My eldest son J is always on the lookout for an idea for a script or short story so he has on occasion asked my wife or me for some ideas. Here is what I’ve been thinking.
Imagine a mix of The DaVinci Code, Godzilla, War of the Worlds, and Independence Day. It would have intrigue, world-wide ramifications, true evil, a life and death struggle, science as our savior, and best of all a cause that could unite the world and lead to lasting peace. We have this story hardwired into us dating back to WW2 movies, Star Trek, and Saturday morning science fiction shows. The basic plot is part of our world-view so it is easy to sell.
Consider a threat so dire that it will wipe out all of humanity and leave our planet uninhabitable. The evil is us, not a comet streaking toward us. It consists of greedy men who do whatever they can for power and money. But it isn’t that simple, they are empowered by those who are addicted to what they are producing.
Fortunately there are those who see through the conspiracy and by science are able to lead a way out but that path may destroy the former world and with it the cabal of evil and break its spell. Now the challenge.Who are the good guys and what is the evil?
One scenario would have the hero played by a guy who looks like Dick Cheney fighting an evil terrorist organization bent on the destruction of the world as we know it. He would have at his disposal the latest in military hardware. On the other hand we might select a Will Smith look-alike fighting to save the planet from the scourge of global warming caused by the evils of capitalism (and guys like Dick Cheney). His Manhattan Project would involve breakthroughs in green energy followed by the sharing of that knowledge with the United Nations.
Most Americans,especially men, prefer the flash and roar of explosions followed by the ghastly death of the bad guys and the knowing looks of our comrades-in-arms as we survey the rubble and contemplate the future. But there is a segment who lean toward the chick flick endings where the bad guys are sent to prison, the scales fall from the eyes of those deceived and we all join hands around the world and move in together.
4 comments:
Perhaps the Demolition Man ending is really what's needed...
Edgar Friendly: "This is what you'll do. You'll get a little dirty...you, a lot clean. And somewhere in the middle...You'll figure it out."
Then it could be sold to everyone. That's why you're the guy!
What should we call it?
Utopia.
or, alternatively, "Erewhon" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erewhon
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