Film idea: “Powder”

[dee]

What if we could see the suffering that manifests from making a desired substance? If the line of cocaine could be trailed, what would we see?

An idea that I have been contemplating for quiet some time now is to create a film that exposes the devastating effects of cocaine, from production to consumption.
In the spirit of Traffic and Crash, “Powder” would demonstrate a lineal depiction of:

The reluctant farmers forced to create the substance in its most raw form,
the undue American war on Drugs,
the battling guerrilla warfare and government collision,
the social and economical effects of cocaine on Colombian citizens,
the arrogant Colombian Cartel,
the reality of trafficking,
international distribution and the oblivious consumers.

It would be as if the line of powder tells the story and intertwines into the lives of those who cross its path. Instead of a Drama that focuses on the repercussions of cocaine in one social group, “Powder” would demonstrate how the creation of the illicit drug constructs a domino effect of poverty, violence, greed, confusion and addiction.

as i have no scriptwriting experience, i would love to hear how i could propose this idea to people who could potentially make it into a film. thanks in advance for your help

 

[wheatgrinder]

Change it to meth and you have a more original tale.. with more practical locations and unique NEW characters.

 

[directorik]

Sounds like a fine idea.

Since you have no screenwriting experience you’re going to have
your work cut out for you. The main problem is you don’t have a
story. What you have here is a documentary - a documentary that
has been done many, many times. But you’re thinking along the
lines of “Traffic” and “Crash” and both of those movies were about
people. The backdrop of “Traffic” was drugs trafficking, but that
wasn’t what the story was.

So it seems to me, you would like to find a screenwriter to create
a story and compelling characters for your idea of showing
suffering because of cocaine abuse. And you want to expand it to
the entire effect of the drug; personal, governmental and
international.

That’s huge. But if done as well as the two movies you mention it
could be very, very good.

 

[wheatgrinder]

I had a funny thought just now..

Imagine the opening done in a mocumentry style.
--- black and white, 1950's style educational film look..


Title: "Your Crack Dollars At Work"

EXT. Street Corner Day:
JOHNY an average American teenage boy is giving BILLY, a stylish rouge, a $20 BILL

NARATOR V.O.
Here we see little Johny supporting his local economy as he buys a $20 rock form his helpful street dealer. Sure Johny is helping his neighbor Billy, but did you know that Johny is participating in a world wide money laundering system?

A small part of that $20 bill Johny earned mowing lawns for Mrs. Jones down the street is assisting Arab Freedom Fighters in their quest to rid the world of Jews. Another portion is assuring that young Asian girls can realize there dreams of coming to America to be Movie stars in the Direct to DVD home video market.
​

....

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

Wheat (And Dee),

I love it.

Depending how long it would be (Because it could get tired if too long), but an odd and slightly surreal (like something in Grindhouse or Natural Born Killers or something that maybe Rob Zombie would do) , but in the classic industrial/educational film style would be a trip for the whole thing. (Films burns, splices and all!)

Start with Billy succumbing to peer pressure, then go around the world till you arrive back at now strung out prison Billy.

NARRATOR
The shortest distance between addiction and you is a straight line, a straight line of cocaine!!

SHOCKING MUSIC
Dunt - Dunt - Duntttttt!!


BTW- I don't mean to belittle the serious impact of drugs, or the mature tone a film like that could potentially have, but as an off beat way to present a traveling tale, then I can totally envison the educational film style. Could work in a "The gods must be crazy" way too I suppose.

-Thanks-

 

[Padnar]

That is a nice thing. You can personalise it . Show how a entire family is destroyed by drugs and the hero acts as a crusader and wants the whole thing out . How he learns the language of a mafia and uses them .
padma

 

[wcmartell]

1) I see a bunch of things, but not a story.

2) I also see a focus on making a point, but not on people... which would be great if points or things bought tickets.

3) A major problem is that you have a bunch of locations and characters - and every new location and every new character costs money... yet I do not see how this film would make it's money back - why would people pay to see it? You've just worked 40 hours at some awful job and when you get home there's a stack of bills in the mailbox and you just want to forget your troubles and escape into fantasy land for a couple of hours... what is the fanatsy here?

4) The two ways to get this made into a film are: write the screenplay and then work like heck to get it in front of people and pray that you are the lucky one who sells your script, amd then the luckier one whose script gets made, and then the luckiest one whose scripts gets made and seen... Or find the money to make the film yourself, and then hire the writer and everyone else.

5) I would try to come up with some story for you, but I am a professional screenwriter with hundreds of my own stories to write and not enough time to work on anyone else's (unless they pay me to do so).

Also - Cocaine is either so 1980s or so 1920s... and we are in 2010.

- Bill

 

[wheatgrinder]

1) I see a bunch of things, but not a story.

2) I also see a focus on making a point, but not on people... which would be great if points or things bought tickets.

3) A major problem is that you have a bunch of locations and characters - and every new location and every new character costs money... yet I do not see how this film would make it's money back - why would people pay to see it? You've just worked 40 hours at some awful job and when you get home there's a stack of bills in the mailbox and you just want to forget your troubles and escape into fantasy land for a couple of hours... what is the fanatsy here?

4) The two ways to get this made into a film are: write the screenplay and then work like heck to get it in front of people and pray that you are the lucky one who sells your script, amd then the luckier one whose script gets made, and then the luckiest one whose scripts gets made and seen... Or find the money to make the film yourself, and then hire the writer and everyone else.

5) I would try to come up with some story for you, but I am a professional screenwriter with hundreds of my own stories to write and not enough time to work on anyone else's (unless they pay me to do so).

Also - Cocaine is either so 1980s or so 1920s... and we are in 2010.

- Bill

Bill expressed many of the reasons why I suggested Meth as a better evil drug to work with..

Meth is usually regionally made. Borders states get a lot of meth via Mexico, but that just convenience of location.. UP here in the NorthWest, The current fad load up portable METH kitchens on the back of ATV's and head off into the woods for the night.. (that fact suggests a crazy plot idea for a slasher movie)

Meth has a harder, faster impact.. people go down hill FAST on meth.. Some folks maintain a regular job being coke addicts.. not so for tweakers...

Meth heads are just plain more crazy then the average coke head

These facts sugest:
easier locations.. basically where ever you are, you can find a meth story thread .... that gets pretty intense pretty quickly

Shorter story arc (real time a guy can go from normal to tweker holding up banks in 6-7 months (seen it happen)

Easier casting.. ANYONE can play a meth head..

 

[polfilmblog]

I saw Bill Martell's name, and this place seems to be jumping.

Anyway -- your idea is surface. Where's the depth?

Where's a unique character that shows us this world and takes us to a greater understanding?

You want one? He's called Cele Castillo.

 

[CrackerJacker]

Having shot/seen many scenes with fake cocaine usage, I think that meth would have a much more dramatic effect if you're going for a shock factor. With that said, I also think the coke/drug traffic plotline has been done too many times before.

 

[wheatgrinder]

is the OP interested in this conversation?

I wonder if dee an polfilmblog are one in the same .. cleaver viral marketing tactic..

 

[Joker B]

... which would be great if points or things bought tickets.

Truer words rarely typed-out.

Wheat, you should go ahead & make that! Will cost $20 in in props and maybe another fiver in donuts. Straight to (youtube) vid. You can probably get the $20 back after shooting, too.

Dee, the general theme of drugs (and crime) is verrry tricky, if you don't want to lionize it. Consider the ugly film(s) "Scarface" and how they end up celebrating rather than criticizing. Or maybe that actually was the point: to give half the sub-80-IQ males in America something to aspire towards (and teeshirts to buy) before 50 Cent came along. Maybe you should try playing some video games

 

[niik000]

i love it! for some reason i think of a film called "Soy Cuba" because it is a series of unrelated stories and characters all effected by one real life conflict. check out Soy Cuba.