Uncle Mega's B-Movie Ping Pong Project

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Masato
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Uncle Mega's B-Movie Ping Pong Project

Postby Masato » Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:04 am

So apparently our man Uncle Mega here has a genius concept for a movie; a B-level style farce about the underground world of Chinatown Ping Pong Hustlers

:D :D :D

Or maybe he can word it better

- He said somethin like its too much work for him but I think its worth exploring!

If he is cool with it, lets use this thread to brainstorm ideas. Characters, storylines, whatever flavor we can bring. I think its a really original idea. As an amateur writer I would take the challenge to try to craft a working storyline from the concepts if we could get it to start hummin

Here is some early visual inspiration, but it sounds like Mega has some much better stuff in his noggin, some memorable characters and a half-baked idea for a story already

Image

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What do you think? Another MT Forums Collaborative project? So far all our creative endeavors have produced nothing but legendary material, lol :D

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Megaterio Llamas
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:30 am

I would first like to go into Chinatown and try to track down any folks that might still be alive and remember the scene well. I'm thinking this could be perhaps best rendered as a pseudo doc told in flashbacks from the memory of an old Chinese woman when she was a beautiful young girl. I have always felt that if done right, this story could elevate those denizens of the dingy pong pong dens of Pender and Gore streets to heroic status up on the silver screen. It could depict Chinese people as heroes and for once Vancouver actually could play itself. Both would be rare if not unique events and worthy goals imo. There is a lot for me to unpack here, I had ditched this idea long, long ago.
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:35 am

Visually the look is foggy Werewolves of London meets Bladerunner flooded with neon lighting and Cantonese signage.
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Sun Aug 06, 2017 1:11 am

Oh, and that showmanship stuff with #2 seeded player The Bruce with his heel persona and his entourage of hos, well all that was the influence of an old Jewish bookie and promoter named Sapper. He was the one that brought it out of the clubs and moved into the basements and the backrooms of the Chinatown nightclubs and restaurants. He brought a strong entertainment influence to the scene and produced and even emceed the challenge matches in English and Cantonese. A lot of these 'big grudges' were obviously made up and the matches were probably fixed at least some of the time. Sapper is usually credited with reviving the scene after there were several police sweeps against the clubs under a notorious crackdown entitled 'operation bruised orange'.

The earlier scene began probably in the war years as the local shooters would hustle the US sailors or preppy white boys from the west side. Back then it was all about club and honor but the storming of clubs continued right through the entire length of the scene. Usually some young kid would open his mouth and it would be left to the club leaders to defend the honor when the other club showed up to their place angry and with custom two piece paddles ready for business. You'd have very intense life or death games going on at seven or eight tables at once, it was wild. These club challenges didn't happen often but when they did word on the street traveled fast and large crowds would come from across the East End to watch.
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Sun Aug 06, 2017 1:29 am

I can actually come up with a much better name than that for the mayor. Funny names are important. I would hope to include inside jokes that make the locals cringe a little :)
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:05 am

The last time a b movie project with this much ambition was launched out of Vancouver would probably have been the early eighties and the result was the epic musical sci fi comedy thriller Big Meat Eater. It's a lofty standard to try to measure up to no doubt.

Set in 1950s Burquitlam.






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Postby Edge Guerrero » Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:43 pm

- You need Pom on your cast!
And Joe Mama playing a chinese guy!
- I rent this space for advertising

Don't be selfish, preserve this world for the next generations.

I'll never long for what might have been
Regret won't waste my life again
I won't look back I'll fight to remain

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Postby Masato » Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:21 pm

OK Mega... if we can fill in the blanks for this deceptively simple exercise, I might be compelled to try to write a first draft:

Image

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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:43 am

That seems like work to me Masato ;)
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Postby Megaterio Llamas » Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:38 am

The tension is between city hall and the players in the ping pong wagering scene. There is a women's temperance type society led by a fiery female protestant evangelist who is pushing the mayor to come down on the ping pong scene with a hammer. There is also a little black neighborhood called Hogan''s Alley on the edge of Chinatown near the railroad station where there is a lot of nightlife happening. Chicken restaurants, gambling houses, brothels, bootleggers, drug dealers etc. The likes of Sammy Davis Jr, Ike Turner, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald used to go down there when they were in town. Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame once played in a rhythm and blues combo in the area called Four Niggers and a Chink I believe it was. They mayor winds up bulldozing it as the first step in putting in a proposed freeway. Chinatown itself is also threatened.
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