making a movie featuring Han Solo. On the first day of the draft, at the predetermined time, you post something like:

That's it for that day. This gives other people chances to pick other IPs. Maybe someone picks "Star Wars" (that's OK). Maybe someone wants their first pick to be a cameo from George W. Bush.

At the end of that day, you'll see that maybe other people already picked ideas you had for future days. Maybe someone already picked Harrison Ford (whom you don't get just because you picked Han Solo). So now you have to cast Han Solo as your second pick, Paul Walker.

And so on.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

If you picked Peter Berg as your director, that still leaves him open as a writer for someone else. If you want him to write and direct, you have to pick him twice, each time separately.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

As soon as I can get someone reliable to help me tally the tournaments and everything. I am going to be out of town the week of Labor Day so this may well end w/out my involvement.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Excellent. Woody Allen's SAW VI here I come!

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Could I pick a digital effects company?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

So to use your example, if I pick Han Solo as my good guy and someone else grabs Harrison Ford before I can get him, it's then up to the voters to decide whether or not my "recast" of Paul Walker as Han Solo means my movie now sucks royally? That could set up some interesting dynamics of snagging key actors away from people who have already designated IPs ...

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

That's up to you but you don't get exclusive rights to it.

But we'll assume that for things like this you get to pick only one: you can't have ILM & WETA & Aardvark Animation & Pixar all work on your special effects.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Yep. You could always pick Harrison Ford and then set him up to play "Spider-man's dad" or whatever (if your pick is Spider-man).

Of course, that person could always pick Harrison Ford as a supporting character and have there be an "old Solo" and a "young Solo" or whatever.

No, ILM/WETA cannot digitally re-create anyone whose pick you didn't get to be in your movie. Think of the actor picks as your rights to get three big names.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

This sounds more fun to watch and vote in than to play myself.

-popcorn-

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

No match for Kevin Smith's Casablanca Meets The Thing.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

So, can it just be an adaptation of something, and not "____ vs. ____?" Can I just take whoever the good guys and bad guys happen to be in the book or whatever? For instance, if it was another G.I. Joe movie, you'd just say "G.I. Joe" for the good guys and "Cobra" for the bad guys?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

How about Indiana Jones vs. Cobra? "Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?"

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

This looks too complicated for me to play, but i'll get a kick out of watching it.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

I was just thinking the same thing. :D

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Humphrey Bogart and Jenna Jameson star in Francis Ford Coppola's Muppets vs. Klingons. Coming this fall to a theater near you.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Dear work, I apologize for being on this website at 9am to start drafting.

Let's do it.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

yeah....I'll stick with sheep...(why don't I ever understand the rules?)

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Just read the links at the top. This isn't complicated at all. You're making a fake movie and "drafting" different positions: actors, director, etc.

Have you ever taken part in a fantasy draft for any sport?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Wow, that was right when Google was created. Coincidence?

;) I kid, I kid!!!

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

eh, i'm in. i think i understand the rules, oh and for the band, can it be any? ie, if i wanna go obscure deathcore band, i could if i wanted to?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

"any band that has ever recorded and released anything"

So, obviously, the answer is no.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

I am in. This seems much less straight forward than the past tournaments. I expect no less from you Bus. ;)

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Are we going to start drafting this Monday or perhaps tomorrow?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

I've got my idea, count me in

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

woody5254 and Suprmallet have both agreed to help out on this, so this is a go. The first round of the draft will begin tomorrow (Thursday).

I've rewritten the description of the game: is it clearer?

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

I thought just drafting movies is less interesting. Here at least you get to put some thought into it. It really isn't very complicated. :shrug:

To me at least. :sad:

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Yes, but sadly I have to completely re-do my planning spreadsheet. :lol:

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

My goal is for this to be fun, not complicated. I'd love clarify anything. I'm trying to make it as clear as possible, but I'm obviously failing at that. I should've gone into law... :lol:

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

"Is it more clear?"

-ohbfrank-

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Director still isn't on the list of positions.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

^ It was. It isn't again ;)

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

You may find this <a href="http://www.fantasticdamage.com/blog/BtP1.xls">Excel file</a> (or its <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Asm-9xufUpeedHFQbWlNeF9Ga0cxa284VVN5Rk9Ub2c&hl=en">Google Docs counterpart</a>) helpful.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

Actually, those instructions are a lot easier to understand. :up: I look forward to seeing the entries!

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

I hope we get enough entries. We'd need, realistically, at least 8. We will absolutely max out at 32 though, possibly 16.

I haven't decided how to handle people that stop filling their spots. In previous games, we just had someone else take over after X days off.

Re: Be the Producer — A Movie Talk Draft Game
 

In the past I think we just created a list of "alternates" from people who wanted to play but missed the cut-off after the game was full. If somebody missed two turns they were dropped from the game and their picks given to the first alternate in line.