NED KELLY & THE BUSHRANGERS ELITE ( film script)

Ned Kelly and the Bushrangers Elite (film script)
 

This is a film script based on the writing style of the two great Monty Python comedies, The Holy Grail and the Life of Brian.

There's been a few attempts at a comedy based on the life of Ned Kelly and they all stink for a variety of reasons. Mine may stink for other reasons.

So my script features Ned Kelly but I've chosen to make it a story about all the great Australian bushrangers., Ben Hall and Captain Starlight, Captain Thunderbolt and others. The segments are all ridiculous and senseless.

However it's dangerous territory going the "Python " route as "Python" sketch comedy is out of date and cannot is hard to replicate. My thoughts are that "Python" film comedy is not so out of date and can be replicated. It's not about copying anything , it's just about getting into that zone of nonsense-ness and hoping it works.

 The script is still a work in progress.

NEIL SIMON ( I'm not a big fan)

NEIL SIMON

Neil Simon started out writing the The Sid Caesar Show with greatest comedy writing team of all time which included Mel Brooks,Carl Reiner,  Larry Gelbart  and later on Woody Allen and these were the ones who went on to become household names. The show had a dozen or so other great comedy writers as well.

So Neil went on to write plays which became movies and the biggest one of the 60's was THE ODD COUPLE.  I can't sit through it, it's just two guys screaming at each other for 90 minutes. ( The Tv series is far more watchable)

In the 60's he also wrote BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. The film starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and was much better and had less screaming. But most of his other stuff was just unfunny screaming but he got accolades for it.

Finally around 1981 he wrote a film called MAX DUGAN RETURNS which was very good and he he followed it up with a few other good films like BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BILOXI BLUES which were more subtle than his earlier work.

I read or heard him say once that he couldn't understand all the fuss about Woody Allen and that was just as successful. There was a big difference.

When he passed away Brooks, Reiner and Allen had very little to say about him or condolences which made me think he wasn't all that likeable.

TED by Seth McFarlane 2012

TED

 I went to see this film with big  hopes and Seth McFarlane almost delivered.
Before I say anything else it would have been great to have two lots of dialogue and some scenes altered so that there was a kids version as well. I was a bit horrified when an acquaintance of mine had taken his 10 year old son and the kid was quoting "Fuck" lines from the film.

But here's what I liked.
The humour- because he's original daring and very wrong.
I've never been in to topical references because they can become dated, so we'll see how this dates. As for now it's box office gold and if it's pop culture based and not political it's less likely to date. We still know the Brady Bunch but not the politics of 1970.

The story -    there were two strong storylines and he didn't go off track.

LARRY DAVID ( my soul mate)

 LARRY DAVID ( my soul mate)

There's that story about Larry David being on the comedy writing team of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for two years and they only ever used one of his sketches. But he was friends with Jerry Seinfeld so a few years they created SEINFELD together. 

So after a slow start he made it.

I'm 13 years younger than Larry so when I heard of his trials and tribulations to get to where he is today I thought well not everything comes easy for some.( like Woody Allen who says he only had good luck)

When SEINFELD began my colleagues were quick to point out the similarities between myself and George Costanza. Physically almost the same but I'm a bit more athletic than Jason Alexander, but with the bald head and the same attitude to many things and many ridiculous failures with women.

Then it was divulged that George was based on creator /writer  Larry David .

SEINFELD finished and this genius Larry David took Costanza to a new level when Larry David played a version of himself in CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM one of the greatest shows ever.

Of all the comedians and writers I  love and admire I probably have the closest affinity with Larry.

STAND UP COMEDY and MEETING LIKE MINDED PEOPLE

LIKE MINDED PEOPLE

I've had a desire to get involved with like minded people. When you have written as much material as I have and there's this need to get it produced and I need other people to produce and do my stuff.

Having written 12 completed films scripts and at least 10 incomplete there is the need for me to say "Hey man , your on my team now, do this project". In fact form a company
My first love is my sketches because they are the best things I've written.
My ambitious side wants to be the creator of a very good Australian sitcom.
As for the film scripts all I ever wanted to do was to make a few myself and sell the others to the right people. 
People who understand my brand.

I realised Spielberg did this early on especially when he made the films like THE TWILIGHT ZONE and got other directors involved. Joe Dante and John Landis eg.

Quick story: I had a few drinks at the Sit Down Comedy Club one night and one Brisbane comedian asked me a question about why I do stand up at my age. ( I was 40 at the time)  I said "I decided to give stand up a go because I wanted to meet "Like minded people" and all I met was a pack of cunts. ( that got around pretty quickly).

MY BRAND OF COMEDY

MY BRAND OF COMEDY

 Step into the world of the delusional for a second.

So it's comedy so you look at studios like Paramount or Orion.
Low to medium budget, but I do write some big budget style scripts so they'd have to go elsewhere.
Brisk paced comedy. Usually my story ideas are very good. can never figure out why someone else hasn't thought of them.  THE MAD WEEKEND,  BABY CAME BACK , AFTER DEATH , MAN OF THE PEOPLE  good examples
Contemporary or very modern music score. Australian soundtrack. No guitars in the score though.
Australians have produced many great forgotten songs popular songs, which means they aren't all that popular anymore .  

A regular cast of comedians and acting talent and a regular crew.

The film script has a basic story with an obvious ending.

Along the way:  

BUDGET

There are no shots from helicopters.

There are no car chases.

There are very few stunts.

 

STYLE 

There is conflict amongst the protagonist and his nemesis but nothing earth shattering. ( Like a western)

There are cameos from other comedians. I like comedians doing comedy.

 There are scenes which are essentially sketches.

There a a series of weird characters .

There has to be plenty of funny lines within the sketches. All comedy performers get laugh lines.

THE FILM STUDIOS BRAND

THE FILM STUDIOS BRAND

One of my things is having a love of the old Hollywood and hard cover books on each of the major studios.

For most of the twentieth century Hollywood was run by major studios. They all had their own brand and of course there was the brand within a brand. This is how they were up to the 1950's.

MGM:  ( Irving J Thalberg -1936) Louis Mayer Sam Goldwyn          
Big budget musicals and dramas  and likeable friendly stars.
Clark Gable  James Stewart  Cary Grant Gene Kelly  Judy Garland

Warners   Jack Warner    
Moderate budget well told contemporary movies with  major stars Bogart ,Cagney and Bette Davis.
The exception being big budget colour movies with their biggest star Errol Flynn

Columbia  Harry Cohn
 Moderate budget but very well made films. Some big budget films
Great black and white photography.
Big name character actors as leads.
Tragically The Three Stooges saved this studio and were only ever on small wages.

Paramount       Adolf Zukor
Mainly Comedies. Bid budget  With comedies you don't need big name directors. Just tradesman like.
The Marx Brothers, Bob Hope Bing Crosby, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis.
Dramatic Stars Gary Cooper,  Marlene Dietrich William Holden

2oth Century Fox     Darryl F Zanuck
Glossy Dramas . Glossy B grade films
Tyrone Power Gregory Peck


RKO  Howard Hughes
Lower Budget films
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals. Robert Mitchum
The studio where big names went to make personal independent films.
Eg Billy Wilder with Double Indemnity.


Whether the film was good or bad each of these studios had a mark which typified the studio.