DreamMOVIE #8 "Turn That Beat Around. . ."

[ProjectX2]

As I have only recently gotten into Radiohead, I probably can't comprehend how much awesome that is, Moony, but good job anyway.

 

[marvelman]

I don't think our interpretations are too dissimilar. Your interpretation strikes me as being more "mythical" with a focus on exactly what the songs embody. With mine, I basically pulled a lot of original stuff out of thin air and made it a bit more personal because I thought it might help it function better as a film.

yeah... for me the difference is in scope. you took a more personal approach, and i wouldn't say mine is "mythical" but rather it is more broad/pertaining to the world as a whole and the impact this singular event has on the world... but you did make a good story out of it... i always envisioned mine like clips of news shots sewn together like a music video...

 

[Ultimate Houde]

So, I have an idea, and maybe even a cast, but Entropy screwed up my Walking Dead cast because I was going to make that a musical, but now it would look like I'm merely copying his idea.

I don't know how I feel about this.

But I'm going to try to post my idea. I'm going to have a huge problem with songs, but I'll try.

 

[marvelman]

id still like to give this a shot as well, but as of yet do not have a GREAT idea... we'll see... im thinking a tale of london life using the music of blur, kinks, smiths, jam, clash, libertines, streets, maybe nick drake, maybe oasis, maybe arctic monkeys, and other VERY british bands.

 

[Entropy]

I wish someone would do a story based on Sign o' the Times.

Sorry I messed up your Walking Dead pitch Houde.

 

[marvelman]

ive been inspired by syd barrett.

I think I'm gonna do "The Life of a Drugged-Out Rock 'n' Roll Star: A Cautionary Tale" or else title it "Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n' Roll." Featuring Animal Collective, Syd Barrett era-Pink Floyd and his solo work, Strawberry Fields Forever, Tomorrow Never Knows, and other drugged out music. I think I'm gonna go into garage band and link together a buncha tracks, and then upload it to putfile for you all to listen to it... give me a couple hours... or days...

Any recommendations for songs? I've got a really long playlist already made up, but I'd be interested to what you guys were thinking...

EDIT:

k here's what I got: 81 songs totalling 5 hours and 54 minutes. I have yet to start mashing them together though...

the list:
Animal Collective
Did You See the Words
The Purple Bottle
For Reverend Green
Turn Into Something
Native Belle
Cuckoo Cuckoo
The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations
Brian Wilson
I'm In Great Shape
You Are My Sunshine
Our Prayer/Gee (opening chant)
The Beatles
Happiness Is A Warm Gun (I need a fix)
Tomorrow Never Knows
A Day In The Life (crescendos)
Strawberry Fields Forever
I'm Only Sleeping (backwards guitar solo)
Revolution 9 (various bits of freakiness)
Blue Jay Way (freaky ahh's in between verse lines)
Battles
Race - In
Blur
Beetlebum
No Distance Left To Run
Tender (Oh my, Oh why section)
Can
Paperhouse
Mushroom
David Bowie
Sound & Vision
Changes
The Flaming Lips
Fight Test (opening line and synth)
Gnarls Barkley
Crazy (I Think I'm Crazy lyric)
The Good, The Bad, & The Queen
Three Changes (beats and guitar)
Huey Lewis & The News
I Want A New Drug (maybe... maybe not...)
Jeff Buckley
Hallelujah
Jimi Hendrix
Purple Haze (vocals mostly)
Led Zeppelin
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (beats and maybe guitars)
Stairway to Heaven (im gonna see if i can reverse this)
Hats Off (To Roy Harper) (opening freak out)
Lou Reed
Walk On The Wild Side
Modest Mouse
Float On (bits and pieces)
Bukowski (bits and pieces)
Neutral Milk Hotel
King of Carrot Flowers Pts. II & III ("I love you, Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ, I love you, yes I do!")
Nick Drake
Pink Moon
Of Montreal
I Was Never Young
Panda Bear
Take Pills
Comfy In Nautica
I'm Not
Search For Delicious
Pink Floyd
Astronomy Domine
Interstellar Overdrive
Breathe
Radiohead
Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
The Gloaming
Backdrifts
A Punchup At A Wedding (unlikely)
Myxomatosis (unlikely)
Hunting Bears (unlikely)
Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors (LIKELY)
15 Step (maybe some of the beats)
Reckoner
The National Anthem
In Limbo (oh yeah...)
Idioteque (perhaps)
Climbing Up The Walls (creepy music at beginning)
Worrywort (maybe)
The Amazing Sounds of Orgy (maybe)
2+2=5 (i don't remember how I was going to incorporate this...)
The Rolling Stones
Sympathy For The Devil (lucifer bits)
The Shins
Weird Divide
Red Rabbits
Sleeping Lessons
Spiritualized
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
The Stooges
Search and Destroy
Penetration
Gimme Danger
The Strokes
Red Light
Iggy Pop
Lust For Life
Syd Barrett
No Good Trying
Thom Yorke
The Eraser (mostly music for these three)
The Clock
A Rat's Nest
The Velvet Underground
Beginning To See The Light
Venus In Furs
Heroin
Weezer
Hash Pipe

obviously, some songs will cover some drugs while others will cover other drugs, but I hope to capture the mood of each drug. The movie will be primarily guided by the music, with very little dialogue. It will be a very visual movie.

If I finish it, I will def. post it

 

[thee great one]

It is an unclear time in the future. The world is in chaos. There is no government. Not any more. Welcome to one of the last big cities. Welcome to...

PARADISE CITY

Where the grass in green and the girls are pretty.


The town is ruled by a crimelord, King Nothing, and his army of The Riders On The Storm.

Led by his General, The Low Rider.


The only thing challenging the ruling powers is The Nights Of White Satin led somewhat by the mysterious Sultan Of Swing.

There is also mercenary group, The Girls Le Disko, that is run by Nothing but are really part of the rebellion. The leader is Cassie, quick tempered and very skilled. There is Iris, the sweet one, and Janie, the smart one.

There is also his chief mad scientist, Dr.Feelgood.

The story opens with the hero of the movie, only known as The Midnight Rider, arrives in Paradise City. Should he is harressed by some Riders and kills them.

He is attacked by more but is saved by the rebels. They bring him back to their base, The Heartbreak Hotel where he mets the leader. He joins the rebellion because he has nothing better to do. They attack one of major operations and damage it. He sends The Girls Le Disko to track Midnight and kill him.

They find him and have a fake fight .

The Low Rider and The Riders join the fight. When the leader of the Girls, Janie, turns of The Riders.

The Low Rider and Midnight have a huge battle, but they seem very similar.

Midnight is able to kill The Low Rider and his pals.


They go back to base and plan a huge attack on Nothing's stronghold. When they attack, they are met by the remaining Riders and Dr.Feelgood's newest creation, the monsterous Superbeast.

Midnight kills the beast and confronts Nothing and Feelgood. It is revealed that he is part of genetric stock from Nothing to build an heir, same as Low Rider. Midnight knew this and that's why he came to kill him. After a impressive battle he does and now rules Paradise City.

Midnight Rider - Josh Harnett

The Girls Le Disko
Cassie - Kristen Bell, Iris - Ellen Page, Janie - Michelle Trachtenberg

Sultan Of Swing - Samuel L. Jackson

Lowrider - Kevin Durand

Dr.Feelgood - Philip Seymour Hoffman

King Nothing - George Clooney




It's a very tongue is cheek movie with lots of music and references to songs and lyrics.​

 

[Entropy]

Alright people, today's the 9th. Should we let this round go a little longer (say a day or two) or do we call it closed at midnight and announce a winner tomorrow? Let me know what you think.

 

[Iceshadow]

Alright people, today's the 9th. Should we let this round go a little longer (say a day or two) or do we call it closed at midnight and announce a winner tomorrow? Let me know what you think.

Let it go on for a few more days I didn't have anytime to work on it this week.

 

[Zombipanda]

That's awesome, marvel.

I think I may do the Lou Reed Story.

 

[Entropy]

Alright, let's let this go a while more. How about Thursday, then?

 

[Iceshadow]

Sounds good to me.

 

[Iceshadow]

ive been inspired by syd barrett.

I think I'm gonna do "The Life of a Drugged-Out Rock 'n' Roll Star: A Cautionary Tale" or else title it "Sex, Drugs, & Rock 'n' Roll." Featuring Animal Collective, Syd Barrett era-Pink Floyd and his solo work, Strawberry Fields Forever, Tomorrow Never Knows, and other drugged out music. I think I'm gonna go into garage band and link together a buncha tracks, and then upload it to putfile for you all to listen to it... give me a couple hours... or days...

Any recommendations for songs? I've got a really long playlist already made up, but I'd be interested to what you guys were thinking...

Cool list, you should include Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and The Beatle's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which is a trip (hell LSD is in the title).

 

[Zombipanda]

Cool list, you should include Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and The Beatle's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which is a trip (hell LSD is in the title).

Also, maybe "Plastic Fantastic Lover", and some King Crimson?

and maybe a sprinkle of Clapton, or The Clash?

 

[marvelman]

Cool list, you should include Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and The Beatle's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which is a trip (hell LSD is in the title).

too obvious on the beatles... i considered it, but nixed it... havent heard white rabbit; nor do i have it, so it wont make it on... i dont think its gonna work tho as i cant isolate vocals

 

[Entropy]

too obvious on the beatles... i considered it, but nixed it... havent heard white rabbit; nor do i have it, so it wont make it on... i dont think its gonna work tho as i cant isolate vocals

Just keep the vocals lower in the mix and dampen their musical backing as best you can. Or, you can try and find instrumental tracks for everything you want to extract and remix from there.

 

[marvelman]

no no.... i need to isolate the vocals to overlay on TOP of instrumentals... but i dont want the music from the vocal track's song on top of the other instruments... i just want the voice... though i could work around it... MAYBE...

you should just go ahead with the round, as i have a bio test this week, and REALLY need to focus on that, and not music :-!

that said, i WILL post it when i'm done.

 

[Entropy]

no no.... i need to isolate the vocals to overlay on TOP of instrumentals... but i dont want the music from the vocal track's song on top of the other instruments... i just want the voice... though i could work around it... MAYBE...

I think you misunderstood me. Outside of actually having the masters, there is no way to REALLY isolate vocals. You can pull off a reasonable facsimile though if you have an instrumental track of the same song you want to sample because you can shift the phase of the instrumental track and then mix them. At least, in the width of my experience and capabilities that's how I know it to be.

that said, i WILL post it when i'm done.

Good, because I really want to here it.

 

[marvelman]

I think you misunderstood me. Outside of actually having the masters, there is no way to REALLY isolate vocals. You can pull off a reasonable facsimile though if you have an instrumental track of the same song you want to sample because you can shift the phase of the instrumental track and then mix them. At least, in the width of my experience and capabilities that's how I know it to be.



Good, because I really want to here it.

ah, see... i dont have instrumental only tracks of any of these... so its gonna be a long hard labor of love.

 

[compound]

*** reposted and expanded with new updates ***

In order to celebrate my triumphant return to the board, I give you...

NEW JERSEY

A sweeping, epic period musical that documents the history of the Garden State between the two World Wars. It's both a classic love story, and a tribute to the various cultural, political, and social influences that shaped the region. And it's all set to rearranged versions of hits from...

Bon Jovi. No, seriously, you read that correctly. Bon Jovi.

Please, hear me out. It will all make sense, I promise...

====================================================

THE STORY

Union City, New Jersey. 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression. We meet our protagonist, Tommy Marella (Michael Angrano of Sky High), a jobless 19-year-old with the soul of a poet. He finds a copy of a poetry magazine discarded near the Park Performing Arts Center, and reads the popular verse "Trees", by the late Joyce Kilmer, the Roman Catholic poet and fellow New Jersey native. The idealistic young man recognizes his calling, much to the frustration of his hard-working, booze-swilling single father (James Gandolfini, of The Sopranos).

Frustrated by his dad's lack of support, Tommy decides to strike out on his own, determined to fulfill his romantic dream ("It's My Life").

Together with his more brusque and street-smart childhood buddy Donnie Ponza (Frankie Muniz, from Malcolm In The Middle), he moves to Weehauken and gets a job on the construction site of the Lincoln Tunnel, connecting New Jersey to Manhattan.

Meanwhile, in Atlantic City, millionaire playboy Solomon Medici (Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum, now with HAIR!) -- heir to a real estate fortune -- lives with the pressure of maintaining his father's business empire, dreaming of opening a grand hotel on the seafront.

From Tommy's crowded hovel, and Solomon's penthouse suite, each man sings of the weight of his ambitions ("The Hardest Part Is The Night").

On the job site, Tommy quickly earns the ire of a hostile, slave-driving foreman (*still to be cast*).

After shift hours, Tommy becomes a regular at the Starlight, a 24-hour diner, where he routinely trades friendly but opposing ideas with its propietor Spiro (*still to be cast*), a Greek socialist, displaced from his homeland by World War I. It's here that Tommy meets new Sicilian waitress Gina Scalia (Spy Kids' Alexa Vega), who dreams of becoming a famous stage performer on Broadway. After one passionate night along the waterfront, the young idealists declare their undying love ("Never Say Goodbye").

Tommy has found a muse, granting him a newfound will to live. The couple move in together, making them the subject of malicious gossip from conservative neighbors ("Living In Sin").

But things are starting to get difficult for the lovers. With the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, work on the Lincoln Tunnel comes to a halt; the suddenly-empowered union plays hardball with the contractors, leaving Tommy unemployed once more. Even as Gina makes her best efforts to make ends meet, life is a struggle ("Living on a Prayer").

Gradually, Tommy turns to his Catholic upbringing to find strength; he vows to make life better for his ladylove ("Bed of Roses").

One night, Tommy follows a Mysterious Stranger dressed in a WW1-era uniform (Mark Wahlberg in a silent cameo) -- implied to be the ghost of Joyce Kilmer. He ends up in an illegal recruitment office, where he learns about Solomon's plan to expand the grand Savoy hotel, in Atlantic City, in defiance of the local unions. Tommy decides to take a chance, and signs himself up as a laborer on the project.

Tommy and Gina are overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of Atlantic City: the amusement parks, the boardwalk games, the ornate leisure palaces. They make a promise to each other not to become overwhelmed by all the glitz ("I'll Be There For You").

Gina eventually catches Solomon's eye. He sends one of his lackeys, show promoter Viggo (Jeremy Piven, of Entourage) to sign her up as a lounge act in the Savoy. With Solomon's unseen influence, she becomes an instant hit, much to the frustration of the jealous veteran performers. She performs an elaborate cabaret version of "You Give Love A Bad Name".

Solomon begins to openly show his affection for Gina; she is initially unfazed by his charms, but recognizes the practical value of maintaining his interest. She plays along, knowing that it will advance her career.

Tommy, fearing that Gina is becoming distant, prepares an old-fashioned birthday surprise for her. But he somehow runs afoul of Viggo, who twists the situation around, in order to frame Tommy for attempting to rob Solomon. Crestfallen, Tommy goes on the lam ("Wanted: Dead or Alive").

Gina visits Tommy in a safehouse, where she asks for his forgiveness ("Never Say Goodbye" reprise) before he is arrested by the corrupt cops who followed her.

With Tommy gone, Gina descends further into bitter drunkenness, as Solomon keeps her under virtual house arrest inside her plush hotel suite.

In prison, Tommy encounters his old buddy Donnie, whom he hasn't seen since he left Weehauken. Together with a ragtag trans-cultural group of miscreants, the friends plot a daring breakout.

Solomon gets word about Tommy's flight. Meanwhile, the newly-established FBI is gradually uncovering his family's mob connections. Solomon realizes that a confrontation is fast becoming inevitable ("Blood on Blood").

Hiding in plain sight within a mixed immigrant ghetto, Tommy befriends the sagely Father Giovanni (Martin Scorsese), a prizefighter turned priest, who espouses a kind of "theology of liberation". Renewed by this encounter, Tommy rallies the dispossessed from the neighborhood to lead a charge against Solomon ("Keep the Faith").

The various forces storm towards the Savoy lobby (Medley: "Keep the Faith" - Tommy's group, "I'll Be There For You" - Tommy, "Never Say Goodbye" - Gina, "Blood on Blood" - Solomon, his goons, the FBI agents). It all ends in a tragic showdown of tears, fists, and bullets that leaves all parties in ruins. In the wake of it all, an injured Donnie flees the scene, one of the few survivors of the Savoy Massacre. The audience is shown the full extent of the carnage, as he makes his way to the street ("These Days").

Epilogue - In the suburbs of 1970s New Jersey, the aged Donnie tells his adult son (Jon Bon Jovi) and teenage grandson to always remember the story of Tommy and Gina. Fascinated, the young boy picks up his acoustic guitar, strumming the opening chords of "Living on a Prayer"...

====================================================
THE PRINCIPAL CAST

Michael Angarano as Tommy Marella
Alexa Vega as Gina Scalia
Michael Rosenbaum as Solomon Medici
Frank Muniz as Donnie Ponza
====================================================

THE SETTINGS

I envision massive set pieces, inspired by specific locations. To give you an idea about what I have in mind:

construction site of the Lincoln Tunnel; must come across as a something larger-than-life; a real marvel of engineering

the quintessential East Coast diner; a communal social experience; relief from the stress of workaday labor

the sprawling Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City; inspiration for the fictional Savoy, from the movie

====================================================

LIGHTING/PRODUCTION/COSTUME DESIGN

I'd want the whole production to have a genuine Depression Era feel. The movie's poster would be patterned after 30s style playbills:

... and the staging would recall socialist "working men's" plays of the era.

I'd reference the work of social realist painter Raphael Soyer for ideas on how the scenes would be lit and framed: