The Color of Money...one more time....

PoolBum

Ace in the side.
Silver Member
DrJ said:
This is a short person reflection...if you don't like that sort of thing, then it's a good time to stop reading now......

That's ok, we have nothing against short people here at AZBilliards.
 

Thecoats

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
DrJ said:
Now to switch this short thread up a bit, (and that's not a personal comment, huh)...what would be a good plot (and title) to the follow-on to The Color of Money...it's about time for the next sequel isn't it....:confused: :eek: :D

Now would be the time, while we are still lucky enough to have Paul Newman in the movie.

-don
 

Matt_24

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've seen both movies about 1000 times each since I was a little kid. My dad was a pool buff, and also had "Baltimore Bullet" on VHS (a cheesy, but entertaining pool movie). From about the age of 9 til' 14 I would go with my dad to play pool every Saturday morning. I would usually watch one of those movies or a pool match dad tapes off ESPN to get pumped up to play the previous night.

If I could only pick one to watch, of course "The Hustler" is the best --- but TCOM is a lot of fun to watch. There are some really great scenes, although the movie, as most know, is quite unrealistic in how things actually happen.

I'll provide you with some examples just for fun's sake.

1. The team (Eddie, Vincent, Girl) finally find a pool room that has pool tables and action (versus furniture storage "Good thing I didn't bring the Balabushka, huh Eddie?) --- and Vincent is supposed to just practice 9 ball not showing too much, and this gangster/bookie/kingpin type who is dressed like a million bucks with fancy cue in hand is just going to approach this young, white kid who looks like he might $30 in his pocket to gamble for big money? Come on...

2. In the same pool room, Vincent starts showing off a little bit while practicing and Eddie gets pissed off. Shoot, there are lots of players who look good in the gym - but nobody was watching Vincent and Eddie practice, why get so mad. Nobody cares unless they were gambling.....so all that crap is ridiculous. They argue, Eddie leaves - only to find that the Balabushka is gone and Vincent in a fit of rage and pride goes back to challenge their best player.......and is running out on him......and only wins like $150? The best player in a room where people supposedly drop thousands is only betting, what....$20 a game 9 ball? I won't even go into Vincent's little dance to the Warren Zevon classic, "Werewolves of Thunder". And, the crowd in this supposedly hard core pool room is cheering him on while he runs out some easy balls (choosing a "bank" shot in that run instead of a cut? Come on....) to win one game? I guess we are supposed to believe that the other guy has no chance of winning a game and Vincent just breaks and runs out every time he gets up.

3. So now the ace team has been hustling and making money on the road ("Is that paint on your jacket?) and they run into Grady Seasons. Grady is the top money guy - and apparently they can score big off of him. I mean, they can milk it with a spot, then eventually play even, and win all of the money. Of course, before this Vincent worked at Toys R Us and was a local champ, but in 4 weeks he's ready to bust gambling champions (that is realistic enough in itself). So...Vincent gets into action, but Eddie wants HIM to dump and dump big so odds on him will be lower at the tournament. What the heck??????? Eddie is supposed to be some hustling genius "student of human moves" and he is concerned about the odds on a tournament. Here is a top gambler who probably has backers out the ying yang --- where Vincent can make a real score, and he wants him to dump for the tournament? Who wrote this screenplay (which buy the way is nothing like Walter Tevis's book)???? Did Martin Scorsese even think to discuss the script with guys like Grady Mathews and Keith McCready who were CAST IN THE MOVIE?????

Ok, so we know that TCOM is not very realistic and I could pick it a part for days, but the fact is it is fun to watch and I always did enjoy it growing up and I will watch again this year - at least twice. Hey, at least Ricky Schroeder wasn't in it as a supposed 9 Ball champion playing with a black Cuetec. Travis Trotter or DCP might watch that stupid movie watching him use that cuetec and think dirty thoughts.
 

hippiepool

Banned
DrJ said:
I remember when The Hustler came out...I was just about a teenager then, and I've seen it many times....;)
fast eddie was vincent back then ...

eddie played more of a george c. scott role in tcom...

i have not broken it down much further ....but i would bet you could find more corelations between the actors in both movies..
 

cardsfan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Matt_24 said:
I've seen both movies about 1000 times each since I was a little kid. My dad was a pool buff, and also had "Baltimore Bullet" on VHS (a cheesy, but entertaining pool movie). From about the age of 9 til' 14 I would go with my dad to play pool every Saturday morning. I would usually watch one of those movies or a pool match dad tapes off ESPN to get pumped up to play the previous night.

If I could only pick one to watch, of course "The Hustler" is the best --- but TCOM is a lot of fun to watch. There are some really great scenes, although the movie, as most know, is quite unrealistic in how things actually happen.

I'll provide you with some examples just for fun's sake.

1. The team (Eddie, Vincent, Girl) finally find a pool room that has pool tables and action (versus furniture storage "Good thing I didn't bring the Balabushka, huh Eddie?) --- and Vincent is supposed to just practice 9 ball not showing too much, and this gangster/bookie/kingpin type who is dressed like a million bucks with fancy cue in hand is just going to approach this young, white kid who looks like he might $30 in his pocket to gamble for big money? Come on...

2. In the same pool room, Vincent starts showing off a little bit while practicing and Eddie gets pissed off. Shoot, there are lots of players who look good in the gym - but nobody was watching Vincent and Eddie practice, why get so mad. Nobody cares unless they were gambling.....so all that crap is ridiculous. They argue, Eddie leaves - only to find that the Balabushka is gone and Vincent in a fit of rage and pride goes back to challenge their best player.......and is running out on him......and only wins like $150? The best player in a room where people supposedly drop thousands is only betting, what....$20 a game 9 ball? I won't even go into Vincent's little dance to the Warren Zevon classic, "Werewolves of Thunder". And, the crowd in this supposedly hard core pool room is cheering him on while he runs out some easy balls (choosing a "bank" shot in that run instead of a cut? Come on....) to win one game? I guess we are supposed to believe that the other guy has no chance of winning a game and Vincent just breaks and runs out every time he gets up.

3. So now the ace team has been hustling and making money on the road ("Is that paint on your jacket?) and they run into Grady Seasons. Grady is the top money guy - and apparently they can score big off of him. I mean, they can milk it with a spot, then eventually play even, and win all of the money. Of course, before this Vincent worked at Toys R Us and was a local champ, but in 4 weeks he's ready to bust gambling champions (that is realistic enough in itself). So...Vincent gets into action, but Eddie wants HIM to dump and dump big so odds on him will be lower at the tournament. What the heck??????? Eddie is supposed to be some hustling genius "student of human moves" and he is concerned about the odds on a tournament. Here is a top gambler who probably has backers out the ying yang --- where Vincent can make a real score, and he wants him to dump for the tournament? Who wrote this screenplay (which buy the way is nothing like Walter Tevis's book)???? Did Martin Scorsese even think to discuss the script with guys like Grady Mathews and Keith McCready who were CAST IN THE MOVIE?????

Ok, so we know that TCOM is not very realistic and I could pick it a part for days, but the fact is it is fun to watch and I always did enjoy it growing up and I will watch again this year - at least twice. Hey, at least Ricky Schroeder wasn't in it as a supposed 9 Ball champion playing with a black Cuetec. Travis Trotter or DCP might watch that stupid movie watching him use that cuetec and think dirty thoughts.
It's Werewolves of London, not Thunder. And he worked at Child World not Toys-R-Us. Keep watching, LOL:D
 

juegabillar

Private Citizen
Silver Member
DrJ said:
Now to switch this short thread up a bit, (and that's not a personal comment, huh)...what would be a good plot (and title) to the follow-on to The Color of Money...it's about time for the next sequel isn't it....:confused: :eek: :D

A new gazillion dollar tour is created, Hall of Famers (Eddie) get their tour cards for free, as a token of respect for what they have done for the game in the past.

Vince a strong touring pro is now fading a little, after being several times the "Player of the Year, and most notably "Player of the Decade."

All of a sudden, here comes Landon Buffet to the tour, a 12 yr old kid with the skills, techniques, the heart and everything imaginable to become the next or future World Champion in the "Mens Pro Tour."

Landon is already the junior World Champion at 8-Ball and 9-Ball, and is becoming a legend on his own against proven World Champions. He has beaten several of them on banking, ring games, 8 Ball, and 9 Ball at several major tournaments (BCA Open, US Open, DCC, Valley Forge, you name it); and he now will prove himself at this "Grand Tour."

Landon has some mild success, including several "high finishes" in the tour for about 3 years, but then at 15 (he becomes the World Men 8 Ball and 9 Ball Champion while holding the Titles of Jr. World 8 Ball and 9 Ball Champion.

He keeps winning and at 18 years old he becomes the youngest kid to have held the JR. World Championships, ACUI Championship, DCC Championship (everything and All-Around), Super Billiards (Valley Forge) Pro Championship, BCA Championship, Dragon Promotions 10-Ball Championship, US Open Championships, and then retires because of lack of competition.

He gambles all his money away and several years later, and more grown up, (his facials have changed) he enters a tournament as Shane Van Buren, disguising his real name, and proceeds to win the last tournament of the "Gran Tour" because it is now "folding" but Shane is discovered because he is given a 9 Ball to sign and he forgets and writes down his real name (Landon Buffet). After this, he really has to retire because no one on Earth can beat him.....

......or something along this line.......
 
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pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sorry Matt, none of your points are even close to being valid.

FWIW - not only is it much less unrealistic than you think,
more importantly - it was never intended to be a documentary.

I have been listening to pool players/fans ranting about
TCOM virtually since the day it came out.

The complaints are all much like yours, which is to say,
you are disapointed because Marty S didn't make the
film exactly the way you wanted it.

FWIW - I would have much preferd a movie that was faithful
to the novel, just as I would prefer that The Hustler had stuck
to the storyline of the book, rather than veering off into the
self-indulgent melodrama that was produced.

I think your ideas would make a fine film, problem is:
that is not the film they made. Try to learn to live with it.
I have.

Dale
 
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thebigdog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
my story about TCOM (long)

DrJ said:
This is a short personal reflection...if you don't like that sort of thing, then it's a good time to stop reading now......

I have watched The Color of Money twice...once when it came out, and then again a few days ago when I asked my wife to pick it up for me at the video store.

Funny thing is...when I watched it in originally, I was a lot like Vince, (a little brash, things came easy etc.), and that's who I identified with then...now the movie has traveled through time with me and now I'm a lot like Eddie, (just went to get new glasses again, feeling sometimes like I've lost my wheels etc.), and he's the one I identify with....

Anyways...I wonder if the movie was meant to be that way, and whether most other people already thought about that aspect....

The Color of Money changed the lives of my whole family, I didn't know it until years later, but it definitely did. The way it affected us started with my dad. My dad grew up playing pool in my grandpa's poolroom in Stockton, Ca. back in the 60's and early 70's. By the time he was 18 he was the best player in Stockton and one of the best in all of Northern Ca. When he was 18 he got married joined the Army and I was born soon after. He didn't play for 15 years, and when the Color of Money was being filmed we were living in Chicago and he was working for the Santa Fe Railroad.
One of his co-workers' wives was an extra for TCOM which was filmed partially in Chicago. One day his friend at work tells my dad that his wife had won a cue stick in a raffle done for the extras on the film and they asked hime if he would be interested in it. The cue was a Mc Dermott D-26 and my dad offered to buy it from them. He purchased the stick and the next week we were at billiard supply stores looking at pool tables. Soon after this we had a 9-foot A-E Schmidt in the house, and my dad was back playing in the local tournaments in Chicago and his game came back to him really quickly.
That same year his job transferred us to Barstow, Ca. and within 1 year of moving my dad started looking at starting his own pool room. The railroad was downsizing at this same time and offering employees buyout packages to leave the railroad. He decided to take the buyout and opened our own pool hall in Hesperia, Ca. in January, 1990. At the same time my dad was getting his room opened up, my grandfather decided to open a room up in Nevada, which my uncle took over shortly after. Everyone in my family was playing pool during this time and it was all a direct result of The Color of Money. Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different had that movie never been made.
 

thebigdog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DrJ said:
A very, very nice story....

Yea, it's definitely time for another sequel...don't know what it'll take Hollywood to want to do it...maybe some of the people here who have some contacts can put the idea again in someone's ear....

Or...maybe it's time for an alternative/independent film maker to do a pool related film and distribute it direct, (or something like that)...there's always a chance that someyhing like that could actually work....

I always thought that a documentary about pool players would do wonders for pool. Something like what Pumping Iron did for bodybuilding.
 

thebigdog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DrJ said:
Yup, I was also thinking about that possibility...(great minds think alike ;))...maybe someone needs to get it together and do that....

Maybe Joe Rogan can pitch this to his connections in Hollywood.
 
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