Pool Documentary Film

[Ericchen0121]

If I were to make a pool doc, what subject would you like to see addressed?
My initial thought was to interview players based on the IPT scandal and figure out a story from there.

Jerry Powers (maker of Jerico Stinger) the doc should focus on where pool was -- maybe as an entertainment/ gambling -- where it's been, where it is now, and what the future of the game is.

Any and all input is appreciated. I also read the thread on the Robles film and the Sweet 8 Ball Odyssey book....

I'm a film student about to graduate. I love pool and want to help create a revolution in the game.

NOTE to PLAYERS and FORMER IPT Members: let me know what you specifically think, and whether players (such as yourself) would be willing to talk on camera about their experiences if I approached them, or you

Thanks az. I really think there is a story to be had here.

-Eric

 

[CrownCityCorey]

If I were to make a pool doc, what subject would you like to see addressed?
My initial thought was to interview players based on the IPT scandal and figure out a story from there.

Jerry Powers (maker of Jerico Stinger) the doc should focus on where pool was -- maybe as an entertainment/ gambling -- where it's been, where it is now, and what the future of the game is.

Any and all input is appreciated. I also read the thread on the Robles film and the Sweet 8 Ball Odyssey book....

I'm a film student about to graduate. I love pool and want to help create a revolution in the game.

NOTE to PLAYERS and FORMER IPT Members: let me know what you specifically think, and whether players (such as yourself) would be willing to talk on camera about their experiences if I approached them, or you

Thanks az. I really think there is a story to be had here.

-Eric

The IPT thing is honestly only the most recent news about how Pro Pool is bad.

Go back to Mackey for what really killed it!

Follow a group of Pro Players through 3 events and you will have more than enough footage and the story of how passionate they all are about this sport will unfold.

 

[cigardave]

If I were to make a pool doc, what subject would you like to see addressed?

The character (and characters) of pool... historically... 100 years ago...75 years ago... 50 years ago... 25 years ago... and the current character (and characters) of pool... what factors influenced the changes... and where the sport may go in the future (+ the why, of course).

 

[ScottW]

I guess it largely depends on one question:

Do you want to document the POSITIVE aspects of pool, or the NEGATIVE aspects? :/

 

[Blackjack]

IMO, you should not give the IPT any more coverage than it has already received. If you want to do a documentary, do one on the positive aspects of our game and our industry. You can start by looking at the great players and great people that promote our sport.

 

[Ericchen0121]

I know this is a major factor, whether to make a pool doc positive or negative -- since the IPT is such a negative aspect of its history. But I think it's essential to show *Why* the sport hasn't taken off, and what problems face the game today.

I'd love to make a positive doc about pool, but I don't want to paint too rosy a picture... because pool is not all positive. I want to be truthful, but also understand how a film can influence how people perceive the sport, and would not want to harm it anymore. (I love the game!)

Corey- I don't know about the Mackey incident, but will look into it. I really think the "follow the pro player" concept is interesting.

Keep the ideas comin---

 

[Brian in VA]

Pool has such a long and rich history that a Ken Burns type of thing would not be out of the question. Pieces about all the different games, the players, the legends, the gamblers, the cue makers, the league players would all make individual documentaries in my opinion. Trying to get all of that in a single documentary would be short changing to the rest of it. Pick one area and do a great job on that!

Good luck!

Brian in Va - still writing the great american pool novel

 

[SKUNKBOY]

What a coincidence...I was just talking to a friend about what the subject of the next "good" pool movie should be. We both agreed that a film could be made based on the life and times of Willie Mosconie. It would be an intersesting subject and could be filled with facts about changes in the game during his life time. He did go from small pool halls to TV matches in his lifetime. He gambled, played in tournaments and was quite a character in his own.

It would be interesting to show how the money games went from straight pool to the fast pace 9-ball games of today. It could show the influence that TV had on the game. Show some of the sleezy parts as well as the bennefitial parts. I think there is potential there, just need a good writter to do the research and get busy.

Just a old pool ball that's been rolling around in my head.

L8R...Ken

 

[JLW]

I'd like to see a documentary on Mosconi's 526 run. There is so much debate regarding this run, it would be interesting to see someone approach the subject like an unsolved mystery. For example, you could interview Mosconi's children. You could visit the spot where the run took place. Is the East High Billiard Club still around? Is the building still there? Is is still a billiard club? If not, what has this historic building been changed into? Do the current residents even know what happened in their building? You could try to track down all of those still living who witnessed it. You could talk to those who say they've played on the table. You could talk to current pros about the difficulty of breaking such a record. You could illustrate how pool was regarded in the days of Mosconi and Greenleaf; how famous some players were. As you can see, I think this subject could make a great documentary.

 

[buzzsaw]

If I were to make a pool doc, what subject would you like to see addressed?
My initial thought was to interview players based on the IPT scandal and figure out a story from there.

Jerry Powers (maker of Jerico Stinger) the doc should focus on where pool was -- maybe as an entertainment/ gambling -- where it's been, where it is now, and what the future of the game is.

Any and all input is appreciated. I also read the thread on the Robles film and the Sweet 8 Ball Odyssey book....

I'm a film student about to graduate. I love pool and want to help create a revolution in the game.

NOTE to PLAYERS and FORMER IPT Members: let me know what you specifically think, and whether players (such as yourself) would be willing to talk on camera about their experiences if I approached them, or you

Thanks az. I really think there is a story to be had here.

-Eric

I've always felt it would interesting to see how individuals approached getting ready for a major tournament. You could select a couple of people to focus on. They could all be pros or mix it up and select a pro an intermediate player and maybe a "somewhat" newby. Obviously, it would be good to find people that could have some chance at success but it wouldn't have to be.

 

[CrownCityCorey]

Corey- I don't know about the Mackey incident, but will look into it. I really think the "follow the pro player" concept is interesting.

Keep the ideas comin---

Be sure to interview Grady Matthews, JR Calvert (Publisher of Inside Pool Mag) and Bobby Hunter (former PBTA Pres) for some Mackey insight.

 

[ScottW]

I've always felt it would interesting to see how individuals approached getting ready for a major tournament. You could select a couple of people to focus on. They could all be pros or mix it up and select a pro an intermediate player and maybe a "somewhat" newby. Obviously, it would be good to find people that could have some chance at success but it wouldn't have to be.

That's a pretty neat idea - pick two, maybe three tops, players and follow them around (and I hate to say this, but, reality-TV-style) leading up to their attending a common tournament. Drop in some interviews with other pool personalities on various subjects here and there to break up the main story.

The only thing you couldn't really do is guarantee that the players being followed end up playing each other in the tournament. Unless the TD is willing to be bought off or something.

 

[Pushout]

Pool has such a long and rich history that a Ken Burns type of thing would not be out of the question. Pieces about all the different games, the players, the legends, the gamblers, the cue makers, the league players would all make individual documentaries in my opinion. Trying to get all of that in a single documentary would be short changing to the rest of it. Pick one area and do a great job on that!

Good luck!

Brian in Va - still writing the great american pool novel

Tap, tap, tap! The truth, as far as it goes, because with the legends there is stretching of the truth, ie: Minnesota Fats, won't necessarily be positive or negative either way.

 

[SteveFromNY]

I'd done a bit of creative writing on the side during my undergrad and always wanted to write a screenplay with a pool theme. I wanted to go into one which involved pool's greatest players and contributors and how they lived their lives according to the game. Best of luck! I'm currently writing a short story now, and am thinking about incorporating pool into one of the main characters!

 

[cuetable]

If you are thinking of pool at national/international level, I believe you should try to attend Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, PA in two weeks to gather field information. Maybe you can even start there.

For documentary films I believe you have to be there, record what you see and make a story from the tapes instead of having a story before you go.

I am an ex-film student myself. One of my most memorable experience is a small documentary about the 1991 Los Angles Riot...

 

[coreyh]

That's a pretty neat idea - pick two, maybe three tops, players and follow them around (and I hate to say this, but, reality-TV-style) leading up to their attending a common tournament. Drop in some interviews with other pool personalities on various subjects here and there to break up the main story.

I completely agree with this, but I would also add a promoter into the mix. Right now, one positive aspect of pool in America is the number of regional tours that are available to players. A lot of hours are spent working for very little reward. I would be interested to see how some of the players on the regional tours mix life, work, and pool together.

Make one of the players a woman. Many of the women's regional events offer entry into a WPBA event. This is a very tangible reward as opposed to a first-place check and fits nicely into the story-telling of someone trying to advance from amateur to professional.

 

[Barbara]

There was this guy from VA (I think) two years ago that filmed a documentary about how the women reached the WPBA tour. So he filmed some events with the Spirit Tour and then came north to film my NJ State event.

He interviewed the winner - Tiffany Nelson - as well as myself about how we started out playing and from there on to go about making things happen. Of course, I'm no where near the same level as Tiffany, so what I gave him was a completely different spin as to what pool means to me since I will be a "never was".

I do remember telling him in the interview that pool is so much more than the gambling and the hustling that the common folk would believe it to be. I mentioned geometry, mathematics, and the physics involved that the player must learn to achieve their outcome and that the desire we bring into the sport at first doesn't mean our dreams will reach their fruition. It's a long row to hoe.

I haven't heard anything about the documentary since or whether it was picked up by anyone to be seen on tv. But there are a bunch of ideas and ways out there that you could model your documentary about.

Good luck with it and I hope it works out for you.

Barbara

 

[jhendri2]

Personally, I would love to see a pool by the decades type thing. Great players AND peronalities by each decade. Pick maybe the top 4-5 players from each decade. This would be similiar to the Ken Burns Baseball that someone else earlier suggested.

Another good would be the "evolution" of pool. From Balkline tournaments and exhibitions of Hoppe to the straight pool of Greenleaf on a 5x10 then onto Mosconi and end with the current 9-ball tourny's on 4 1/2 x 9. Profiling players, promoters, cuemakers, etc. along the way to get a true evolution.

Just some thoughts,

Jim

 

[Blackjack]

There was this guy from VA (I think) two years ago that filmed a documentary about how the women reached the WPBA tour. So he filmed some events with the Spirit Tour and then came north to film my NJ State event.

He interviewed the winner - Tiffany Nelson - as well as myself about how we started out playing and from there on to go about making things happen. Of course, I'm no where near the same level as Tiffany, so what I gave him was a completely different spin as to what pool means to me since I will be a "never was".

I do remember telling him in the interview that pool is so much more than the gambling and the hustling that the common folk would believe it to be. I mentioned geometry, mathematics, and the physics involved that the player must learn to achieve their outcome and that the desire we bring into the sport at first doesn't mean our dreams will reach their fruition. It's a long row to hoe.

I haven't heard anything about the documentary since or whether it was picked up by anyone to be seen on tv. But there are a bunch of ideas and ways out there that you could model your documentary about.

Good luck with it and I hope it works out for you.

Barbara

Barbara,

Is this the documentary that Wayne Catledge was doing for Miyuki Sakai a few years ago? I did two interviews for that one down at one of the WPBA events - they had asked me some questions about Mike Carella and pool in general - Jennifer Baretta interviewed immediately after me - not sure if this is what you are referring to, but I asked Wayne about it and I believe that he said that it was produced for Japanese television about Miyuki. I could be talking about another documentary, but the time frame you give leads me to believe we are talking about the same one.

 

[Barbara]

Barbara,

Is this the documentary that Wayne Catledge was doing for Miyuki Sakai a few years ago? I did two interviews for that one down at one of the WPBA events - they had asked me some questions about Mike Carella and pool in general - Jennifer Baretta interviewed immediately after me - not sure if this is what you are referring to, but I asked Wayne about it and I believe that he said that it was produced for Japanese television about Miyuki. I could be talking about another documentary, but the time frame you give leads me to believe we are talking about the same one.

Dave,

The guy I worked with was Jonathan Hudson. I don't remember if he had a partner he was working with, but I really do believe this was not a documentary that was going to be produced for Japanese television. He meant for this to be aired in the US.

Barbara