A Party with the Movie Genres

Credits
Zan, Heleen, Jen, Christine

Possible inspiration from Bored Panda

Characters
Mentioned
 * Made-for-TV & Straight-to-DVD
 * Biographical
 * Superhero Blockbuster
 * Action/Adventure movie
 * Sci-Fi
 * Chick Flick
 * Teen Comedy
 * Coming-of-Age Story
 * Romantic Drama
 * Thriller
 * Gangster
 * Whodunnit
 * Crime Drama
 * Horror
 * Film Noir
 * Period Drama
 * Cult Classic
 * Indie
 * Burlesque
 * Dance Movie/Musical
 * Animated Feature
 * Disaster movie and/or Dystopian movie
 * Arthouse
 * Documentary
 * Space Opera

Opening
ADVENTURE arrives at a party hosted by CULT CLASSIC, who's a very popular guy if a bit pretentious (but not as bad as ARTHOUSE). CULT's young roommate INDIE looks up to him and all his cool friends, but only HORROR shows any interest in him and INDIE's scared to death of that creepy guy who always sneaks up on people.

CULT asks ADVENTURE how he enjoyed his road trip with DOCUMENTARY. ADVENTURE says he and DOCUMENTARY broke up, DOCU's on a date with DISASTER MOVIE right now. A jealous SCI-FI overhears this and joins the conversation, claiming DISASTER is taking advantage of poor DOCU (who he clearly has a crush on) and he just knows it won't end well. He refuses to explain what he means to ADVENTURE because he won't understand anyway. CULT CLASSIC protests, saying first impressions don't mean anything. ADVENTURE and SCI-FI clearly don't get along but it's hard to keep a party secret from SCI.

Middle
SUPERHERO BLOCKBUSTER knocks the door down and grabs the elbow of the nearest lady, PERIOD DRAMA. She nearly faints at the sight of his flashy tight-fitting outfit. FILM NOIR swans in and bats her eyelashes at him, and offers him her elbow instead. She moans how SPACE OPERA got way too boring in the sequel and says she loves a man of action. CHICK FLICK is green with envy. When COMING-OF-AGE STORY tries to strike up a conversation with her, she bullies him till he cries. PERIOD DRAMA sobs loudly, fanning herself. She's then scooped up by DANCE MOVIE! and BURLESQUE who tell her to 'let it go'.

STRAIGHT-TO-DVD and MADE-FOR-TV are identical twin wallflowers. INDIE FILM comes up to them, bitching about how DANCE MOVIE! didn't deserve all the praise because the acting was shite. FILM NOIR agrees, adding that that sort of thing wouldn't have even made the big screen in her day - no offence.

***

CRIME DRAMA wipes his fingerprints off anything he touches and refuses to try any of the food or drinks, saying ARTHOUSE really made him feel unwell last time. He's terrified of WHODUNIT finding out about him. GANGSTER says he knows a guy who can take care of that but CRIME complains he really hasn't got time to wait for a whole trilogy for a final solution.

WHODUNIT meanwhile is writing mind maps all over the walls and windows. ADVENTURE and SUPERHERO are mightily impressed but it all goes over their head. They start challenging each other to smash a window instead.

***

SCI-FI made glowing radioactive coloured punch which TEEN DRAMA and BUDDY MOVIE happily scull till they get sick on the floor. CULT orders INDIE to mop it up. ROMANTIC DRAMA and SCI-FI, both fairly hammered, start a staring contest. HORROR messes it up by scaring the sh*t out of them.

***

INDIE finds BIOGRAPHICAL's diary and starts reading it, then tearing out pages and stuffing them in his pocket. FILM NOIR starts showing interest in him.

SUPERHERO BLOCKBUSTER gets a call (the ringtone is "IN A WORLD" by V.O. guy) from his girlfriend ANIMATED FEATURE who's running late because she thinks she looks horrible. SUPERHERO tries to calm her down, saying she'll look perfectly realistic but he's clearly faking it. He winks at FILM NOIR, but she's already tired of the guy, curled up on a sofa next to INDIE who nervously tries out his best lines on her.

End
FILM NOIR ends up with GANGSTER and a very drunk ROMANTIC DRAMA is being mothered by PERIOD DRAMA who tells him that CHICK FLICK isn't good enough for him anyway.

WHODUNIT stares in disbelief at the smashed window and grumbles 'who did this!?'. THRILLER walks past and rolls his eyes, saying that anyone with half a brain could work that out.

CULT CLASSIC asks WHODUNIT to please lock the door on his way out. On the other side of the room, HORROR's shadow looms over INDIE while the music builds...

*** OTHER IDEAS***

Host: ROMANCE(elude to the set up of a crappy story line in which two genres have completely different types but fall in love because they met at a party)

OPENING

VOICEOVER [but seeing the other character looking pensive]: And there he was, at a party, invitation in hand, full of anticipation-

??: Could you just open the door?

ROMCOM: Well, I had thought about hosting one for awhile… just seemed like the perfect set up, you know. Genres across platforms, meeting up for the first time, having the craic… and one of them falls in love

??: “Falls in love?”

NATURE DOCUMENTARY [looking up from a plant he was investigating (maybe taking a picture): Oh yes, speaking of mating season…

[the other two look a bit put off]

FAIRYTALE: And they all lived happily ever after

DYSTOPIA: But then one day a meteor hit the Earth and killed everyone they loved…

FAIRYTALE: No…. I don’t think that’s how it went

DETECTIVE [cuts in]: I found a clue! I may have just solved the crime!

FAIRYTALE: Crime? What is he on about?

or

FAIRYTALE: It was Christmas 2019, and the family all got together, they hadn't seen each other in ages and-

DYSTOPIA: -and then a deadly virus spread across the globe, cutting everyone off from the ones they loved. And then murder hornets...

[awkward silence, FAIRYTALE starts crying]

?? [to DYSTOPIA]: Why do you have to ruin everything?

DRAMA [whispering to ?? about STRAIGHT-TO-DVD]: I heard he didn’t even get shown in a movie theater. Just TV… how embarrassing…

WESTERN [enters the party saying something very cowboy esque lol]

NOVEL ADAPTATION: That’s never gonna happen. You know Drama… she’s so…

DRAMA: I’m so what?

NOVEL ADAPTATION: Dramatic? [says it weakly]

DRAMA: [stares in disbelief] [looks around the room] [seems to come to a conclusion] You’re just jealous- I would be a jealous wanna be too if everyone who saw me preferred a book!

* OR: tired of people preferring to read pieces on bound paper than watch you

WESTERN: Is that-- Is that my beer? [motions like he’s going to draw his weapon]

ROMCOM: No need for that, here is another one

V02: A Pitch Meeting with the Movie Genres
Pitch: a film producer (Foil) has a series of meetings with a selection of familiar movie genres (Foil, Arms, Hog) who all pitch their new project to him. The only project worth his money is a dystopian sci-fi disaster movie, but he's shocked when it turns out to be Documentary (Hog) in disguise.

Characters: Action/Adventure, Musical, Film Noir, Superhero Blockbuster, Period Drama, Cult Classic, Animation, Horror, Chick Flick/RomCom, Crime/Thriller, Social Realism, Horror

Puns & gags:

Overall: all reverse shots of the Movie Genres are colour graded to look like the genres they represent, fake widescreen with letterbox black bars, the graphics for their names and the soundtrack match those of familiar movies in the genre. The Producer's shots are 'normal' and 16:9.
 * Chick Flick claiming to be genre-fluid now
 * remakes, prequel/sequel, trilogy: repeating the same sentence but with another actor playing the part
 * space opera's pitch takes forever, the producer asking if he can actually sing, pushes him to try (he can't)
 * Buddy Cop Movie and Psychological Thriller pitching their movie together as odd-couple crime fighters, but one of them is about to retire saying he's "too old for this sh*t" - The other one drinks black coffee and grumbles he'll get to the bottom of this
 * RomCom weeping tears of joy at his own pitch, not able to finish sentences
 * Animation looks like a pretty princess who's followed around by cartoon butterflies (downloaded green screen footage), she swats them away and then pitches a gruesome story in a deep growling masculine voice.
 * Social Realism getting angry at being mistaken for Melodrama, in a melodramatic way
 * Biography having a blackout, explaining nothing has happened to her at all in the past 4 months or so
 * Horror growling, wearing a mask, suddenly gets a phone call (silly jingle) and he answers the phone in a bubbly voice, taking off his mask, chatting away

V03: Unnamed pitch (Aisling)
13 characters: 12 movie genres, 1 actor

Premise: an actor (aspiring? Financially troubled?) is looking for a part in a film. The movie genres each try to convince him that they’re his best option, by describing the role he’d play if he came with them, while also trying to discredit or ridicule other movie genres.

Option: have each movie genre be represented by a director with a related name, like Andy Action (a play on "and... action!") for the action movie genre, or a female director for comedy called Hilary Comedickson and other similar bs names

[Movie genres: role description]

1. Action: gangster who gets to look cool and walk away from explosions
 * 1) Mannerisms: putting on and taking off sunglasses before saying important or witty lines

2. Adventure: superhero with a big bad enemy
 * 1) Entering the sketch: “Help me! Somebody, help me!” actor worriedly goes over to help. “You’re perfect for the role!”

3. Comedy: likeable, normal dad (?) in an awkward situation or surrounded by ridiculous personalities
 * 1) Laughing tracks sound after every bad joke/pun
 * 2) Play the random = funny angle. “Look, a kid whose personality is just that he likes cheese! Can you brie-leive it?”

4. Crime: forensic scientist who for some reason is in charge of the whole investigation – goes to the crime scene, analyses evidence in the lab, interviews suspects, chases suspects down street
 * 1) Random conversation or object makes him discover the killer. Pizza delivery guy: “Here’s your pizza” (scientist freezes) “My pizza. My pizza. Of course! I know who did it!” runs off

5. Drama: eligible bachelor of a rich family
 * 1) Must have a problematic new stepparent
 * 2) Gets dramatic zoom-ins every so often

6. Fantasy: fantastical creature, part of a complex universe
 * 1) Ends up simplifying the complex narrative into something like “there’s a talking wizard lion and a bad witch”
 * 2) Needs at least 8 films. “But there’s only 3 books” “You have your head in the clouds/Let’s be real/[insert reality pun], you need at least 4 movies just to explain the plot)

7. Historical: Oscar-worthy performance of an influential historical figure
 * 1) Extreme physical transformation + 8 years of character study needed
 * 2) People on the street will confuse him with the historical figure

8. Horror: just a normal person in a fucked-up situation.
 * 1) “it’s all CGI and jump scares, you just come and get payed, basically”
 * 2) Actor ends up going with this one because it’s the less overwhelming one

9. Romance: mysterious love interest
 * 1) Lots of intense staring and semi-pouting. Carries a daisy around and smells it from time to time

10. Science Fiction: intrepid hero who’s only supernatural ability is to be impossibly handsome but somehow always wins against impossible odds
 * 1) Dystopia angle?
 * 2) Moral dilemma or existential questions always thrown in “Can robots have feelings?”

11. Western: the new handsome sheriff in town
 * 1) Includes chasing an outlaw on horseback
 * 2) “Show me your best southern-USA accent” actor complies, “... we’ll have to work on that”

12. Children’s Film: a loved, iconic character, maybe a classic children's book adaptation?// Disney's first Disney Prince-centric movie
 * 1) There’s a creepy or scary reference hidden in the movie that only adults will get
 * 2) (If Disney angle) a play on all the Disney Princess tropes?