With the 125th Pick in the Hollywood Dynast Draft CincyHR Studios Selects.....

Actress




Audrey Hepburn, Fifth Found, Fifth Pick (125th Overall) .

It's about time that some leading ladies went off the board, and we are ecstatic to get a personal favorite; the charming, beautiful, and talented Audrey Hepburn. With her addition, we feel that we have one of the most formidable trios of lead actors in this draft.

Hepburn was born in Belgium and grew up in The Netherlands, where she suffered through the sorrows of WW2. After the war she moved to London, where she studied dance. She took some small roles in film and theatre, but her big break came in 1953 when she starred in "Roman Holiday", a William Wyler romantic comedy co-starring Gregory Peck. For this role she received an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA.



American audiences immediately took a liking to Hepburn, and for the next fifteen years she was one of the biggest stars and box office draws in the world. In addition to being one of the most popular actresses, she was also one of the most well-received critically. From 1953-1967 she starred in 16 films, amassing 5 Oscar Nominations (1 win), 8 Golden Globe nominations (1 win), and 5 BAFTA nominations (3 wins).

Some of her more notable roles include "The Nun's Story" (1959), "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "My Fair Lady" (1964), and "Wait Until Dark" (1967). Four of her films appear on AFI's 100 Great Romances list, and Hepburn herself comes in #3 for greatest actress of all time.

She was a favorite costar of many of Hollywood's greatest leading men. Cary Grant and Gregory Peck both coutned her among theri closest friends. She is one of the few women that could draw crowds like the men of Hollywood's Golden Age could.



Hepburn had considerable talent outside of acting. She was an excellent dancer and singer, and provided some of her own vocals for musical roles. She won a Tony for her performance in 1953's "Ondine." She also has an Emmy and a Grammy, along with a SAG Lifetime Achievement award. In her later life, inspired by her expereince in WW2, she became very involved in humanitarian causes, and was a spokesperson for UNICEF. This image will greatly aid in publicity for my studio, although in her real life it cuased her to act sparingly in the later years of her life.

And of course, one must not overlook that Hepburn is considered one of the most naturally beautiful women in the history of cinema. She was a fashion model and a trendsetter. Hollywood has not always atracted the classiest or most well-behaved women, but with Audrey Hepburn we have a perfect role model and someone who we are happy to have as the face of our company.

Audrey Hepburn is someone that was a legend in her own time, and whose popularity has continued to grow in the fifteen years since her death. She was multi-talented, and had one of the great peaks of all time. Her value transcends mere acting.

CincyHR Studios:
-Walt Disney
-Tim Burton
-Jack Lemmon
-Robert Mitchum
-Audrey Hepburn

Round 5, Pick 126: Fred Zinnemann
Director/Producer



Fred Zinnemann is a highly-acclaimed and ridiculously accomplished/versatile director. His career lasted exactly 50 years, so he has the longevity needed to direct my other similarly long-tenured talents. He directed many different film genres including thrillers, westerns, film noir, and play adaptations, making him perfect for the versatile actors I already have on board. Nineteen actors appearing in Zinnemann's films received Academy Award nominations for their performances, including Gary Cooper and the just-taken Audrey Hepburn. For himself, he won five Academy Awards and directed classic movies like From Here to Eternity, High Noon and A Man for All Seasons.

High Noon is his best-known and finest film, and it also proved his penchant for innovation:

He has a strong penchant for realism and authenticity in his films, a trait that I think perfectly fits with Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, and Alec Guinness since all have been involved in wildly successful films that fit that mold very well.

Zinnemann has a way of getting the absolute most out of his actors. He would take actors and actresses known for certain kinds of roles and place them as different characters, most notably Audrey Hepburn, who was previously cast in upbeat, comedic roles, who gave the performance of her career as the anguished Sister Luke in the highly Zinnemann’s The Nun's Story. On top of that, he has a way of discovering talent as well. Marlon Brando and Meryl Streep both appeared on screen for the first time in his films, along with a slew of other great actors that I can’t name since they haven’t been drafted. He even saved the career of another extremely famous performer that I can’t name either.

So, basically what we have is an extremely talented director who is capable of taking famous or unknown actors, casting them in anything, and getting a great performance out of them while making a great, profitable film as a whole across a slew genres over the course of 6 decades. Sounds good to me.

He’s won 5 Oscars (2 for Best Director, 1 for Best Documentary/Short, 1 for Best Picture, 1 Best One Reel Short which isn’t listed on imdb for some reason) and been nominated 11 times (7 for Best Director, 2 for Best Picture, 1 for Best Doc/Short, 1 for Best One Reel Short). From an article I found:

He kicks ass, and I think that’s a perfect match with the talent I have so far. Also, he’s Jewish, which will help me get lots of funding in Hollywood, obv.

imdb 250 movies for my studio
2. The Godfather (Duvall, Acting)
3. The Godfather Part 2 (Duvall, Acting)
4. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Eastwood, Acting)
12. Star Wars (Guinness, Acting)
36. Apocalypse Now (Duvall, Acting)
40. Lawrence of Arabia (Guinness, Acting)
48. To Kill a Mockingbird (Duvall, Acting)
67. The Bridge on the River Kwai (Guinness, Acting)
113. Unforgiven (Eastwood, Directing/Acting)
116. High Noon (Zinnemann, Directing)
122. A Few Dollars More (Eastwood, Acting)
125. Gran Torino (Eastwood, Directing/Acting)
134. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Guinness, Acting)
144. Million Dollar Baby (Eastwood, Directing/Acting)
186. Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, Directing)
235. Network (Duvall, Acting)
238. Mystic River (Eastwood, Directing)

Oscar Nominations/Wins

34 total nominations, 11 wins including 2 lifetime achievement awards. 7 nominations as best actor (2 wins), 11 best director nominations (4 wins), 5 best picture nominations (3 wins), 5 best supporting actor nominations, a nomination for best adapted screenplay, a nomination for best docu/short, and a win for Best one-reel short. The actors have all acted in a ton of different genres (that often overlap each other), have all directed and/or written well-received works (Eastwood especially), all had box office success, all played very recognizable characters, can lead or support, and have had very long careers. Zinnemann as a director has all of these same traits: tons of overlapping genres with the others and a ridiculously long career.

Studio So Far:
6. Clint Eastwood
67. Robert Duvall
85. Sir Alec Guinness
126. Fred Zinnemann

Round 5: Pick 129
Ben Hecht





These are quotes from the two of the greatest directors of all time citing the importance of an amazing screenplay. Most people working in Hollywood will tell you that a great movie can't be made without a great script. So with this pick, we're taking one of the best ever at writing a script: Ben Hecht.

Like most screenwriters, Hecht isn't known well among the general public. But just taking a glance at his IMDB resume, you can see the absurd amount of quality films he was responsible for. He was referred to as "The Shakespeare of Hollywood", and in the very beginning of the sound era he was the first to truly master the art of the talking screenplay. His writing credits vary wildly across all genres: Scarface, Gunga Din, Wuthering Heights, Spellbound, Notorious, Monkey Business. He won two academy awards for best original screenplay, including the very first one for Underworld. He added another for The Scoundrel in 1935, and added four more nominations for his screenwriting. Additionally it is suspected he wrote many films anonymously in the late 40s and early 50s due to a British boycott that stemmed from his Zionist beliefs.

In addition to his credited work, Hecht received uncredited work on a number of great movies, including the all time classic Gone With the Wind which he supposedly rewrote in five days. Hecht was the go to guy when people wanted to punch up their scripts, and he was the highest paid writer in Hollywood for most of his career. Some other uncredited movies include His Girl Friday (which was based on his play and film The Front Page), Angels With Dirty Faces, The Greatest Show on Earth, and A Farewell to Arms. Some Like it Hot was also based on a play Hecht wrote, and he also claimed to have worked on Roman Holiday.

Hecht's full list of films is astonishing, and it's impossible to really do them justice in one write-up. Check out his IMDB page for the whole list.

What really separates Hecht from the pack is his sheer volume -- he would often churn out screenplays in as little as two weeks. However, you would never know it based on the quality of the scripts. He wrote the screenplay for Scarface in 11 days, and was often quoted as saying how easy writing was for him. He also came up with the story for many of his films, so in addition to his writing he has massive value as a story man coming up with ideas for our studio. As evidenced by his uncredited work, he is also a master at punching up scripts and improving pretty much any work. Having Hecht in our studio essentially guarantees quality.

Hecht was most known for his screwball comedies and crime thrillers - both types of films our studio will be specializing in. With our acting stable and Brian De Palma, a truly great writer was the missing piece. Hecht's volume and skill will help us churn out high quality movies at a high rate.

Hecht is perhaps best known for his two Hitchcock screenplays, Notorious and Spellbound. They are considered among Hitchcock's greatest films. In his great movies article on Notorious, Roger Ebert called the script "ingenious". Hitchcock said of working with Hecht:

According to film historian Richard Corliss, he was "the" Hollywood screenwriter, someone who "personified Hollywood itself." Movie columnist Pauline Kael wrote that "between them, Hecht and UNDRAFTED wrote most of the best American talkies."

The nature of film writing is ambiguous, and it's sometimes hard to tell just how much someone worked on a project. However, the films Hecht wrote and the high profile of the ones he received uncredited work on tell the story: he was an amazing writer and storyteller. His ability to come up with a good story and churn out an amazing script was truly the missing link in our studio. Our stable of acting talent perfectly suits his skills, and De Palma is a very good director for his thrillers (De Palma actually dedicated his version of Scarface to Hecht). With our first five picks, we feel like we've put the pieces in place to have a great studio.

VixRat/RatVix/Raxticator Studios:
Cary Grant
Julia Roberts
James Cagney
Brian De Palma
Ben Hecht

Round 5/Pick 131: Manó Kertész Kaminer aka Mihály Kertész aka Michael Curtiz aka Steal of the Mother****ing Draft

I didn't want to take any older generation people. I didn't want to take guys whose work I had never seen. And I especially didn't want to trade up to do both of those. However, the value is simply too insanely good at this point imo. I fully realize that making semi-hyperbolic statements is the easiest way to get backlash against your pick, but I honestly think that Curtiz could've gone in the late first round, and nobody would've batted an eye.

As I said above, I'm really not personally familiar with his work, so I'm going to rely on a lot of quotes and wiki/imdb info here.


To start off, lets acknowledge that Curtiz was nomiated for the Academy Award for Best Director five times including twice in one year. He won one of those times. The films he was nominated for were:

Casablanca(1943, this is the one he won)
Yankee Doodle Dandy(1942)
Angels with Dirty Faces(1938)
Four Daughters(1938)
Captain Blood(1936, wasn't on ballot but he recieved so many write in votes that he was 1st runner up for the award)


The next thing I want to mention is Curtiz's absolutely insane work ethic. From 1912 to 1961 he directed an amazing 172 films. Now I realize that we don't "get credit" for any of our picks' work before 1927. I am not trying to circumvent that rule, and I'm perfectly fine with it. The only reason I bring this up is to demonstrate his work ethic. For the record from 1927 to 1961 he directed 107 films.

Please show me any director who has had a better year than Curtiz's 1938 in which he directed the two films above which I mentioned he was nominated for Best Director and also directed the classic The Adventures of Robin Hood and two other lesser known films(Four's a Crowd and Gold Is Where You Find It).

Not only that, but think about the range he displayed. Robin Hood is an action/adventure, Four's a Crowd was a zany comedy, and Angels with Dirty Faces was a gangster movie.


Wikipedia says of his work ethic:


I know that several of you are judging this draft mostly on money making ability, and in this case I can't think of any way to better make boatloads than to churn out such a huge number of films.



Here is a very small sampling of some of his work which I have yet to mention:

The Mad Genius
The Cabin in the Cotton
Doctor X
Goodbye Again
Mystery of the Wax Museum
The Kennel Murder Case
Jimmy the Gent
Front Page Woman
Captain Blood
Dodge City
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
Sata Fe Trail
Virginia City
The Sea Hawk
The Sea Wolf
Mildred Pierce
Night and Day
The Breaking Point
I'll See You in My Dreams
White Christmas
The Egyptian
We're No Angels
King Creole
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Comancheros



To end my writeup, I'll give some random imdb/wiki quotes that I found while researching:

Studio so far:

Martin Scorsese
Johnny Depp
Kevin Spacey
Christopher and Jonathon Nolan
Michael Curtiz

Round 5, Pick 133

James Earl Jones, Actor



Not really sure what I can even say about him. He is a great actor, has had a long career and obv. has like the greatest voice ever.

His first film role was a smallish part in Dr. Strangelove... His first big leading role was in the film The Great White Hope, where he played fighter Jack Johnson. For his work in that film he became the 2nd African American actor ever nominated for Best Lead.




Jones' first big (and also probably most notable) voice acting role came in 1977 when he became the voice of Darth Vador in Star Wars. He has done a ton of narration over his career and also was the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King.

My favorite JEJ roles are Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, the old blind guy in Sandlot and Admiral James Greer in a number of different films made based on Tom Clancy books.

Jones is also an accomplished stage actor. He won Tony awards in 1969 and 1987 and according to Wikipedia his performance of Othello is "considered one of the greatest in history."

Anyway, he is awesome and is also very unique. He's another guy with a ~40 year career, great talent and of coarse most importantly, have I mentioned that I think he has the coolest voice in the draft? His resume of awards etc. isn't as strong as other available actors, but I really don't care. He is cool as ****, brings a ton to the table and, I think, is incredibly unique. He'll be a great voice actor if I need one, a great narrator, a first class supporting actor and also a great lead for certain types of films.

Oh and he was in one of my other favorite movies:

Whistler: I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men.
Bernard Abbott (Jones): We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.

SL__72 Productions:

QB: George Lucas

RG: Robert Zemeckis

LE: Gregory Peck
RE: James Earl Jones

MLB: Michael Caine

Round 5 Pick 136

Elvis Presley: Musician, Actor, ICON





http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000062/

With Elvis Presley, my studio is getting the single biggest icon in pop culture of the past century. Elvis is still one of the most famous and well known stars today, and he has been dead for decades. The epitome of a sex symbol and of cool, Elvis will be an immense asset to my studio that will pump money and fame into my productions and allow me more free reign and ability funding and producing other productions. With John Ford, William Wyler, Al Pacino, and Kevin Costner I have a very strong filmmaking foundation that allows for make this selection.

Presley made 31 films during his career, many of them being musicals but he also acted in westerns and other dramas. Elvis' films were cheap to make, and returned very large profits. Equally important is the success that his film soundtracks had, selling millions of copies. Obviously his recording success outside of films isn't applicable $ wise to my studio outside of his fame, but soundtracks to films he is in is a part of the studio money train.

Elvis' films and soundtracks made approx. $350 million during his film career. Tickets cost 10x more now than during Elvis' heyday, so it is safe to say that these figures are worth roughly over $3 billion dollars. Just as important as that figure is the fact that all of these projects are very low in cost and are built to produce an extremely high revenue. The success of Elvis' projects would help to fund countless films during the 1960's and 1970's.

Elvis can basically be a one man money making machine for my studio. His productions are very low in cost, and if needed I could surround him with replacement level talent and expect similar if not better results and films than what he made during his career. He also will fit in well as a supporting actor in the films of Ford and Wyler, whether it be westerns, war films, romantic comedies, and of course, musicals.

Elvis' value to a studio is priceless in my opinion. His coolness and legacy are timeless, and in this format of putting talent into a studio Elvis has incredible value. Not only will he produce obscene amounts of money that will help me to fund all of the classic films I make with Ford and Wyler, he will also be an icon for decades whose name and iconic status will print money.

Love Me Tender (1956)*
Loving You (1957) review *
Jailhouse Rock(1957)*
King Creole (1958)*
G.I. Blues (1960)*
Flaming Star (1960)
Wild in the Country (1961)*
Blue Hawaii (1961)*
Follow that Dream (1962)
Kid Galahad (1962)*
Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)*
Fun in Acapulco (1963)
Kissin' Cousins (1964)
Viva Las Vegas (1964)*
Roustabout (1964)
Girl Happy (1965)
Tickle Me (1965)
Harum Scarum (1965)
Frankie and Johnny (1966)
Paradise Hawaiian Style (1966)
Spinout (1966)
Double Trouble (1967)
Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)
Clambake (1967)
Stay Away Joe (1968)
Speedway (1968)
Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
Charro! (1969)
Trouble With Girls (1969)
Change of Habit (1969)*

Round 5, Pick 137







Wes Anderson admittedly has his flaws. He's still young, he has a limited volume of work, and all his movies have very similar threads through all of them. However, at this point in the draft, you have to start playing Moneyball and instead of trying to judge the overall package look at what the talent DOES do well.

And Anderson does a lot well.

For starters, he makes really entertaining movies. All five of his films are among my favorites, and Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore are easily in my (and others) top 25 comedies of all time. He combines a knack for the quirky with heartwarming stories about human connection. And he does it without coming off with any sort of pretension.

He also files under the "Auteur" category, involving himself in the writing, producing, and directing of his pictures. I'm always particularly impressed with his soundtracks. He combines pop classics with original scoring and is able to seamlessly blend it in with the action on screen.

He fits very well with the talent we have and the talent we are looking to obtain. He has an obvious synergy with Bill Murray 5 of his 6 movies (if you're including the upcoming Fantastic Mr. Fox). I also think he would work well with DeNiro considering his work with the likes of Angelica Huston, Gene Hackman, and Danny Glover.

Awards:

2002 Oscar Nomination for Best Writing for Royal Tenenbaums

Studio:

Robert DeNiro
John Huston
Roman Polanski
Bill Murray
Wes Anderson

Round 5 Pick 130

Director/Producer Cecil B. Demille


Cecil B. Demille was an absolute maverick in films. During the early stages of Hollywood, he always knew how to attract an audience. He was an absolute flamboyant showman. The only other director who was might have been better known with people from that time was Alfred Hitchcock due to Hitchcock Presents. His movies were always tremendous successes critically and financially. His two most famous films of all time are #5 (The Ten Commandments) and #54 (The Biggest Show on Earth) on the highest grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation. Also to be noted, Charlton Heston starred in both of these.

While some of his older films might seem dated today, it has to be shown how well he was able to adapt to the times. These are some of the innovations Cecil B Demille is responsible for.

• First full length film (6 reels) Squaw Man, 1914
• First screen credits with Squaw Man: prior to this actors were not credited in films.
• First to use indoor lighting: In Warrens of VA he showed interior night scenes without blazing sunlight showing through the windows and doors.
• First to vary light intensity in scenes.
• First fight between women on the screen in "Carmen", 1915.
• First domestic dealing with upper crust in their own environment, "The Cheat", 1915.
• Created the film preview:
• In Male and Female – revolutionary treatment of sex and its establishment of DeMille as a pace-setting director of the early post war years.
• First director to remake a picture and produce the same film three times successfully (Squaw Man 1914, 1918 and 1931).
• First to direct crowds.
• First electric speaker system.
• First to show that films could depict sex and violence if virtue triumphed at the end. DeMille always closed his pictures with the hymn rather then the orgy, and if the route to the divine was full of sensuous detours, the final victory was all the more meaningful.
• First to pan from downstairs to upstairs window in a single take. This was the forerunner of the camera boom.

Being able to go from making the first full length film ever, to making the Ten Commandments shows his incredible ability to adapt to change. There is no reason to believe he couldn’t be instantly successful in being able to change in today’s film world and be able to create movies audiences love.

But another important part about Demille is his flamboyant showmanship. From Wiki..
Here is more proof of his showboating here is the original trailer to The Greatest Show on Earth. The entire trailer his him pimping his own movie out.

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index.jsp?cid=154682

His flamboyancy is a major asset in this studio system. Every studio will have legendary and great directors. But to have a director that actually goes out there and gets himself known, and his movies loved will help separate our studio from other studios in the alternaverse. Demille is actually a director people know, and love to see.

The thing about Demille is I only expect one type of movie from him, the extravagant historical/religious epic. This was the type of movie he loved to make. This is also the type of movie that still does incredibly good today. But the actors we have assembled for him couldn’t fit better for him. Charlton Heston is the quintessential bigger than life epic movie star. Clark Gable was the star one of the biggest epics of all time, Gone with the Wind. Finally in The Greatest Show on Earth, Demille cast Jimmy Stewart as a ****ing clown. I think he can find a use for Hoffman’s versatility.

An constant innovator, a master of showboating, loved by critics and audiences alike Demille will be huge for our studio. He can bring home Oscars, and attract massive audiences. He is the perfect person to be leading our live studio.

Studio so far
Cecil B. Demille
John Lasseter
Dustin Hoffman
Clark Gable
Charlton Heston

Round 5, Pick 141: Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly (The Farrelly Brothers)

FRANKS AND BEANS!!! FRANKS AND BEANS!!!



EZ Studios is thrilled to select the comedic force that is the Farrelly Brothers!

For their directorial debut, they only created the greatest comedy of all-time! In Dumb and Dumber, the Farrelly Brothers brought to life such memorable moments like:



Sir, you can't go in there!
It's ok, I'm a limo driver!

We got no food, no jobs... our PET'S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!

Lloyd: Excuse me, Flo?
[Harry and Lloyd crack up]
Lloyd: Flo, like the TV show. Uh, what is the Soup Du Jour?
Flo, Waitress #1: It's the Soup of the Day.
Lloyd: Mmmm. That sounds good. I'll have that.

Harry: Where did you get 25 extra becks?
Lloyd: I sold some stuff, to Billy in 4-C.
Harry: The blind kid?
Lloyd: Yeah, ha ha! Yeah.
Harry: What did you sell him Lloyd?
Lloyd: Stuff.
Harry: What kinda stuff?
Lloyd: I don't know, a few baseball cards, a sack of marbles,
[cough]
Lloyd: Petey.
Harry: Petey? You sold my dead bird to a blind kid? Lloyd! Petey didn't even have a head!
Lloyd: Harry, I took care of it...
Billy: Pretty bird, yeah, can you say pretty bird? Pretty bird, yeah pretty bird... Polly want a cracker?

Lloyd: I'll bet you twenty dollars I can get you gambling before the day is out!
Harry: No!
Lloyd: I'll give you three to one odds.
Harry: No.
Lloyd: Five to one.
Harry: No.
Lloyd: Ten to one?
Harry: You're on!
Lloyd: I'm gonna get ya!
Harry: Nu uh!
Lloyd: I don't know how but I'm gonna get ya.

State Trooper: Pullover!
Harry: No, it's a cardigan but thanks for noticing.
Lloyd: Yeah, killer boots man!

Harry: What's her last name? I'll look it up.
Lloyd: You know, I don't really recall. Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?
Harry: Maybe it's on the briefcase.
Lloyd: Oh, yeah! It's right here.
Lloyd: Samsonite! I was way off! I knew it started with an S, though.

After “Dumb and Dumber”, the Farrelly Brothers directed “Kingpin”, a classic comedy about a washed-up ex-bowling prodigy with a rubber hand who mentors a young Amish bowling prodigy, which culminates in an epic battle between Bill Murray’s devious Ernie McCracken and “the man with the rubber hand.”




The Farrelly Brothers followed up “Kingpin”, with their biggest hit yet, “There’s Something About Mary.” In this film, the gorgeous Mary has captured the hearts of the following men: her old high-school prom date who was taken to the ER on the day of their prom after he caught his beans above his frank, a greasy private investigator posing as an architect who enjoys working with “retards” as he calls them, a pizza-delivery man posing as a crippled Brit who went to Santiago, Chile twice last year, a psychopathic crazed shoe-stealing ex-boyfriend, a deranged old man who is only boning Mary’s decripit leather-skinned roommate to get to Mary, and Brett Fav... ruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

“Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary”, both co-written by the Farrelly Brothers (and different undrafted writers), were both tremendous hits at the box office as “Dumb and Dumber” had a worldwide gross of $246M and a production budget of $16M while “There’s Something About Mary” had a worldwide gross of $370M and a production budget of $23M. The Farrelly Brothers also struck it big with “Me, Myself, & Irene” ($149M worldwide gross vs. $51M production budget) and “Shallow Hal” ($141 M worldwide gross vs. $40M production budget).

By adding the Farrelly Brothers to our studio, we will create movies that are just as funny the 100th time you see them as the first time.

Directed
10/5/2007 The Heartbreak Kid
4/8/2005 Fever Pitch
12/12/2003 Stuck On You
11/9/2001 Shallow Hal
8/10/2001 Osmosis Jones
6/23/2000 Me, Myself & Irene
7/15/1998 There's Something About Mary
7/26/1996 Kingpin
12/16/1994 Dumb & Dumber

Writing Credits
10/5/2007 The Heartbreak Kid
12/12/2003 Stuck On You
11/9/2001 Shallow Hal
6/23/2000 Me, Myself & Irene
9/1/1999 Outside Providence
7/15/1998 There's Something About Mary
12/16/1994 Dumb & Dumber


EZ Studios
James Stewart
Brad Pitt
Henry Fonda
David Fincher
Peter & Bobby Farrelly

Round 5, Pick 143: BETTE DAVIS, Actress



Bette Davis was often asked if she had fun making movies and she always answered no. Making movies for Bette was hard work. When asked how she would like to be remembered, Davis replied, “You know what I’m going to have on my gravestone? She did it the hard way.” We at Sightless Studios and Triumph Pictures and Entertainment feel that we are getting the epitome of actress talent and determination in Bette Davis. Acting was Bette’s first love; she was never happy with her romances outside the pictures. She acted for as long as she was able to, and always brought the same amount of rigor and intensity to every role.

When Bette Davis made her transition to Hollywood from the stage she never imagined herself becoming a top star. She realized that her looks could not be compared to the classical beauty of the silent screen era actresses, nor did she think she could compete with the new sexy bombshells emerging in sound movies. In the earlier part of her acting career she had to face uphill battle against competition from within, hostile producers, lack of any real talent surrounding her and lack of any creative control. The studio that signed her, Warner Brothers, was focusing on making rugged gangster movies, and was therefore not an ideal place for Bette. She was Warner Brothers’ lone star and had to go against competing studios which were filled with unnamed star actresses. Regardless of these impediments to Hollywood stardom, she is now remembered as one of the greatest and longest-lasting actresses of all time.

Bette Davis signed with Warner Brothers after an unsuccessful stint at her first studio, Universal. Due to her lack of leverage and the onerous studio system of early Hollywood, she was forced into a long contract and had to pump out pictures at a high output. After several lackluster pictures, she began to get attention for her roles in the movies The Man Who Played God (1932) and 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932). Two later years in Jimmy the Gent (1934) audiences were stunned to see Davis trading lines like spitfire with James Cagney and holding her own. From that point on WB knew it had control over a very valuable asset; she starred in many movies, but WB studios were determined to hold her star back. Finally, Bette got her big break, on loan from WB in the RKO production, Of Human Bondage (1934). Davis's character was unsympathetic with a lot of flaws and no other actress was willing to risk her career by taking such a part. Davis was given a great deal of latitude for her role and she turned out a powerhouse performance; probably the most ground-breaking female performance in a movie ever.



The executives at WB once again were surprised to see that Bette Davis had an immense amount of untapped potential. She was dubbed as “the biggest bitch ever” a title which no one other actress has come close to taking after Bette was done with her career. Nevertheless, executives at WB were unhappy that Davis success came with another studio and pressured to deny the movie an official nomination at the Oscars. Numerous write-in votes for Davis performances were sent in, but they were never counted as an official nomination. After her success, WB still denied her a platform to channel her greatness. She was not given good scripts, directors, roles, costars or money. However, she was never typecast as a “bitch” and continued to act in comedies, dramas and whatever other mediocre movies she was being forced into. Even so, in 1935 Davis managed to win her first Oscar next year for her role in the movie Dangerous. In 1936 she had another great performance in the movie The Petrified Forest where she starred with Humphrey Bogart and unnamed actor. Her performance as a young girl trapped in a small town was very memorable and further demonstrated her unlimited potential.

At that time Davis was fed up with the mediocre roles she was receiving and felt her career was going to be ruined if it were to continue. She soon fled to England to do some movies there. After some lawsuits with WB, she returned and resumed her work with them. She immediately started receiving better scripts and several key perks at the studio – including first choice of projects and director approval. She did Marked Woman in 1937 and her performance was once again well received. Over the next few years WB finally allowed her a platform to reach her potential. She won her second Oscar for Jezebel in 1938 and this began a string of 5 consecutive years with Academy Award nominations. Altogether she was nominated ten times in her career, all of them for best actress; only Hepburn and Streep have more nominations. Her stature slowly declined after WW2 as the strong female characters that she often portrayed were no longer in the public's favor. Nevertheless, she rebounded in 1950 with an all-time great performance in All About Eve to put the exclamation mark on the most productive period of her career.

We at Sightless Studios and Triumph Pictures and Entertainment are once again gleaming with delight over having another iconic Hollywood star fall to us. Unlike WB we have absolutely no problem making Bette Davis the star attraction in our movies. We feel that Bette Davis is the ultimate “Hawksian Woman”, she talks fast, is hardheaded and can hold her own against our male costars. Luckily for us she is also so much more. She can easily lead a movie. Davis is one of the few people in this draft who is capable of taking an unflattering role, which could spell artistic suicide for any other actress, and turn it into a powerhouse performance. Her true strength is that her sympathetic characters and characters which inspire contempt are equally believable and both are equally capable of moving an audience.

“I have been uncompromising, peppery, intractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile, and oft times disagreeable…I suppose I'm larger than life…My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.”
-Bette Davis

Notable performances:

OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1934)
DANGEROUS (1935)
The Petrified Forest (1936)
JEZEBEL (1938)
DARK VICTORY (1939)
THE LETTER (1940)
THE LITTLE FOXES (1941)
NOW, VOYAGER (1942)
Mr. Skeffington (1945)
All About Eve (1950)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964).

Bette Davis on John Wayne
I certainly would have given anything to have worked with John Wayne. He's the most attractive man who ever walked the earth, I think.



Sightless Studios and Triumph Pictures and Entertainment:

I'd basically done have a writeup for someone else, but screw it. Bob & I select

Round 5, Pick 146 - Robert Downey, Jr. - Actor



With our fifth pick, Bob & I are going with Robert Downey Jr. Downey Jr. has had a long career in Hollywood and has been nominated twice for Academy Awards. His first nomination came for the 1992 film Chaplin based on Charlie Chaplin and the second was for the 2008 film Tropic Thunder for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

To elaborate on Downey Jr's career, he's appeared in around 60 films, 15 of which currently have a rating of 7.0 or higher on IMDB. Those films are:

# (8.23) - Rain of Madness (2008) (V)
# (8.00) - Iron Man (2008)
# (7.90) - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
# (7.90) - Zodiac (2007/I)
# (7.80) - Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
# (7.69) - Short Cuts (1993)
# (7.50) - Wonder Boys (2000)
# (7.49) - Richard III (1995)
# (7.30) - The Incredible Hulk (2008)
# (7.30) - Tropic Thunder (2008)
# (7.20) - A Scanner Darkly (2006)
# (7.20) - Charlie Bartlett (2007)
# (7.19) - Chaplin (1992)
# (7.09) - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
# (7.00) - Natural Born Killers (1994)

Additionally, Downey, Jr. is seen as one of the top actors today. Entertainment Weekly named Downey, Jr. it's 2008 "Entertainer of the Year" As Wiki went on to say:

Finally, Downey, Jr. is extremely flexible as he's someone who's appeared in comedies, big budget popcorn flicks, and serious dramas. It was this flexibility and his overall talent that led us to make this pick.

Studio So Far

- Orson Welles
- Katherine Hepburn
- Peter O'Toole
- Brad Bird
- Robert Downey Jr.

Round 4, Pick 118

Michael Douglas



With this pick, I'm taking Gordon Gecko, aka Michael Douglas. Douglas brings a nice mix of versatility to my study, as he can play both the role of an actor and producer. While he's best known for winning his Oscar while portraying Gordon Gecko in Wall Street, his first Oscar win came as the producer of the classic film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

His age is a concern as almost all of his film career came post 40 years old, but given that my other main dramatic lead has yet to reach that age, he should be fine playing roles for older men.

Finally, Michael Douglas is a pimp. His pickup line to his current wife was reported by her to be "I'd like to father your children." Most of us would get slapped if we tried that: he fathered two of her children. Michael Douglas, I salute you.

Selected Filmography:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (producer)
The China Syndrome (actor/producer)
Romancing the Stone (actor/producer)
Fatal Attraction
Wall Street
The War of the Roses
Basic Instinct
The American President


Round 5, Pick 148

Fred Astaire



With Fred Astaire still on the board, I had to go BPA and select him regardless of the fit. We all know what Astaire brings to the studio, a bona fide Hollywood legend who is the best at what he does, namely dancing his way across the screen and into the hearts of film goers everywhere. He starred in thirty one films in his career, and was named the fifth greatest male star of all time by the AFI.

While some may wonder about the fit in my studio, I do not believe that will be a problem. While I don't expect him to work with any of my existing talent, his star power stands plenty strong enough on its own. Not just a dancer and actor, he was responsible for much of the content of his films. He choreographed almost all of his dances and gave direction for how they were to be filmed, mostly in longer uninterrupted cuts to allow the audience to take in the full measure of the performance. While he was modest about his signing ability, he was described by a songwriter of the day as "The world's greatest musical performer." Another described him as "as good as undrafted, undrafted or undrafted, not necessarily because of his voice, but for his conception of projecting a song." You'll have to fill in the blanks yourself, but it was high praise indeed.

Most importantly, he can carry a film like few others can, and that is what is valuable in this draft. The depth in this draft is astounding, and replacement level for our supporting actors will be extremely high. Why waste a pick on someone lesser who fits in your studio when you can grab a Hollywood legend to add another dimension to your studio?

Finally, let's come to the role of the musical in today's world. We've already sort of had this debate a couple of weeks back, but the musical song and dance is far from a dead genre. Some notable successes from recent years include Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, and Phantom of the Opera, all of which pulled in north of 100 million world wide, topping out at over 500 million for Mamma Mia. The High School Musical series aimed at teenagers has proven to be wildly spectacular, as has the widely popular television show Dancing With the Stars. Clearly the musical and dance is far from dead, and if he were alive today, I have no doubt that Fred Astaire would be right at the front of the pack.

Studio for now:

Matt Damon
Jim Carrey
Ridley Scott
Harold Ramis
Michael Douglas
Fred Astaire

Round 5 Pick 29 (149 Overall)
Paul Verhoeven - Director/Screenwriter/Producer











Would you like to know more?

Paul Verhoeven is the greatest Director in Dutch film history. While I know I don't get "credit" for his work before he came over to Hollywood, it's worth mentioning imo. His 1973 film Turkish Delight was an International hit, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and awarded best Dutch film of the century in 1999. His other Dutch Films include the greatly acclaimed, WWII themed, Golden Globe nominated Soldier of Orange, the exceptionally violent and sexual Spetters (Which caused numerous protests in the Netherlands, leading Verhoeven to leave for Hollywood) and the horror flick The Fourth Man which along with Turkish Delight confronted the themes Verhoeven would later rekindle in Hollywood.

Would you like to know more?

Verhoeven's first Hollywood feature film was 1985's Flesh and Blood (75% fresh on RT) in which "A group of landsknecht mercenaries are followed as they battle, loot, rape and party." (Damn I need to see this) This Film won two Golden Calfs, Best Picture and Verhoeven for Best Director. Next came the Acadamy Award winning (for sound editing, also nominated for editing and sound) Robocop (85% fresh on RT) which brought Verhoeven into the world spotlight. Not only was Robocop a box office hit and a fantastic action flick, it also took a deeper look into numerous darker, more sinister themes, a common occurence in Verhoeven's super violent, over the top action flicks. While it was originally Rated X by the MPAA, cuts were made to get an R rating. (The uncut/unrated version is availible on DVD, and we expect to make sick bank on unrated DVD sales for our projects.)

Would you like to know more?

1990 brought the world its most expensive movie to date, Total Recall (79% Fresh on RT) another big budget financial, critical, and technical success. Unsuprisingly, Total Recall was originally rated X, and had to be tweaked for an R. I think it's important to acknowledge Verhoeven's ability to make very successful R rated movies, as many a director has been unable to find success with their R rated offerings. Total Recall won an Academy Award for visual effects and was nominated for effects editing and sound.

Would you like to know more?

Verhoeven next directing effort was 1992's Basic Instinct. Another commercial success, you could also say this film has achieved a special place in American culture (c'mon who didn't fast forward to the interragation scene at least once as a kid?) Suprisingly, Verhoeven's original cut wasn't rated X by the MPAA, it was rated NC-17! (NC-17 had replaced X by then, ldo)

Would you like to know more?

Ok here's the part where I talk about Showgirls. Released with an NC-17 rating, Showgirls was hammered critically and was a box office disappointment, yet the film did fantastic business in the rental market and eventually became a cult classic. (This is also a good place to mention Verhoeven's sense of humor, as he was the first Director to accept his Golden Razzie in person.)

Would you like to know more?

(Finally you get to know more!) Starship Troopers is simply too awesome for words. Again, Verhoeven delivered a fantastic, visually stunning action flick that delivers A+ satire. The film's special effects still hold up 12 years later. If you don't like Starship Troopers, you just don't get it. (imo ldo)

As we all know, the best way to make money in Hollywood is to spend as little or as much as possible, and we'll absolutely be opening the checkbook for Verhoeven's trademark raw (yet intelligent) sexuality and violence. No other director has been able to push the edges while still giving the movie goer both something to ooh and ahh over and something to think about.

kk/deezy worldwide

Will Smith
Mel Gibson
Sylvester Stallone
Steven Soderbergh
Paul Verhoeven

ROUND 6, PICK 151

VICTOR FLEMING Director/Cinematographer/Writer


(hes the one on the right)

Being able to grab Victor Fleming in the 5th round makes me a happy Studio Exec. Maybe not the most outstanding career - his mark left on American Film history is very evident and that should not be dismissed.

Aside from being credited for directing 2 of the more iconic films in movie history with Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind...everything Ive read up on him makes this an easy pick. With Ron Howard already in place as my rock, my steady go to guy...Fleming is a little more out there...hes definitly an actor friendly driector and the studio heads loved him. MGM looked at him as a savior of sorts...as he helped bail them out on a couple of occassions and made master pieces like the two already mentioned. Aside from those two - Fleming also directed Red Dust which was a very well recieved movie....followed by a variety of different movies covering all genres that were also very well recieved. And thats the great thing about Fleming - he can make movies in just about every genre.

Notable Filmography:

The Awakening (1928)
Red Dust (1932)
Joan of Arc (1948)
Adventure (1945)
A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Tortilla Flat (1942)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
They Dare Not Love (1941)
Gone with the Wind (1939) <<<Dear Diary: Jackpot!
The Wizard of Oz (1939)<<<Dear Diary: wat?...again?
The Great Waltz (1938)
Test Pilot (1938)
Captains Courageous (1937)
The Good Earth (1937)
The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935)
Reckless (1935)

A couple of quotable notables I found:

TO a certain extent - Fleming made guys like Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Gary Cooper into the people the public perceived them to be…which was great for Flemings films and even greater for their respective careers. Nine actors who appeared in films directed by Fleming were Oscar-nominated...that is more telling of what Fleming brought to the table more than anything else.

His sudden death combined with his sudden decline explains why he would drop so low in this type of draft...but doesnt explain why guys like Oliver Stone or other eccentric and inconsistent Directors went before Fleming. Its obvious that Fleming didnt have the most stunning career - but he wasnt exactly producing popcorn flicks alone, his range as a director combined with his overall onset demeanor should set him apart from the rest…not to mention that he directed the Highest Grossing Film of All Time with Gone with the Wind (inflation adjusted of course) . His strengths come into play very well in this draft, considering he was extremely easy to work with and was able to produce gold if given the right mixture of talent. He worked great alongside some of the bigger names of his era, and was a studios best friend. His versatility to make all types of genres is huge for me...going from Treasure Island to Gone with the Wind to Joan of Ark to Red Dust to Wizard of Oz...he’s covered every genre possible and shown that he could do well in those genres. Given the people in my studio - Victor will be at ease when Directing all sorts of fun movies that I expect will be making box office noise…and producing classics.

Now being reunited with Ingrid Bergman and teaming up with the cool, suave Sean Connery and the talented Mr. DiCaprio, Fleming should be producing some fine films for my studio. 5th round? Cant go wrong.

StoneCutter Productions:

Leonardo DiCaprio
Sean Connery
Ingrid Bergman
Ron Howard
Victor Fleming
Tony Gilroy

Round 6, Pick 156. Will Ferrell - Actor/Writer/Producer



Will Ferrell is another SNL alum who left the show for a wildly successful film career. While with SNL, he did supporting work in a number of comedies, including Austin Powers and Zoolander.



He made the move to starring roles with Old School, which is a ****ing hilarious movie that he is ****ing hilarious in. He followed with Elf, as I said before, a rip-roaring good time for the whole family.

He got a little more drama-y with a leading turn in Stranger than Fiction.

I thought he was good in this, similar to Adam Sandler being good in Punch Drunk Love, but this film seems to have mixed reviews on here. Maybe I was just overcome with the outrageously awesome soundtrack by UNDRAFTED-GENIUS-ROCK-BAND-FROM-AUSTIN. Regardless, he certainly didn't **** the bed in it, and this sort of role won't be his primary function in my studio, just as it isn't in real life for him.

Where Ferrell has huge value, however, is in starring vehicles that he writes for himself.

Anchorman and Talladega Nights are silly, stupid movies. And they're also really funny. I have the blu-ray of Stepbrothers sitting on my TV stand, but my ps3 crashes whenever it tries to play blu-rays now, so I still haven't seen it. Everyone I know who has seen it, though, has said it is hilarious, so I'm pretty sure I'll agree.

I am confident that Will Ferrell can anchor an entire division at KBFC Pictures, writing films that he will star in and can be filled out with replacement level directors/supporting-comic-actors/actresses. Additionally, he can show up in guest/cameo roles for movies from my other divisions. Valuetownage.

Plus, I'm gonna make a much better GWB movie than that torrent of inexcusable **** Oliver Stone sprayed at us.