You're a popular prolific director: what's your signature gimmick?

Cafe Society
1

Hitchcock had cameos in his movies. Woody Allen had that whole New York thing going. John Landis had “See You Next Wednesday” in his movies.

What gimmick(s) would include in your movies?

I’d have these:

  1. MST3K references in the background
  2. Bad guys drive Chryslers or if a Chrysler passes by a character, the character is doomed.
  3. There’d be movie posters or commercials for ridiculous movies: “Coming soon: The Botanist!”
2
  1. There is at least one reference to “Schenectady.”
  2. One of the characters has a name beginning with “Q.”
  3. There’s always an important scene set on a stairway (as an hommage to Hitchcock).
3

  1. When plausible, insert Sacramento into the film.

  2. Get a group of six or so people together, playing bit parts.

  3. Whenever a billboard, wanted poster, or anything of that nature appears in the film, the same face will always be on it.

  4. References to some of my stranger tastes, either on the soundtrack, as people appearing in the film, or any other way I care to do it.

4

  1. Three or four Cecil Adams or Straight Dope Message Board references in each movie: line of dialogue, an allusion to a column or thread, a prop, a Slug Signorino cartoon, a character name, whatever. I promise to pander shamelessly to this demographic.

  2. Soundtrack will always include something by Prince or Louis Armstrong.

  3. Actors cast against type.

  4. Avoidance of CGI.

5

At least one reference to Strange Brew.

6

  1. The rottenest, most evil bitch of the flick is named Tammy. (First woman to break my heart)

  2. There’s always a man wearing a hat at 59:34 into the movie. (I have no idea why)

  3. There’s at least one car with North Dakota license plates shown. The car can be background or driven by one of the stars.

7

I’d include:

  1. A character named Justin Bailey
  2. At least one (very obscure) reference to Tremors, Buffy, 24 and The Evil Dead
  3. A(nother) video game reference
  4. A song by Guster
8

I think I’d have:

Slow-motion action sequences, often with trench coats flapping in the wind and white doves flying… and everyone has to have two guns at all times
Two characters who appear in all my movies, who happen to be goofy drug-dealers, or robots, or possibly both
Creepy clowns and a generally dark, surreal, German Expressionist look to everything

Oh, wait…

9

Anal.

10

A Heinlein quote somewhere in every picture.

11

Random comic book references:

Archers carrying green arrows.

Minor characters named T. Strong.

Cameos by large shaggy bearded men.

Or skinny men in black with wild hair.

That sort of thing.

12

Hot female nudity! And bondage!

In fact, forget the movie.

13

Angry midgets.

14

I would be a body in each of my movies.

15

The extras strolling by in the background would approach the actors in the foreground and feign buttsex with them.

16

If you replace feign with ‘have’ you will sell lots more movies.

17

You guys are killin’ me! (funny you are)

  1. a main character says “Her pendulous breasts” in Mandarin or German or something, someone else says “eh?” and the character looks at them like they’re nuts and says, “never mind.”

  2. Beavis & Butthead on a TV in the background somewhere

  3. a serious attempt to incorporate a llama or llama byproduct into the plot

18

All of my movies would have huge amounts of gratuitous sex and violence in them.

Actually that’s more of a “marketing” gimmick than a “signature” gimmick.

19

Subtlety is dead.

20

That should be the title of your first background butt-plug movie.