Body and World

A group of people wait in a room, anticipating the moment they will be born—and knowing in advance what kind of life they will ultimately live.

Type:

Short

Status:

For sale

Page Count:

19pp

Genre:

Drama, Sci-Fi

Budget:

Shoestring

Age Rating:

13+

Based On:

"Coming Through the Rye" (1944), a one-act play by William Saroyan.

Synopsis/Details

Several characters are waiting in a large room before life begins. Each person has been conceived and is waiting to be born (with an awareness of such, as opposed to the awareness that one is about to die). Each person possesses his ultimate physical form and ego. In their remaining time before birth, the characters discuss their destinies and whether they are happy with the life they will be given. A disembodied voice tells these individuals that, in the world they are about to enter, they will in fact forget who they will become. All the characters finally leave the room and commence life on earth; they are replaced by another group of characters—more members of the “unborn.”

Story & Logistics

Story Type:

Hero's Journey

Story Situation:

Conflict with a god

Story Conclusion:

Bitter-sweet

Linear Structure:

Linear

Moral Affections:

Good Man, Guilt, Innocence, Intemperance

Cast Size:

Several

Locations:

Single

Special Effects:

Minor cgi

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Female Young Adult, Female over 45, Female under 13, Male Young Adult, Male over 45, Male under 13

Hero Type:

Anti-Hero, Ordinary

Villian Type:

Authority Figure, Mother Nature

Stock Character Types:

Bad boy, Boy next door, Everyman, Fall guy, Girl next door, Ingenue, Lovers, Mother's boy, Outlaw, Wise old man

Advanced

Adaption:

Based on Existing Fiction

Subgenre:

Drama, Life Story, Literary Adaption, Other Dimension, Science Fiction, Time or Space Travel

Subculture:

Futurism

Equality & Diversity:

Diverse Cast

Life Topics:

Afterlife, Approaching Death, Birth, Childhood Adventure, Coming of Age

Super Powers:

Physical or mental domination, Transportation and travel

Time Period:

Time travel

Country:

United States of America (USA)

Time of Year:

Autumn/Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter

Sport Topics:

Baseball

Relationship Topics:

Activities, Affinity, Bonding, Courtship, Emotions and feelings

Writer Style:

Charlie Kaufman, George Lucas, Jonathan and Christopher Nolan

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Submitted: 2021-Feb-23

Last Updated: 2021-Feb-23

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The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

A former university film teacher, I turned to screenwriting several years ago. I have also written film criticism for many publications. A New Yorker by birth, I grew up in Miami and was educated at the University of Florida, Tulane, and Yale. My last U.S. address was in Milford, Connecticut; I am now an expatriate residing in Scandinavia. Many of my scripts (both long and short) are adaptations of lesser-known works by well-known authors. I am happy to re-write, collaborate, or write on demand. Thanks kindly for any attention you can give my work. Go to bio

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Body and World

Synopsis/Details

The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

Pages