compound
Well-Known Member
At last, I have made my triumphant return to UC! And what better way to celebrate than by starting my own thread, dedicated to fantasy Hollywood ideas?
Mods: If you feel this can be happily merged with the similar one, created by my alleged "alter-ego", Ourchair.
So without further ado, I give you my first idea. This is my first genuine attempt to conceptualize something that passes as "family entertainment". It's for a CGI-based animated film, with no particular title in mind. For now, let's refer to it as...
Flying The Coop
Greg Gallus (Lou Taylor Pucci, Thumbsucker), a teenage spring rooster, is the lowest chicken in the pecking order. The scrawniest c0ck born during his incubation period, he is teased and picked on by his 'classmates', and the hard-nosed war vet gym instructor, Col. Cornish (Chris Cooper, Syriana, American Beauty).
Greg's only friends in the chicken coop are the kooky, indefatigably optimistic pullet Polly (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Thurston Sebright (Ben Foster, X-Men 3, Alpha Dog), the rebellious spoilt-brat son of the coop's macho but good-natured Alpha Rooster, Thor Sebright (Patrick Swayze, Donnie Darko). Thurston helps Greg ward off the other chickens who bully him, looking out for him like a brother.
One day, while off exploring a part of the farm on his own, Greg barely escapes a fatal accident, but saves himself -- by flying away! His mom (Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me!) figures out how Greg survived the accident, seemingly by "mother's intuition". But as a former show hen (and thus a well-respected member of the coop), she urges him to keep his new-found ability a secret, especially from his well-meaning but narrow-minded dad, a former Best of State also-ran obsessed with past near-glories (Kurt Russell, Sky High).
Greg continues to use his "power" in secret, especially to help out around the farm, in various ways.
For advice, Greg seeks counsel from Old Streaky (Christopher Walken), an incontinent alleged former racehorse, who took part in a fabled "Tijuana Derby", and claims to have intimate knowledge of the goings-on in the world beyond the farm. (Including a fanciful account of a gung-ho escape from a glue factory, if he is indeed speaking the truth.) He talks about sinister conspiracy theories, most of which sound like patent nonsense or harmless "crazy talk" (misinterpreting ordinary aspects from the "outside world") -- including an obtuse hint about genetically modified feed, which might explain Greg's "talent". All of this fuels Greg's imagination and sense of possibility.
Greg also wins the unlikely respect of a himbo-ish turkey (Duane "The Rock" Johnson), the smartest of the ordinarily simple-minded turkeys (which really isn't saying much), who gives him frequently inappropriate encouragement.
Meanwhile, dominant hen Bonita Bantam (Melinda Clarke, The O.C.) -- who feels that she has been wrongly denied control over the pecking order, due to unspoken gender discrimination -- begins to hatch a plot to overthrow Thor's rule, by turning Thurston against him, preying on the younger c0ck's insecurities. With the help of her snivelling faux-European assistant Etienne (Samm Levine, Freaks & Geeks), they will launch a coup in the coop.
Greg's confidence is boosted when Polly accidentally discovers his abilities, and she reaffirms her belief that Greg was "special", all along. But this newfound pride backfires, when he begins covertly using his talents to rise up the pecking order. His popularity slowly gets to his head, nearly alienating him from the ones who genuinely care for him.
This also has the unintended side-effect of upsetting Thurston by messing up the comfortable dynamic of their friendship -- which in turn makes him more suggestible to Bonita's manipulations. Jealous, he begins stealing parts from a disused feeder machine to build a set of articifical metal wings (which look like real, organic feathers -- at least initially), enabling him to gain flight, as well. He uses this as his claim to be the new Alpha Rooster, and confronts his Dad.
All of this leads to a climactic confrontation between Greg and Thurston. But after the feathers have flown, will there be a new way of distributing power in the chicken coop?
As usual, general feedback, praise, or violent objections are all equally welcome!
Mods: If you feel this can be happily merged with the similar one, created by my alleged "alter-ego", Ourchair.
So without further ado, I give you my first idea. This is my first genuine attempt to conceptualize something that passes as "family entertainment". It's for a CGI-based animated film, with no particular title in mind. For now, let's refer to it as...
Flying The Coop
Greg Gallus (Lou Taylor Pucci, Thumbsucker), a teenage spring rooster, is the lowest chicken in the pecking order. The scrawniest c0ck born during his incubation period, he is teased and picked on by his 'classmates', and the hard-nosed war vet gym instructor, Col. Cornish (Chris Cooper, Syriana, American Beauty).
Greg's only friends in the chicken coop are the kooky, indefatigably optimistic pullet Polly (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Thurston Sebright (Ben Foster, X-Men 3, Alpha Dog), the rebellious spoilt-brat son of the coop's macho but good-natured Alpha Rooster, Thor Sebright (Patrick Swayze, Donnie Darko). Thurston helps Greg ward off the other chickens who bully him, looking out for him like a brother.
One day, while off exploring a part of the farm on his own, Greg barely escapes a fatal accident, but saves himself -- by flying away! His mom (Wendie Malick, Just Shoot Me!) figures out how Greg survived the accident, seemingly by "mother's intuition". But as a former show hen (and thus a well-respected member of the coop), she urges him to keep his new-found ability a secret, especially from his well-meaning but narrow-minded dad, a former Best of State also-ran obsessed with past near-glories (Kurt Russell, Sky High).
Greg continues to use his "power" in secret, especially to help out around the farm, in various ways.
For advice, Greg seeks counsel from Old Streaky (Christopher Walken), an incontinent alleged former racehorse, who took part in a fabled "Tijuana Derby", and claims to have intimate knowledge of the goings-on in the world beyond the farm. (Including a fanciful account of a gung-ho escape from a glue factory, if he is indeed speaking the truth.) He talks about sinister conspiracy theories, most of which sound like patent nonsense or harmless "crazy talk" (misinterpreting ordinary aspects from the "outside world") -- including an obtuse hint about genetically modified feed, which might explain Greg's "talent". All of this fuels Greg's imagination and sense of possibility.
Greg also wins the unlikely respect of a himbo-ish turkey (Duane "The Rock" Johnson), the smartest of the ordinarily simple-minded turkeys (which really isn't saying much), who gives him frequently inappropriate encouragement.
Meanwhile, dominant hen Bonita Bantam (Melinda Clarke, The O.C.) -- who feels that she has been wrongly denied control over the pecking order, due to unspoken gender discrimination -- begins to hatch a plot to overthrow Thor's rule, by turning Thurston against him, preying on the younger c0ck's insecurities. With the help of her snivelling faux-European assistant Etienne (Samm Levine, Freaks & Geeks), they will launch a coup in the coop.
Greg's confidence is boosted when Polly accidentally discovers his abilities, and she reaffirms her belief that Greg was "special", all along. But this newfound pride backfires, when he begins covertly using his talents to rise up the pecking order. His popularity slowly gets to his head, nearly alienating him from the ones who genuinely care for him.
This also has the unintended side-effect of upsetting Thurston by messing up the comfortable dynamic of their friendship -- which in turn makes him more suggestible to Bonita's manipulations. Jealous, he begins stealing parts from a disused feeder machine to build a set of articifical metal wings (which look like real, organic feathers -- at least initially), enabling him to gain flight, as well. He uses this as his claim to be the new Alpha Rooster, and confronts his Dad.
All of this leads to a climactic confrontation between Greg and Thurston. But after the feathers have flown, will there be a new way of distributing power in the chicken coop?
As usual, general feedback, praise, or violent objections are all equally welcome!
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