I like this concept, a bit 1984, with Battle Royale. I dont know if that was the intention but it would definatly be a good film to release in this era of reality tv dominating the televison screens.

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Hi Rye and Alex (touch of red productions),

Welcome to UKFilm.org!

Alex: yeah, I like your script idea. I found it very absorbing. The dark twist at the end where Eric finds that The Drone is just a screwed up content source for the media is nice. Some quick thoughts:

I'd be a bit worried that the ending is just a bit too dark. As I understand it, the current ending allows The Drone to succeed and, as such, makes the efforts of our heroes look utterly futile. The whole film sounds fairly dark and the audience might walk away from the film feeling a bit sick with the current ending.

What do you think?

hmmm yes very true, i might see if i can come up with a few alternative endings and see which suites the feel of the film best.

(incidentally... I just re-read my comment... it sounds much harsher than I meant it! I did really like the script you posted)

i might see if i can come up with a few alternative endings and see which suites the feel of the film best.

Cool. Please do feel free to discuss your ideas here!

seems a good idea quite dark, had a touch of the running man to it as well.

Yeah that was definatly an influence, If any one has any ideas for alternative endings or any other thoughts please feel free to comment :-)

Liked the idea and had a little think. I hope this is helpful:

1) In the year 2050 the media has gone mad.

Why not try to think laterally about how the media has gone mad. We all know about the excesses of reality TV and tabloid press so part of the fun of this movie would be predicting and showing just how twisted things had become in 2050. Even better if those predictions make smart comment on current trends.

2) Filming real violence for game and reality TV shows.

Films, especially genre movies of the 70's and 80's have been relatively obsessed with ideas of snuff, voyeurism and is what I have seen really real (Videodrome, 8mm, Blow Up to name just a few). Maybe you could experiment with the conventions that these types of movie use when depicting 'real' violence.

3) The streets of NY are ablaze with crime and the television companies are using it to their advantage.

I immediately think of Network here – not for the post apocalyptic future bit for which Strange Days, Blade Runner or Escape from New York could be departure points – but in terms of the media using violence as a form of control. The late 90's saw the beginning of the loosening of laws on monopolistic practices in US media ownership and saw mergers which formed media behemoths like AOL Time Warner. It also saw the rise of Berlusconi in Italy- perhaps the first time that a country's richest man, who owned a majority of the news media in that country became its head of state. Both of these developments had huge implications for press freedom. Both raised worries about the extent to which individuals or groups were able to affect social, political and economic dynamics through undue influence. Perhaps exploring the arguments and issues at stake in these situations could give you a richer and more complex reading of these issues in your script. Genre stories like the one you are suggesting are often the deftest means of discussing difficult abstracts like freedom in a mass media age.

4) Amongst the horrors the police force have set up a new section called “the elite force” for top ranking police officers.

This makes me think about Eugenics and Social Darwinism. Essentially this part of the plot appears to be about genetic elites and survival of the fittest. Your film is clearly to some extent rooted in a world which is totalitarian in nature and Nazism was a totalitarian system which also embraced eugenics and conceived of society in Darwinian terms. It may be worthwhile exploring further these ideas as a means of fleshing out this aspect of your story.

5) Elite officers are deemed un-touchable and have all the privileges any one could want in this harsh future, the only way to get in though is the initiation known as “the drome”

This is reminiscent of a quest – a sword in the stone and so forth. Maybe you could spend some time in your story discussing the nature of privilege in your world - what is it that they crave so badly that they will put themselves at risk. Interestingly you use the term 'untouchable' which originates in the Indian caste system. You may find it an inspiration to explore its origins further - it might add quite an interesting element to your script. More generally, what are these privileges they are seeking? How do our characters feel about their opportunity to attain them? Do they feel special? Do they seen any inequality in any of it? Is it a means to an end in order to equalise society? Are they really just there for the social superiority this will grant them?

6) Woody Harlson and Uma Thurman play Eric Schnize and Molly Hermada, Two top ranking officers willing to risk their lives in order to gain access to the elite force. As partners for 10 years they can read each other like books. They battle their way through the “levels” of “the drome”, delivering death and receiving wounds.

The buddy buddy cop relationship is as old as the hills. In this instance there is a minor novelty in that one is male and the other female. I think you need to work really hard at finding an unusual, believable and detailed relationship between the two. It is also an opportunity to talk about what gender relations might be like in 2050. Again if one is able to think laterally about who these people are in relation to their situation then you may have something fresh and entertaining in these two characters.

7) They start noticing paranormal activity, such as things they had slaughtered early on, coming back for a taste of revenge.

Of all the ideas you have presented this is the one that is most appealing. It fits well with your desire to comment on the effect that the media has on society. This could become quite a nice metaphor for how the media turns society on itself. Think Day of the Dead and its commentary on the shopping mall culture of the 1970's. It is also reminiscent of The Haunting, The Shining and Event Horizon.

8) Just as they begin to sense victory, molly is brutally killed by a blow to the head from a hand wrapped in razor wire. Eric tears the killer apart and breaks down over the body of his partner. He presses on, only to look over his shoulder and notice his partner's body is no longer there. He mutters “you sick f***s” and continues but more unsuccessful than previously.

You have to ask yourself what is going on dramatically at this point in your story. Yes we have his grief but we are very unlikely to care unless we really have a relationship with the two characters – that means you have to spend a lot of time building them up and letting us get to know them in the first half of the story.

9) Only then he notices molly, alive as ever and trying to kill him! After bringing himself to slay his un dead partner he starts unscrambling enigma codes telling him “the drome” is un winnable.

For this to have real dramatic resonance it has to be because it makes a wider point about our struggle with the mass media – it will have real impact with the audience if they are reading the film as an allegory for our own struggle with the media. It is also using an idea found in Vampire and Werewolf movies - fighting someone you love who has been irreversibly changed.

10) The police force were too good, and cracking down on violent crime left nothing for the TV companies to leach off of. By introducing “the drome” the media is able to kill off the best police on the force and pull in the ratings at the same time. Using special technology bringing whatever dies inside “the drome” back to life, and therefore no one can defete its horrors with out being murdered.

This seems to be the conspiracy part of the story. However a word of caution – this conspiracy will be very obvious to your audience at present. We all know game shows are rigged. One of the classic clichés is the unscrupulous television producer who will do anything for ratings. As soon as the film begins and we are shown that they will go on a game show the first guess your audience will make is that it is rigged.

11) Eric looses it at this point firing shots in his own head. Only left a slave to the media, to walk “the drome” in search of new victims… next month's contestants.

This is fine as an ending as long as it is justified in the characters' development and the themes explored in the film. Most people will not accept this as the ending to a popcorn action flick. As far as I can see you want to do much more – the difficulty is that requires real characters and real depth in the depiction of the world around them.

Wow, your input is amazing. I especially agree with "(3".

I did envisage a "Videodrome" surrealism to the film and watched it before writing the script to note the conventions.

Thanks for your time, you have been a great help :)