The Hustler

[Tennesseejoe]

Jay I like your idea and since you asked for pool related incidents, I would like to suggest a process to develop your story. Since many creative members of this forum have witnessed hustler type stories, ask them to be part of developing the story. I'm not sure of the name of this process but I have read some of these interesting stories with exciting and nearly impossible twists. Sort of a James Patterson novel.

To set the stage, just write the opening scene for your story. It may be a few paragraphs, half of a chapter, or even the first chapter. Then have the members continue the story by contributing to the continuation. They may write a few sentences or paragraphs or even more.

From these contributions just select the one you like. Then you can continue the story or ask for new contributions. Just repeat the process until the story is complete or at least until you have a good story line developed. I think you may be amazed how complex and engaging the story weaves.

 

[rexus31]

I may be alone in this view but I think part of the reason pool is in the situation it is in is due in large part to the way the game is portrayed. There were short term boosts following The Hustler and The Color of Money but I think these films were more detrimental to pool in the long run. IMO, another film portraying pool in a bad light (hustling, coning) will further the divide between "professional" pool and mainstream sponsors. Why not tell a biographical story of Shane, Earl or the like? I could see Shane's story as very mainstream: prodigy overcomes handicap to become arguably the best player in the world. Then you have Earl ditching the gambling side of the game for tournament play, the million dollar fiasco and Earl's overall colorful personality, Love him or hate him, his story would be popular with the mainstream. After all, he's "the greatest athlete in the world". Just my two cents.

 

[michael4]

IMO, another film portraying pool in a bad light (hustling, coning) will further the divide between "professional" pool and mainstream sponsors.

I could see Shane's story as very mainstream: prodigy overcomes handicap to become arguably the best player in the world.

I agree fully with your first point

as to your second point I disagree, a movie that climaxes with "now he is great pool player" will have limited appeal......IMHO it cant be all about pool...

more like this, a kid with autism cant find himself, until he learns to play pool, and that helps him to become a great person...….the climax cant be about pool, it has to be about something bigger than that....(but pool can also be put in a positive light, as you wisely suggest)

 

[johnnysd]

I know in our dreams money is no object, but do you have any idea how deep into the red one would have to go to get tom cruise to take the role?

Three ways to pay actors, salary points or a combination. With a good script and director, Cruise might do it for scale with enough points.

 

[J SCHWARZ]

................... wrong thread

 

[Black-Balled]

Three ways to pay actors, salary points or a combination. With a good script and director, Cruise might do it for scale with enough points.

You are dreaming.

 

[book collector]

JD Dolan has been working on this very thing for the last several years. Book can’t be long now.

Lou Figueroa

I don't think anyone under the age of 60 would give 2 hoots and a snicker bar about Ralph Greenleaf.
I am a billiard historian, and I don't think I could take more than 10 minutes of it.
I have been wrong before , but I don't think so this time.

 

[alphadog]

I don't think anyone under the age of 60 would give 2 hoots and a snicker bar about Ralph Greenleaf.
I am a billiard historian, and I don't think I could take more than 10 minutes of it.
I have been wrong before , but I don't think so this time.

A dude goes on a bender ,wakes up in jail in Oklahoma and has to go to a poolhall to play and prove who he is. No Lou you are prob right I am sure there is no story here.

 

[Nostroke]

You are dreaming.

We'll give him big 'monkey points' = on the NET. He is bound to fall for it.

 

[Black-Balled]

We'll give him big 'monkey points' = on the NET. He is bound to fall for it.

I was thinking something more along the lines of...a spaceship came down and xenu conmanded cruise's participation.

 

[app4dstn]

I gotta say, I still think the Kid Delicious story as it was told in the book would have made a brilliant movie.

The unlikely hustler in all those tight spots like how when he was winning at the upstairs Philly mob club and he considered jumping out the bathroom window etc etc

I hated for that book to end - I think it would have translated really well onto the big screen.

too bad nothing ever happened with that.

best,
brian kc

100% agree. i couldn't put the book down when i read it a couple years ago. i envisioned a movie through the entirety of it. was sad when the book ended. and immediately thought that this was too good to not be a movie.

 

[Get_A_Grip]

I wouldn't base the movie off of an account of someone's real life. I think that pooling all of the best hustles into one larger than life character would make for the most entertaining movie.

It needs to have a love interest, so I would start the movie with a very attractive woman hustler. She is working alone and doing her thing, until she gets out-hustled by the larger than life, unbeatable, super-smart Hustler (the main character).

The woman hustler of course falls for her new hero, and they begin working hustles together. Etc., etc.

By the end, although he loves her, she is learning too quick and becoming a threat to the larger than life Hustler (in his mind). So he betrays her with a big double-cross hustle at the end of the movie that leaves the audience aghast. :thumbup:

 

[Scott Lee]

KC...It would have to be based in reality. The reality is that Danny couldn't even fit through the bathroom window...let alone escape out of it! LMAO

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

The unlikely hustler in all those tight spots like how when he was winning at the upstairs Philly mob club and he considered jumping out the bathroom window etc etc


best,
brian kc

 

[FeelDaShot]

I think you should use the movie Rounders as a reference for how to implement certain things.

Rounders was very well done and you can almost follow the exact plot structure except substituting poker for pool. I like how they used Matt Damon's narration voice to explain the rules and terminology as the video showed example hands of poker. The same can be done with pool. There is a lot of cool pool terminology and lingo that can be explained by narration which would educate and interest anyone watching regardless of what they know about pool.

Also, Rounders has several key elements that any good movie has:

love interest who is against poker
good-hearted main character
financial struggle
need to do shady things for fast money
main antagonist
best friend of main character who is a bad influence
internal struggle
it shows the beauty of poker as well as the dirty/shady side of it
it portrays poker as a very cool yet borderline dangerous thing
they hustle their way into games of poker by hiding their identity

If you follow the same structure you can make an excellent pool movie which anyone would enjoy. Good luck!

 

[Celophanewrap]

Would the San Souci story make a good movie?
Maybe a sort of a "Brian's Song" kind of story.
Not many can claim quite the colorful history of a Kid Delicious, and I don't know a lot of
the 'Ginky' details, but most pool players at that level were part of a t least a few interesting stories
New York kid, a pool player, wasn't he a card player too. I'm sure he took part in a hustle or two

 

[BasementDweller]

Jay,

I love a good hustling story but...

One other idea for the script would be to contrast all these short-term hustlers with a guy that hustles them all in the end by working for years and years on his game in secret. For years nobody thinks he can play, until in a Beautiful Mind like scene, you see his hidden practice room in all it's craziness.

 

[JoeyInCali]

This would be a lot easier if Jack Cooney just fesses up. :thumbup:

 

[paaca]

I'm reminded of The Hustler every day I play snooker. Two photographs from the movie, one Newman one Gleason, on the wall.

 

[garczar]

IMO Jay's flik needs to be a road-player odyssey. Needs to be fun as well. Don't want to watch a pool-player's fall into drugs and suicide. I've seen that first-hand and its not film worthy believe me. Anybody ever see "Let it Ride"? Written by a former Tulsa newspaper columnist/author. Really funny horse-racing theme comedy with R. Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, J. Tilly. Something like this but pool based would be funny as hell. The Hustler is truly a classic but beyond all the great pool its one dark, dreary tale. For me something a tad lighter is what's needed.

 

[Luxury]

Jay,

I love a good hustling story but...

One other idea for the script would be to contrast all these short-term hustlers with a guy that hustles them all in the end by working for years and years on his game in secret. For years nobody thinks he can play, until in a Beautiful Mind like scene, you see his hidden practice room in all it's craziness.

Love this idea. Or he always has his Girlfriend with him and she is always banging balls on another table playing super cheap with the regulars. In the end he gets "drunk" and challenges two high rollers to gamble high with him in singles. They decline because they both know they can't beat him so he says, "I'll play you two scotch doubles with my girlfriend over there!" She is seen miscuing. They stack it up and she finally reveals her A game.