You could be forgiven for thinking that Hollywood is starting to run out of original ideas…
“No no no,” the hypothetical suited film industry exec responds, “2019 is the age of revisionism, duh. We aren’t out of ideas!” He shouts, “We are just revising everyone’s favourite moments in film, potentially, for some reason,” wiping his brow with a wad of $100 bills.
But, when you look at The EmojiMovie, the Angry Birds movie, the Lego movies, and the endless torrents of remakes – Jumanji, The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, Pet Semetary, *takes breath* A Star Is Born, The Mummy, The Jungle Book – it feels like Hollywood is scraping the bottom of the pop culture barrel to come up with ideas for movies.
Rather than sitting back and complaining, here at The Brag we got productive. We came up with 10 completely original and air-tight film pitches based on Hollywood’s current practice of looking to pop culture for inspiration.
You’re welcome, Hollywood.
Trump Goes To Russia
Many people these days will be too young to remember the misadventures of Ernest. So, no one will bat an eyelid if we reprise the concept only ‘reimagining’ the role of Ernest with President Donald Trump.
Set post-Presidency, the film will follow the whacky and wonderful journey of Trump as he tries to reconnect with his old pen pal, Vladdy Putin. Trump would be played by Alec Baldwin of course, with Tilda Swinton as Putin. Hilarity ensues.
When Yanny Met Laurel
Who is Yanny, and who is Laurel? No one has any idea but for a solid few days, the whole internet was obsessed with these names.
Are they even names? Who cares, they are now.
The story will follow the impossible and unlikely love between Yanny and Laurel set to the backdrop of the New York City hustle and bustle during Christmas. *kissy fingers* Original af.
Spark Fear: Clutter’s Revenge
Marie Kondo introduced the idea to us all that removing clutter from your life sparks joy. But what does clutter have to say about this?
Spark Fear sees all the clutter that was abandoned by the world colluding, and working together to plot their revenge against those who threw them out. The tag line will be “Does THIS bring you joy?” Send it.
Reddit: The Movie
Tbh, even we don’t know what Reddit: The Movie would be about. But when has that ever stopped a film from getting green-lit. Kids love Reddit, right? It’s a foolproof concept.
Perhaps we can have the same five scenes re-shared for an entire 90 minutes. I’m sure we could get Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson attached, he seems game for anything.
Daddy Long Neck biopic
This one writes itself… Scarlett Johansson as Daddy Long Neck, his manager, his whole family, all his video co-stars; and all 2.1 million of his Instagram followers. Done.
We’ll put our invoice in the mail, Hollywood. *Dabs*
Who remembers the Kiefer Sutherland film Phone Booth? No one? K cool. Don’t Google it. It’s nothing.
Pocket Dialled would be Phone Booth set in 2019. I mean… a completely original concept whereby someone answers a pocket dial call from a close friend only to hear that close friend is secretly plotting against them.
Sure, that probably won’t stretch out to 90 minutes but with some dramatic drone footage of a cityscape, we could get a solid 60 minutes out of this idea, surely. Kiefer Sutherland can be played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
The Podfather
Kids love tide pods, so kids will love a movie about them, obviously. We’ll take a little bit from Willy Wonka, a splash of The Happening and the whole ‘found footage’ style of Cloverfield. That gives us a completely original premise for the tide pod film.
Threatin: The Griftiest Grifter Who Ever Grifted
Jokes aside, a film about the new age grifter would be very cool and where else to look for inspiration than the curious case of Threatin, the grifter who grifted an entire European tour much to the delight of the whole internet?
The film will follow him hatching his ultimate grift, and also the moment he realises that, like, cameras are a thing and people will take photos of your empty gig.
Fyre Festival but with Zombies
What if – ok, bear with me on this one – we recreated the situation at Fyre Festival. We give attendants hand held cameras, then unleash a horde of zombies upon them?
The result will be Blair Witch Project for influencers. The highest levels of originality. I hear Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is looking for such a project.
The Viral Internet Challenges Movie
Most of the recent viral internet challenges are gravity based – bottle flipping, cap spinning, planking, car surfing, you name it.
What if there was no gravity? What if you were…in space?
The Viral Internet Challenges movie would follow an astronaut riddled with FOMO yet simply unable to complete any of the viral internet challenges.
In partnership with Grill Mates and Stubb's BBQ Sauce.
There’s something unmistakably raw about William Crighton. It’s there in his voice—deep, cracked, like bark peeling from a eucalypt—and in the stories he tells, steeped in red dirt, rolling hills, and river ghosts. But beyond the music, there’s another side to Crighton that’s just as grounded in the Australian bush: cooking.
To him, the fire pit and the fretboard aren’t all that different. “I approach music similar to how I approach cooking ,” he says, “which is, I don't know too much, and going back to that childhood curiosity and wonder.”
Bush Songs and Backyard Smoke
Crighton’s music is often shaped by time spent in nature—walking through scrubland, sitting by creeks, or staring into campfire flames. His songs are rooted in place, and so is his food. He’s not about complicated recipes or kitchen gadgets; his ideal cooking set-up is a cast iron grill over coals, a sharp knife, and the open sky.
“There’s something about the bush that strips things back to what matters,” he says. “It’s the same with cooking. When you’re out there, it’s just you, the fire, and whatever you’ve got on hand. That’s where the magic is.”
And while Crighton’s approach is humble, it’s far from bland. A believer in bold, honest flavour, he’s quick to call out two essentials in his campfire toolkit: Grill Mates seasoning and Stubb’s BBQ Sauce.
“I’m not a chef, but I know what tastes good,” he laughs. “Grill Mates have that smoky hit that just works with anything—lamb chops, kangaroo, even a grilled zucchini. And Stubb’s? That stuff’s got soul.”
Smoke and Soul
For Crighton, cooking is more than just survival—it’s ceremony. Whether he’s on tour or out bush with his family, there’s a rhythm to it. Gather wood. Light the fire. Let it burn down. Season the meat. Cook it slow. Sit, talk, eat, listen. It’s the same process as writing a song, he says. “You don’t rush it. You let it build. You taste as you go.”
That sense of time, patience, and presence defines both his music and his meals. There’s no room for distractions when you're working with fire and feeling your way through a song. It’s tactile. Sensory. Honest.
“A little bit of not knowing, that's where the best s*** comes,” he says. “Too much heat, too much spice, too many words—it’ll burn out or fall flat. But when you hit it just right? It’s unforgettable.”
Music, Meat, and Meaning
Ask Crighton about the perfect cook-up, and he won’t talk about sous-vide machines or reverse searing. He’ll talk about standing barefoot in the dust, his guitar nearby, kids running around, a bit of Stubb’s soaking into a thick ribeye as the sun drops low.
It’s not just about what’s on the plate—it’s who you’re sharing it with, what the day’s been like, what you’re listening to Will tells us. "Food and music are both about creating a moment. That’s the stuff people remember.”
As his songs continue to resonate around the world, from the stages of Nashville to the paddocks of New South Wales, William Crighton remains committed to that core philosophy: stay grounded, keep it simple, and always cook with heart.
Because whether he’s crafting a haunting verse or searing a steak, Crighton knows—the good stuff happens when you let the fire do its thing.
In partnership with Grill Mates and Stubb's BBQ Sauce.
There’s something unmistakably raw about William Crighton. It’s there in his voice—deep, cracked, like bark peeling from a eucalypt—and in the stories he tells, steeped in red dirt, rolling hills, and river ghosts. But beyond the music, there’s another side to Crighton that’s just as grounded in the Australian bush: cooking.
To him, the fire pit and the fretboard aren’t all that different. “I approach music similar to how I approach cooking ,” he says, “which is, I don't know too much, and going back to that childhood curiosity and wonder.”
Bush Songs and Backyard Smoke
Crighton’s music is often shaped by time spent in nature—walking through scrubland, sitting by creeks, or staring into campfire flames. His songs are rooted in place, and so is his food. He’s not about complicated recipes or kitchen gadgets; his ideal cooking set-up is a cast iron grill over coals, a sharp knife, and the open sky.
“There’s something about the bush that strips things back to what matters,” he says. “It’s the same with cooking. When you’re out there, it’s just you, the fire, and whatever you’ve got on hand. That’s where the magic is.”
And while Crighton’s approach is humble, it’s far from bland. A believer in bold, honest flavour, he’s quick to call out two essentials in his campfire toolkit: Grill Mates seasoning and Stubb’s BBQ Sauce.
“I’m not a chef, but I know what tastes good,” he laughs. “Grill Mates have that smoky hit that just works with anything—lamb chops, kangaroo, even a grilled zucchini. And Stubb’s? That stuff’s got soul.”
Smoke and Soul
For Crighton, cooking is more than just survival—it’s ceremony. Whether he’s on tour or out bush with his family, there’s a rhythm to it. Gather wood. Light the fire. Let it burn down. Season the meat. Cook it slow. Sit, talk, eat, listen. It’s the same process as writing a song, he says. “You don’t rush it. You let it build. You taste as you go.”
That sense of time, patience, and presence defines both his music and his meals. There’s no room for distractions when you're working with fire and feeling your way through a song. It’s tactile. Sensory. Honest.
“A little bit of not knowing, that's where the best s*** comes,” he says. “Too much heat, too much spice, too many words—it’ll burn out or fall flat. But when you hit it just right? It’s unforgettable.”
Music, Meat, and Meaning
Ask Crighton about the perfect cook-up, and he won’t talk about sous-vide machines or reverse searing. He’ll talk about standing barefoot in the dust, his guitar nearby, kids running around, a bit of Stubb’s soaking into a thick ribeye as the sun drops low.
It’s not just about what’s on the plate—it’s who you’re sharing it with, what the day’s been like, what you’re listening to Will tells us. "Food and music are both about creating a moment. That’s the stuff people remember.”
As his songs continue to resonate around the world, from the stages of Nashville to the paddocks of New South Wales, William Crighton remains committed to that core philosophy: stay grounded, keep it simple, and always cook with heart.
Because whether he’s crafting a haunting verse or searing a steak, Crighton knows—the good stuff happens when you let the fire do its thing.
