Parallel published at omacguffin.com.
FADE IN:
EXT. THE MIDDLE OF FROZEN-FREAKIN’ MINNESOTA WINTER – NIGHT
A cold, blustery day, snowbound, many thousands of miles away from Hollywood. Temperature reaching 90 degrees below zero.
The beams from the headlights of a 1958 Pontiac Bonneville freeze in the brisk air and crumble to the icy ground.
A MAN in a trenchcoat steps from the driver side, his face perpetually in shadow. He carries with him a manilla envelope, heading to the front door of an apartment complex. He KNOCKS, leaves the package on the stoop, and retraces his steps back to the old-timey vehicle.
The door opens. An ORDINARY MAN in pajama bottoms and a red t-shirt opens the door.
MAN: Damn, it’s so cold out here, it’s in black and white!
The Pontiac Bonneville attempts to accelerate, but instead skids across the ice and ends up crashing down the embankment towards the lake.
MAN (shaking his fist): This neighborhood!
The man sees the envelope at his foot and examines it in his hands. Another mystery yet has begun!
***
This is the first post in a blog we have chosen to call “o, MacGuffin!”
This is essentially an arts and entertainment geek site, covering the trivial, the thematic and the business of the show industry. We had a much more clever name on WordPress – Entertainment Geekly. However, we quickly found out the domain was taken.
After racking our brains for a little over two minutes, we came up with “o, MacGuffin!”, which harkens back to film noir, Hitchcock, and apparently stage musicals.
Along with Hollywood and Broadway, we intend to cover pop culture, television, books, video games, poetry and the fine arts. You know, all of the knowledge that makes for a well-rounded contestant on Jeopardy! (Like this guy.)
We have a few topics in the works for the next few weeks: The Academy Awards, “The Simpsons”, “American Idol” are a few research topics we are working on.
Tomorrow, the oMac staff will watch the Academy Award nominations and offer ten observations and pieces of trivia.
On Friday, we will reveal the only actor who has been a “guest voice” on The Simpsons, King of the Kill and Family Guy. (One hint – he’s funny, well… funny MOST of the time.)
***
What is the most recent Oscar Best Picture to feature a MacGuffin?
Here is a brief explanation of what a MacGuffin is:
The term ‘MacGuffin’ was coined by Hitchcock’s Scottish friend, screenwriter Angus MacPhail, for something that sets the film’s plot revolving around it. It’s really just an excuse and a diversion. In a whimsical anecdote told by Hitchcock, he compared the MacGuffin to a mythical ‘apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands’. In other words, it could be anything – or nothing – at all. (1)
So a MacGuffin is a object or idea which motivates characters to get involved in the movie plot. Indiana Jones had MacGuffins in all four of his movies. There were the briefcases of Kiss Me Deadly and Pulp Fiction, the suitcase in Ronin, and the Rembrandt Letters in The Silver Streak.
The most recent Best Picture to feature a MacGuffin was Titanic, which featured the Heart of the Ocean, a necklace sought after by treasure hunter Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton).
***
SOURCES
(1) Frequently Asked Questions on Hitchcock – accessed on 2009.1.15.
