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In the Style of a Misfits Sports Movie like The Replacements and Necessary Roughness
In a world…where some people are meant for greatness while others just want a shot…one team of misfit lacrosse players will have to bond and learn to work together to win the game, go the championship, and save their coach and team.
This episode features the improv games 90 Second A to Z, Old Job New Job, World’s Worst, He Said She Said, and Cutting Room.
About this Episode
In this episode, we pay homage to those very entertaining misfit sports movies, like The Replacements, Necessary Roughness, and many, many more. Mike and Avish are actually big fans of Necessary Roughness and have quoted that movie many times over the years, so this episode features a lot of that Scott Bakula classic in it. You can also learn just how little about lacrosse Avish knows…
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Links
Necessary Roughness on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessary_Roughness_(film)
The Replacements on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Replacements_(film)
Time Codes
Segment 1 - Discussion the Genre Tropes: 05:56
Segment 2 - Creating the Movie Outline: 17:41
Segment 3 - Picking the Improv Comedy Games: 22:41
Start of show: 29:42
Improv Game - 90 Second A to Z: 33:56
Improv Game - Old Job, New Job: 37:27
Improv Game - World’s Worst: 48:54
Improv Game - He Said She Said: 59:14
Improv Game - Cutting Room: 1:08:05
End of show, into announcements: 1:22:19
More Information About the Show, Mike, and Avish
Subscribe to the podcast: http://avishandmike.com/subscribe/
Our Website: www.AvishAndMike.com
Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/143183833647812
Avish’s site: www.AvishParashar.com
Mike’s site: www.MikeWorthMusic.com/
Transcription of the “Discussing the Genre Tropes” Segment (Unedited and Un-Cleaned up)
Avish Parashar: All right now we're going to spend about 10 minutes talking about the genre well they're talking about the tropes but also can talk about our experience and kind of what we think about these genres.
Avish Parashar: And kind of pull out the tropes that we will use in the discussion so I don't have my duck time I have a different time are here today Oh, but I will set it so 10 minute timer starts now.
Michael Worth: or five minute timer or 10 minutes 10 minutes.
Avish Parashar: Well, we now we've switched it like a little longer time or because.
Oh.
Michael Worth: yeah.
Avish Parashar: Just like rifling through the toilet so when you when you think about this movie like what's your.
Avish Parashar: kind of well, I know what my memory is, but what are, like some of the movies, or what are your memories of experiencing this genre.
Michael Worth: Well it's funny because, although we are doing football, the first one that comes to mind is major league because that one kind of was the the rebooting of all those other movies came out afterwards, if necessary, roughness and and.
Avish Parashar: on any given Sunday, I think this is a ravenous might have been before but around similar maybe that's the reference later, you might be right yeah.
Michael Worth: First of all, what you love, is what I love about it is this.
Michael Worth: The coach is always really likable like like he's you know he's not like a tough coach that has to like learn to grow as a person he's already a good guy and so he's trying to just kind of work among this whole real unfair thing you know, like.
Michael Worth: Is it could it's cushioning Janeiro and major.
Avish Parashar: In necessary roughness and so Robin is.
yeah.
Michael Worth: There is, I don't want to put any pressure idea but coach scenarios last words were when our i'll die.
Michael Worth: Robert lotion event so good, so the coach is always like a good guy like he may have butt heads with with this with this, you know.
Avish Parashar: he's like a mentor he's not the coaches like he's like a main character, but he's he rarely goes through, like a character transformation right.
Michael Worth: he's the mentor Arc type he's the obi wan.
Michael Worth: yeah and so, and you know.
Avish Parashar: Gene hackman is like the.
Michael Worth: replacements you've got the guy was like I don't know I gotta set a white walls, on the other.
Michael Worth: Guy was from major league.
Michael Worth: And then of course you've got whoever plays coach Janeiro is really plays pretty well he plays the.
Michael Worth: drums on oh yeah yeah um so it's pretty easy one of the great things is part of the fun of this these kind of shows is there's a significant chunk of time of them ferreting out these players to stock their team.
Michael Worth: leading them to the most bonkers situations, you know, like Kathy Ireland is like a girls soccer team they're like okay we're gonna you know get that or I think they have.
Michael Worth: The Welsh smoker and he's like a soccer player.
Avish Parashar: ifans yeah.
Avish Parashar: Oh yeah.
Avish Parashar: that's it's all misfits because you know these movies.
Avish Parashar: And I think that's the when I when I publish this episode and i'm going to describe it as like a sports mitts misfits movie.
Avish Parashar: Because that's really what these are and yeah you, because obviously the premise is that, like we don't have a budget or reputation to get real players, so we got to like just pull these like castoffs and other sports yeah the female kicker the the the Irish like smoker kicker.
Michael Worth: yeah we usually get like you said linebackers are like ex cons right there like coming out of prison for all like.
Avish Parashar: Just oh yeah yeah yeah the COP and the con.
Michael Worth: As like yeah was it a.
Michael Worth: Who was the COP.
Avish Parashar: It was somebody who back row row.
Michael Worth: yeah and he was fantastic have that luxury basically this jacked up like FBI guy right are you.
Avish Parashar: crazy yeah yeah.
Avish Parashar: cuz it's like.
Avish Parashar: These movies, are all like On one level they're all terrible um but like are terrible it's such a good way, I mean like major leagues, probably the one that flirted the most of being like a legitimately good movie.
yeah.
Avish Parashar: Just terrible.
Avish Parashar: Terrible but in such a good way.
Michael Worth: To get you the ball I catch the ball.
Michael Worth: yeah and you know what in the other thing is is there's two ways to go with this and i'm tired tropes little bit um.
Michael Worth: The the players all start off immediately feuding and fashioning right like like there's already like they have to learn to grow together as a team that's part of the fun of it so like in the beginning.
Michael Worth: What I love about movies, like this is no holds barred and how bad they are in the first couple of games.
Avish Parashar: are truly terrible yeah.
Michael Worth: Like things that would never happen in a sport habit, because these people are so incompetent like you know, like like one of them gives another player a concussion because they want to, they want to be the one to like.
Avish Parashar: Get the back, because they're.
Avish Parashar: People in with non sports or non football background so yeah it's like all the martial artist does a tackle by doing a spinning tornado kick like oh.
Michael Worth: yeah he looks like like kicks out the dude muy Thai style to.
Michael Worth: Exactly yeah I actually think i've already got an idea for that we're going to get one of those guys as a Judo QA and like I said.
Avish Parashar: You get the terrible list of them and the thing that's like there's always not always but, at least in more than one there's the.
Avish Parashar: The brawl with the opposing team, followed by the bond like that's kind of how they bought it I haven't necessary roughness that happens in the replacement sale I get a brawl yep.
Avish Parashar: And for that that's like the MID points, because then, after that, like they're all buddies they're like a gel together and then now they're like all right now let's eat again.
Michael Worth: Now what the replacements did, which was Okay, but I don't really feel like we need to do, that the bad guys in their placement, where this the the the initial players are on strike because remember how like they.
Michael Worth: kind of coming in in in things like major League and necessary roughness I think it was just.
Michael Worth: They were trying to have a winning record they're trying to make it to the playoffs and so there's there might have been some team in the back and they're like you know you some point you're gonna have to play the lions.
Avish Parashar: Oh yeah necessary roughness it was the opposing team that was like the big university might necessary roughness that school is like a small like state school.
Avish Parashar: scrappy team yeah Texas university and that's what they fought within the brawl replace it with the scabs yeah the.
Michael Worth: enemy team that's.
Avish Parashar: that's a lot of fun yeah I mean major league didn't have as much, but I think they did have like the Yankees or something like a bad guy was like the actual owner of the.
Avish Parashar: team.
Michael Worth: Oh, the woman who was the actress yeah yeah so bad and yeah and and they also immediately also played up with some.
Michael Worth: They put a little more of the romance angle that corbin bernstein got cheated on by while thing which was a funny art but that's a lot for us to do you know I don't know if you want to.
Avish Parashar: Know yeah we're pretty pretty key to the sports we, I think, having an opposing team team is good, and you know obvious things it's almost like the story designed around like moments, you know, like oh what what happened for karate guy had to play football, you know.
or.
Avish Parashar: The randomness of like you know, in the replacements is like.
Avish Parashar: You got the two like bodyguards who are like the alignment it's like how there was a gun and shoot the car it's like.
Michael Worth: yeah exactly oh you don't know what it, by the way.
Michael Worth: This is one of movies, where I really ate some crow because I told you, for years, we'd watch this movie to watch this movie and then we watched it were like really there's like two or three good scenes first one was awful, but this is in that world slap shot.
Avish Parashar: yeah I knew you're gonna say I feel like people who are listening are gonna be upset cuz I feel like that assaulted cult movie that people put.
Avish Parashar: You know, like favorites and best I don't know I.
Michael Worth: And we, you and I, I saw it was like a teenager and I was like man, this is, this is a great movie this great movie and I really got you to you did sit and watch it with you.
Michael Worth: I did watch it, I was like like there's like two or three good seeds.
Avish Parashar: Were brothers right like the.
Avish Parashar: brothers like whatever the names are.
Avish Parashar: They were funny.
Michael Worth: yeah there's the hanson brothers.
Michael Worth: And that's that's yeah there's that scene, but they're all skating around getting warmed up and they keep on looking at the other team is a scanner rather than just go at it like that's The funny shit.
Avish Parashar: That, I think it's like these things are designed around moments, and sometimes the story isn't as strong, but I will say, the one thing that that these all have is there's a redemption Arc for someone.
Avish Parashar: In that one it was the coach and slap shot, it was the coach was pulling you.
apart.
Avish Parashar: But in like usually it's like the start of the team that shane falco was a successful, but then he, like.
Avish Parashar: macula didn't finish college and you know Tom berenger was the kind of capture, who is on his last legs so there's always like.
Michael Worth: More go with the champion one more.
Avish Parashar: Like a older more experienced player like you know we talked about the misfits a lot of them have no experience.
Avish Parashar: yeah main characters you just someone with experience but, for whatever reason, they never quite.
Avish Parashar: fulfill their potential.
Avish Parashar: yeah what happens is.
Michael Worth: And then, what happens is then you've got this great interaction between the coach and this main character, because.
Michael Worth: They both want the same thing, sometimes they align sometimes they butt heads, because they have different views and at some point the mentor fingers like.
Michael Worth: To the main character you're in your own way you've got to you've got to fix this flow and your character before you can actually lead the team, you know so so there's that there's the hero's journey really is, this is the top is the top recruited the misfit.
Avish Parashar: Right and that's usually what happens at that midpoint scene right all the way up to that.
Avish Parashar: That brawl scene right he's like reluctant and he's kind of keeping this, this is not bond you're connecting with other players yeah you know he's like almost unsure if he even wants to do this again.
Avish Parashar: But then that's the moment where he likes steps up and something happens and then nine races roll.
Michael Worth: yeah, and I mean honestly it's actually not that hard to plot it's really about would have been really good about coming up with some really funny scenarios because really it is assembling the team funny scenario where do you find these players.
Michael Worth: The first, you know chunk of Games were there nothing's going right how How are they taking the game and really.
Avish Parashar: Sure, because in the beginning, they lose it's like like this team comes together, because you mentioned like we see them being bad.
Avish Parashar: But we might seem to be bad at practice mason being bad in the game, but they lose and then suddenly, they will get it together, and then they go on their winning streak.
Avish Parashar: You know, to either make the playoffs it could be making the playoffs could be just winning that one game could be whatever but it's uh.
Michael Worth: yeah yeah right.
Michael Worth: um.
Avish Parashar: So there was one movie I forget what it was, it was one of these or something else, where they literally didn't win a game.
Avish Parashar: Until like the finale like the whole point was, I think they didn't win.
Michael Worth: It o'neill with the kids one with the annexation of Poland was that one that one.
Avish Parashar: Extension of Puerto Rico a little giant.
Michael Worth: was that it was just that was just they want to win against.
Avish Parashar: I forget what it was like the team was just bad and bad and bad, but then they face the rivals like Alaska and then they finally one so but yeah.
Michael Worth: Oh well, that could have been miracle.
Michael Worth: That is.
No.
Michael Worth: Different than a Kurt russell's most.
Michael Worth: greatest sports speeches ever where he basically was like nine times out of 10 this team is going to be true, but tonight's.
Avish Parashar: Nothing oh and that's a good point trump is there needs to be a motivational speech.
Oh yeah.
Michael Worth: When are all.
Avish Parashar: Every every sports movie has it that dramatically we've had like a real output, you know from any given Sunday, or you know.
Avish Parashar: Also honor.
Michael Worth: And the other thing is, besides the main character was going to be the coach the main character and that usually one or two other characters might be main everybody else is just a two dimensional fund pasties.
Avish Parashar: Oh yeah a lot of stereotypes yeah.
Avish Parashar: yeah that's because.
Avish Parashar: there's so out of the box like it's, not even a stereotype random like like you said, one or two to mentally yeah.
Avish Parashar: yeah character.
Michael Worth: is actually one of these fun little hidden gems of movie genres like you don't.
Avish Parashar: yeah it is and it's almost I think we're almost finding, sometimes with these shows that.
Avish Parashar: The less intricate the plot and the fewer crops are sometimes like when you got a few big tropes and the rest is just like yeah it's not a lot to the story it just got a lot of fun pieces like Oh well, we.
Have a lot.
Michael Worth: Of.
Michael Worth: Basic instinct we're gonna be screwed it's like.
Avish Parashar: Oh God yeah.
Avish Parashar: We get to like doing are like an.
Avish Parashar: ensemble um you know, like murder mystery like knives out or paro.
Michael Worth: yeah the knives out.
Michael Worth: So screwed.
Michael Worth: Alright, so so we're in a good spot here we can jump.
Avish Parashar: In yeah so that was the end our timer went off so that was our genre tropes discussion that brings us to.
Transcription of the “Creating the Outline” Segment (Unedited and Un-Cleaned up)
Avish Parashar: Creating the outline, we are now going to spend about five minutes hashing out a high level outline for this movie this is going to be our.
Avish Parashar: kind of starting point and our guide, but we may not stick to it entirely and we use a for act structure for different acts to tell the story, and the next segment will pick up will pick an improv game for each act right so.
Avish Parashar: Let me start the timer and go cool alright, so now, the one thing we.
Michael Worth: Have before we start.
Avish Parashar: Before we start, let me tell you something like.
Avish Parashar: Our initial thought was football but doesn't really have to be we could part of the randomness, we are very impressive, we could do a different sport like.
Michael Worth: it's very true.
Avish Parashar: Like something outside of the big four to make it really random or we could do football so that's something we don't need to decide that now, but that's kind of a yeah.
Michael Worth: yeah yeah i'm already thinking about that, like what are some sports that we could do that would be kind of bizarre um so that one's pretty easy, which is.
Michael Worth: The coach basically loses his team somehow he either has a walk out or they cut his budget or you know he gets transferred to new city and and the team is like nope we love our own code SIA.
Michael Worth: And and he's just like.
Avish Parashar: And to that point for a lot of these, and this is kind of where the trump thing a lot of times the.
Avish Parashar: The person above the coach is not fully supportive of them, you know, like a major league she wants to move the team and necessary roughness the Dean wants to get rid of the football team, all together, so there's often another antagonist who's like.
Avish Parashar: Make hard to say organization as a team, but yeah you lose this team um so in this act one he has to get a new team, and this so basically we we meet.
Avish Parashar: Next, one we're basically it's like a tryouts right basically meet the coach set up maybe set up the rival like Oh, you know we got to make the playoffs, otherwise we lose our license or I always want to beat you know Texas a&m or whatever.
Avish Parashar: yeah yeah we gotta meet.
Avish Parashar: And do the tryouts and by the end of act one we've essentially chosen and assemble the team.
Michael Worth: The team yeah exactly um.
Avish Parashar: There might be a short scene between the coach and the main character like where to meet the manager.
Michael Worth: Right who's going to become kind of liaison to the team of the coach and also have a hero's growth so that's one at to.
Avish Parashar: That one with the meeting I would say a lot of these movies.
Avish Parashar: And certainly in the two primary ones we're doing as a reference in the replacements, the main character is sought out so like I think like they gotta go get Scott bakula and gene hackman goes to get canneries they don't come back like say I want a part of this.
Michael Worth: Oh no yeah they're reluctant, they were reluctant hero it's the hero's journey is really that that.
Avish Parashar: is true like yeah they're refusing the call before the call even covered.
Michael Worth: Call to adventure.
Avish Parashar: yeah exactly right so then act two.
Michael Worth: Is their first practices and their first games where everything goes to shit.
it's super easy right.
Michael Worth: they're not working together as a team they're they're at each other's faces probably there's factions within it, and then they shit the bed with games and that's just going to be that's got to be bonkers over the top, like Mr bean level fail right, just like.
Avish Parashar: they're just in a lot of weird ways.
Michael Worth: yeah no.
Avish Parashar: Right.
Avish Parashar: Alright, so, then I would say in a normal movie like I said, usually like that kind of bonding experience will be at the end of Act two I think for us that bonding experience is going to be an act three yep.
Michael Worth: But also the same spot though yeah the bonding experience and then.
Avish Parashar: we'll we'll kind of act out the bonding experience as our act three right.
Michael Worth: And and i'm thinking this idea in the movie we would see multiple games with them getting better because of our shorter form, it might be they bond and clean up some stuff and then act for is just the game.
Avish Parashar: yeah I think I for me like just the game may be like that day, you know the pre game, the game, the motivational speech, maybe the real meat of it, but some of the motivational speeches got to be in their.
Michael Worth: own APP for yeah well, we can even send it out for you, they get it together, and you know, maybe start like you know growing as a team and then an APP for can literally say it's been four weeks they've won the last four games, you know kind of thing.
Michael Worth: we're allowed to do that, because everyone knows us the trope.
And that's exactly.
Avish Parashar: Right and so, then for this type of movie.
Avish Parashar: For our show we usually have either a prologue or a trailer we don't have to, but we usually do you feeling yeah.
Michael Worth: I don't know that the prologue.
Avish Parashar: I don't think a prologue makes any sense.
Michael Worth: yeah I don't know the prologue could set up the reason the coach has to go to find the dude um I don't know the trailer is like.
Michael Worth: We know what this is about this is your friend has you know.
Avish Parashar: We can just jump right into we don't necessarily either.
Avish Parashar: yeah we play with our format we're experimenting.
Avish Parashar: Again, like you said straightforward act one why you know coaches, the team he's got a good team, we do auditions and we meet the main character at to their bad play some games.
Avish Parashar: And they lose in a personal attention yep yep act three the bonding experience the other goes wrong, how they bond, and then they get it together and then act for final game perfect.
Avish Parashar: Alright, so we don't even need our whole time they're.
Michael Worth: Good they're good at this.