BoM/TWS Message Forum

Writing-wise, I seem to be booked for the next several months with commissions. But the storyline that breaks off in "Home Sweet Hollywood"  is one I want to return to eventually. That's the one where Will and Sydney wind up in Hollywood in the guise of a washed-up TV actor and his daughter.

A long time ago I asked if people preferred it if BoM referred to real people and things, or to fictionalized versions. As I'd hoped, "fictionalized" won out. That said, in this Hollywood setting, I have compromised this far: corporations (studios, networks, streamers, agencies, etc.) are real. But the movies and TV shows, and the talent and executives that work on them, are fictionalized. This leaves me needing to invent "furniture" for BoM's version of the entertainment world if I'm going to tell stories inside it.

But instead of making it all up by myself, I thought I'd do something like I did when I made a map of Saratoga Falls, and ask readers who have a creative itch to help furnish the multiplexes and the TV screens of the BoM world. (Right now I'm only interested in titles and concepts for movies and TV shows, not in characters or personalities.) Can you come up with some plausible names and pitches for movies and shows? If you can, I'll try to find a place for them (with maybe some revisions) in BoM's version of Hollywood.

Examples of what I mean:

In "Behind the Curtain"  Will/Paul discusses his career. Only two titles are of any note. Nothing really detailed gets said about them, but here are some pitches that tie together and background the details and inferences from BoM:

* Enchanted U. TV Series. Pitch: "Supernatural" and "Charmed" meet "Riverdale." North Chantwell Community College (N-Chant-Ed; geddit?) in Chantwell, NC, is situated in a spatio-dimensional fold where our world intersects a fantasy world of gods, elves, monsters, sprites, and other magical whatnot. The US government has a secret agreement with the rulers of the Fae world wherein criminals, rebels, exiles, and other undesirables of that world (not all of them bad; many have just fallen athwart the authoritarian Fae rulers) are exiled to Earth for "re-education," and are trapped both within human bodies (but with some of their powers intact) and within the dimensional fold, which covers the college and part of the town. (Chantwell is bisected by a river, the exiles can't cross the river to the other side.) Our protagonist is Edmond de la Gardie, the exiled son of a rebel noble-elf, ensconced in Chantwell as "Eddie Garth" (Adrian Michael Murray). He has gathered around him a kind of court of other exiles, including the apprentice wizard Simon Magus/"Simon MacGurk" (Paul Griffin) and the satyr-astrologer Dr. Phuson/"Sylvester Forstmann" (Scott Cotter). Three love interests compete for Eddie: the oblivious Chantwell native Jessica Plaite; the fox-sprite Vixe/"Victoria Villacarlos"; and a dwarf princess, Grer/"Greta Yellen," whose marriage to Edmond would end both his and her exile, as it would void Edmond's rights to his Fae estates and earn her a pardon. Edmond's attempts to break his exile form the backbone of the series; episode-by-episode stories deal with his attempts to thwart criminal-Fae elements and the machinations of both the human and Fae governments, as well as the occasional merely mundane story. Two seasons broadcast on the CW before cancellation.

* Ws and Ls. TV Series. Pitch: Just another stupid Disney Channel teen sitcom, this one based on The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson. (Real book, btw.) Jackson Greenfield (Mark McKay) is a high school sophomore who was educated in magic tricks, confidence games, and various mechanical skills by his con-man grandfather, and uses these skills to get into and out of trouble at his school, and to benefit his friends and discomfit his implacable opponent, the rich and snobbish Richard Sinclair (Drew Phelan). The series titles derives from the belief (held by both Jackson and Richard) that the world is divided into winners and losers, and each is determined to be a "W." Series was controversial in some quarters because it race-swapped the protagonist of the book from black to white. One season of 13 seasons broadcast on The Disney Channel.

Other ideas, much more nebulous, I am throwing out so others can help flesh them out, if they want. (Note: Places in the following that are marked "TBD" are places I'd welcome suggestions and ideas.)

* Dracula's Daughter. TV Series. Pitch: "Dark Shadows" meets "Mean Girls." Allison Eucard is, literally, Dracula's daughter. To escape her father, this 300-year-old vampire, who looks 16, moves to California and goes to high school, where she is ostracized and persecuted by the mean girls and the claque of popular boys that they dominate. Allison retaliates (with the help of Timon Renfield (great-great-grandson of the first of Dracula's servants), a steamy, 18-year-old hunk who has followed her as her servant) by slowly seducing and converting to her army of the undead various classmates. Season One (for Netflix) consists of 8 episodes; not yet broadcast.

* The Crime Factory. Movies. Pitch: "Fast and Furious" and "Ocean's Eleven" meet "Taken" and "Mission: Impossible." Title refers to a syndicate of gangs of professional criminals who pull off elaborate heists, sabotage, and acts of terrorism, both on their own account and for governments looking to screw other nations with plausible deniability. Basically, The Crime Factory will do any criminal job for a high enough price. Damian O'Leary, the protagonist of the first film, and of two sequels after the first proved a huge hit, is a ronin-type gunman who is hired job-by-job as The Crime Factory needs him. Films in the series are The Crime Factory; Crime Factory 2: Hell Ship; and Crime Factory 3: A Game with Coffins. Hard-boiled and noirish with exceptional action sequences played for real suspense rather than for popcorn thrills and laughs.

* The Challengers Cinematic Universe. Movies. Pitch: The MCU/DCEU of BoM's Hollywood. A ten-film series (thus far) set on a 20th/21st-century Earth that was conquered in the 1940s in an incursion from another dimension by a fascist, Darkseid-like god [World and villain name TBD]. The incursion, however, also caused metahumans to start appearing amongst the human population, and these (singly at first, but eventually as a team) fought back against the invaders and their human collaborators. Based on a comic book line published by [TBD] Comics.

Like the MCU, the CCU launched with solo series before the crossover films happened. The solo series are:

[1] [Character name TBD]: Billionaire-industrialist who collaborated with the invaders before his manifesting meta-human powers (super-intelligence and telekinesis) marked him out for liquidation as a threat. He now operates out of the secret bowels of his confiscated factories, using high-tech and his own powers to fight the invaders and their collaborators. Three films so far.

[2] [Character name TBD]: Powers and history TBD. Two films so far.

[3] The Mercurian: Descendent of a Viking colony transported and trapped on Mercury as a result of a failed incursion by the same invaders in the 10th century. His people survive on Mercury thanks to meta-human invincibility brought on by that incursion. The Mercurian, aka "Brand Finnsson," is deficient in invincibility, marking him out for an early death on Mercury. Fortunately, he also possesses a MacGyver-like flair for improvised engineering, which he used to fashion a one-man rocket that returned him to Earth. Wears utility armor whose pockets and pouches hold all manner of useful tools and weapons he has designed and made himself. Two films so far: The Mercurian and The Mercurian 2: Starlost. Played by Chris Previn.

[4] [Character name TBD]: Powers and history TBD. One film so far.

[5] Jade Viper: Korean character, powers and history TBD. One film in preproduction.

Characters who appear in these films include
* Mistress Darke: Leather-clad villainess, powers TBD. Played by Renee Corrido.

Two crossover films have been produced so far: The Challengers and The Challengers: Vengeance Brigade.


Yeah ... This stuff is supposed to be plausible, but also very cheezy.