Problem: Build a movie plot around this: Who does Mill surmise is the disgruntled writer? David Kahane

A: Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) is a studio executive dating story editor Bonnie Sherow (Cynthia Stevenson). He hears story pitches from screenwriters and decides which have the potential to be made into films, green-lighting only 12 out of 50,000 submissions every year. His job is endangered when up-and-coming story executive Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher) begins working at the studio. Mill has also been receiving death-threatening postcards, assumed to be from a screenwriter whose pitch he rejected.Mill surmises that the disgruntled writer is David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio). Mill lurks around Kahane's home and is told by Kahane's girlfriend, June Gudmundsdottir (Greta Scacchi), whom he watches while talking to her on the phone, that Kahane is at a showing of 'The Bicycle Thief'. Mill goes to the theater, pretending to recognize Kahane in the lobby after the film, and offers him a scriptwriting deal, hoping this will stop the threats. The two go to a nearby bar and have some drinks. Kahane gets intoxicated and rebuffs Mills offer; he calls Mill a liar, pointing out that he knows Mill didn't really go to the theater to see 'The Bicycle Thief' because Kahane saw Mill wander in late and only catch the last five minutes of it, and denies responsibility for sending Mill the postcards. Kahane continues goading Mill about his job security at the studio. In the bar's parking lot the two men fight. Mill loses his balance and falls, and feeling threatened, kills Kahane, then makes the death look like a robbery gone wrong.The next day, Mill receives another postcard. Mill attends Kahanes funeral and gets along with June; she knows none of the other mourners. Studio chief of security Walter Stuckel (Fred Ward) confronts Mill about the murder and says that the police know Mill was the last one to see Kahane alive. Detectives Avery (Whoopi Goldberg) and DeLongpre (Lyle Lovett) suspect Mill is guilty of murder. They question him and DeLongpre keeps an eye on him. Mill receives a postcard from the writer suggesting they meet at a...

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: What is the German merchant ship carrying? rubber

A: In 1942, a derelict German cargo ship, the Ingo, departs Tokyo headed for Nazi-occupied France, under the command of Captain Mueller (Yul Brynner), a merchant navy officer whose previous record has been marred by drunkenness. British intelligence learns that the ship is carrying a precious cargo of rubber, desperately needed by both sides. The British devise a daring plan to intercept the ship and capture its cargo. Colonel Statter (Trevor Howard) coerces a German expatriate, Robert Crain (Marlon Brando), into impersonating an SS officer named Kyle. Crain/Kyle is placed aboard the Ingo under the guise of travelling to Europe on a secret mission. His true mission is to locate and disarm the scuttling charges in order to prevent the captain from scuttling the ship and its cargo upon interception by the British fleet. Crain's mission is made difficult because Captain Mueller mistrusts him and restricts his movements. However, he enlists the help of first officer Kruse (Martin Benrath), a committed Nazi who wants to ingratiate himself with the SS. When a German admiral visits the ship, he suspects Crain/Kyle and radios Berlin for confirmation of his identity. Crain now has only a few hours to take control of the ship, and tries to foment mutiny among a group of prisoners being held on board. He enlists the aid of a young Jewish prisoner, Esther (Janet Margolin), to convince the other prisoners to revolt.

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: How long does Amanda have to be gone before the police consider her missing? 48 hours

A: Prologue: For many centuries, phi song neng (vampire spirits who havevowed never to drink human blood) have lived among the villages of the FarEast. One day, over 800 years ago, a young, human warlord named Niran fell inlove with a beautiful song neng woman named Sang. Niran wanted Sang for hisown, so he killed her husband and son. In her pain and rage, Sang attackedNiran during a Songkran []New Year] solar eclipse, turning him into a vampire. From Niranhave come many jai tham (vampires who drink human blood and kill humans forpleasure). Only Sang can end the jai tham's nightly attacks on humans. Doingso, however, will end the entire bloodline and turn every vampire, song neng aswell as jai tham, into mere mortals again. Since the coming Songkran festivalwill feature the first solar eclipse in 800 years, Sang intends to kill herselfby exposing herself to the sun's rays at the end of the eclipse and, thus, wipeout all the vampires in Thailand.Connor [Colin Egglesfield] and Amanda [Meredith Monroe] are vacationing in Thailand during this year's Songkranfestival. Connor, trained since childhood in Muay Thai (Thai boxing), takesAmanda to see a match. However, Amanda cannot take the brutality and goes backto their hotel alone. On the way, she gets lost in the Phang Nga market, and MrNice Guy [Dom Hetrakul] offers to show her the way to her hotel. He leads her on a short cutdown a deserted alley, then suddenly turns into the vampire Niran, drinking her bloodand carrying her off on a motorcycle. Connor tries to follow, but he is stoppedby another vampire, obviously intent on killing him. Just as the vampire isabout to succeed, a bald-headed man appears and chops off the vampire'shead. Connor begs for his help finding Amanda, but he warns Connor toleave Thailand immediately and threatens to kill Connor if he follows him. Ofcourse, Connor steathfully (i.e., ten steps behind) follows Kiko [Roger Yuan] home to KongSai House.When the police refuse to consider Amanda missing until 48 hours...

Problem: Build a movie plot around this: Whose soldiers are raucously partying at an inn? Dax's

A:
A voice-over narrator explains that Germany and France entered World War I in August, 1914 and, with the construction of a continuous line of fortified trenches stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel, a costly military stalemate set in. By 1916, "successful attacks were measured in thousands of yards and paid for by casualties in the hundreds of thousands."General George Broulard (Adolphe Menjou), an elderly member of the French General Staff, arrives from Paris at the headquarters (a magnificent chateau) of his subordinate, General Paul Mireau (George Macready), to inform him that a major offensive is planned for General Mireau's sector and, in preparation for this offensive, General Broulard wants Mireau's division to capture a well-defended German position nicknamed the 'Anthill'. Mireau balks at the idea, claiming that his division is in no condition to defend the Anthill, much less capture it. Broulard reluctantly mentions that, in a completely unrelated matter, he was thinking that Mireau was due for a promotion, not that this should sway his decision concerning the feasibility of an attack on the Anthill. After explaining to Broulard at great length that the men he commands mean more to him than "all the stars and decorations in France," the ambitious Mireau concludes that an attack on the Anthill just might work.Mireau undertakes an inspection of the front line trenches with his loyal and cynical staff officer, Major Saint-Auban (Richard Anderson). The general stops to ask several soldiers (who later become major characters) the question, "Ready to kill more Germans?" When one soldier (Fred Bell) fails to answer, merely staring straight ahead, his comrades reply that the soldier is suffering from shell shock. Mireau says there is no such thing as shell shock. When the general enquires about whether the soldier has a wife, the soldier replies that he'll never see her again since he's certain to be killed, to which Mireau scolds the soldier for acting like a coward. When the soldier replies...