One Step Toward Zero

NOTE: This is a bare knuckle, gritty script. And it currently violates tenants of the modern day HAYS CODE. "Thou shall not offend." "Thou shall not write certain characters in a certain way." This is a non sanitized, non homogenized dramatic story. If you hold the modern day Hays Code sacred, this script is not for you. This script is a riff on a couple of classic tropes. Trope one is a father with a natural born son, a surrogate son and all of the dramatics that ensue. Trope two is the classic "Hollywood Story" with all of the trappings and pitfalls of fame and fortune. The third trope is a MacGuffin that ties the first two tropes together. While the story itself is complex, I'll try to make the synopsis as simple as possible. With movie franchises raking in billions of dollars, Petrov decides to kidnap three actors on the eve of making the final film in the franchise. Megan, Dennis and Griff are mega stars. Megan's high functioning alcoholic based on a young version of Lindsey Lohan. Griff's a junkie kind of based on Philip Seymour Hoffman. Dennis is an in the closet homosexual, teetotaler who's stuck in the middle. They all hate each other. The setting is Southern Spain. East of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean Sea. The second part of Petrov's plot is to steal a sailboat and have patsies sail it across the sea to Algeria. The Patsies are jet set playboys with a villa on the sea. Rex lives in gilded exile and owns the villa in Spain. As Julian and Norman are set to arrive from London, Rex gets a call from his estranged father that Rex's surrogate brother, Thomas, is headed to Spain from Afghanistan. Thomas, Rex and Julian all hate each other. Norman is a stranger. In the process of kidnapping the the four men, Petrov executes Maria, an aging surrogate mother to Rex and Thomas. The men are witness to cold blooded murder. Once everyone is on the sailboat, Thomas fights to save Rex's life. Petrov knowing how Rex destroyed Thomas' life, he refuses. Given Thomas' violent past, Petrov informs him that the media blame him for the disappearance of the Movie Stars. With a storm on the horizon, Thomas hatches a plan to incapacitate Rex. Thomas puts Petrov to a decision. Spare Rex or take his chances in the storm with no one sailing the boat. Petrov relents. After the storm. Norman has the watch. But he gets distracted by his attraction to Megan. This leaves the sailboat vulnerable. Ramsi, an Islamic Extremist, kidnaps everyone foiling Petrov's plan. With everyone taken to land, local Frenchmen battle it out with Ramsi and his men, and free: Petrov, Thomas, Rex, Megan, Dennis and Griff. Julian and Norman have fallen. Rex, Dennis and Griff get injured in the gunfight and are evacuated to the Sahara. In the fighting, Thomas and Megan get separated from the group. Thomas steals a sailboat determined to get back to London. Megan wants to return to Spain but has no choice and joins Thomas. Back in the UK, the news breaks that they are searching Thomas. On the journey back, Thomas' secrets come out. And Megan's secrets come out. Megan wanting to avoid the British tabloids asks Thomas to help her avoid the inevitable media circus so she can sort out her life without the media scrutiny. He reluctantly agrees, but Megan betrays him and he's captured by MI-6 once they get back to England. In the end, balance gets restored. Friendships are mended. Families are healed. And romance gets rekindled.