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Movie Making, the Syfy Way

Syfy, the oddly spelled cable outlet once known as the Sci-Fi Network, has never been known for its award-winning original programming. Known for such films as Aztec Rex (in which Aztecs and Conquistadors team up to fight a rampaging dinosaur), The Man with the Screaming Brain and, of course, Dinoshark (pictured here).

So perhaps it comes as no surprise that Syfy is now asking its rabid fans to write an upcoming movie for them.

It’s true. The network has launched a site called B Movie Mogul where would-be schlockmeisters can pitch ideas, craft titles and create their very own movie monsters, snippets of dialogue and—yes, it’s true—creative character deaths and then vote on the “best” thoughts from their cohorts. The results will then be thrown into Syfy’s movie-making blender and—voila! Two hours of cinematic excellence.

“When you have a lot of people working on something, good ideas will come out of it,” Thomas Vitale, executive vice president for the network’s original programming, told the Hollywood Reporter. “We will have something that will be entertaining.”

I’ve not visited the site, but if I was going to pony up a few thoughts, I’d love to see a film (G-rated, of course) that would star Al Pacino, Lady Gaga and perhaps a Jonas brother, fighting flying cabbages wreaking havoc (cole slaughter?) in a small Midwestern town. And it should have eels of some sort, for good measure.

Oh, wait … it’s already been done? Bummer.

Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.