Hollywood Mogul 3 Dynasty: Dragon's Den Studios Reignited

[Abe Sargent]

Hello and welcome to my new dynasty and the first FOFC HM3 dynasty! This is a HM3 dynasty based on the trial, pre-release version of the game. I've been reading the various updates on the game sporadically and on Tuesday, I'll be getting the new game. I'll tear right into it and muddle through the new version, probably making many mistakes along the way.

I'll make sure I highlight various options and abilities as I go along so that people who do not have the pre-release version of the game can still see what it can do.

I had an old HM2 dynasty a couple of years ago wherein I tracked the rise of Dragon's Den Studios before my computer crashed and took the game with it. If you are interested in reading old history, check it out here:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ad.php?t=5018&

What I will be doing in this dynasty is a re-envisioning of DDS with a new storyline and more! This is my first real dynasty in a while (the dream dynasty, favorite games dynasty and Cthulthu dynasty aren't game-based dynasties).

Here we go!

-Anxiety

[Izulde]

You freaked me out.. I thought I missed the email somehow.

[Abe Sargent]

The year is 2052 and it is 29 years since the great Entertainment Crash of 2023-4 when mega-corporations, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, cable networks and movie stuidios all crashed in the wake of virtual gaming and the Internet.

The major TV networks died against the growing face of cable and then the cable networks died against the growing face of the Internet. The Net grew and grew until it became the only source of information about life. Various media corporations went bankrupt, selling off their various franchises for name recognition only to various websites.

Modern cineplexes were turned into virtual gaming centers with the latest technology and remained entertainment of a different kind. In the home, the VEC emerged (Virtual Entertainment Center). It combined all of the functions of a TV, sterero, radio, PC and more in one unit.

For example, you could listen to the London Synphony Orchestra play Adagio for Strings in your flat through the VEC. Or, at a higher immersion setting, you could have images of the Symphony playing along the music sent to various locations in your flat. At an even higher setting, those images would combine to give the vewer(s) the sensation of being in the audience watching the Symphony play. On the top immersion setting, which was very expensive, the VEC could be programmed to allow the user to actually play or conduct in the Symphony playing Adagio.

Of course, the VEC also connected to the Net and gave you all the info you needed to know.

Over time, the Internet became too unwieldy and Portal sites become more and more popular. Portal sites would connect hundreds of related sites under one index, easy to maneuver through. Portal sites would also provide information and news about the topic. Many popular topics had dozens of Portal sites of varying popularity. For example, if you wanted to find out about entertainment news, you could go to the Entertainment Weekly Portal site where the EW license was purchased by Entech.

The Portals were overlayed on top of the Internet and the resulting network of sites became known as the Cybernet. It brought some order to the chaos of the Net making things more manageable.

After the Entertainment Crash of 2023-4, various actors, directors, anchors, reporters, producers and more found work in virtual gaming and webcasting. The people and infrastructure that was around was used up quickly by other resources an dareas. As a result, in 2048, when the first nostalgia driven movie was made for theaters by a major studio, they had to reinvent the wheel.

You see, years after the great Entertainment Crash, many peoples in their thirties and fourties got nostalgic for the way things were. One of the things they wanted were movies back. After the Entertainment Crash, the only movies that wer made were foreign and arthouse films, showed more as a curiousity at older theaters across the country.

When a new studio was announced in 2044, one of the first things they had to do was develop technology that allowed the most modern virtual cinematography overlaid on older tech theaters since the more modern cineplexes were turned into virtual gaming centers. This combintion of old and new technology gave the first new studion movie in 28 years (called "Cypher This!" a completely different look than anything that had ever existed).

Immediately the look caught on and several other studios began work. Since 2048, people have begun to attend various movies at theaters to witness this new yet old technology create new ways to see things. One consequence of the VEC was that everything one did was seen the same way with the same level of tech development.

Tech historians compare the Entertainment Crash of 2023-4 with the Video Game Crash of 1983, with later resurgence by both the video game market and the entertainment market as technology advanced and hames changed.

As as aside, in 2039, the United Nations voted to adopt a new international currency entilted the "credit." All major tansactions are done with credits, and the repoting of major buisinesses in annual reports are done in credits as well. As such, reports of sales and prices will be done in credits. Due to this change, all old records for sales or cost that were previously in dollars or pounds or francs or pesos or rupies or whatever are now defunct, and the credit records are the only things people care about.

Welcome to 2052.

[Abe Sargent]

Here are the options I am beginning with:


Dragon's Den Studios as run by James Essex (me!).

Difficulty fourth out of five. (Hollywood Player)

I am using the Studio title in Arabic over one of the images as our studio image.

Talent dies and ages

There are biases with genre, release date, and awards but I am allowing myself to make very inexpensive movies if I so desire.

Talent is randomized.



Wish us luck!

[Izulde]

Good luck!

I'm waiting for a real talent file and source ideas script to be released before I start my own HM3 dynasty.

I just can't get too attached to fictional names and prefab ideas.

[Abe Sargent]

"January 6, 2052 (Reuters) - Earlier today financial tycoon James Essex announced plans to launch his own film studio on the heels of the recent success of a revamped Hollywood. Dragon's Den Studios is the fifth studio to be created since the great Entertainment Crash of 2023-24.

The founder was quoted as saying, "I have a vision to produce intelligent, well meaning movies the like previous studios always aspired to but never seemed to make. Now we have an audience weened on information and immersion. It seems like a perfect time to see if the dreams of old are attainable."

Dragon's Den Studios joins Killer Studios, Global Pictures, Roehrig Studios and Burbage Studios as a major corporation. Global Pictures wsa the first new studio to be formed in decades in 2044, but production difficulties and theater conversion took four years before "Imperious Rex" was released in 2048 as the first major movie in twenty-four years since "Unveiled" bombed at the box office in July 2024 as the last studio gasp.

Since Imperious Rex's debut, dozens of movies have been released in the wake of it's modest success, building over the last four years. Dragon's Den Studios will have serious competition this year with its four rival studios as it jockeys for intellectual property.

When asked how he plans to proceed as CEO of a movie studio, James Essex told the press that he planned to gobble up some of the intennectual property still available. After the previous studios went out of business, they usually sold licenses to various gaming and marketing companies. Experts beleive that many of these older properties would be available to purchase as movie rights. A price war may emerge over some of these dead properties in an attempt to jumpstart the new studios.

James Essex announced that within a week he would be looking at scripts and considering budgets, staff and development."

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Good luck!

I'm waiting for a real talent file and source ideas script to be released before I start my own HM3 dynasty.

I just can't get too attached to fictional names and prefab ideas.

Thanks! I ran it once with talent files, and now I am trying a fictional universe. One thing I noticed bneffore is that I had to add twenty or thirty people ot the previous talent files, like Russell Crowe, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and TONS of ethnic actors.

Hopefully a randomized population won't have that as an issue.

[Abe Sargent]

In my first month I feel that I need to make a few purchases. I need a solid number of projects going on:

A couple of original screenlays catch my eye:

Duty - a five star fantasy for 1.8 mill credits

Handling Fire - a five star horror for another 1.8 mill

Let's take a closer look at both:


Duty - huge appeal in intelligence, pace, genre elements, plot and dialogue - top notch in all. Very little foul language, average violence, no nudity. The main role is VERY difficult with a 96 diffculty to pull off the character of Eamund.

I greenlight the movie after approving some very expensive special effects. I want our first movie to be a bang. I hire the following people:

Director Grant Tares, considered the 17th best director in the business with a strong record in vision, action, drama and so forth. 5.7 mill credits pay his way as well as five points.

Producer Trudy Margarita is considered the 6th best producer in the business and I'm paying her 4.5 mill plus five points. She's great at budget, punctuality, special effects and so forth.

For my main role, Eamund, I decided to cast young Lyndon Fresh. He's fairly inexperienced and not a big star, but I think he has the talent, screen presence and sex appeal to hit the role, plus he nailed the audition. A quick 400k contract secured his services.

The young love interest will be played by Eunice Matliff, a virtual unknown outside of the indy market. 50k secured her services.

Didi Atlantic will play the villianess with a 600k contract. Didi is one of the best young actresses of her generation (she's 17).

Martie Azari and Roberto Wimbleton are signed for the major supporting roles. Each have some experience in such roles previously and signed for 600k and 500k respectively.

I put the project pre-production, but it will be a few months before it hits production.

[Poli]

Sweet!

[Abe Sargent]

And a closer look at Handling Fire


It's a script that hums, just like Duty. As a Horror flick, I have different expectations of Handling Fire.

I decide to film in Vancouver, which is pretty cheap. Duty is being filmed in Charleston, WV for a nice rural, foresty, hilly locations.

I still want some special effects, stunts and pyro effects for HF. I jack up those elements of production a bit.

I can't do any more auditions this month because I used them all up with Duty.

Therefore, I feel like I need to pick up another project or two to round out my collection:


Hiding Out, a four star spy flick that should be easy on the budget. 850k for this original screenplay.

Meadow of Life, a four star biography about a person in a post nuclear wasteland. 950k for the original screenplay.

Rare Care, an intelligent four star romantic comedy for 1.15 mill credits.



I decide to look for five star ideas in other areas. I start with recent games but find nothing. Maybe I could remake a nice foreign film? Nothing. How about redoing a domestic picture? No dice.

Where can I get a five star idea to flesh out? Stage plays? Nothing. After serious investigation, I have come to beleive that there is no such thing as a five star idea, only a five star script.


After a bit, I purchase the remake rights for By the Heath, a suspense movie from Africa. I give it to a writer after touching up the story a bit in several areas. The project won;t comeback for a while, but in the meantime, I can work with these screenplays.

With that, my first month tenure as CEO of DDS is complete.

[Abe Sargent]

Roehrig Studios has approached me about being a partner in one of their projects. It's an animated sci fi film called Action Annie. It actually has a very well done script. They are looking for a domestic partner. I bid 50 million to split the costs.



Handling Fire:


Casting:

Howard Sanek nails the lead audition but I am not comfortable with his talent level. Still, I decide to trust my casting agent and I offer him the starting role in my first horror film. 800k.

I find my love interest in one audition. Martie Azari is interested, and as you can see from the casting in the previous movie I already like her a lot. However, I need to speed up this movie as fast as possible, so I do a couple more auditions and cast Wendy Trott, who is the 21st best actress according to List.com. She's three million credits, but she's got talent.

I find a taletented unknown in Theresa Yublan to play the villianess. She's only 50k and that's a nice price for me combined with her obvious talent for drama.

I hire Alaine Neets, a 35 year old supporting actress for 400k. She was not a perfect fit, but she was pretty good. It's just a major supporting role, and nothing too big.

I hire Ernie Physter as my other major supporting actor. He's very polished from a talent perspective. Actually, he seems to be a lot better than his 400k salary would suggest. Let's see if that produces on screen.

I hire established indy director Desmond Norden as my director for 900k. He seems sufficient although not that polished.

I want a polished producer with my new director. I pick up Bret Martinamore for a little over 2 million credits. This guy has some expereince with past studio projects, so I can have some faith in him, plus he looks good in all of the administrative areas.

I send the project to pre-production.

[Abe Sargent]

I decide to go ahead and greenlight Meadow of Life. With no special effects, filimg in Mexico, no major pyro effects or set work, the production costs are pretty low. That's a major plus.

I eventually find my star after much searching. Santiago Arlington. What a name. For just 100k, this super sexy blue eyed brown haired leading actor will star for me.

I hire unknown Daisie Pfilston for 50k to be the love interest. She's unknown, but women can always star across from a hot star and people will want to see it.

I pick up a good, known supporting character actor for the villan named Todd Miles. This 40 year old man has been a fixture in sevearl movies over teh past four years as well as the indie scene before that. 600k brought him in.

For the three minor supporting roles, I hire small time talent that auditioned well. I hope that they produce, but if they don't, it's no major loss.

Indie director Pierce Sowen agrees to pick up the script and take it for a spin. I hope that he'll bring a touch of class to the movie. 800k brought Pierce into the project.

Now I need a producer. I don;t expect the move to make a tremendous amount of money, so I don;t wnat a highly expensive producer. 900k brings Stu Kerr to us and we'll see how he can handle a lead producer position on a film.

The total cost for this movie is rather light, and I'm pretty happy about that. It enters pre-production.

[Poli]

You could always write up this story about a walk on quarterback at Tennessee...

[Abe Sargent]

February 17, 2052
www.LinkET.com

"Dragon's Den Studios Boss Essex Greenlight Three Projects

In an attempt to jumpstart his fledgling studio, James Essex has purchased three original screenplays and authorized all three in less than a month. No script was rewritten.

The screenplays were deemed good enough, and Essex moved on through greenlighted a budget and casting all three scripts. When interviewed earelier today, Essex responded, "We are comfortable with the current version, so there is no need to go through several dozen rewrites, we'll just go withteh initial author's vision."

Insiders beleive that this is an attempt to put Dragon's Den Studios on the map sooner than its colleagues did. After all, Global Pictures took four years to release their first film and Killer Studios, the third to form, took two and a half years. None of the four previous studios took less than seventeen months to release their first film, but Essex has grand plans for his studio.

The first script to be greenlit was a fantasy story that should begin shooting some time in June. The other two scripts, a horror movie and a bio-pic should begin shooting in July.

Casting saw several virtual unknowns getting large roles in the films, and some experts wonder if that will end up being a smart cost cutting role or a sacrifice of free marketing in the name of economy.

LinkET will promise to keep you updated as these stories develop."

[Abe Sargent]

March:

Burbage studios won the bid on Annie Action, so we'll not be participating in that project.

I decide to greenlight Hiding Out:


Hiding Out
A four star spay script with poor pace but solid to great everywhere else.
No special effects, pyro effects or major sets are needed.
We'll film in Toronto which gives us a reduced production cost


I greenlight the project and look to cast:


It took some casting to find Christopher Borg but when we did, I knew he'd do well as our lead character. 600k makes him our leading man.

We found the love interest and co-spy in one audition. Tara Brustle joins us for an additional 600k.

Ysabel Fyler nailed her audition as the villainess so we cast her for just 50k. A major supporting role goes to Suzette Listenstan for 50k as well.

Javier Okuma was my first choice for the project. Relatively cheap and a solid director. He signed on for 800k.

Errol Sooten is a solid, experienced studio man, and I wanted one such person in the team. As a producer, his ability should have a great impact on the surrounding staff. 1 mill and he was ours.

I authorize pre-production to begin which should take until August or so.


I purchase Jazz Dummer, an original screenplay in a film noir style, four stars for 1.7 million credits.

Hacking In, a four star original screenplay about 1920's style gangsters hacking into a computer cost me 850k.


With the greenlight and ppurchases, I am done with March. Expect for one piece of news....

[Abe Sargent]

March 21, 2052
Lovecraft.com

"Cthulhu Movie Rights Purchased

Today James Essex, head of Dragon's Den Studios announced the purchase of his first major acquisition. As of today, the Lovecraft Estate and Dragon's Den Studios have entered into a partnership to create a movie based on H.P. Lovecraft's seminal work, The Call of Cthulhu.

The agreement allows Cthulhu to come to the screen for a nominal price with an extension possibility to other of Lovecraft's works if needed for a larger fee.

Obviously, if you are reading this, you are a fan of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. You know that there has never been a major studio production of a Lovecraft story that has done the original material justice. In fact, many movies are so far from the original story that the connection with Lovecraft is the title.

With that concern, we virtuadialed Dragon;s Den Studios to get a little more info, and James Essex agreed to a quick interview with us! Without further ado, here's James:

James Essex: Hello all

Lovecraft.com Rep: We are amazingly glad to have you here. Why did you choose this work as your first adapted story?

Essex: Well, I wanted something unusual. I didn't want to rehash the same source material over and over again. There's only so many ways you can tell and retell Lost or Star Wars or Zorro before they become old. I dipped into my adolesence when Lovecraft was read to me by my VEC and I loved it. I decided to mine that for our first adapted original screenplay.

Rep: What can you tell us about your plans?

Essex: If you mean, "Am I going to ruin it?" the answer is no. I have no intention of desecrating such an important story in the development of horror as a genre. In fact, I intend to tell the story as good as I can, with some minor alterations meant for the screen of course.

Rep: When a fan hers that, he grimaces. What do you eamn?

Essex: I'm a fan as well, remember. *laughs* Lovecraft did not write his story for the screen, and any interpretation to a move would have to go though some changes. For example, there are too many characters with solo acts in the story. The narrator, the uncle, Wilcox, Legrasse, that professor at the convention who went to Greenland who I can't remember and, of course, Johanson. That's six characters the story is told from at different points. I cut out three. The narrator, the uncle and the professor. I combined Wilcox with the narrator and the uncle still deis, but we never see anything from his vantage point, thus elmininating the need for six stories being shown.

Rep: So you are making Wilcox a nomral person?

Essex: He's not even close to normal. Look, the major elements of Loveraft are here. The story is not about spooks and goblins but about the advancing psychological and philosophical horror of discovering a world that doesn't even notice you and your species exist.

Rep: A very good point. Thank you for joining us.

Essex: Of course. Obviously the writing will take some time, probably over a year, but I expect the end result will be well worth it!"

[Poli]

Word.

[Abe Sargent]

April:

No major news.

I greenlight Hacking In. The cheap budget is a James Essex Happy activity. The production budget is a cheap 17 million credits. That's a wallet happy movie.

For 900k Mick Dannahan is my producer, and he specializes in dramas, so I'm pretty happy to bring him aboard.

I sign Bert Lorner, an up and combing director to a nice 350k contract. From everything I've heard, he is loaded with talent. Let's see!

After a bunch of auditions, I finally find our leading man, Terry Grouse, for 600k. He's weaker in drama than I would like, but he naile dthe audition and the lead isn't a very demanding role. (just 69)

Our second audition brought is Esther Nichert, and for 400k she signs to be our leading lady. She exudes screen presence as an older lady (43).

Valerie Bars signs for 50k as the villianess, a cheap unknown. She has a lot of sex appeal and the role isn't too deamanding (66)

Likewise, Tilly Trendel signs for a supporting role for 50k.

With a total casting and production cost of just 21 million total I'm pretty happy about this project and I move it into pre-production.

Hopefully, Duty will end pre-production next month and move into production.



As a quick note, I am picking up three of my previous licenses from my first dynasty for this one, but's that it.

[Abe Sargent]

DRAGON'S DEN STUDIOS PRESS RELEASE

Dragon's Den Studios, a studio dedicated to producing smart and provocative film today announced that they purchased the move rights to The Prisoner. The Prisoner was one of the landmark early television programs on BBC and was reknowned for its intelligence, satire, and inventiveness. For most of TV's history, The Prionser has remained one of the most dinstinctive television shows of all time.

The purchase gives CEO James Essex his second project in as many months that come from older ideas and not newer licenses or screenplays. Although it may take over a year for the script to be complete, the continuing dedication to quality material is demonstrated by Dragon's Den Studios.

DDS is committed to quality movies and will continue to scoure all available material for suitable entertainment for our minds.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

DRAGON'S DEN STUDIOS PRESS RELEASE

Dragon's Den Studios, a studio dedicated to producing smart and provocative film today announced that they purchased the move rights to The Prisoner. The Prisoner was one of the landmark early television programs on BBC and was reknowned for its intelligence, satire, and inventiveness. For most of TV's history, The Prionser has remained one of the most dinstinctive television shows of all time.

The purchase gives CEO James Essex his second project in as many months that come from older ideas and not newer licenses or screenplays. Although it may take over a year for the script to be complete, the continuing dedication to quality material is demonstrated by Dragon's Den Studios.

DDS is committed to quality movies and will continue to scoure all available material for suitable entertainment for our minds.

FYI The Prisoner was an ITV programme, not BBC.


Nice dynasty though.

[Abe Sargent]

Can't fault a press release in 2052 for being wrong about a fact from 1965

(In other words, I screwed but, want to be like Marvel and claim it was always meant to be like that.)

[Abe Sargent]

May:

Still boring.

I purchase a few more screenplays:

Hold on Tight is a four star family film featuring live talking animals. It's a solid script and I pick it up for a clean million.

Very Wicked Ways is a four star animated courtroom for adults. I grab it for 1.25 million credits.



I decide to greenlight Jazz Drummer, the film noir with a low budget. Production costs are around 13 million. I have to hire a lot of people for this film, so I make it quick:

Director is easy. Bright star Emmet Mustlow is a cheap 200k. Let's see what he can do with a nice, low budget flick.

Ernest Borner joins us for 500k. This is his first movie as the top producer although he's done producing work before.

I finally find our star, Mavin Linscon on the 14th audition. It took a while but for 400k, he will star in our little film noir.

The remaining nine actors are all cheap, 50k actors that cast at 4 or 5 stars in the casting auditions.

Total cost in personnel plus production should be around 15.4 million.

Preproduction starts and should end sometime in October.

[Abe Sargent]

DRAGON'S DEN STUDIOS PRESS RELEASE

Dragon's Den Studios and CEO James Essex announced today that they have optioned the classic sci-fi novel "Lucifer's Hammer" for the big screen. Lucifer's Hammer was written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle in 1977 and details a coming comet that hits the Earth and the resulting impact.

CEO James Essex was quoted as saying, "What distinguishes Lucifer's Hammer from similar disaster stories is that is focuses, not just on individual people, but also on the aftermath and survival of the old world. Too many apopalyptic movies end in the disaster or the prevention of the disaster. Too many post apocalyptic flims start after and go from there. We'll tell the entire stary as does Niven and Pournelle."

Dragon's Den Studios is dedicated to quality in film-making, including the production of intelligent and provocative films. This classic novel should provide ample material for a movie that fits Essex's vision.

DRAGON'S DEN STUDIOS PRESS RELEASE

[Abe Sargent]

June! Our first movie, Duty, has entered production! It should be filming until October or so.

Today is a quick month. I greenlight Hold on Tight with a production budget of 15 million.

I grab a pair of solid but cheap guys to run my movie. Glenn Canleck for 550k will direct and Rolando Ulrich will produce for 400k.

I hire Garrett Michael to star off the first audition. He was my first choice and also the best audition straight out of the box. 600k and he is ours.

I round out the rest of the movie with 50k chumps except for our villian where I cast Lamont Heart for a whopping 100k.

The movie goes in cheap.

I make no purchases this month.

[Abe Sargent]

July arrives and bunches of stuff happens:

Handling Fire has reached production. It will be in production until December or so.

Meadow of Life has reached production. It will be that way until October, so a quick shooting schedule for the Meadow.

Hacking In has also reached production and should continue until October.



We are at 561 million credits from our initial billion. Without a revenue source, we've burned through almost half a billion dollars in half a year.


I purchase the following screenplays:

No Place to Go, a four star business drama for 1.1 mill.

Just Another Time, a four star horror/vampire film for 1.5 mill

Ice Doom, a superhero film, four stars, for 1.35

Holiday Pain, adult/comedy, four stars for 1.05



I decide to greenlight Ice Doom for a nice, expensive, action film.

I pick up one of the biggest directors in the business, Steve Tize for a total package around 9 million, but I drop his points completely. He's the 7th best man in the business.

I grab Galvin Wlikes, a talented and cheap producer that I was saving for just an occasion. Brillant with budgeting, action films, special effects and punctuality, he's my ideal man for such a project with a cheap cost at 600k.

The starting role is not demanding at all (just 55) so I grab Glen Valek for 500k to be my leading man.

Erika Hardin, the 31st lady in show biz will be our romantic interest for 800k.

600k brings Rudy Towers in as our villian. Smoking on screen, he should make some women drool. And men.

Orlando English takes one of our major supporting roles for 400k while unknown Shellie Drendel takes 50k for the other.


We expect pre-production to end around December.

[Abe Sargent]

July 5, 2052
Almostheaven.net

Interview with James Essex

As many of you know, AH-Net brings you the most up to date information on our favorite state, West Virginia. As many of you may have heard by now, major business mogul James Essex, CEO of Dragon's Den Studios has commissioned an original screenplay based on his own childhood right here is West Virginia.

The movie is tentatively entitled The Boone County Chronicles, which chronicles the adventures of James Essex growing up the son of a local pastor in rural Boone County. He will alternatively be the favorite son, the pariah, the nerd, the basketball player and the rebel in various stages of the five years that the movie will chronicle from fourth grade to eigth grade.

We were able to secure a virtuual interview with James, and he is listening now as I record the opening. James, welcome to AHNet!

James: Thanks, its always great to be in the hearts and minds of fellow West Virginians everywhere.

AHNet: Now, before we talk about the project's content, let's get a few business quesitons out of the way.

James: Certainly.

AHNet: When can we expect to see Chronicles in a theater?

James: Well, the script should take a year or so to write. After that, another year to cast, produce, budget, film, edit, market and release would not be unheard of. It could easily be two years before you are seeing this in a theater.

AHNet: Obviously, you have no idea who the director or actors might be.

James: No, its way to soon for that.

AHNet: Why do this story?

James: Well, there are several reasons. West Virginia has never been told well in movies. Some movies in WV spoof us, like Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! did. Other movies only look at a small section of the state with a very focused attention, like The Mothman Prophecies. Other movies will just use the state name and make up everything else like Silent Hill did when placed in the mythical Taluca County, West Virginia.

AHNet: So you wanted to bring real West Virginia to the screen.

James: Absolutely. I think my own life has some important lessons that we as West Virginians already know, but others could benefit from. Slowing down, taking off your hats while indoors, treating a lady like a lad and a man like a man, God, and more.

AHNet: Why are you focusing on just five years of your life?

James: It's the most interesting time of my life. During that time I was suspended for inciting a riot in fifth grade, I caught myself on fire in sixth grade, I was abhored in fourth grade and teased mercilessly by others because people thought I was gay, I became one of the most popular people in school by eighth grade, and more. I was a fool, a hero, a rebel and a lover. It's an amazing slice of life.

AHNet: How much of this project is hubris?

James: I'm not going to shy away from truth. I own my own studio and I think I have an interesting story to tell, so I am going to use the medium I own to do so. Whether ot not it was a good story will be determined when it is released.

AHNet: Fair enough. Thanks you very much for your time.

James: Absolutely, and we can keep in touch as the project continues. Tell all of your viewers hello for me!

[Abe Sargent]

August:

Pre-production for Hiding Out is complete and filming has commenced. It should conclude in November.

We dropped below 500 million.

With an eye to our budget and cashflow, I elect not to greenlight any projects this month, nor do I purchase any more rights or screenplays.. I simply turn the gears until September.


September:

Actor Ezra Palazio has died in a mountain climbing incident.

Nothing happens this month, but three movies will finish filming next month. When that happens, I should get a better idea of where our budget is.

[Abe Sargent]

September:

Several films were released by competetive studios. This will only increase over time.

The screenplay for By the Heath comes back ready for us to use.

Duty has finished production and post production should take until August, 2063 with all of the special effects.

Both Hacking In and Meadow of Life have finished production and post production for both should be complete around January.

Jazz Dancer has finished pre-production and moved on to filming which should be done around January.

I decide to go ahead and greenlight another project.

The numbers look okay with us at 360 million.

By the Heath is the cheapest production we can release, so I greenlight it.

I do the love interest first and get Blair Hammond for 500k. He was my absolute first choice for the role and audtioned perfectly.

Unknown art house director Kelly Gween agrees to head the film for 250k. I need to keep my costs low.

She is joined by fellow art house unknown producer Bert Quinby for another 250k.

Everybody else who signed up, including the star were 50k actors with great auditions.

I authorize pre-production on the film.

[Abe Sargent]

October 21, 2052
Almostheaven.net

Interview with James Essex II

Hello and welcome to another interview with James Essex, CEO of Dragon's Den Studios. James joined us a few months ago to talk about a project his company was working on entited "The Boone County Chronicles."

Yesterday, he announced work on a new project, entited "The Battle of Blair Mountain." As many of you know, AH-Net brings you the most up to date information on our favorite state, West Virginia.

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the seminal event in the Mine Wars and one of the largest civil uprisings in American history. In 1921, thousands of miners armed themselves and marched to Logan County demanding the resignation of Sherriff Truman Chapin, a corrupt official bribed by coal mines.

We were able to secure another virtual interview with James, and he is once again here. James, we always love having you here at AHNet!

James: Thanks, I love spening time with fellow West Virginians.

AHNet: How is Chronicles coming along?

James: It's still in teh script writing phase and will be for some time.

AHNet: Why were you so intested in the Mine Wars and the Battle of Blair Mountain in particular.

James: This is the key pivotal event in labor history in America and one of the key moments in understanding the nature of government, private industry, fair practices and how far people will go to protect corruption and how far others will go to bring it down.

AHNet: The elements of the Battle seem to lend themselves to the silver screen. You have clear good guys, clear bad guys, sweeping issues, and more. Why do you think it was never made until now?

James: Hollywood was run by big companies and the Battle cannot leave you with a warm feeling for big companies when you leave. Obviously, you can't pretend that the coal companies are analogies for today's studios, but I think executives feared that the comparision might be made anyway.

AHNet: Why do this story, then, if that is a concern.

James: Well, just because it is a concern for some comapnies does not mean it is a concern for me. I do not fear my audience and I do not seek to give them the lowest common denomonator entertainment.

AHNet: Does this connect with you wanting to bring real West Virginia to the screen.

James: Absolutely. Understanding the spirit of the West Virgina people is important for me to express. Maybe even vital for me to do so.

AHNet: Well then, thank you once again for your time!

James: Hey, I'm always happy to be here, you know that!

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

James: Absolutely. I think my own life has some important lessons that we as West Virginians already know, but others could benefit from. Slowing down, taking off your hats while indoors, treating a lady like a lad and a man like a man, God, and more.

You must come from a different part of WV than I do.

Seriously though, great dynasty as usual.

[Abe Sargent]

Heheh. Let me change that. No, on second thought, I'll leave it there - it's gold. Thanks Bee!

[Abe Sargent]

November:

More competitor films are released

Production on Hiding Out is complete. Post production begins and should end around February.

Pre-production for Hold on Tight is complete as well. Filming begins.

I want a cheap screenplay to greenlight and all of the four stars that I have are in the middle ground while the ones for sale are even more expensive. Therefore, I purchase my first three star screenplay, Green Wizard, a film noir for 850k.

I greenlight it almost immediately. Production costs are down to around 12.5 million credits. That’s fine.

This movie needs ten acting parts hired for it by me plus the director and producer. I hire all twelve people with the best talent I could find for minimum wage. I want to see what a decent but absolutely low budget film can do in theaters. This film will make an interesting test balloon. I authorize pre-production to begin.

[Poli]

I still like my movie idea.

[Abe Sargent]

Feh!

[Abe Sargent]

December:

More competing movies released.

Handling Fire has wrapped up production and moved to post. Because of the special effects, it should be done in October or so.

Ice Doom has finished pre-production and moved into production until April.

We are at 198 million left. Hopefully we’ll release a film in a couple of months.

I’m comfortable with the budget now, so I purchase all of the remaining four star screenplays:

1.5 million brings the horror film Falling in Love to our drawer.

Hard to Have, a gangster film, is ours for 850k

Urgent Desires, for a million, is an exploitation film.

What to greenlight? Holiday Pain, the adult comedy.

Molly Harris, a talented newcomer is hired to be our director for a paltry 400k. For 900k, Leonard Bainton will join Molly as the producer. My admin team is assembled for 1.3 mill total.

I sign a major actor in Denny Radison for 5 million. I want to see what effect having a bigger name will have on sales.

For 400k, Felicia Flurg will be the romantic interest of the film.

Todd Miles joins the cast as the villain for 600k. For another 600k, Terry Grouse joins as the only named supporting part. We are ready to go so I let the movie head into production.


It’s time to announce another Dragon’s Den exclusive project!

[Abe Sargent]

DRAGON’S DEN STUDIOS PRESS RELEASE


Dragon’s Den Studios and CEO James Essex are proud to announce the acquisition of the movie rights for the Isaac Asimov short story, “Nightfall.” This landmark science-fiction short story has often been hailed as the best short story in the genre of all time.

Nightfall documents what happens to a people in a star system with six suns, with one always above, making the planet and civilization in total light. Then, all six suns set in a rare occurance and darkness falls for the first time in millennia.

The story is remarkable due to its understanding of psychology, sociology, and philosophy. It studies the people under these conditions, when the suns that have always been there set.

Although the story has had elements used for several previous movies, it has never been fully adapted, with an eye to retaining the essential plot and character elements that define the story’s greatness.

Dragon’s Den Studios is dedicated to bringing quality movies to the theaters. This is the latest project that is anticipated to continue the tradition of intelligence and provocation that comprise the twin pillars of DDS’s goals.

[Abe Sargent]

January:

Hacking In and Meadow of Life and both ready for release.

Meadow of Life is running better at the score so I decide to release it first, followed by Hacking In.


Meadow of Life:

Will be released in Week 1 of February, 2053.


Hacking In:

Spring Break March, 2053



I don't do anything else but head to February and my first released movie!

I am going to release Hiding In in March as well, as an early release.

Okay, here we go, Meadow of Life is about to arrive.

[Abe Sargent]

Meadow of Life:

Director: Pierce Sowen - ONE Star out of Five. Blacklisted after this.

Producer: Stu Kerr - Five Stars

Lead: Santiago Arlington - Five Stars

Romantic Interest: Daisie Pfilson - Five Stars

Villain: Todd Miles - Four Stars

Other parts:

Dannie Oster
Kris Iderson
Rocky Upman


All five stars


Star Appeal - One Star
Story Appeal - Three Stars
Character Appeal - Five Stars
Genre Appeal - Five Stars



Okay, here we go:


This biographical film grossed 287 million credits worldwide. Of course, we will only get half that plus ancillaries.


We notched 67 million for the domestic theater
32 million domestic ancillaries
76 mill foreign cut
56 million foreign ancillaries

That's 232 million

It cost us 87 million to make, market and distribute for a 145 million profit.

[Poli]

Feh! I'll call your Feh! and raise you a Meh!

[Abe Sargent]

Review of “Meadow of Life”
Nate Oblerstein

When a new studio, or any entertainment company, releases their first product, there is often a lot of hemming and hawing. Official statements sound like apologies spoken from on high. Phrases are said like, “This was a learning process,” and “Next time…”

That’s why the CEO of Dragon’s Den Studios was so surprising. Not only did he appear at the premier, indicating his happiness to be associates with the film, but he spoke ahead of time. James Essex stood and addressed the assembled media and stars and proclaims that he was proud of their first effort. Bluster or pride?

Apparently, pride. Now, to be fair, it really was a learning process. The direction of Pierce Sowen was literally anemic. He won’t be directing any more films for Essex, I’m sure. However, the acting was top notch and the production was solid.

Meadow of Life is the story of Ross Adler, an Albanian who survived a nuclear strike in East Europe in a barren wasteland. The movie catalogues his survival from the post strike through five years later, and how he copes with the changing environment, disease, destruction, the deaths of loved ones, and more.

It’s a solid film because it allows the watcher to experience a traditional Robinson Crusoe story away from beaches and islands. As a result, the movie feels fresh despite tackling older issues.

The lead actor, Santiago Arlington, does a great job with the role, despite the challenges of the part. He really let you believe exactly what was going on without ever appearing to overact, as so many can in these roles. As a result, the movie really lived on the strength of his acting ability, despite poor directing choices.

I really liked it and it seems like a sold film, with some obvious issues with direction. I give it a B.

[Abe Sargent]

Excerpt from "ETNet.com" News in Review, February 23, 2053


...And in other news, Dragon's Den Studios announced that they have acquired the movie rights to Hugo Winner for best short story in 1985, "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburger Stand."

The short story follows a young worker who realizes that many different species of aliens, humans, and other dimension hoppers visit the Hamburger Stand after hours because in every dimension, the one constant is Harry's Hamburger Stand in Flatwoods, WV.

The project has been sent for a writing, and we'll keep you up to date as this project continues.

Elsewhere...

[hoosierdude]

Could I ask you to do a movie of Harry Harrison's "The Stainless Steel Rat" series?

Am really enjoying this. Please don't stop.

[Abe Sargent]

I own that novel and it started out much better than it ended. Sorry, no dice.

[Poli]

How about Rainbow 6?

[Barkeep49]

I just enjoyed catching up on the dynasty. You're making it hard for me to wait to buy the game.

[Abe Sargent]

AE: Clancy? He's a good hack, but a hack nonetheless. If I were to do any Clancy stories, I'd do Red Storm Rising. But, frankly, I don't foresee anything Clancy. Before people ask, no Grisham, King, Koontz, Steele, Robert Jordan, and probably no Crichton. No hacks.


BK: Thanks!

[Abe Sargent]

I greenlight Just Another Time and I wanted to wak through exactly what I do:

I make the film type digital. I steer clear of changing the film type or anything.

I only have to film in one location for this vampire flick. I decide to film in Vancouver which is the cheapest location.

I can change production quality of any individual production element or the whole on a five star system. Staff, Construction Crew, Light Crew, Grip Crew, and more. It starts at three stars across the board. Obviously, the more you jack up an element, the more expensive it is.

One of the things I do to help me determine if I need to up an element is I check the script. Are there elements there are appear to have a need to be highlighted?

This script is leaning on robotic effects, but light elsewhere. Therefore I jack up robotic SFX to the fifth star. I leave everything else as is.

I choose a standard production value for the movie. Based on the production value, you get a multiplier for all production values and quality. At standard, the multiplier is x1. If I wanted, say, Straight-to-Video I'd get a x0.2 multiplier and also lessened quality as well. If I wanted better production quality, I could choose higher multipliers. I will not play with this any time soon.

Once I greenlight the film, I can cast the movie.

For this movie, I need the obvious director and producer, a lead, love interest, villain, two major supporting roles and two minor supporting roles.

In order to find a director I want, I take a look at the genre requirements of the film and then screen out all directors that are bad at that genre (in this case, action).

Then I screen out any director which is not at least three stars in all other elements - SFX if I need it, visionary, budget, punctuality, story sense and authority. In this case, there is just one director in my sights - Bert Lorner for 350k.

I make the same search at the producer level. There are a lot of producers that have the requisite level of talent, so I chose Mick Dannahan, for 900k. Mick has five stars in budget and on time, so I expect that my production will have few slow downs.

When I look for an actor, I do the same thing for the genre that actor needs (which can be seen in the part list) plus sex appeal and screen presence. All three need to be at least three stars. I then may change my candidate pool by looking for different ages of actors and so forth.

Once I have a list of candidates, then I start auditioning until I find a five star audition. I then cast that five star audition. I have 15 auditions per part and that's it, so I screen first, audition second. I also only have 60 auditions per month, so I can only go so far each month. I occasionally will cast a four for
more minor parts.

My lead needs to be a 41 year old female, but I widen my casting net by five years in each direction. I'll cast between a 36-46 year old woman in the part if she's right for it. 46 year old Esther Nichert is my only real choice and four 400k, she'll start for me.

Another 400k brings in the love interest, 39 year old actor Marvin Linscon. In both cases, we cast higher than the supposed roles (41 and 36 were the written ages) so that fine because the age difference will still be appropriate.

I find my villain in one audition, 44 year old Bret Floogie. 600k brings him into the fold.

600k for Alfredo Frampton in one of the major supporting roles. 400k for Lyndon Fresh in the other. The two minor supporting roles go to Newton Mayson and Deloris Shilow for 50k each (Fresh and Mayson were four star auditions as I could not find a cheap five star one).

I authorize the movie for production. Now you can se all of the things I do to take a movie from script to production.

[Barkeep49]

Thanks for the detailed insight.

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks! Let me show you how I write a script from beginning to end:

I want to create a script for City of Golden Shadow, a science-fiction cyberpunk novel by Tad Williams that I want to create.

The first thing I do is to choose the title and plot synopsis. Obviously I am naming it City of Golden Shadow. Here is the plot: When her younger brother falls into a mysterious coma caused by the Cybernet, Renie Sulaweyo is forced to uncover one of the world's greatest secrets on the 'Net.

One of the things that draws me to this project is that the lead character is a black woman, and I love that. Scifi fans are overwhelmingly white and male, and the author intentionally plays with that with a black female lead and a black bushman love interest.

I choose whether this is live action or animated. Live Action. Then I can select the genre, and there are a lot. I choose Science Fiction with a Dark subgenre. I can set the era at any time, and I choose present day. I can choose what is at stake in the film, and I select World Domination.

I can then select the primary and secondary audiences. In this case, I think my primary audience is males 18-35 with a secondary audience of females 18-35.

I have to choose the location of the script, and it's obviously African, and a major city with plains nearby.

I then can set the script elements at any level I desire and the length of the elements will determine the time it takes to write the script. I jack up the script quality to about as high as I can make it (lower genre elements are okay with me but I want it to hum elsewhere).

I can then set three elements - language, love scenes and violence. I generally try to keep my movies clean of nasty language. I jack up violence to the middle rung and elinimate love scenes altogether. No bad language or love scenes.

Next I need to set the story scope. In this case, I need a massive scope as the group goes world hopping in the Cybernet. I set the scope at 5.

Set construction is important, and I set it at four out of five. Robotics are also at four. SFX is at five, but pyro effects are just at one.

I now choose the primary and secondary settings. I choose the university where Renie works and meets !Xabbu as the primary setting and secret city as the secondary setting (The City of Golden Shadow). I also set the story ending as ambiguous, leading into a sequal.

Now I need to set the parts. I begin with our lead, Renie Sulaweyo. The first thing I do is name the part. I then set the talent focus (action, drama, comedy or a blend of two) and choose drama. I can choose her species, human obviously in this case. I make our lead female, and then choose an appropriate age (28).

Now I need to define the character type. In this case, Renie is the Lead type with a Heroic persona. I can change the difficutly of the role, and I see this as VERY difficult to carry off, so I jack up the difficutly to 95.

At the end of the story, Renie lives and is needed for a sequal. (It is a trilogy/quadrilogy after all).

I then move to the love interest, which I can hop to a buddy if I want. !Xabbu is really both in the story with no overt romance - no kissing or anything, but an obvious and deep connection between them. Frankly, I think !Xabbu may be one of the most difficult roles I have ever read to be played.

!Xabbu is jacked up to 98 in difficulty, and I set him as a Friend type, Heroic persona (I also considered naive for him since he's a bushman who doe snot know everything but he catches on ver quickly and has insights that other characters do not have). In future sequal, I'll cast him as an animal, not a human (he choses the form of a primate when he hops to the Net and is one for several books).

I cast the villain (Felix Jongleur) an ancient corporate founder. I give him a Conniving type and an angry persona. I set his age at 65 although in the novel he is the oldest living man in the neighborhood of 140. I set the part difficutly at 80.

One of the things I can select when I have characters is the amount of make up, nudity and stunts that part requires. Although Renie and !Xabbu do not need these, Felix needs a bit of make up. I set the make up at two stars.

Next is major support, and I choose to emphasize the part of Martine Desroubins, a blind french computer genius who is an underground contact of Renie's and will ultimately be her guide. I set her at age 44, the diffculty at 90, her type as support and her persona as tough.

The next major support role I give to the character of Mr. Sellars, a mysterious invalid who apparently is tapping into the Net and assisting our heroes secretly unbeknowingst to them. 55 years old, support type, eccentric persona, 90 difficulty.

I add a minor support role for Bolivar Atasco. He's an older, hispanic gentleman who will assemble a group of underground rebels but he will die by the end of the first book.

Two other minor support roles go to Orlando Gardiner, a terminally ill teenager who spends all of his time on the Net in order to escape his life and his friend Sam Fredericks (who is actually Salome Fredericks, a female teen who hides her gender by being a male on the Net). These two get tied up in the group summoned by Atasco and supported by Sellars.

I then add 8 more unnammed minor roles and 13 unnammed support roles. These will be other people in the group, Renie's father, brother, mentor and so forth.

I then send this script out to the writers and it will take 15 months to get right.


-Anxiety

[Barkeep49]

What effect does doing something like setting it in Africa or the era have on gameplay? Is it merely cosmetic or does it matter?