I have had a crazy, fun idea in my head for about fifteen years. It was spawned by a fad back in the nineties centered around a certain actor named Kevin Bacon. The object was to connect Mr. Bacon to another actor or actress using movies , TV shows, and other appearances and to make that connection within seven steps or degrees. I had a good friend at the time who was as crazy about movies as I was and we spent many hours playing that game. After a while, the game got stale; but the idea of using my knowledge of movies and the actors and actresses that appeared in those movies to play a game against others who shared my obsession with trivia appealed to me. I set out to come up with my own movie trivia game and The Hollywood Connection was born.
The rules are simple: Each player selects an actor or actress and when both the names are revealed, the players must use their knowledge of movies and their actors and actresses to make a connection between the preselected names. The player that makes the connection with the fewest steps or links in the chain wins the round.
I have a few basic rules when I play the game. First, the actors and actresses used for the game must appear in the movie (no animated movies, voice-overs, or narrations allowed). Second, the movie being used for the game must have had a theatrical release (no direct-to video or made for TV movies). Third, players must know the name of the actor or actress being used for the game (saying the name of the character the actor or actress portrayed in the movie, or "that guy" doesn't count). I don't really have any kind of time limit set on completing a round yet. This blog is going to be a sounding board for this new and fun movie trivia game. The rules and modes of play will more than likely change as we go along.
It is my dream to eventually market my idea as some sort of card game, with each player using a deck of cards with photos of random actors and actresses. Each round will start with the players revealing a card from their deck. A time limit will be set and the player who is taking their turn will have a chance to make a connection in the time allowed. If he or she fails to make a connection, the other player will have a chance to make the connection and steal their points.
That's basically it. So...let's get it started. Using my random actor generator, I will select the two names for our first round.
Round One:
Tom Hanks
Colin Farrell
Step One:
Tom Hanks is in...
The Green Mile with...
Michael Clarke Duncan.
Step Two:
Michael Clarke Duncan is in...
The Daredevil with...
Colin Farrell
There you have it. This was a pretty simple round. When you get an older or more obscure actor or actress, the round takes more steps. Being good at this game means paying more attention to actors or actresses in supporting roles. The more names you remember from the movies you watch, the better you will be at the game. I have had friends tell me that this game has changed the way that they watch movies.
I will be posting one round of The Hollywood Connection every day. Check back to see what random actor or actress will be selected tomorrow.
