Project Idea and Major Inspirations

Project Idea

Our film opening is about a girl who is in debt with unpaid bills and a lot of lost money from gambling. She finds a fancy invite in her mail anonymously inviting her to play an all or nothing high stakes game to win some money that will take her out of her debt.

The film opening will start with close-ups showing neglected parts of the protagonist's house. You can hear a sports game/ horse race that the protagonist bet on playing on the TV in the background. Then, the character is revealed sitting on the couch. There will be an eyeline match of them watching TV that cuts back to the protagonist stressed and on the edge of their seat out of fear of losing the bet. The microwave will then start beeping, so they get up to get their microwave popcorn. They are distracted by the TV so burn themselves with the popcorn bag when taking it out of the microwave. They grab a bowl from the sink to put the popcorn in and this shows the leaking faucet. The protagonist notices the pile of mail on the counter filled with bills and ads for the sports games they bet on. They grab the mail and the popcorn and drop some mail on their way back to the couch. They pick it up frustrated. They flip through the mail, ignoring the bills, and find a fancy envelope. They look interested in it and open it, but get very confused. That's when they get the anonymous call asking yes or no. They hang up and look around at their neglected house, and bills and then start calling back the unknown phone number.

Major Inspirations

We have a couple of major inspirations! Here they are:

                                        Squid Game (2021)        The Substance (2024)

The idea for a poor character anonymously getting invited to play in a game for money came from Squid Game Season 1 Episode 1. We also love the bluish-gray depressing hue over the screen and plan on incorporating that in our film opening.

The idea of the character rejecting the invite then reconsidering and calling back the anonymous person is inspired by The Substance, similar to how the character rejected using the substance and then later called back the anonymous person to tell them she is interested in buying it substance.

                                             Parasite (2019)        Scream (1996)

The Parasite film opening inspired our film opening as well. Not only with it's bluish-gray hue, but also with the clips showing a dirty basement that the main family was living in. 

The anonymous phone call the protagonist receives in Scream as she is being watched inspired the mysterious phone call our character gets as they are being watched by while opening the invite to play the game.

Sources:

- Amazon.com: CINEMAFLIX Squid Game Poster - TV Series - Measures 24 x 36 inches (Standard Poster Size): Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Squid-Game-Poster-Measures-Standard/dp/B09JDGY5B3

- The Substance movie poster (b) - Demi Moore, Margaret Quailley - 11" x 17" | eBay. (n.d.). eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335651393626

- Amazon.com: Parasite Movie Poster Print Photo Wall Art Bong Joon Ho Size 11x17#1: Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-Movie-Poster-Print-Photo/dp/B084MDBN6R

- Amazon.com: Da Bang SCREAM Movie Poster Horror Wes Craven 24x36inch: Posters & Prints. (n.d.). https://www.amazon.com/Bang-SCREAM-Poster-Horror-24x36inch/dp/B019P1IFW4