In this episode, we pay homage to martial arts movies. Specifically, “modern mystical martial arts movies” like the recently released Shang Chi movie. Also, TV shows like Wu 
Assassins and Iron Fist.

We are both big fans (and practitioners) of the martial arts, and we love these types of movies. Hopefully that love shines through in this fun and action packed episode!

The Shang Chi Movie on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang-Chi_and_the_Legend_of_the_Ten_Rings

About the comic Shang Chi on the Marvel Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang-Chi

Wu Assassins on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Assassins

The Iron Fist TV show on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Fist_(TV_series)

About the comic Iron Fist on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Fist_(character)

Segment 1 - Discussion the Genre Tropes: 04:43

Segment 2 - Creating the Movie Outline: 10:20

Segment 3 - Picking the Improv Comedy Games: 19:52

Start of show: 28:00

Improv Game - 4-Letter Word: 28:20

Improv Game - Emotional Lists: 33:50

Improv Game - He Said, She Said: 43:57

Improv Game - Blind Line: 53:36

Improv Game - Cutting Room: 1:08:22

End of show, into announcements: 1:23:31

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Avish’s site: www.AvishParashar.com 

Mike’s site: www.MikeWorthMusic.com/

 

Avish: We’re now going to spend five minutes chatting about the genre tropes and cliches and things so I got my timer and away we go yet maybe I might kill me again kick us off when you think of this modern martial arts mystical movie. Some things that come to mind.

Mike: So what comes to mind right off the BAT we've got one main character and the main character.  Usually, has no knowledge of his hidden potential let's there's a couple ways, you can do it, but I like that one he's like you know kind of a chosen one. And so it's the main character, no knowledge of his hidden potential and he is kind of call to adventure usually by a mentor figure right shows up and it's like turns out, you have this power, and you know you have to rise to the challenge and blah blah blah kind of thing um the.

Avish: End true hero's journey fashion, he always refuses that call first like he doesn't believe the person or even if he realizes it then he doesn't want it, so we kind of tried to walk away.

Mike: yeah yeah exactly now.

Avish: And where you were saying he which, for us it probably will be, but it could be a. It could be a female as well, like buffy or whatever yeah.

Mike: yeah yeah exactly um okay there's a couple of ways to go with it a lot with can be fun and we can play this one is it's it could be someone from the West. That That then is like trained by like an Eastern mentor kind of thing um or you could just go the traditional like if it's done in China or Hong Kong everything's you know oh they're all native to that region, there is a bad guy the bad guy is. off he yeah he's often also a martial arts dude wizard.

Avish: Oh, I think the bad guy yeah it's always a martial arts, you have the big martial arts fight, and I would say the bad guy is either. Either has a similar power um you know, like the yin Yang type thing or once the heroes power, you know, like like oh you've got the iron fist with the bag I wants iron fist So if I kill you i'll get the iron fist.

Mike: yeah.

Avish: Exactly so they are also mystical.

Mike: Now the question is um, here's there's two tropes to this one is there's a training element where this guy has to learn to guide or whatever has learned to harness the power and there's kind of.  A rocky esque moment you know, usually as much philosophical, as it is physical or it's like his power emerges from him completely ready to go as like the ancestral energies course through him, you know I mean almost like he. inherits the skill of his 10,000 warrior ancestors and stuff you know i'm saying.

Avish: yeah yeah and and a lot of times the person may already be a martial artists just not a mystical martial arts they've already got a lot of like the training and stuff in place.

Mike: yeah.

Avish: But then, all of a sudden, the the chosen one this comes out and then they become ultra badass Rom. From a from a storytelling standpoint, we can decide, depending on the improv game and stuff I think storytelling wise it's us little easier to not have the training sequence, because that doesn't really ever progress, the story it just sort of right development, but we can kind of decide, we got to be online.

Mike: You know it's funny do you do it technically is a mystical martial arts movie highlander.

Avish: yeah I guess that is it's like. The chosen one yeah.

Mike: So this ties in with this trope there's almost always an earthly detective element to this like this there's This is like this battle is happening in our world like beneath it so there's almost always like.

Avish: there's always yeah a cop or someone who.

Mike: is investigating these mysterious things you know.

Avish: yeah the highlander that, had it in in blue assassins there's one I think in. iron I haven't seen it yet, but i'm assuming there'll be some. yeah but every man yep.

Mike: yep I mean a highlander they had what's your face Brenda the.

Avish: yeah the gator person.

Mike: um let me think what is the ultimate quest to the bad guys either trying to get the power wouldn't get my highlighter or iron fist or it's a quest from a gun.

Avish: it's a.

Mike: gun, a lot of times the hero is the protector of the macguffin.

Avish: yeah the heroes, the protector of the macguffin but without even knowing it, like the macguffin is like part of their spirit or soul inside of them or it's like this medallion they have they don't realize that medallia and that was passed down from to their parents.

Mike: Is yeah.

Avish: But golfing.  But yeah I can combine it too I feel like.  I feel like the bad guys and a lot of these their their ultimate goal is power slash Ascension it's like Oh well, if I can kill you and take your soul or get your  medallia and macguffin you know, then I can, because the God of blah blah blah, you know I can rise that level of power, I can become the chosen the highlander right like.

Mike: big trouble little China, except that didn't have the mystical assassin dude oh my God he man is this as well.  Just like everything in.

Avish: big trouble little China is barely is I mean it didn't have the Marsh offices all mystical had like that the Asian friend was like them that's very much a mystical martial arts.

Mike: geez man.

Avish: And same thing right and one of the growth, the green eyes are getting more like a mortality is a big one.

Mike: yep yep is there a love interest in this, there can be it's not a central.

Avish: are usually is for our movies, that may or may not be necessary, but I feel like there's usually a romantic interest in there.

Mike: In private romance is always interesting.

Avish: So that's our five minute time, the only other thing i'd add is obviously there's a there's there's fights and henchmen and martial arts.

Mike: Oh yeah like he's got a when he gets into act to which will go the next one he's going to be chewing through bad guys that's half the fun, you know is him, just like.

Avish: yeah which is going to be interesting to convey in an improv audio format, but you know.

Mike: I think I have an idea for a game.

Avish: Right now we're gonna spend about five minutes hashing out our outline for this movie we are going to.  We use a four X structure which is like a three act structure we just split act to into first half and second half, it flows, a little better it's because we're engineering which eventually will have a link and affiliate link to buy from our website.

Mike: Oh yeah that's a great oh my God yeah.

Avish: And and disclaimer here is we're going to come up with the outline for our story here. The because it's improv is short from improv things that wacky and crazy, we may veer from it, but this is our kind of starting point and lifeline so for five minutes begins now. Alright, so we always begin with either a prologue or movie trailer.

Mike: What do you feel, and I know what i'm feeling.

Avish: For this kind of mystical thing a prologue often works.

Mike: Yes, Sir studio dog has arrived he's he votes for the prologue as well.

Avish: Alright, so we'll do a prologue and that will usually not involve the hero at all, usually it's like the bad guy can you meet the bad guy and you learn a little bit on what they're after.

Mike: yep and you learn if there's a macguffin usually see the macguffin right.

Avish: That yeah.

Mike: You know the stage is set in Shakespearean context.

Avish: yeah okay so that's prologue alright so in act one we obviously meet the hero.

Mike: yep pro I just I just deleted it from our thing meet the hero, and we are let's follow the hero's journey and he is truly ordinary meaning he might be martial arts, music it's a normal dude.

Avish: dude yeah.

Mike: yeah he has a department, a little.

Avish: yeah he's got a its got apartment he is a musician and he does Brazilian jujitsu he just he just boxing on the side of.

Avish: dogs.

Mike: Fantastic person that was never really a. Call to adventure uh.

Avish: I think, and this, especially if you want to romance interest, I feel like in act one. Somehow he gets involved there's like a fight scene, where he does something your mystical without realizing it or he's like what the hell happened the mentor comes. And oftentimes not for us fighting the romance injuries they're like he rescued her from bad guys or whatnot because we want managers sometimes as an outside observer or the COP and sometimes it's like it's like the damsel in distress like oh they're after the Princess or you know. And then let's go he refuses, the call and then something happens at forces into.

Mike: it's really easy to stick surveys, because guess what he refused to call that guess what that guy shows up trying to get him.

Avish: yeah.

Mike: Now the hero, maybe the mentor shows up and gets the hero away now we've entered the Special World you know this takes raised bad guy shows up, I mean i'm i'm typing it in here where i'm drilling a little bit in but it's kind of follow the hero's journey pretty.

Avish: Pretty easily the free yeah then he has to the turning point, we have to accept the call yep.

Mike: bad guy shows up and makes trouble put inputs here in danger cool so I act one ends with blue that crossing the threshold he in the mentor of the fleet temporarily defeat the bad guy.

Avish: Except for he's gonna lose, but the mentor comes and saves them and then. Which is another another two movies, that are in this genre are both mortal kombat and the new mortal kombat.

Mike: Right right very much so yeah.

Avish: that's what happens in mortal kombat like rating comes and saves them. That before soon to be.

Mike: referenced several movies, with Christopher.  Lead bear this is fantastic.

Avish: We do need a whole Chris Orlando genres are.

Mike: Very job.

Avish: All right, alright, so we got the prologue so in act one so an act to um, so this is like the reactive where they're kind of learning. about what. What the bad guys want they're investigating they're probably on the run a little bit.

Mike: In hiding.

Avish: yeah.

Mike: Just like teenage mutant ninja turtles oh my God.

Avish: Man they're all there.

Mike: He says this is great i've fallen in love with the genre uh and then of course this is when the hero has learned to develop his powers.

Avish: yeah there's going to be training it's going to be here. And devotes his powers Okay, you probably loses something here like he, like if I beat henchmen but maybe loses a fight to the main bad guy.

Mike: yeah.

Avish: Like managed to get away.

Mike: yeah.

Avish: If he's like Oh, I think, maybe in Act two even though he's accepted the call he hasn't like fully embraced his destiny so he's like trying to do things his own way, but then he gets in a fight and realizes like oh crap my way is not going to work yeah.

Mike: You know, you know what could happen here uh. The again there's there's some sort of macguffin thing there's maybe an early conflict where the hero tries to stop an element of the bad guys plans beats the hedge fund, but the bad guy.  achieves the plan it defeats the hero, but the bad guys goal wasn't to like defeat the hero, you know let's hit the bad guy like I don't know how to get a gym from. he's trying to build a spell my name is Jim the hero goes in like defends the gym against the henchmen but losing to the big bad guy.

Avish: Right and i'd say usually hero is kind of like cocky or arrogant and then like, just like the humbling moment where he's like he thought he did good be Benjamin but it's like oh no and then he's like all right, I got to really listen to you know master rate in and do it right.

Mike: So that's act to a at this point in time, also usually the the the investigative comes into because whatever he's doing or has done an act one or two is gets the the attention of the police and stuff like that yeah that all right, so that  was pretty passive act in terms of he's just growing as a hero and stuff like that.

Avish: yeah and there's like a little bit of action scenes there so act three is finished up yeah. After our show damn it we're. going to offer five minutes here care um so in act three. This is more proactive so he's actively trying to stop the bad guy here right.

Mike: This is where the bad guy will do two things, he will up the stakes in dissuading the hero from interfering and that will cause the hero to even more intently wanted to feed him this is usually where the love interest gets kidnapped.

Avish: yeah that's like how the act and a lot of times it's like yeah.

Mike: Because what the what the bad guys doing is basically said dude stay away i've got your girlfriend and that of course makes the hero want to get them even more right.

Avish: yeah nothing on this i'm like it kind of succeeds, and doing what it needs to to stop the bad guy but then the bad guy kind of one ups him by yeah kidnapping or threatening something so we have to like. You know they like get the gym first, but then the bad guy shows up like oh you don't give me the gentleman kill all these people and then they're like.

Mike: 40 exactly. And then usually This point is when the mentor if he died, the mentor sacrificed himself here, but the mentor doesn't always doesn't.

Avish: always happen, but if they don't die they disappear like they get captured or or like another modern martial arts mystical remote Williams know.

Mike: Right.

Avish: wing chun sort of dies, but then he comes in and it turns out he's alive, at the end because you know he's done all right. yeah the the hero, the hero loses his like safety net, the mentors guy Ben kenobi is now dead yeah.

Mike: Exactly Oh yes, safety nets gone.

Avish: And then act for is the kind of final confrontation and resolution.

Mike: This is a final like loads of fight this is a good old fashioned loads of fighting this is literally like the the old game, the dented it ended it ended the karate game. yeah the five levels of the temple this is game of death, but he doesn't he just sending.

Avish: yeah don't do bad guys.

Mike: chewing through the henchmen.

Avish: And usually if depending how we establish the characters the and sometimes the romantic interest and the investigative copper of the same person sometimes they're different. But if we're going to have multiple threads running, then you know the love interest was kidnapped can so agency and escape and do her thing and the COP can be working the angle from his or her side and then you know everything kind of coalesce is, at the end.

Mike: there's often a time danger fight at the end when you fight in the head bad guy you know, like there's a doomsday clock going.

Avish: Oh yeah but if he doesn't stop it by by the time the moon rises that.

Mike: Right right right or left with a conjunction happens the hero seems the final form and defeats the villains, you know he comes into his true power.

Avish: And then oh that's good that's the kind of final trope flash in the outline. there's usually some mental block the some reason there's something stopping the hero from embracing their full. Their full oneness and you know. Usually it's like insecurity, which I think is kind of lame but usually it's some mental block or something they don't realize is preventing them from totally.

Mike: And so they assume the final form and defeat the villain and then the hero, you know becomes the new protector of the macguffin. Or you know because he's there's some sort of protecting element, or like this isn't more like he's becoming a crime fighter he really is like supposed to be like a protector, or something. yeah so.

Avish: Or, in theory, until the sequel you know he saved the world and he's like free to live his life he's like I have yeah.

Mike: yeah.

Avish: The highlander until you realize that there are aliens and right side just I show up because, because we can always improve a movie but not that one. I think we've got a nice little outline.