TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
Stanley Quinn was a rather typical, average guy. He lived a relatively normal life as a wannabe screenwriter in New York City, the city that he's grown up in since childhood, never experiencing anything other than the 'Big Apple'.
That was, until he went back home after another failed interview, only to find something had broken into his apartment… cautiously walking in, he found a strange eldritch creature… raiding his fridge.
Initially scared of whatever this creature is, Stanley eventually discovers that the creature really liked [insert brand deal food/drink here]. And manages to somewhat tame it…
An avid reader, Stanley decides to give the creature the name of Shoggoth, and uses its strange physiology as inspiration for his latest work…
This is until Shoggoth accidentally gets discovered by Stanley's next door neighbor, and the police are called to take care of this strange 'monster' that the neighbor suspects Stanley either created or summoned.
Shoggoth using its strange powers is able to inform Stanley of the police arriving to his apartment, so they make a quick escape by climbing out of the sixth story window, and using Shoggoth to swing to the next building, and getting away by stealing the neighbor's car.
The movie turns into a road trip movie, as Stanley and Shoggoth evade the police and agents in black hunting them, and experience brand new things that they never thought they would have.
Some ideas are that Shoggoth finds a factory for [insert product placement that we've established that Shoggoth loves] and essentially eats/drinks everything there, or Stanley befriending a country girl (possible romance?).
Eventually, the movie would end with Shoggoth saving Stanley's life against one of the agents, sacrificing its own life in the process. ___
This is just a basic pitch that I made out of boredom. Hope it's decent enough for you guys, though.
Literally happened last week, but there's a number of things happening, from there being fear that there will be no more physical copies of D&D being made going forward due to WotC dropping their third-party publisher (Penguin House) with no new one announced, them deciding that the Witch class is being removed since its "offensive to real world religions" and that Druids and Shamans will likely also be removed for the same reason, discounts and bundles are unavailable from their online store, and all of this seems to be aligning perfectly for their One D&D to launch as an exclusive that may or not be real.
The only thing I can say to all of this is: Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
As far as I could tell that was WotC shifting over to using Hasbro's distribution network rather than Penguin Random House's. The witch class being removed is news to me.
It had started with an offhand, teasing comment from Bruce, about how Carrie was starting to get predictable, that nothing she did would surprise him anymore...and she took that personally, waiting got the perfect moment to strike, and found it one day after she found him goofily instructing Mary on how to do a proper pushup after she had begged him to teach her how to "get swole like daddy". With this in mind, she started bring Mary with them on their workouts, knowing that due to how dedicated to his fitness and had spent years honing his knowledge about workouts and exercise routines, eagerly sharing his wisdom with anyone who would lend an ear, and with an active audience in Mary, she started to secretly record the two of them doing this...and then started doing so while he was at the gym.
With this mischievous plan in mind, Carrie continued to secretly record Bruce while he explained his workout routines, with the intention of creating instructional videos without him ever suspecting a thing.
One sunny Monday morning, after breakfast, Carrie casually asked Bruce about his workout routine. She pretended to be interested in his fitness journey, wanting to understand why he focused on specific muscle groups and what his reasoning behind it was. Little did Bruce know that every word he spoke was being recorded by Carrie's hidden camera.
Bruce, never one to shy away from sharing his knowledge, enthusiastically began explaining his workout routine to Carrie. He spoke with passion, referencing scholarly articles and scientific research to support his claims. He talked about the importance of compound exercises, the benefits of progressive overload, and even mentioned his love for steel mace workouts, an unconventional and challenging form of exercise that he had recently incorporated into his routine.
Day after day, Bruce unknowingly continued his routine of sharing his fitness expertise with Carrie. He provided detailed explanations about various exercises, proper form, and the importance of rest and recovery. He was completely absorbed in his discussions, unaware of the camera's presence.
It wasn't until a week had passed that Bruce finally realized something was amiss. He noticed a glimmer of mischief in Carrie's eyes as he finished another explanation about the benefits of incorporating steel mace workouts into his routine. Curiosity piqued, he asked her directly, "Why have you been asking me so many questions about my workout routine lately?"
Carrie burst into laughter, unable to contain her secret any longer. She confessed to Bruce that she had been secretly recording him for the last two weeks, capturing his knowledge and passion for fitness. She explained how she wanted to surprise him by creating instructional workout videos featuring his expertise, even going so far as to involve George and Maria in on the plan, by having them edit the raw photoage [keeping the one's with Mary in them in the family vault to eventually tease her with].
Bruce was dumbfounded when he finally saw the complete project, with George commenting that with a little extra effort, they would be able to readily turn this into a regular show on their TV Channel. A/N: Like all things, I got bored, imagined Bruce leading a cheesy '80s instructional workout video (with a better budget and direction) and decided to make the origins of it all a wholesome family adventure.
In the land of Romania, a warrior was born
Son of the Dragon, a deadly foe to scorn
With blood and steel, he defended his throne
Vlad the Impaler, his legend widely known
The Sultan's shadow crept over the East
Mehmed the Second, hungered for the feast
But Vlad the Impaler, in his heart, a fire
To defend his homeland, never would tire
Vlad the Impaler, fearless and bold
Son of the Dragon, his enemies fate foretold
Kazıklı Voyvoda, protector of the land
With a sword of vengeance, he took his stand
A forest of spikes, his gruesome creation
In the name of justice, a dark revelation
Defying the Sultan, his wrath unrelenting
Vlad's cruel methods, the invaders were resenting
The Sultan's shadow crept over the East
Mehmed the Second, hungered for the feast
But Vlad the Impaler, in his heart, a fire
To defend his homeland, never would tire
Vlad the Impaler, fearless and bold
Son of the Dragon, his enemies fate foretold
Kazıklı Voyvoda, protector of the land
With a sword of vengeance, he took his stand
Beneath the crimson moon, in the dead of night
Vlad's vengeance burned with unholy might
A principality's guardian, a demon in disguise
He'd stop at nothing, with fire in his eyes
A true son of Romania, fierce and unbowed
In the face of invaders, his spirit would astound
His name struck fear into the Ottoman's heart
A relentless defender, he played his part
The Sultan's shadow crept over the East
Mehmed the Second, hungered for the feast
But Vlad the Impaler, in his heart, a fire
To defend his homeland, never would tire
Vlad the Impaler, fearless and bold
Son of the Dragon, his enemies fate foretold
Kazıklı Voyvoda, protector of the land
With a sword of vengeance, he took his stand
Vlad the Impaler, a hero of Romania's tale
In the annals of history, he has prevailed
Kazıklı Voyvoda, his legend roars
In the fires of battle, his spirit soars
Songwriters: Bruce O'Brien / Carrie Frances O'Brien A/N: Figured I'd join in on the Sabaton parodies, this one about Vlad the Impaler himself. Dude is long overdue for any reference to him that isnt just Dracula and Vampires
TV Pitch: Director's Cut
Genre: Educational
Format: Live Action commentating on Movie Clips
Length 40-60 mins
Premise: While movies are one of the most popular and fascinating story telling mediums on Earth, the inner workings of them aren't well know. Director's Cut tries to change that by breakdown what makes them so great. Each episode a host watches movie clips with one of Lucasflim's directors who help make sense the choices behind the scenes. They are also accompanied by two puppets, The Critic and The Director who act as comic relief.
Characters: The Critic is a dour and sour being whose only enjoyment in life is seeing other people suffer. The Critic believes the only true art in cinema comes from art house films and blockbuster are just low brow for the mass entertainment.
The Director is a wide eyed bushy tailed novice making their first film. They are excited to meet all their heroes and religiously write down everything they say. Their completed film is shown at the end of the season, and it is puppets recreating the most famous moments of all the films the show broke down. They proudly show this to the Lucasfilm directors, who hopeful will be kept in the dark before hand.
(Both the film and puppets should be worked on by Jim Henson)
Episode 1: The Beginning
George Lucas breaks down THX 1138 his very first film and the difficulties of having a studio trying to kill a project
Episode 2: Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa breaks down some of his favorite moments he filmed across his movies
Episode 3: Date Night
Bruce and Carrie break down Five Dates while getting disgustingly cute with each other
Episode 4: Closer Encounters
Steven Spielberg breaks down Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Episode 5: Solomon Kane
Martin Scorsese breaks down Solomon Kane and the Nephilim's Castle
Episode 6: Fan Favorites
A special episode that sees all the directors of Lucas Arts in a room together to discuss what is their favorite films and what it means to them
Episode 7: Bloody Origins
Brian De Palma recounts the filming of Dracula Blood Origins and his reaction to what it helped inspire
Episode 8: Rocky
Sylvester Stallone breaks down the 2 Rocky movies
Episode 9: Kill Em All
Yoshiyuki Tomino is asked about what is needed to make an animated series as big as Gundam
Episode 10: The Old Man
Don Bluth breaks down the traditional animation techniques seen in Hiawatha
Episode 11: The Dragon Enters
In an emotional episode Bruce breaks down the action scenes of Enter the Dragon explaining the craftsmanship that goes into fight choreography
Episode 12: A Raising Hope
The Final of Season 1 George Lucas breaking down what made Star Wars with the help of the Special Effect Artists
More Episodes can be added if people get ideas
overmind's ideas Episode ?: The Dark Knight
Bruce recounts his experience as the director, and actor, of Batman, as well as his thought process in how he portrayed the "World's Greatest Detective".
Episode ?: Land Down Under
A review on Mad max, just what made it so iconic, and a description on "Guerrilla Filmmaking". (Special Guest: George Miller)
Episode ?: Humble Beginnings
Francis Ford Coppola breaks down his first films (Finian's Rainbow and You're a Big Boy Now) as well as some annecdotes of the times.
Episode ?: Passion
Martin Scorsese breaks down Raging Bull, the movie, the book, and the character himself. (Special Guest: Jake LaMotta)
AN: This is my very first pitch and I wanted or TV channel to have a show that educates people on the process and thinking that goes into movie making.
Blow Out Directed by: Brian de Palma
Written by: Brian de Palma
Produced by: Michael Eisner
Production and Distribution: Lucastilms
Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz
Budget: $18,000,000 Domestic:63,653,330 International:87,562,756
Total Gross: $151,116,086
Well 1941 became the Black Sheep of the family as Lucasfilm's first failure with no possible spins or arguments to be made. Luckily, the Thanksgiving season wouldn't be a total bust as Mike would have the foresight to release Brian's latest film, the political thriller Blow Out. While Martin and Steve had floundered, Brian was on a roll with another great film that showcased his wide array of talents, all while giving your best bud John another excellent film under his notch to really diversify his career along with his stint as Deadshot as Batman.
The film focuses on John as a Philly sound technician Jack Terry who is stuck at a dead end job working on crappy B movies with his latest assignment focusing on a slasher, which strangely looked like the beginning of Halloween. While out on assignment to collect some sounds for the studio reel, Jack happens to be at the scene of what appears to be a deadly accident with a car falling into a river. The driver is dead on the scene but Jack saves an accompanying woman. Later, Jack finds out that the victim was actually a popular California Governor who was the frontrunner for the presidential election, and when reviewing his audio recording of the accident, Jack finds foul play as instead of a Blow Out being the cause as police claim, Jack discovers that the Governor's tires were shot, showing hints of a potential assassination. Now Jack must work together with the Governor's escort, a makeup artist named Sally to uncover the truth while Jack and Sally are at the same time hunted by the shooter who wants to eliminate all loose ends to his crime.
The story and style of the film is by no means revolutionary as parts could be seen as similar to many predecessors, but what Brian does brilliantly is play with existing tropes and take fresh spins, most especially with Jack's role as a Sound Artist which opens up new avenues of investigation and criminology. Brian wrote a really tight script which after the beginning had a constant air of suspense which hung the viewers tight until the end as Jack goes down a deep rabbit hole and is tossed around with few people to trust. There's a lot of well done suspense, decent action and a great atmosphere of paranoia that hits hard after a decade of assassinations, conspiracy and high crimes.
What really helped to sell Blow Out from a good to a great film was John as the protagonist. John once again proved to the world that he was one of the best actors in Hollywood, probably your equal, breaking his usual type casting of urban bad boys and showing his skill by fully merging with the role of a streetwise, paranoid and cynical everyman while holding great charisma and command from start to finish. John truly went above and beyond in method acting by spending a month at Skywalker Ranch as an intern for Skywalker Sound and experiencing the duties of a Sound technician while becoming an apprentice of sorts to Marcia, though you shouldn't have been surprised considering he became a master marksman for Deadshot. Speaking of Marcia, this was her first editing job after giving birth to Wally and she did another fantastic piece of work that earns her at least an Oscar nod, doing beautiful work with the pacing and reinforcing the paranoia and tension through camera work and sound that play nicely with how editing is such a core part of the movie.
Unfortunately the rest of the cast just didn't share the sheer talent of John and thus while they gave decent performances, he really stole the show. The closest to his level of quality was John's old Carrie co-star Nancy Allen who did her best and gave you a very likable and sympathetic person to root for, kind of like a more active Nikki from Hardcore. Her and John were actually cute together with decent chemistry, which was kind of a funny sight considering that they were the villains of Carrie with Nancy having played such an evil bitch in the movie. Nancy's casting turned out to be very interesting as apparently she and Brian had fallen in love over the course of filming with Brian proposing at Valentine's and the two being married after you finished production with Empire. You hope the best for the two and that they can become just like you and Carrie as a powerful filmmaking duo, although having attended their wedding you had some gut feeling that they lacked the magic you were blessed to share with your wife.
Blow Out would become a great success, nearly making eight times its budget and having a strong and even performance internationally. Although you think that people were mainly driven by it starring John and being directed by Brian with his last movie having started a war, thus there was hype and controversy. It sure wasn't the great quality of the film as weirdly Blow Out suffered the Black Hole effect in that people had a good viewing and then completely forgot about it the next day. Similarly to Black Hole, the critics were in very high praise, almost all loving the movie as a standard bearer for thrillers with most of the compliments going to John's acting, Brian's writing and Marcia's editing.
Also, you think the media were trying to stir up some controversy on purpose to make up for a slow news cycle, as a week after Blow Out premiered there was some great debate over some sort of "Hidden meaning" of the film. Since the plot involves a California Governor being assassinated through what was a smear action by the incumbent President to kick him out of the race which escalated into a murder, some wise guy journalist had the interpretation that this was some sort of weird political manifesto you had about current events, trying to influence 1980 through the conduit of Brian who caused the Romanian Revolution with Dracula. Political pundits tried to interpret the film in one of two ways, either this was an attack against Carter as the incumbent with the Governor supposedly being a stand-in for Reagan who everyone sees as your new best friend, or the Governor was Jerry Brown who is shown to be a popular man brought down by his vices and scandal. You know you shouldn't have fallen for the bait, but it brought you great pleasure to have an interview with the local news and tell the political world they were a bunch of morons for reading too much into a film whose production ended a year before you Hillsgate.
In any case, any agenda real or imagined would have zero reprecussions as Blow Out suffering the Black Hole effect ensured there wasn't really any great popular change to enact. Thus, Dracula would remain Brian's rare one-off of impacting global events. Although you suppose you'd have to wait for Small Giant and see how it impacted the Black community and Civil War historiography to see if Brian truly did have the power to change the world with his films. Apparently bullying in schools decreased heavily after Carrie.
Whatever the case, such thoughts were well behind you at the moment as a week and a half after the film's release, John invited you to an aerial tour of SoCal in his private plane. Oh yeah, John was a pilot. When he wasn't filming a movie in Texas, John spent the year aiming to get his pilot's license and he earned his wings with flying colors, maybe he'd be great friends with Noboru.
Any sane man should have rejected, but you did far crazier shit like fighting Ali and that was nothing compared to your dad playing mercenary in Romania. Fortunately your fears which caused an hour of praying the night before turned to be for naught as John took his piloting very seriously and despite not even having his wings for a year, seemed to fly with all the experience and skill of an Air Force vet. It actually turned out to be a pretty good time with John showing you some beautiful sights of the California landscape and you even flew over your house.
After 90 minutes from LA to San Diego and back, you landed safely at a private airport and John broke out the beers for a well done flight, "So John, is this all meant to be really intense method acting for Airplane." You ask.
John laughed hard at the joke, nearly spilling his beer, "Nah, I actually tried to audition for the movie but apparently, they turned away, said I was too funny and a certain scene wouldn't work if I was in it."
You made a strange face as John took a swig, how could you possibly be too funny to star in a comedy movie?
"Actually, ever since I was little I had always been super fascinated with planes, back in Englewood we had this huge hammock and I'd like to sit on it wearing flight goggles like Snoopy and pretend I was some World War II ace shooting down bad guys. Read tons of books on planes and built lots of models, and if I failed Hollywood then I would have gained my wings and become a commercial pilot for Pan Am or TWA." John said with a melancholic hint at the end.
"Let's just say that now that I'm an A-lister, there's no reason I can't achieve some old dreams on the side like how you do."
You looked around the cockpit, that of a Gulfstream II, a rather sleek and impressive private jet. "So that's why you starred in all those commercials, saving up for some jets?" Over the past couple of years John had been in a slew of commercials for popular brands and also had been doing a lot more guest appearances on TV than you."
"Well we can't all make half a billion dollars from a movie and own the best studio in town." John ribbed, with you shaking your head and smiling at the word. "I'm actually saving up some money to buy some proper Boeing planes, the really big airliner ones." John raised his hand at your look of concern, "I'm alright Bruce, been talking to some smart money guys and I got a healthy portfolio and some real estate investments like you. Not gonna go broke over this hobby."
"If you say so." You say, sinking down into your seat and enjoying the beer you were nursing, "Thanks again for bringing me out here, it was a really fun experience. Carrie would have loved to have come if she wasn't carrying the twins. Maybe some time next year, and down the road the kids can ride in the sky with their Uncle John."
"Yeah that's good." John said with a distant voice, "I'm really glad you enjoyed today, was the least I could do to repay Blow Out. And listen Bruce, if you need anything from me, and I mean anything at all I'll be there as your guy. Fill in for a role last minute, watch the kids while you and Carrie are on date night, walk the pets, teach the kids music, write some songs for Carrie-"
The generosity started off nice, but as John started to drone out with some very specific examples of how he could lend a hand with stressed urgency, you started to get very suspicious. "John, what's this all about, what are you trying to say?"
John slumped and sighed as you caught onto his hidden meaning, "I-it's just....I took you out on this joyride today because I wanted to repay you for Blow Out, landing me another great movie and finally breaking my typecasting."
"That was all Brian's doing not mine." You protested, as Brian had sought out John on his own much to your surprise.
"And that and this film would have never been made if you didn't create Lucasfilms." John countered, then shaking his head with a sigh, "I just feel guilty, that you and Carrie have done all of these wonderful things for me and my career and I don't ever do anything to repay you guys. Not that I can since you're both literal billionaires." John says glumly.
You frown at the explanation, "John, you never had to "repay" for anything and you never owed us anything. Besides, there's plenty of stuff you've done for us already."
"Like what?"
"Well you were the Best Man at my wedding, ensuring it was the happiest day of my life. You starred in Some Nights and Batman, ensuring those movies were great thanks to the awesomeness of John Travolta. You've already looked after the pets and babysat Mary many times. But most importantly, you're my friend and that doesn't require any sort of repayment in return, never will." You emphasize.
John nods slowly with a smile, "Thanks Bruce, I guess I needed to hear that."
You pat John on the shoulder, "So, got any good movies coming out besides the cowboy romance?"
John shakes his head, "Not right now, gonna take some time off til New Years. Any cool Lucasfilms projects I can join? Everyone's been gossiping about all those power plays and recruits you've been doing?"
"We're gonna decide something after the Christmas party, got a crap load of movies we're making and our TV division's gonna finally create some shows. Not sure yet what we're gonna do, but we're gonna start the 80s with a bang."
Also damn Brian is going to be considered the third master of Lucasfilms when everything is all said and done, even though we know that good ole Steve and George will be making quite a bit more films of higher quality.
I don't want to rain on somebody's parade but I'm sensing really big power creep in this quest. Compare the rolls of American grafitti, Carrie, Jaws and some nights to LucasFilm's new movies. I mean what's even the point of the +200 modifier if the only important thing is the raw dice result. Because you have Jaws roll a 125 and 1941 roll a 202, logic would dictate that the bigger number would be better but not in this case. So what is the point of these modifier's.
I thought I'd try my hands at a comedy. And truth be told, after I saw Oversimplified's take I could not stop thinking about how this setting could lend itself so much for a good comedy/parody by the same guys who did Airplane!. The entire Guelph/Ghibelline conflict can lend itself to so many gags, not to mention that it's a period of time where the entire papacy was both in Rome and in Avignon (aka The Western Schism) a period that just makes for so much introspection for corruption, graft, and the supremacy of the Pope over the Holy Roman Empire...and then make an entire joke out of it!
Thus, I give you:
Movie Pitch: The War of the Bucket GENRE: Comedy/Parody/Historical
SUBGENRE: Satire/Political
FORMAT: Movie
Set Up: Set during the XIVth century, in the middle of the conflict between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor over the right of investiture of Bishops. When the "Guelph" and the "Ghibellines" factions fought and rampages through Italy in a never-ending struggle for supremacy. Where the very supremacy of the Pope and the Emperor are at risk...a small town tries to fanatically defend their benevolent, handsome, striking and absolutely aesthetically pleasing bucket.
Director: David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Elder Lorenzo: A member of the Council of Bologna, and the leader of the "Cult of the Bucket", an organization dedicated to pleasing their "Mighty Wooden Overlord". A loquacious speaker with a taste for mangled metaphors and overreactions to any problem, big or small, as well as a believer that the emperor is coming to attack the city in order to take their bucket.
Played By: John Candy Alternate: Peter O'Toole
"Dante": A braggart who claims and pretends to be "Dante Alighieri", making constant references to The Divine Comedy, which are always taken out of context, and pretending he knows better than others. He becomes Matteo's mentor when it comes to wooing women, claiming he's wooed everyone in the city.
Played By: Leslie Nielsen Alternate: Joe Pantoliano
Matteo: A young citizen of Bologna. he falls in love with Lady Maria, the daughter of the ruler of the city, and thus tries many and all kinds of antics to gain her attention, including joining the Cult of the Bucket, and eventually fighting against the invading Modena army who manages to defeat them and take the bucket for themselves.
Played By: Matthew Broderick Alternate: Tom Cruise
Lady Maria: She the sensible daughter of the ruling family, and perhaps the only sane person in the city, usually seeing the whole wackiness and wondering if she's the only sane one in the entire city. Turns out she's not, as she's just a different brand of crazy but she does not know it yet.
Played By: Meg Ryan Alternate: Sarah Jessica Parker
Pope John XXII: The greedy and fearful Pope, who claims anything he sees and does not immediately understand is clearly witchcraft.
Played By: Danny DeVito
Passerino Bonacolsi: The general of the army from Modena, who's first, second and last option is always to punch someone.
Played By: Steve Martin
Louis IV "The Bavarian": A grown up man child that despite his power and skill, is still prone to tantrums and trying to declare war on anyone.
Played By: Jeffrey Jones
A.N.: Eh, I don't think this is my best work, but then again I was never that good in writing comedy. Hopefully I'll be able to improve if I ever try it again. For now, I think I'll try for another pitch that is more serious later on.
I don't want to rain on somebody's parade but I'm sensing really big power creep in this quest. Compare the rolls of American grafitti, Carrie, Jaws and some nights to LucasFilm's new movies. I mean what's even the point of the +200 modifier if the only important thing is the raw dice result. Because you have Jaws roll a 125 and 1941 roll a 202, logic would dictate that the bigger number would be better but not in this case. So what is the point of these modifier's.
Profits and audience and critic rolls are two different things are separated
The profit rolls get modified by the factors of the decade and investments you've made to Lucasfilms.
The audience rolls modify the merchandise rolls, as will be seen with Star Wars coming soon, and grant a .1 multiplier every 100 to film profits. Directors and film stars also modify that but we're not in the 80s so I haven't unlocked that stuff yet.
But the domestic and international rolls are done by a random number genorator out of 1 billion and then modified.
The numbers have been low on those rolls even with multipliers
and critics are what gets films nominated for awards.
As for film quality, that should be self explanatory.
Profits and audience and critic rolls are two different things are separated
The profit rolls get modified by the factors of the decade and investments you've made to Lucasfilms.
The audience rolls modify the merchandise rolls, as will be seen with Star Wars coming soon, and grant a .1 multiplier every 100 to film profits. Directors and film stars also modify that but we're not in the 80s so I haven't unlocked that stuff yet.
But the domestic and international rolls are done by a random number genorator out of 1 billion.
The numbers have been low on those rolls even with multipliers
and critics are what gets films nominated for awards.
So, I'm now working on an League of Extraordinary Gentlemen(LoEG) type of franchise now with King crimson(though I will not be able to focus too much on it rn), and I figured that I'd give y'all a little spoiler as to what my next in-progress pitch will be.
We open to the outskirts of a fishing village on the night of a full moon, with the bottom screen showing, in cursive font, "July 7, 1881" and "Tuscany, Kingdom of Italy" in quick succession. A greying man with a bent leg and a bushy beard somberly stands over the grave of his son Carlo. Initially stoic and calm, the old man greets his dead son and begins to talk about how the village has been doing since his death, mentioning that Carlo's friend Antonio had become a butcher and that Bianca was now a teacher at the village school. His face faltes as he says that he knew that Carlo fancied Bianca when they were children and that he would have no doubt made her the happiest woman in Italy. Tears now begin to stream freely from the man's eyes, and he falls to his knees. Now weeping freely as he clutches the cross that marks his son's grave, he cries out that if the saints could only give him but one day more to spend with his beloved Carlo and treasure it forever.
Sobbing for a few more seconds, the old man eventually collects himself before standing up and turning around to walk back to the village. As he hobbles forward, however, he turns toward the sea and notices some kind of being floating over the sea. The old man, frightened beyond measure, turns and hurries back toward the village. He freezes, however, when he hears an unearthly voice call out to him.
"Geppetto... Geppetto..."
Shakily breathing in and out, Geppetto's instincts to flee are slowly overridden as he approaches the beach, where a single rowboat is ashore. Pushing with all of his strength, which is not that much, Geppetto strugglingly pushes the boat into the water before climbing on board and rowing toward the being. As the waves rock the boat back and forth, Geppetto closes his eyes and prepares what to say when he meets... whatever that thing is. As he takes in some deep breaths, the blue light grows brighter and brighter until the voice suddenly calls out to Geppetto to halt. Startled, Geppeto opens his eyes, whirls around, and comes face to face with the being.
Its form is that of some sort of fae, possessing a mystical beauty that is utterly inhuman. Wearing a majestic Roman tunic, its flowing hair reaches its feet–no, claws resembling those of a hawk, and its pitch black eyes staring into the man's soul. Five large wings sprout from its back speckled with unblinking eyes, and atop its head rests a seaweed laurel. But most striking of all is the ethereal blue glow that seems to waft from the fae. Geppetto is instantly struck with fear and, shielding his face with his arm, begs that he be spared from the fairy's wrath.
As the glow slowly brightens in a dramatic fashion, the scene fades away before transitioning to opening credits.
