Howdy yall.
Anyways, I have had a bad string of luck lately where as I write a short and find out a week later that it has been done before. So, I decided to pitch it here so that I dont waste my time

OK,
Its going to be a dark comedy, about 3-5 minutes long. It is about a single, lonely man. Lives in a crappy apartment and works as a janator for a living. His only ray of hope is winning the lottery. Every single week, he plays the same numbers over and over again in the NJ lottery. He has been doing this for several years now, but yet, he has not won. He begins to give up hope, and one week, he forgets to play his numbers.
That night, he sits infront of the TV, then suddenly remembers that he didnt pick up his lotto numbers. He turns to channel 7, and the numbers are drawn. He waits in antisipation... one of his numbers is called. Then the second, then the thrid, and eventally, sure enough, his numbers are called. He could have won the lottery..... but no, the one week he forgot, he wins. A few seconds later, he goes up in his room, gets his gun, and shoots himself.

The end.

Has that been done?

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Alex Conway -
STOP SIGN RUN Productions

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible" - Jonathan Swift

but its very unoriginal.... It sounds like it has been done a million times.... and I know it has been done on all those ghetto shows.. like Martin, and some others but in different ways.... like in one they have the ticket but rip it in half by accident so I do believe it has been done and if not variations of it have...

"Back home, they put me in jail for what I'm doing. Here, they give me awards."-Casino


www.colt45productions.8m.com

Yeah the whole lottery ticket thing has been played out. And killing himself in the end would be too predictable - or you could add a twist, like his g/f comes in after to tell him the good news that he picked his numbers cuz she knew he was late for work and missed his numbers or something, and could find his blood all over the walls.

If you don't look I'll force you to _=_

"A few seconds later, he goes up in his room, gets his gun, and shoots himself."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

.......

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

........

Thats hilarious.....

ANyway.... Yes... Its been done a million times...
but make it YOUR WAY... and you'll be fine....

I like it.... I've always liked it...

watch this movie, it's somewhat similar to the idea you have...but more in detail and is a well done studentfilm.

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TacoWagonProductions
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"True artists don't do homages, they steal."  - Quentin Tarantino

It's been done. But that should never stop you from doing it yourself, becasue you can always do it better.

yeah, what Skoat said...

if you add in originality and a new take on the idea...you can make something original and interesting to watch

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TacoWagonProductions
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"True artists don't do homages, they steal."  - Quentin Tarantino

Great story indeed, but it was featured on a show about urban myths on TLC. Its a really cool story and TLC did an alright job. You could do it better though. Add a twist and you've got something special, thats what Hitchcock always did. He took an ordinary moment or regular story and added a total twist. This made it 1,000 times better. Find a great twist and you find your original glory.

Maybe he's mentally ill, and there is no gun or lotto ticket, but he keeps killing himself over and over again until he is found dead in a pysch0ward and nobody knows how he died, but he has a gunshot wound in his head. But how is that possible? He was tied to the bed and there was nothing and no-one else in the room... hey--thats a great idea...THATS BLOODY BRILLAINT!! Im gonna make a movie about that. I call dibbs on that story, and that was just the top of my head. I RULE!!! *gives himself a high five as he moves over to Final Draft 3.0*

But yeah, find a twist and you will emerge victorious.

Later Comrade.
-Spenser

I've learned that no matter how similar your story might seem, you should just shoot it, if ya want to.

Think about it this way --

Suppose, for example, that I give you and a Hollywood producer the same script. You both go and make the film, edit, and then screen it for me.

I guarantee you that even with the exact same script, you would have two entirely different films. It's all in the tone. If you've been watching PGL, then I'm sure you know that by messing with the tone, the "feel" of the movie can shift from a comedy to a drama, black comedy, etc.

It's kinda like theater -- Hamlet's probably been performed a zillion times, but I guarantee you that no two performances were ever exact.

So mebbe a film about a guy winning the lottery, etc. ain't hamlet, but it is a learning experience...

Screenking
Editor, Austin Film Resource
http://www.cineshare.com

Yeah, people are always *****ing about originality. Sure, it's important; but you can always make a story better.

Look at Shakespeare - he stole most of his plots from stories written before him. Nobody seems to complain about that .

Just make it stand out from the crowd. You can have a bunch of gangster movies all with generally the same story - some are good, some are bad, but none of them are neccessarily ORIGINAL. Shoot it if you want. You want to have fun doing it

That's my input.

Sony TRV950

Lol, thanks guys. I just read all these posts today - and yesterday right after I posted this topic, i said, "f*ck it, Im gonna do it anyways. Im bored as hell as it is. Might as well."

So i guess i was write. Its only gonna be like 2-4 mintues long, and I'm about half way through writing it on my final draft 5.0

*If anyone cares the film should be up around holloween. Peace out, and thanks to all who replied.

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Alex Conway -
STOP SIGN RUN Productions

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible" - Jonathan Swift

By the way, if you really wanted to make a good dark comedy, YOU DON'T HAVE TO KILL THE GUY! Make him suffer instead. I always find that MUCH funnier.

-Thomas Chalifour

Writer/Director/Actor Extrodinaire
Tommy Boy Productions

The Creative Process

i thought it was a comedy? if it was supposed to be a dark comedy, maybe he goes to shoot himself, but he does it with a water gun. and the whole story builds up suspension to the point of him shooting himself, then out comes water. and then it ends.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mazkir:
i thought it was a comedy? if it was supposed to be a dark comedy, maybe he goes to shoot himself, but he does it with a water gun. and the whole story builds up suspension to the point of him shooting himself, then out comes water. and then it ends.

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I dont think you understand what a "dark comedy" is. A squirt gun would be comedy comedy, not dark. Go watch a movie like, oh say, "Fargo", that is a great dark comedy.
A dark comedy is a movie that makes you laugh, but your really not supposed to be laughing at that point because it wasnt a "real joke". If that makes any sense.

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Alex Conway -
STOP SIGN RUN Productions

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible" - Jonathan Swift

pulp fiction....


blowing off Marvin's head was the funniest thing to happen to dark comedy films.............ever.

Fargo is kinda funny too.

my moron film teacher thought it was hillarious though......then again he also thought the TexasChainsawMassacre isn't a classic horror movie.

what a moron.

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TacoWagonProductions
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"True artists don't do homages, they steal."  - Quentin Tarantino