(Part Three of Three. Finally Finished! Oh, Could You Please Stop Cheering. Gomers!)
Dear Gentle Readers,
Many of us have discussed the next, great pool movie. But what if we flipped the script?
Rather than featuring an astonishingly gifted pool hustler (with his prerequisite femme fatale), what if we imagine an alternative take?
What if a documentary filmmaker -- a freakishly talented one -- focused on the journey of a real-life amateur team from formation through league play to the finals?
(Or perhaps she might include a number of different teams?)
Please indulge me as my imagination scampers further afield: how about a partnership with, say, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television?
Our goal? Not sure. Perhaps a Friday Night Lights writ just a wee bit smaller?
In this documentary we’d come to know these amateur pool players as individuals ... their foibles and their kindnesses, their friends and their spouses. Their captain. Their League Operator. Their squabbles. Their adversaries. The room owners.
Plus we could, early on, feature footage from a previous Las Vegas tournament. To set the backdrop, spotlight the scope of the event and let the audience in on what the amateurs are gunning for.
To advance the pro / amateur meme ... professional cameos could be integrated throughout the documentary -- a couple of top players coaching amateurs on aiming tips, cue stick advice, breaking strategies, etc. Archival footage of pro competitions might be interspersed.
(In one of my mom’s favorite films, Reds, Warren Beatty incorporates a segment know as the ‘Witnesses’ -- which features poignant interviews with the ‘we were there’ testifiers. What a marvelous opportunity to interweave, acknowledge and commemorate a few of our own pool legends. While they’re still with us.)
Even if the distribution of this documentary is Internet-only (although, done well, I could actually envision the project attracting some cable / film festival interest), the viewership could still be rather robust.
Promotion could begin with some standard methods -- our forums, blogs, chat rooms, e-mails, etc.
In addition -- if there is a communications structure to reach the participants in the amateur leagues, (if there isn’t, maybe there could be?) -- alerts could be sent to the millions (or however many there are!) of league players.
I would imagine that a documentary that features their own leagues, teams and players could garner some rather healthy viewership numbers.
Naturally, there are a few reality-based considerations:
> Who funds this mythical documentary?
Perhaps a collaboration among current pro event sponsors, manufacturers, amateur league administrators, a film school, and … is there a professional pool association? One tasked with promoting the sport at its highest level?
Hollywood celebs who play pool?
> Q.
Why would anyone want to fund it?
> A.
As you know, markets can remain irrational far longer than investors can stay solvent. (Okay, I used to have a boyfriend. A Wall Street one.)
However, before we ankle away from the investment opportunities, let’s try to remember that fate (positive fate!) can sometimes approach us on little cat feet. In other words ... a modest idea can prosper. A previously unidentified market niche can flourish.
Well, it could happen!
> How do you pre-select which amateur teams to follow?
Tough one. Maybe a particular team doesn’t make it very far. Of course that, in itself, could become part of the story. Maybe we would then shift the focus to another team. Okay, I don’t have this one worked out yet!
> Why should professional players cooperate?
Not much to lose!
> Do I have any idea what I’m talking about?
As Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men, “I’m just spitballing here.”
Wait! That didn’t work out too well for him, did it? Cancel the reference! Thanks!
My suggestions are, obviously, intended to be conversation-starters. For the purpose of this discussion -- and this discussion only! -- please overlook: my own incomprehension, vision impracticality and other yet-to-be-determined limitations.
Thanks!
Humble pastry, and the consumption thereof, is my life,
Sunny
Dear Gentle Readers,
Many of us have discussed the next, great pool movie. But what if we flipped the script?
Rather than featuring an astonishingly gifted pool hustler (with his prerequisite femme fatale), what if we imagine an alternative take?
What if a documentary filmmaker -- a freakishly talented one -- focused on the journey of a real-life amateur team from formation through league play to the finals?
(Or perhaps she might include a number of different teams?)
Please indulge me as my imagination scampers further afield: how about a partnership with, say, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television?
Our goal? Not sure. Perhaps a Friday Night Lights writ just a wee bit smaller?
In this documentary we’d come to know these amateur pool players as individuals ... their foibles and their kindnesses, their friends and their spouses. Their captain. Their League Operator. Their squabbles. Their adversaries. The room owners.
Plus we could, early on, feature footage from a previous Las Vegas tournament. To set the backdrop, spotlight the scope of the event and let the audience in on what the amateurs are gunning for.
To advance the pro / amateur meme ... professional cameos could be integrated throughout the documentary -- a couple of top players coaching amateurs on aiming tips, cue stick advice, breaking strategies, etc. Archival footage of pro competitions might be interspersed.
(In one of my mom’s favorite films, Reds, Warren Beatty incorporates a segment know as the ‘Witnesses’ -- which features poignant interviews with the ‘we were there’ testifiers. What a marvelous opportunity to interweave, acknowledge and commemorate a few of our own pool legends. While they’re still with us.)
Even if the distribution of this documentary is Internet-only (although, done well, I could actually envision the project attracting some cable / film festival interest), the viewership could still be rather robust.
Promotion could begin with some standard methods -- our forums, blogs, chat rooms, e-mails, etc.
In addition -- if there is a communications structure to reach the participants in the amateur leagues, (if there isn’t, maybe there could be?) -- alerts could be sent to the millions (or however many there are!) of league players.
I would imagine that a documentary that features their own leagues, teams and players could garner some rather healthy viewership numbers.
Naturally, there are a few reality-based considerations:
> Who funds this mythical documentary?
Perhaps a collaboration among current pro event sponsors, manufacturers, amateur league administrators, a film school, and … is there a professional pool association? One tasked with promoting the sport at its highest level?
Hollywood celebs who play pool?
> Q.
Why would anyone want to fund it?
> A.
As you know, markets can remain irrational far longer than investors can stay solvent. (Okay, I used to have a boyfriend. A Wall Street one.)
However, before we ankle away from the investment opportunities, let’s try to remember that fate (positive fate!) can sometimes approach us on little cat feet. In other words ... a modest idea can prosper. A previously unidentified market niche can flourish.
Well, it could happen!
> How do you pre-select which amateur teams to follow?
Tough one. Maybe a particular team doesn’t make it very far. Of course that, in itself, could become part of the story. Maybe we would then shift the focus to another team. Okay, I don’t have this one worked out yet!
> Why should professional players cooperate?
Not much to lose!
> Do I have any idea what I’m talking about?
As Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men, “I’m just spitballing here.”
Wait! That didn’t work out too well for him, did it? Cancel the reference! Thanks!
My suggestions are, obviously, intended to be conversation-starters. For the purpose of this discussion -- and this discussion only! -- please overlook: my own incomprehension, vision impracticality and other yet-to-be-determined limitations.
Thanks!
Humble pastry, and the consumption thereof, is my life,
Sunny
