The Royal House of Hangover
An Original 30-minute Television Show
Series Treatment (Download PDF)

Ebert & Roeper meet Wayne & Garth…
At last, a show about movies for the South Park and Jon Stewart audience

Overview

Movie criticism shows are perennial favorites. Look at the longevity of Ebert! Leonard Maltin’s segment is among the longest running on Entertainment Tonight. What they offer audiences is simple: 1) opinions and 2) movie clips. The Royal House of Hangover takes this winning formula and adds two new ingredients: edge and humor.

On a living room sofa sit two guys: film critics Steve Muller and David Ultan. Scruffy-looking and hung over, they sit and talk as they watch cable and (in spite of their toxic state) their conversation flies from topic to topic: movies, music, sex, celebrities, parties, women, life. And movies.

Just like Ebert and Roeper, they talk about movies with knowledge and insight. But unlike Ebert, they are funny and entertaining. Then when it’s time to roll a movie excerpt, they give the audience something much more original than a canned clip: Instead, these two guys recreate the movie scene. Word for word and shot for shot, and they play all the characters themselves. Everything from Citizen Kane to Crash, from Amelie to Zelig.

Steve and David portray women, children, animals—whatever it takes to bring the scene to life – complete with improvised costumes, makeup, sets and lighting. The re-enactments -- Film Tributes-- are not mere spoofs; they are played straight, with the total commitment that comes from loving these movies. And they’re funny as hell.

Style and Format

The style is core to the show’s uniqueness and success: Low-Fi. Do-It-Yourself. Anti-polished. This is where mainstream tastes are moving, as evidenced by the popularity of Reality TV, videoblogs, and the homespun videos on YouTube, Myspace and GoogleVideo. The couch set is a realistic living room: no stage-y lighting, no elaborate set, no flying boom-mounted cameras. The Film Tributes embody movie magic on the down-low: homemade sets, found-object props, ingenious costumes and just two actors: Steve and David, acting their hearts out.

The format is a familiar one for audiences to grasp. Just like Ebert: 6 films, with conversational intro and outro for each tribute. The films are a mix of new movies and classics being re-released on DVD. The couch talk is fast-paced and irreverent, with frequent punch lines and a focus on one unifying theme for each episode. The editing is South Park meets Jim Jarmusch: quick conversation and pregnant pauses.

The Low-Fi approach is current and fresh. It also makes the show very inexpensive to produce.

As long as people love the movies, the House can keep serving up great scenes and commentary, with an original and outrageous perspective.

Episode Themes:

• The Fight Show: Fight Club, Kramer vs Kramer, Cinderella Man…
• The Subtitle Show: Amelie, Y tu Mama Tambien, Ringu…
• The Albino Show: Eiger Sanction, Da Vinci Code, Powder…
• The Femme Fatale Show: Basic Instinct I&II, Body Heat, Star Wars IV
• And so on…

Real Celebrities

The show is anti-glamor but can still integrate visiting celebrities, doing the rounds to promote their new film. The important thing about the “celebrity popover” is: the hosts are not pandering, lobbing softball questions, or drooling as they set up a canned clip. These guys are hung over! They can't be bothered. The Royals maintain their attitude and character at all times, making for totally original celebrity interactions.

Later, the phone rings and the guys screen it. It is always someone famous, calling with what sounds like a tremendous opportunity: seats with Jack at the Lakers? Private plane to Cannes with the cast of Entourage? The guys never pick up the phone. This gets funnier as, over time, the offers get more and more exciting and the callers more and more famous.

These celebrity interactions are core aspects of the Royals’ uniqueness: a refreshing change from the fame-fetishism that dominates television. Aren’t audiences ready for a couple of guys who are having a conversation good enough (and perhaps, a headache bad enough) that, when Paris Hilton calls, they don’t even pick up the phone?

Meet the Royals

The men on the couch bring filmmaking, film watching, and film acting into your living room directly from theirs. Steve Muller: real-life comedian, monologist and director wears the pajamas as the Jewish-ish and goofy part of the duo. David Ultan: filmmaker, producer, former private investigator who rocks a robe and a mysterious Hollywood past that includes brushes with fame and a degree in film criticism. These two characters and their friendship evolve over time.

Audience and Appeal

Audiences today have more forms of entertainment available to them than ever before. Yet they continue to attend, rent, download and get passionate about movies. They love to talk about them, blog about them, even quote lines from them. Royal House of Hangover takes this primal urge and turns it into entertainment that viewers of all kinds can get into. In addition, the sheer entertainment value of the Royals — their conversation, unique point of view and, of course, the bold originality and courageous acting in the Tributes — make it appealing to an enormous audience: movie lovers with a sense of humor.

The movie industry wants a show like this to succeed because it promotes their product. And it works: Viewers of the samples on YouTube frequently report that a Tribute has inspired them to add the actual film to their Netflix list.

Internet and Viral Marketing

The Film Tributes are short and self-contained – perfect for the Internet. Like the many Star Wars tribute films and trailer remixes being passed around the Web, these clips will have viral appeal. Awareness of the show will grow every time someone forwards a Bladerunner or Tootsie or Mean Girls Tribute to a friend.

On the website (www.royalhouseofhangover.com), fans can post their own video Tributes on our vlog (video blog). They can view and discuss Tributes and suggest movies they’d like to see Tributized.

The Right Home for the House

Royal House of Hangover belongs on a network that cares about comedy, edge, and movies. Comedy Central would be a great fit. This is a show that’s as quirky as Mystery Science Theater 3000 but with much broader appeal.

All the cable movie channels (IFC, Sundance, Bravo) are trending towards original programming. A show that enhances and promotes movie consumption would be a perfect fit. HBO is another ideal castle for the Royals; it offers freedom of expression plus a vast catalog of films, all of which would benefit from heartfelt tributes.

As branded entertainment, the House offers Blockbuster, Netflix, and the major studios an innovative way to encourage consumption of their products.

The Royal House of Hangover offers an edgy, savvy and hilarious approach to movies that is as irreverent as South Park, satisfies the perennial appeal of Ebert & Roeper, plus offers a powerful symbiotic relationship with the movie industry. Clips online here.