Thank you for the comments on the script. I will see
how I can incorporate them.

Some notes:
1. The name Stingy Jack comes from the folk tale that
I adapted. Perhaps I left out elements that speak to
stinginess. In any case it is a working title and I
don't recall anyone addressing our hero as anything
but Jack. The actual title of the movie could be
something like "How the Jack-O-Lantern Came to Be" or
something more clever.

2. I agree that the dialog between the parent and kids
probably goes on too long. Maybe the scene could be
revised to show the children quietly working on their
pumpkins until one has an accident. The parent
distracts them from their frustration with the story.

3. As for more magic F/X:
The devil's eyes could be made to glow red (a
trick used in Oh God, You Devil)
jack's fall into Hell could be simulated. Have
the actor lie on a green surface (for chroma key) and
flail his arms and legs. Shoot him from directly
above. Then using chroma key, composite various
backgrounds moving from bottom to top to give the
illusion of falling. The backgrounds could be clouds,
rock walls, etc. Think Alice falling into Wonderland.
Jack's second encounter with the demon is weak
compared to first from an F/X point of view. Being
stuck in a tree can't compare to turning into a coin.
The problem is that the apple tree scene is in all the
versions of the tale that I found. However I am open
to suggestions for an alternate scam by Jack that
could be made magical.

One problem that just occurred to me, we may not be
able to shoot the pumpkin carving scenes until fairly
late in the process unless someone can find ripe
pumpkins before autumn

Also when do apple trees start showing well developed
fruit around here? And does anyone know an avid
vegetable gardner who might put in some turnips?

If it is the consensus of the group that we do this
script I would love to get suggestions for locations
and cast.

I haven't suggested it to her but I was thinking that
Janice Gutshall (Linda in Switch II) would make a good
mother for the opening scene. She is really good with
small children.

From other actors that have worked with us before, I
was thinking that Roger (Pete from ANOTR) might make a
good Jack and "Gunther III" from Moving Minnie might
be good for the devil.

Everybody let me know what you think.

Erick

--- Sue White <suebobw@...> wrote:

> Copies of Erick Lorenz' script, "The Legend of
> Stingy Jack" were e-mailed to members and several
> extra copies were available at the March meeting.
> First impressions, even for those who had not read
> the entire script, was the title. "Stingy Jack." It
> was deemed not descriptive of the protagonist, but a
> substitute name like "Shifty Jack" seemed more
> appropriate to the tale. He is seen as a con man
> type and he does stay out of hell which is no little
> achievement.The initial dialogue between the father
> and children, unless performed by brilliant actors,
> should be shortened.. Also, the magic of changing
> the demon into a sixpence sounded interesting and
> more of same recommended. Erick wrote a good script
> and it should be fun to produce.