Twitter Movie Hashtag Game Gives Hollywood Three New Ideas for Sequels

Hashtag games, those invitations to wordplay that proliferate the Twitterverse and keep Twitter users obsessed for hours, may well be Hollywood's next idea factory. As hashtag gamers know, the drive to outdo one's friends by coming up with the most undeniably clever twist on an element of pop culture can become an intellectually exhilarating obsession. Now, the fast-moving smart aleck virtual repartee has led to the green light on three new movie properties.

Production executives were quick to exploit the commercial viability of the concepts contained in the less-than-140-character hybrid film titles dashed off in a flurry of tweets last week.

The hashtag #MedicalFilms invited Twitter users to put a doctor's office spin on well-known movie titles, and out of the thousands of tweets that ran wild with the concept, three will soon be major motion pictures.

Development is already in progress on Batman Begins Chemo. Although the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises was announced as director Christopher Nolan's last contribution to the franchise, it is rumored that he will return to direct the project, since its story promises an even darker excursion into the superhero psyche. Batman Begins Chemo delves into the deep inner pain experienced by Bruce Wayne as he grapples with possible end-of-life issues after being diagnosed with early stage cape cancer. Unable to curb his crime-fighting duties, Batman is put to the test in what is being described as Terms of Endearment meets The Green Lantern.

V for Vasectomy will not be a true sequel, and will depart from the dystopian Guy Fawkes story of V for Vendetta in favor of simply running with the new concept suggested by the title. Described by its makers as The Hangover meets The Hangover Part II, V for Vasectomy is a lewd and crude romp through three days in the life of a lothario ("probably Will Ferrell but maybe somebody less obvious," said a studio spokesperson) who has a vasectomy only moments before meeting the woman of his dreams ("maybe that girl from that one film," the spokesperson added), and must try to get it reversed without her finding out, even though they somehow end up handcuffed together.

Finally, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Kidney Stone is described as a "fast forward into the golden years of the boy wizard," although no other plot summary details have yet been released.

"We really want to thank those sharp-minded tweeters out there who unwittingly supplied us with exactly what we need to develop a feature film," said a production company representative.

However, unfortunately for the creators of the tweets, they are not entitled to any compensation for the titles that resulted in motion picture product. "Everybody knows you can't copyright a title," the representative explained, "so don't even try to sue us."

Several other responses to the #MedicalFilms hashtag game were also considered by filmmakers, but did not get put on the fast track to production. Here is a partial list of those titles that were ultimately rejected.

James Napoli is an author and humorist. More of his comedy content for the web can be found here.