Movie Pieces...what do you think?

[Little Fresh]

So, I liked the movie piece thread, but it got corrupt by random fighting. It is okay to discuss things, otherwise there would be nothing to do on the forum, but please, this time, keep it civilized.

So here it is...the new (and hopefully inproved) movie thread, where we can discuss what movies would make good pieces, or your thoughts on movies as pieces in general.

So...go.




I personally, love to see people do their own variations on movies. It's cool to see what people can do to make a movie their own. I really think that someone should do an old western movie...just think of the possabilities for blocking!!!

[Chewie]

I've actually seen a few movies done, but generally, they don't seem to do well. Anything that's been on the screen from sketch comedy to sitcoms to movies never seems to do too well, but I'm not sure why. Then again, these are just my experiences.

Oh, and I guess The Producers has done pretty well. Hm. :P

[tgjdlc]

hahahaha, i love that this thread was started again...hahahahaha, Happy Birthday Chewie!!!

[Little Fresh]

I've noticed this a lot too. I think that they don't do too well because judges usually compare them to the real movie. That's why I think you should either do a lesser known movie, or you could just totally recreate a more popular one.

[Chewie]

I've noticed this a lot too. I think that they don't do too well because judges usually compare them to the real movie. That's why I think you should either do a lesser known movie, or you could just totally recreate a more popular one.

That's true. When The Producers won nationals (it did win nationals, right?), I'm pretty sure the first movie hadn't been around for at least a decade.

[theatrix04]

There are some terrific movies out there which might lend themselves, some were also plays.....

I actually saw a wonderful cut from Wait Until Dark years ago.
I saw a beautiful DDA from White Oleander and The Miracle Worker too.

I think some of the other suggestions were interesting:

Miss Doubtfire
One Hour Photo
Ciderhouse Rules
Sixth Sense
Big Daddy

there are endless possibilities but sometimes hard to do well due to comparison to the movie or broadway performance.

I just saw The Lake House today. interesting......

[Chewie]

What piece was that?

[Dern]

i did mystery men as a duo...

[dwhite]

What piece was that?

Sorry, Tuck, but I'm kind of OCD, so I'm gonna answer this for you.

He did "Haiku Tunnel".

~Dillon

[Aelfric5578]

Haiku Tunnel was a pretty weird movie. Then again, someone on our team did it as an HI last year and I though it was a pretty weird piece.

[jman255]

I'm tellin ya--Children of the Corn would be amazing...Or Evil Dead 2:Dead by Dawn

[NFox]

I'm tellin ya--Children of the Corn would be amazing...

You find two creepy looking kids (Twins?) and it's a go. Now that I think about it, Children of the Corn could be incredible! You need to give it to someone...

Now to address the overall issue at hand:

From personal experience, what has been said is very true. When you perform a movie piece, you inevitably get ballots filled with comments comparing your piece to the movie. I know I also got a ton of "Why didn't you/You should've included *insert favorite scene here*." The main problem is that people connect with movies and thus want to feel that SAME connection when they see someone perform a version of it. Let's not even get into how unreal of an expectation that for a performer who has only 10 minutes to do his/her piece. Coupled with that, every person connects to every movie in a different way, due to personal experiences and characters that they can related to. So right there, you are facing an uphill battle, but it is doable.

The other problem that comes up is the fact that many published scripts differ from the final product, so many times "memorable" lines are not there. Whether or not this justifies a write-in is up to each performer's discretion. Judges (And most people) don't understand that some of those lines might not be there and in the same way some people can sit through "The Terminator" to hear "I'll be back" an audience or a judge can sit there in anticipation of a scene or line that you either cut, or doesn't exist in your source material. Psychologically, there is now a disappointment because they built themselves up, and when YOU don't follow through on THEIR expectations, they are left wanting. Generally, your rank suffers from this, because to them the piece wasn't "Finished."

The worst part of all of this is that the Judges might not even realize that they put these expectation on you, so it's your job to try to overcome these obstacles before the judge has a chance to let their imagination run wild. So how do you do that? One of the best ways is to completely hack the movie apart early and often so that there is no expectation of similarity. The best example I can think of is Chris Hejl's "Batman." Right from the start, anyone who knew the movie knew that this wasn't the movie, it was a forensics piece and he pulled it off well.

So where does that leave us? I'll be ****ed if I know. But if someone does, please share that morsel of information with us, please...

Nick Fox

[Dern]

Yeah, when my duo partner and I did Mystery Men, people kept getting confused since we did the actual script and most of the movie was improved, so it was quite different. In fact, in a semis round at ASU, we got dropped because the judge thought we "added" stuff to it and the piece was therefore ineligible. But, the actors in the movie added it and we stuck to the script that was written. But that's the risk you take with movies.

[smachel]

"improved" = "improvised" i'm assuming...

first time i read it, i got confused b/c i read it as the form of "to improve"

yeah, movies are a big risk. the same can be true of popular/overdone or really any piece in general that the judge has some connection to (ending in a preposition, i know... shame on me). i know that i have been in rounds where i've heard a performance and i could swear that parts of their version were not in the script. then i second guess myself and think that maybe i've just known my version of the cutting too long and can't remember other parts. i always rule in favor of the competitor at that point. it is definitely easier to get marked down for movies though.

[airpezman]

I have seen/heard the following done VERY well in duo:

-I AM SAM (NFL QUARTERS-03)

-THE OTHER SISTER (NFL QUARTERS--05)

-RAIN MAN (NFL SEMIS 1996)

-GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (NFL SEMIS 2004)

-DOMINICK AND EUGENE (National Duo Champion, 1998, NFL DUO FINALS-2001)

-LION KING (DUO SEMIS, 2002)

-BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (DUO SEMIS, 2006)

-WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (DUO Quarters, Humor Finals-2000)

Now.... sometimes there are movies that have book or play versions; however, the movie is what is best known.

Example: Princess Bride (been in Humor Semis multiple times)
Man of La Mancha (been in Humor Finals many times)
Wizard of Oz (National Champion in Humor)

DRAMA:
MARTY (NFL FINAL ROUND Drama at least 4 times that I am aware of including Josh Gad in 1998)



PEZ

[theatrix04]

I have seen/heard the following done VERY well in duo:

-I AM SAM (NFL QUARTERS-03)

-THE OTHER SISTER (NFL QUARTERS--05)

-RAIN MAN (NFL SEMIS 1996)

-GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (NFL SEMIS 2004)

-DOMINICK AND EUGENE (National Duo Champion, 1998, NFL DUO FINALS-2001)

-LION KING (DUO SEMIS, 2002)

-BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (DUO SEMIS, 2006)

-WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (DUO Quarters, Humor Finals-2000)

Now.... sometimes there are movies that have book or play versions; however, the movie is what is best known.

Example: Princess Bride (been in Humor Semis multiple times)
Man of La Mancha (been in Humor Finals many times)
Wizard of Oz (National Champion in Humor)

DRAMA:
MARTY (NFL FINAL ROUND Drama at least 4 times that I am aware of including Josh Gad in 1998)



PEZ

You, Ryan, Chewie, and Jason seem to be our resident historians about what happens in speech and pieces at NFL Nationals. Thanks...