Death of a nation summary

Set a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, 'Death Of A Nation' is the struggle for identity and the fight for equality in a world of Virtual Reality and Cyberspace.

Society has divided into two groups. The faceless mass; the 'Virtualites', ruled by the 'Overlords' and use the 'Cyberscape' as a way of life. Under them a 'Working Force' who maintain the economy for the Virtualites.

A group of Working Force terrorists create a computer virus that will change all this, but they need an Overlord to release the virus into the system. They kidnap Nicholas (An Overlord) and erase his memory in the hope that he will join them and voluntarily deliver the virus. Unknown to them, by releasing their virus they will inadvertently release a virus more deadly than any other created; P.S.Y.C.H.O.-T; The Psychotrance. A virus that causes permanent brain damage resulting in epilepsy, seizures and convulsions.

To make matters worse, two of the terrorists; Walls and Jones, turn traitor to their cause, seduced by the Overlord way of life that they replace while Nicholas 'disappears'. By the end, Walls and Nicholas play out the ultimate clash of identity as Nicholas himself, aided by terrorists Hanna and Lucy attempt to stop Walls destroying the entire nation.


Target Audience

Before directly addressing the target audience, it is necessary to identify why this script has been written. Simply because of the current trend toward the Internet and Cyberspace. They are a huge phenomenon, growing all the time. I do not feel that films like 'The lawnmower Man', 'The Net' or 'Johnny Mneumonic' have been effective in showing a future of this new technology. Also, although the new technology is popular, few Science-Fiction films have tackled this area as it is so new.

Primarily, the genre of this film would be Science-Fiction and would therefore be aimed broadly at the same audience. However, it should be noted that many Science-Fiction films of latter-day creation are aimed more toward the 'action' end of the market, where dialogue has become less important to the actual screenplay. Recent examples of this would be films such as 'Judge Dredd' or 'Independence Day', where the action is more important, making the film redundant and easy to access. This screenplay does not fall into that genre. I do not suggest that it is inaccessible either.

It is designed to appeal to those who wish to have a film that engages them, rather than mindless action. It contains intelligent thinking and purposely moves away from patriarchal methods of typecasting, by introducing an almost anti-Film Noir position. I have created female characters that are not punished for their strength and position. In contrast I have created irrational male characters that are punished for their patriarchal power-seeking desires. Perhaps then, this film is more accessible to females than standard Hollywood films. The screenplay is therefore aimed at a more intelligent Science-Fiction/Thriller market.

In terms of age-groups and ethnic origins, the screenplay does not seek a youth audience nor does it purposely pursue a white-middle class audience. As I have mentioned, the screenplay seeks an intelligent audience. This can range from 18-65, if the interest is Science-Fiction and new technologies. I feel that below the age of 18, the message of identity and its implications would be lost. However, if the target audience age is designated by the characters themselves, then we are observing an age group of early 20's to late 40's.

The screenplay was written using small amounts of an unknown language. This reflects the time period of the piece. The language, a mixture of German, Spanish, French and Russian. I have attempted to use it in moderation to replace contemporary language and expletives, although they have been used in places, as I feel they reflect a class and personalities. I intentionally did not refer to a known area, so that the screenplay could be adapted to work anywhere, be it the U.S.A., U.K., Australia or Europe. This does however, show a screenplay that seeks a majority white audience in its use of language. Again, this is not the case. Ethnic origins of the main characters has been left anonymous, so that any can fill the roles; with one exception. The character of Alvarez is Spanish.

In conclusion, the screenplay has attempted to bridge many gaps and explore areas generally avoided by Hollywood. It is a screenplay that is aimed at an intelligent Science-Fiction/Thriller audience, who are aged between 18-40, with no preference to ethnic origin, but attempting to be appealing to women.



Ok lets read the script