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A comment on Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one year later. Parent comment

Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by cosmodisk on Sunday April 12, 2020 @05:33PM (#22851155)
There's a very good Russian film called The Twelve Chairs- an adaptation of a book with the same title.There,the main character, a professional con artist,ends up in a small town, in a middle of nowhere. In a matter of days,he convinces the entire town that because of chess games some of the residents often play,they could turn the town into the world capital of chess.They will host international tournaments, conferences,and etc.The Soviet government will build a rail link directly to Moscow and it will ultimately become a super city in no time. The film is 50 years old,but looks like the today's world hasn't changed that much...
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by js2 on Sunday April 12, 2020 @06:04PM (#22851338)
I only know the Mel Brooks version:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs_(1970_film)

But reading the wikipedia description of the book, it's the same premise: characters attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs

Are you thinking of a different story?

Edit: ah, apparently that's a part of the novel, which if it's in the Mel Brooks film, I don't recall: "bamboozling a village chess club with promises of an international tournament."

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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by cosmodisk on Sunday April 12, 2020 @08:23PM (#22852061)
It's the same story- I'll need to watch this version to compare the adaptations. The Russian adaptation is unique in a few ways: 1) I'm not sure how,but in times of heavy propaganda and censorship, these films got green light.The concepts they show were absolutely crazy at the time.I never really understood how soviet machine allowed this to be made to start with. 2) The film became an absolute cultural phenomenon that influenced generations. Some of the phrases used by lead characters continue to be used in wider context even today( I.e. "why do you need money? You've got no imagination!) https://youtu.be/P8t2dbJ7YXY (1:44:00 the scene where they arrive to the town of gullibles.There's English subtitles option)
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by lonelappde on Sunday April 12, 2020 @10:18PM (#22852545)
> attempting to obtain jewelry hidden in a chair.

Is also the plot of the infamous eponymous Gaslight.

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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by lazyant on Sunday April 12, 2020 @10:56PM (#22852749)
And yet a small Spanish town in the middle of nowhere was the world capital of chess for many years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linares_International_Chess_To...
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by toomuchtodo on Sunday April 12, 2020 @05:42PM (#22851213)
Is this the inspiration for the Simpson’s monorail episode?
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by __david__ on Sunday April 12, 2020 @05:44PM (#22851226)
No, that was the very popular musical, The Music Man, which is a very similar story.
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by toomuchtodo on Sunday April 12, 2020 @05:49PM (#22851261)
Thank you!
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Re:Foxconn’s buildings in Wisconsin are still empty, one yea... by cosmodisk on Sunday April 12, 2020 @08:25PM (#22852065)
Oh,the monorail! What a great episode. Nowadays they go around offering hyperloop technology to naïve city councillors..
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