Rules? You want the Rules? You can't handle the Rules!!

Actually that's not true.  Time to correct a glaring omission from the FFL, the rules. For those of you who listen to the podcast you'll know some of these but I thought it was about time to post them. Everythin you need to know about entering your cast and how the whole game works is right here.

 

So, without further ado please go ahead and ask your questions:

 

So what are the rules for playing the Fantasy Film League?

Well first off, if you played the old game (1996-2004) you’ll be pleased to know they are virtually the same. We have tweaked the system slightly and introduced a few elements to give you a few more tactical options if you are out to win the Number 1 spot but essentially it’s the same game.

You play the part of a producer, with you in-game budget of $70 million you must choose six (6) Actors and one (1) Director to make your Fantasy Film. Then all you have to do is name your film (but keep it clean people…) and you are ready to play.

OK, nice, with you so far. Give me more details.

Each time a member of your cast appears in (or directs) a film that scores in the Top Ten US and/or UK Box office, your Fantasy Film makes money. The game is run from two weeks after the Academy Awards to the following awards ceremony (just under one year). The winner is the player with the most money at the end of that time. So in brief:

 

  1. You must have six actors and one director in your Fantasy Film. No more, no less.
  2. You must not exceed your budget of $70 million in total when buying your stars and director.
  3. You do not have to spend all of your money, any cash not spent will go toward your starting score.
  4. The scoring system is based solely on US and UK Box Office performance.
  5. Rental releases or other country’s box offices are not counted.


OK, this seems pretty straighforward, so any advice you can give me?


Well it's your cast  and you should feel free to choose whoever you want but from my experience:

Although you don’t have to spend all you money of your cast picking a low budget cast may net you a lead early on but if they are not scoring big in the box office you will fall behind.  Try to get a balance of megastars, up and comings and solid performers.  There are a few “hidden gems” in the price list.
Try not to pick actors who appear in the same films. Sometimes it will work and earn you loads of money, but if the film flops you can be stuck with a cast who won’t release any other films for a while. Also, it gives you a greater chance to earn cash the more film genres you cover.
People have a tendency to buy stars they fancy. This is fine, it is the Fantasy Film League after all, but if they have a questionable track record then steer clear. It may not be worth it.
Remember, this game is based only on US and UK Box Office performances.

OK so what are these new rules you've been talking about?
There's only one big rule change.

  1. Directors

In the old system we had a rule that if your chosen director (for example Clint Eastwood) appeared in a film as an actor he would score half points for acting  Likewise if you had an actor (for example Ben Stiller) who direct a film he score half point as a director.
This rule has been changed.  If your chosen Director (again for example Clint Eastwood) turns up in Dirty Harry: The Next Generation as it’s star you will score NO POINTS.  However if you have him in one of your actor slots he would score as normal.
Likewise if you have Ben Stiller as an actor then when “Tropic Thunder” came out he would score for acting but would score NO POINTS for also directing.
The reason we put this in was because we found that only about 5 directors were regularly chosen in the old game and we felt it was a waste of a slot. So with this change we think that you will have to consider directors more in your choice.  After all they are as important as the actors.
Of course there are some actors out there who are just as successful as directors and if you really want them you can still have them occupy space in your cast.  For example is you want Jon Favreau as your director he will cost you say $10 million but if you want Jon Faverau the actor he will only cost you $5 million. So you can have the same person occupying an actor slot as the one occupying the director slot but from the game point of view they are treated as different roles.
So if you felt that Iron Man 2 (directed by Jon Faverau) was going to be a hit you can buy him as a director but if he turns up in his own or anyone else film as an actor you will not score points.
Finally on directors there are some directors who almost always work as a team.  Notable examples are Joel and Ethan Coen, Larry and Andy Wachowski and Neveldine/Taylor.  Sometime we will list them as one “collective” Director but if either half of your directing team directs a film solo you would score full points for them.  Also if directors who normally work alone colloaborate on a film then both are allowed score full points.  This is quite common in animated films too.


OK, that seems fair.  So how do I make money from my Fantasy Film?
Stars and directors make money for your Fantasy Film by appearing in, or directing, a real life movie. The exact amount of money is determined firstly by the position of your Fantasy Film member in the actual film, then by the position of the film in the Box Office Top Ten. The higher up the Box Office chart then the more money the member makes for your Fantasy Film.
Confused? OK, here’s how it breaks down.
The Billing
Obviously, in real life all the actors and actresses appearing in a given movie are not paid exactly the same amount of money. This is reflected in the game; the position of your star in a real movie’s cast list affects how much money they make for your Fantasy Film. So a George Clooney will cost you a lot more than a Pee Wee Herman but he’ll usually appear much higher up the cast list and so bring in more money.
Stars appearing in the top two positions of a real movie’s cast list are referred to as Top Billing for that film, as are directors.
The supporting cast (i.e. the next five people in the cast list) are referred to as Supporting Cast.
Finally, any other stars appearing in the movie (whether credited or not) are referred to as Hey! Isn’t That… or HITs for short.
There will always be exceptions to these rules and in these cases the FFL Team’s decision is final. Any argument from you will force us to lock you in a room with either me after I've  just watched The Phantom Menace (10 years and I'm still angry).
Here are some examples including what we would call exceptions.
 

The Facts
So, a star’s exact earnings (according to the movie’s chart position and their billing in that movie) can be determined from the following table:
 
Position    Top Billing      Supporting Cast    Hey! Isn’t That…      
1                 $1,500,000    $750,000                  $400,000      
2                 $1,350,000    $675,000                  $360,000      
3                 $1,200,000    $600,000                  $320,000      
4                 $1,050,000    $525,000                  $280,000      
5                 $900,000       $450,000                   $240,000      
6                 $600,000       $300,000                   $160,000      
7                 $525,000       $262,500                   $140,000      
8                 $450,000       $225,000                   $120,000      
9                  $375,000      $187,500                    $100,000      
10               $300,000        $150,000                   $80,000

     

ARGH too much maths, give me an example. Preferable one using a film that is very old which shows that you clearly lifted it from the old rules....


Right you are. Sit down, grab a cup of coffee and a calculator and follow the example below.
Suppose your Fantasy Film is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and stars Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino and four other random people. When the real life film Men In Black is released it goes straight into number one at the US Box Office. Barry and Will are both Top Billing with Will being first on the cast list and Barry being the director.
So, they make $1,500,000 each for your film. Linda is supporting cast so she makes $750,000. This totals to $3,750,000 in one week.
The next week Men in Black drops to number three in the US charts. Therefore Will, Barry and Linda score $1,200,000, $1,200,000 and $600,000 respectively
Week three sees MIB drop to number seven in the US charts but it debuts at number two in the UK charts. Therefore the scores are $1,312,500 ($525,000, $525,000 and $262,500) for the US charts and $3,375,000 ($1,350,000, $1,350,000 and $675,000) for the UK.
So, in three weeks your cast have scored you a very impressive total of $10,862,500. Well done!

 

 

OK, is that it?

That's it. It's that easy.  So pick your cast and watch them make you millions (FFL money not usable in real world).