Problem: Build a movie plot around this: How many members does the commando team consist of ? The team consists of four members.

A: In early 1943, World War II British prisoners arrive by train at a Japanese prison camp in Burma. The commandant, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), informs them that all prisoners, regardless of rank, are to work on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai that will connect Bangkok and Rangoon. The senior British officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), reminds Saito that the Geneva Conventions exempt officers from manual labour.At the following morning's assembly, Nicholson orders his officers to remain behind when the enlisted men are sent off to work. Saito slaps him across the face with his copy of the conventions and threatens to have them shot, but Nicholson refuses to back down. When Major Clipton (James Donald), the British medical officer, intervenes, telling Saito there are too many witnesses for him to get away with murdering the officers, Saito leaves the officers standing all day in the intense tropical heat. That evening, the officers are placed in a punishment hut, while Nicholson is locked in an iron box.Meanwhile, three prisoners attempt to escape. Two are shot dead, but United States Navy Commander Shears (William Holden), gets away, although badly wounded. He stumbles into a village of natives who help him leave by boat.Nicholson refuses to compromise. Meanwhile, the prisoners are working as little as possible and sabotaging whatever they can. Should Saito fail to meet his deadline, he would be obliged to commit ritual suicide. Desperate, Saito uses the anniversary of Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War as an excuse to save face and announces a general amnesty, releasing Nicholson and his officers from manual labor.Nicholson conducts an inspection and is shocked by the poor job being done by his men. Over the protests of some of his officers, he allows Captain Reeves (Peter Williams) and Major Hughes (John Boxer) to design and build a proper bridge, despite its military value to the Japanese, for the sake of maintaining his men's morale. The Japanese...

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: Who was the corrupt State's attorney? John Shaughnessy

A: Martin Vail (Richard Gere) is a Chicago defense attorney who loves the public spotlight and does everything he can to get his high-profile clients acquitted on legal technicalities. One day, he sees a news report about the arrest of Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a young altar boy from Kentucky with a severe stutter, who is accused of brutally murdering the beloved Archbishop Rushman (Stanley Anderson). Vail jumps at the chance to represent the young man pro bono.During his meetings at the county jail with Aaron, Vail comes to believe that his client is innocent, much to the chagrin of the prosecutor (and Vail's former lover), Janet Venable (Laura Linney).As the murder trial begins, Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including the corrupt State's attorney John Shaughnessy (John Mahoney), have lost millions of dollars in real estate investments due to a decision by the Archbishop not to develop on certain church lands. The Archbishop received numerous death threats as a result. Vail makes a search of the Archbishop's apartment and finds a videotape of Stampler being forced to perform in a sexual act with another altar boy and a girl named Linda (Azalea Davila). Vail is now in a bind: Introducing this evidence would make Stampler more sympathetic to the jury, but it would also give his client a motive for the murder, which Venable is unable to establish.When Vail confronts his client and accuses him of having lied, Stampler breaks down crying and suddenly transforms into a new persona: a violent sociopath who calls himself "Roy" who confesses to the murder of the Archbishop and throws Vail against a wall of his jail cell. When this incident is over, Aaron's personality re-emerges and appears to have no recollection of the personality switch. Molly Arrington (Frances McDormand), the psychiatrist examining Aaron, is convinced that he suffers from multiple personality disorder caused by years of abuse at the hands of his father. Vail does not want to hear this, because he knows that he cannot enter an...

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: Who did the adaptation of Klein's novel? Elaine May

A: Well acted drama, adapted from a novel by Joe Klein; has a terrific first half and then falters horribly in the final half hour- almost completely killing the entire movie. Travolta is dead-on as southern Governor Jack Stanton (a thinly veiled charicature of Bill Clinton), who is running for President. The film is shown from the perspective of a young, African-American man named Henry Burton, who is Stantons campaign manager. Through his eyes we spend intimate moments with the candidate, his wife and family and the various people working on his campaign. We also meet the other contenders for the office and get a rare inside glimpse of politics at work, which can be a ruthless and conniving game. Its fascinating material and the film hits the ground running, using a mostly good natured, humorous approach. The campaign must deal with the various and not unusual attacks by the opponents and must constantly dream up new strategies and schemes. Billy Bob Thornton is the man in charge of that department and he is all aces as Richard Jemmons, a ruthless, foul mouthed PR man. When even he cant refute some of the attacks on Stantons character (like an alleged affair with a hairdresser), Mrs. Stanton turns to Libby Holden (a terrific Kathy Bates). Libbys a quirky and unstable (shes been recently released from a mental hospital) defender of the Governor; whos reckless tactics actually get results. But she has a strict moral code that none of the others operate by. She will only go so far- and while she will defend attacks from other candidates she refuses to dig up dirt to attack another candidate first. It turns out that Governor Stanton is a genius player of the political game but also a tremendous philanderer who just may have had an affair with a 17 year old African-American girl and gotten her pregnant. Through some slick manipulation, he is able to disprove this. Then one of his opponents suffers a paralyzing series of heart attacks and is out of the race only to be replaced by a seemingly impeccable do-gooder. It...

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: Who is Homer's best man? Fred

A:
At the end of World War II, Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), Al Stevenson (Fredric March) and Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) return home to Boone City. Fred was a decorated captain in the Army Air Forces in Europe, Al a sergeant in the Army who saw action in the Pacific, and Homer a sailor who served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Homer's ship was sunk, killing many of his fellow sailors; his arms were burned off below the elbow and he now uses metal hook prostheses. The three men share first a plane trip then a cab ride and become friends.Although he rose to the rank of captain, Fred was an unskilled soda jerk before the war, while the older Al was a bank executive. Homer was a star athlete engaged to be married to the girl next door, Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell). Aware of how uncomfortable his hooks make people, Homer begins to pull away from Wilma and his family. He feels comfortable only when he is with Al and Fred or hanging out with his Uncle Butch (Hoagy Carmichael), who owns a comfortable tavern. Fred is married to Marie (Virginia Mayo) but can't find her when he returns home, as she has begun to work nights at one of Boone City's night clubs.Al struggles to readjust to family life. His wife, Milly (Myrna Loy) and daughter, Peggy (Theresa Wright), do their best to make him comfortable, but he develops a drinking problem. On his first night home, he insists they go out drinking. At Butch's, they run into Fred and Homer, who has come there to get away from Wilma. Al and Fred get extremely drunk. When Fred passes out in front of Marie's apartment building, Peggy and Milly take him home with them. The next morning, Peggy drives Fred to Marie's building. On the way, they struggle with the fact they are attracted to one another.Al is promoted at the bank. He is now in charge of approving loans to servicemen under the GI Bill. He believes in taking risks on the servicemen even if they don't have any collaterol for loans. Although the director of the bank gently upbraids him in private, he applauds Al's slightly...