Xillix Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) This is the thread to submit films for Year 6 of CAYOM 3.0! The release calendar is below. It's pre-filled with the specified films from the Advance Schedule Thread, but you will still need to make posts for those movies with details about them. You can also submit your fillers here. Note that, unless the film was a tentpole that was specified in the Advance Schedule Thread (and thus is already listed here), you are not allowed to post movies in this thread until they are completed - with full cast and release info and however complete a plot summary you plan on giving them. Keep in mind that directors are limited to one major film or two small films a year and that actors should be limited to a realistic number of projects as well. To submit a film, make a post in this thread including the relevant information. Required info includes: Title: Director: Genre: Release Date: Major Cast: Theater Count: MPAA Rating: Runtime: Production Budget: Plot Summary: (Can be as short or detailed as you wish) If you do not have all of this information finalized, you should not post the film in this thread until you do. Films posted without all this info will not be added to the release calendar in this first post. You can also optionally include other relevant information like producers, composers, the name of the releasing studio (if you are using your own fictional studios), special formats for release (like IMAX or 3D), even custom taglines or posters if you wish. None of this is required to post your film and it can be added after you first post if you so choose. Limited releases are allowed, and they can expand into additional theaters on a week-by-week basis. You will need to specify when the film expands and how many theaters it goes into each week, up until the final expansion that is the widest it will go. I've included some typical midweek release dates around holidays and such. If you want to release a movie on a weekday in some other week, go right ahead and just specify it in the post for that movie. I'll add that day to the release calendar. This post will be updated regularly with new additions. If available, you can click on the title of a film in the release calendar to go straight to its post. The deadline has passed and submissions are closed! Titles listed in green are finished. Spoiler Friday, January 7 Broadway Selects: The Band's Visit - Filmed Play - Directed by David Cromer & Lorenzo Thione - 2,369 theaters Friday, January 14 (4-Day Martin Luther King weekend) All Kinds of Bull - Drama - Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa - 2,900 theaters Espionage Project - Action - Directed by Juame Collet-Sera - 3,854 - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX Making Waves - Sports/Dramadey/Family - Directed by Sean McNamara - 3,120 theaters Friday, January 21 Walking with You - Sci-Fi/Drama/Romance - Directed by Chloe Zhao - 3,349 theaters Friday, January 28 The Power of Love - Superhero/Romance/Comedy - Directed by Doug Liman - 3,751 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX Friday, February 4 (Super Bowl weekend) Dog Models - Animation - Directed by Kirk de Micco - 3,007 theaters VR Troopers - Sci-Fi/Action/Comedy - Directed by Jon M. Chu - 2,994 theaters - In 3D Friday, February 11Chuck Norris and Liam Neeson vs. the Current Hollywood Landscape - Action/Comedy - Directed by Clark Gregg - 3,323 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX Down and Dirty - Concert/Documentary - Directed by Morgan Spurlock - 2,450 theaters - In 3D Thomas Was Alone - Animation/Sci-Fi - Directed by Mike Bithell - 2,293 theaters Friday, February 18 (4-Day Presidents' Day weekend) Meme Thief - Comedy - Directed by Jake Szymanski - 3,235 theaters Pokémon: The Cinnabar Conspiracy - Fantasy/Adventure - Directed by Shawn Levy - 4,377 theaters - In IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, February 25 Little Black Bugs - Psychological Horror - Directed by Guy Maddin - 2,723 theaters - In 3D Friday, March 4 Rapsittie Street Kids: A Bunny's Tale - Animation - Directed by Michael Gracey & Colin Slater - 2,571 theaters Spark: A Hero's Promise - Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure - Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson - 4,588 theaters - In 3D, IMAX 2D+3D, Dolby Cinema, and Cinerama (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, March 11 AJR: Neotheater - Concert - Directed by Spencer Hord - 2,656 theaters The Fairly OddParents - Family - Directed by Rob Letterman - 3,425 theaters Friday, March 18 The Con Gone Wrong (Limited Release) - Documentary - Directed by Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles- 15 theaters Thermal - Disaster - Directed by Steven Quale - 3,812 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX & IMAX 3D (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, March 25 The Con Gone Wrong (Limited Expansion) - Documentary - Directed by Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles- 187 theaters Irreplaceable - Concert Film - Directed by Bruce Hendricks - 2,450 theaters - In 3D Friday, April 1 The Con Gone Wrong (Wide Expansion) - Documentary - Directed by Antonio Santini & Dan Sickles- 1,385 theaters Super Mario Bros. - Animation/Adventure - Directed by Mark Dindal - 4,457 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX Friday, April 8 Children of Eden - Musical/Epic - Directed by Alfonso Cuarón - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX 3D (Two week IMAX reservation) Pandas - Nature Documentary - Directed by Drew Fellman - 2,450 theaters Friday, April 15 (Easter weekend) Home Invasion Part II: Abduction - Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller - Directed by Joe Carnahan - 3,029 theaters - In 3D The Pixies in the Back Yard - Family/Fantasy - Directed by Michael Lembeck - 3,200 theaters Friday, April 22 Jane and Tony - Drama - Directed by Josie Rourke - 2,479 theaters The Thin, the Phat, and the Felon - Western/Comedy - Directed by Edgar Wright - 3,793 theaters Friday, April 29 The Blushing - Horror - Directed by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman - 2,852 theaters Nights into Dreams - Animation/Fantasy - Directed by Kevin Munroe - 3,103 theaters - In 3D Friday, May 6 (Mother's Day weekend) Mass Effect: Ascension - Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure - Directed by Jack Bender - 4,207 theaters - In IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, May 13 Brickleberry: Armoogeddon - Animation/Comedy - Directed by Roger Black & Waco O'Guin - 3,102 theaters Facepaint - Horror - Directed by Ari Aster - 2,805 theaters Friday, May 20 Lumberjanes: Secret of the Eye - Comedy/Fantasy/Adventure - Directed by Niki Caro - 3,751 theaters - In 3D Friday, May 27 (4-Day Memorial Day weekend) Double Chronomance - Sci-Fi/Comedy - Directed by Jason Reitman - 3,761 theatersGreen Arrow - Superhero/Action/Thriller - Directed by Chad Stahelski - 4,062 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, June 3 Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet (Limited Release) - Sci-Fi/Comedy/Thriller - Directed by Boots Riley - 15 theaters Pikmin - Animation/Family - Directed by Claude Barras - 2,950 theaters Friday, June 10 Teyonnah and the Renegades: A Righteous Sextet (Wide Expansion) - Sci-Fi/Comedy/Thriller - Directed by Boots Riley - 2,611 theaters Friday, June 17 (Father's Day weekend) The App: The Jeremy Renner App - The Movie - Drama/Adventure - Directed by Fred Durst - 3,468 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & 3D USS SeaWolf - Action/Drama/Thriller - Directed by Gareth Edwards - 3,511 theaters - In IMAX Friday, June 24 Forgiveness - Crime - Directed by Jonathan Levine - 3,289 theaters Rhino Riders - Sports/Adventure - Directed by Dean DeBlois - 3,050 theaters Thursday, June 30 Bummer Camp - Comedy - Directed by Dennis Dugan - 3,736 theaters Friday, July 1 (4-Day Independence Day weekend) He-Man IV: The Sons of the Serpent - Fantasy/Action - Directed by Robert Stromberg - In 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX & IMAX 3D (Two week IMAX reservation) Yolanda Dreams of Yogurt (Limited Release) - Documentary - Directed by Morgan Neville - 4 theaters Friday, July 8 Plus One - Romantic Comedy - Directed by Nicholas Stoller - 3,863 theaters Yolanda Dreams of Yogurt (Limited Expansion #1) - Documentary - Directed by Morgan Neville - 25 theaters Friday, July 15 The Academy - Drama/Period/Sci-Fi - Directed by Garth Davis - 2,781 theaters God of War: Kingdom Come - Action/Fantasy/Drama - Directed by Zack Snyder - 4,205 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX & IMAX 3D Yolanda Dreams of Yogurt (Limited Expansion #2) - Documentary - Directed by Morgan Neville - 132 theaters Friday, July 22 Borrasca - Mystery/Thriller - Directed by Fede Alvarez - 3,602 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Hoops 2 - Sports Drama - Directed by Charles Stone III - 2,879 theatersYolanda Dreams of Yogurt (Limited Expansion #3) - Documentary - Directed by Morgan Neville - 525 theaters Friday, July 29 De Blob - Animation/Action/Comedy - Directed by Julia Pott - 3,912 theaters - In 3D & Dolby CinemaYolanda Dreams of Yogurt (Wide Expansion) - Documentary - Directed by Morgan Neville - 1,249 theaters Friday, August 5 Schadenfreude (Limited Release) - Drama/Foreign - Directed by Christian Petzold - 37 theaters Tommy - Musical/Fantasy/Drama - Directed by Danny Boyle - 3,674 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX Friday, August 12 3:38 AM - Found-Footage/Horror - Directed by Stephen Susco - 3,029 theaters The Ancient Magus' Bride & the King of Cats - Fantasy/Romance - Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton - 3,275 theaters - In Dolby Cinema Schadenfreude (Limited Expansion) - Drama/Foreign - Directed by Christian Petzold - 238 theaters Friday, August 19 Hired Guns - Western/Action - Directed by David Michod - 3,427 theaters - In IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Schadenfreude (Wide Expansion) - Drama/Foreign - Directed by Christian Petzold - 791 theaters Wolves - Nature Documentary - Directed by Alistair Fothergill - 2,450 theaters Friday, August 26 Broadway Selects: Network - Filmed Play - Directed by Lorenzo Thione & Ivo van Hove - 2,214 theaters The Girlfriend Hoax (Limited Release) - Documentary/Sports - Directed by Ezra Edelman - 16 theaters Schadenfreude (Wider Expansion) - Drama/Foreign - Directed by Christian Petzold - 1,557 theaters Friday, September 2 (4-Day Labor Day weekend) The Feminist (Limited Release) - Biblical Epic - Directed by Lynne Ramsey - 4 theaters - In Dolby Cinema The Girlfriend Hoax (Limited Expansion) - Documentary/Sports - Directed by Ezra Edelman - 109 theaters Turbulence - Action/Thriller - Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber - 4,022 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX Friday, September 9 The Feminist (Limited Expansion) - Biblical Epic - Directed by Lynne Ramsey - 21 theaters - In Dolby Cinema The Girlfriend Hoax (Limited Expansion #2) - Documentary/Sports - Directed by Ezra Edelman - 334 theaters Live2ream - Thriller/Crime - Directed by Christopher Landon - 3,152 theaters Friday, September 16 All-Nighter - Family/Comedy/Horror - Directed by David Bowers - 3,120 theaters The Feminist (Limited Expansion #2) - Biblical Epic - Directed by Lynne Ramsey - 275 theaters - In Dolby Cinema The Girlfriend Hoax (Wide Expansion) - Documentary/Sports - Directed by Ezra Edelman - 1,214 theaters The Last Policeman - Crime/Drama - Directed by Cary Fukunaga - 3,213 theaters Friday, September 23Baseball Boy: The Base Thief - Animation/Family - Directed by Simon J. Smith - 3,100 theaters The Feminist (Wide Expansion) - Biblical Epic - Directed by Lynne Ramsey - 850 theaters - In Dolby Cinema Friday, September 30 The Feminist (Wider Expansion) - Biblical Epic - Directed by Lynne Ramsey - 2,590 theaters - In Dolby Cinema The Horn - Action/Thriller - Directed by Jeremy Rush - 3,126 theaters Friday, October 7 Shiverin' Gulch - Horror/Western/Adventure - Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada - 3,843 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Friday, October 14 Day of the Tentacle - Sci-Fi/Comedy-Adventure - Directed by Evan Goldberg - 3,025 theaters The Trapped Keeper - Drama/Comedy/Biopic - Directed by Marjane Satrapi - 2,746 theaters Friday, October 21 Thirsty - Comedy - Directed by Olivia Wilde - 3,120 theaters Friday, October 28 (Halloween weekend) Fiesta Loca - Fantasy - Directed by Nacho Vigalando - 3,850 theaters Voicemail - Horror - Directed by Jee-Woon Kim - 3,305 theaters - In Dolby Cinema & IMAX Friday, November 4 Off-Road - Racing/Action - Directed by David Leitch - 4,062 theaters - In 3D, IMAX & IMAX 3D Paradise Island (Limited Release) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 5 theaters Spring Awakening - Musical - Directed by Dexter Fletcher - 3,883 theaters - In Dolby Cinema Friday, November 11 (Veterans Day weekend) In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Biopic/Music - Directed by Bill Pohlad - 1,978 theaters Paradise Island (Limited Expansion) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 48 theaters Understand - Sci-Fi - Directed by Daniel Espinosa - 3,050 theaters Friday, November 18 One Big Family - Comedy/Drama - Directed by Tyler Perry - 3,120 theaters Paradise Island (Limited Expansion #2) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 206 theaters XJ-9: Rebirth - Sci-Fi/Action/Dramadey - Directed by Gore Verbinski - 3,958 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation) Wednesday, November 23 (Day before Thanksgiving) Duck Hunt - Animation/Comedy - Directed by Carlos Saldanha - 3,956 theaters - In 3D & Dolby Cinema Paradise Island (Wide Expansion) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 932 theaters Friday, December 2 Jingle Hell - Horror/Comedy - Directed by Eli Craig - 3,375 theaters - In Dolby Cinema Friday, December 9Bleach - Action - Directed by Rupert Wyatt - 4,400 theaters - In 3D & IMAX 3D LucIId - Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller - Directed by Justin Lin - 3,892 theaters Paradise Island (Wider Expansion) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 1,576 theaters Friday, December 16 Gateways - Animation/Fantasy/Adventure - Directed by Pete Docter - 4,087 theaters - In 3D, Dolby Cinema & IMAX (Two week IMAX reservation beginning on December 23) The Most Wanted Man in Great Britain - Adventure/Romance - Directed by Thomas Vinterberg - 3,318 theaters Paradise Island (Widerer Expansion) - Drama - Directed by Debra Granik - 2,322 theaters Friday, December 23 (Christmas weekend) Guardians of the Internet - Sci-Fi/Comedy/Action - Directed by Dave McCary - 3,567 theaters Thawed - Horror - Directed by Jason Zada - 2,784 theaters Sunday, December 25 (Christmas) The Neon Psalms - Sci-Fi/Drama - Directed by Scott Derrickson - 2,913 theaters - In Dolby Cinema Edited September 24, 2019 by Xillix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 She rose to the occasion. She found her way home. She went beyond any human. The conclusion of Alex Spark’s journey is finally here. S P A R K: A H E R O ’ S P R O M I S E Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson Writers: Alison Tatlock, Liz Hannah, and Daron Nefcy Producers: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Alison Tatlock, Aaron Ryder Executive Producers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Daron Nefcy, Courtenay Valenti, and Michelle Haywood Composers: Thomas Newman and Benjamin Wallfisch (Click here for score description) Director of Photography: Claudio Miranda Production Designer: Dennis Gasner Editor: Kevin Ross Costume Designer: Paloma Young VFX House: WETA Digital Major Cast: (**Indicates voice or 100% motion capture performance - all other aliens are done with a mix of practical makeup and motion capture) Sasha Lane as Alex Spark, a human with powers to control and manipulate energy, 2.5-time galaxy savior. Charlie Heaton as Kozar Alcana, a wolf-like alien who is Alex's closest ally and fiancé. **Olivia Cooke as Xevarre, the young, newly crowned queen of a vicious, elite alien empire. **Aubrey Plaza as Aera, Alex and Kozar's friend, a wheel/insect like alien. You’d best not mess with her. Sarah Paulson as Altren, a strong-willed heroine and self-proclaimed leader of the resistance against the Soltarans. **Justin Theroux as Vycas Tarek, a traitorous fiend who helped the Soltarans to get his revenge against Alex. **Anthony Gonzalez as Mevino, an optimistic, spunky alien who also has infinite powers. **Kyle Maclachlan as Dheamus, Xevarre’s advisor, committed to his peoples’ conquest. With Sam Rockwell as Everett Spark, Alex’s disgraced father, who may be real this time? And Michelle Pfeiffer as Agorava Naryani, a broken infinite who regains her will to fight back. Minor Cast: David Tennant as Dhagom, an incredibly strong infinite with a terrifying set of powers and a recklessness to match. Rinko Kikuchi as Neshianu, A big-hearted infinite who helps the resistance. Freida Pinto as Perthena Arvellian, a skilled rebel who feels a romance blooming. **James Rollestone as Keryx, Xervarre’s chief guard and confidante, far more hesitant about the mission. **Lesley Manville as Iphanya, a strict Soltaran advisor who assists Dheamus and Xevarre. **Andrew Rannells as Hovi, an adorable yet snarky little creature who serves as Altren’s assistant. **Laura Michelle Kelly as Ruh’ana, Xevarre’s mother and former queen of the Soltarans. **Pixie Davies as a young Xevarre. Hidden Cast (Uncredited and excluded from marketing): *SPOILER WARNING* Spoiler · **Will Ferrell as Kipo, Aera’s father. · **Kristen Wiig as Zari, Aera’s mother. · **David Strathairn as Nimkarius, Xevarre’s father. · Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ezen Baklattan, Alex’s lizard-like stepdad. · Octavia Spencer as Katherine Spark, Alex’s mother. · **Matt Bomer as Qatav, a former infinite. · Laura Dern as Beatrice Powell, former president of the Summit of Unity. · Taron Egerton as Gavin Venchell, a former adversary of Alex Spark. · **Samantha Ireland as fight announcer. · Jane Goodall as herself · David Henrie as himself · Jake Gyllenhaal as himself · **LeBron James as an alien celebrity · **Lauren Mayberry as an alien celebrity Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure/Epic/Dramedy/Romance Release Date: Friday, March 4th, Y6 Theater Count: 4,588 (Including 3D, IMAX 2D/3D, Dolby Cinema, and Cinerama) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action/violence including disturbing images, brief sexual content, thematic material, and language Runtime: 183min (3hr, 3min) Production Budget: $325 million Previous Films: SPARK: RISING (Y1) $94.5m/$325.1m/$881.4m 15 Oscar Nominations, 7 Wins SPARK: HOMEWARD (Y3) $184.1m/$460.1m/$1.302b 12 Oscar Nominations including Best Picture SPARK: BEYOND THE SKY (Y4) $112.7m/$568.1m/$1.676b 16 Oscar Nominations including Best Picture, 4 Wins PREMISE: Alex and her allies join a massive resistance movement in a last-ditch effort to save the universe from the ruthless Soltaran empire, whose young queen begins to doubt everything she had been taught in her life. In case you need a refresher on where Alex and her ilk are: Spoiler PLOT SUMMARY (~32.3k Words) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x-MatsX0C6_YmeUJ20lUvdBmBsv6m8-tsKxTbu72zA8/edit?usp=sharing Green scenes are shot with Cinerama cameras. The rest of the film is shot entirely in IMAX. Special thanks to @cookie and @YourMother the Edgelord for their support in this film's production. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Endless Animation’s Studio: Endless Entertainment (through the Endless Animation division) In association with Nintendo Genre: CG Animation/Comedy/Adventure Director: Mark Dindal Producers: Genndy Tartakovsky, Rich Moore and Shigeru Miyamoto Writers: Mark Dindal, Rich Moore, and Rebecca Sugar Composer: Alexandre Desplat Original Song: “1 Up” by Imagine Dragons Main Voice Cast:Cast:Oscar Isaac as Mario Mario Jay Baruchel as Luigi Mario Idina Menzel as Princess Peach Liev Schreiber as Koopa King Bowser Thomas Middleditch as Toad Zoe Kravitz as Princess Daisy Michael Jones as Kamek Also starring: Danny McBride as Wario John Mulaney as Waluigi Monica Bellucci as Sofia Mario Armand Assante as Giuseppe Mario Patrick Warburton as Strong Toad Billy West as Professor E. Gadd Jacob Tremblay as Young Mario Iain Armitage as Young Luigi Michael Pena as Reyes Gabrielle Ruiz as Flora Jane Lynch as Calamity Koopa Tim Gunn as Croak Release Date: April 1st, Y6 Theater Count: 4,457Format: 2D (2.39:1), 3D (2.39:1), Dolby Cinema (2.39:1) and IMAX 2D (1.44:1) Budget: $100 millionMPAA Rating: PG for comic action, thematic elements, and rude humor Running Time: 119 minutes (including a 5 minute short)Animation: Done in house by Endless Animation. This is a very cartoony CGI, think Hotel Transylvania lots of squash and squish technique is used, where it feels like a Looney Tunes cartoon in CGI. Short: Short: Flight School with Pigeon and Fluffles The short is done in Paperman like animation. The characters are also silent Rated: G We see Fluffles, the lovable foodaholic tabby cat napping next to Silky an adorable Shi Tzu, as Bill Leon Bucks alert the two they’ll be going to vacation in the Carribean and have to fly on a plane. Fluffles is terrified of planes so he and Silky visit Pigeon, an idealistic pigeon and his best friend and Father Hawk, Pigeon’s stern father, a giant hawk. The first course is for Fluffles to expirence turbulence as with the help of Carl, a cardinal and Quiz, an owl, they put both of the housepets in Carly’s family tire tunnel as they move it around. Fluffles is terrified while Silky is having fun. However, the shaking become rough when a squirrel goes inside the tunnel as Silky chases it, causing the birds to be flung away and the tire tunnel breaking as Fluffles is caught in a tire and hits a tree. The next test is take off as they launch the pets in a swing slingshot as they safely reach the tree but Quiz’s design turns out flawed as the swing slingshot flings Fluffles into a telephone wire, electrocuting him. Quiz and Pigeon then decides to hypnotize Fluffles into anytime he gets too high with a video, he becomes fearless which works but as the birds leave for lunch they accidentally leave Fluffles with the video as whenever he hears loud noises, he falls asleep. The birds then decide to prove it by carrying the two pets in a pet carrier across the city which works but as they’re over a construction site, Fluffles falls asleep and toss and turns causing them to drop the carrier, which thankfully lands on a rising girder but the carrier becomes safely but recklessly knocked around the city forcing the birds to recuse their friends resulting into humorous injuries, Quiz gets his feet stuck in quick drying cement, Carl winds up near a cockfighting arena, Father Hawk falls into a batch of hardening chocolate and eats his way out as Pigeon manages to call a flock of nearby pigeons to help them, as everyone flies home but Father Hawk has to be carried as he is bloated from the chocolate. Fluffles then wakes up ready for flying and happy but Bill Leon Bucks returns that they’re going on a cruise instead as Fluffles is scared of water and looks to his strained and tired friends for help as they panic. Plot: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I6KEMkRMkqR3GEy9f8qgz627-MeIvJweJcSQcWoN-3w (updated version) Special thanks to @Spaghetti Edited September 24, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Endless Animation’s Toons V Reality Studio: Endless Entertainment (through the Endless Animation division) Lord/Miller Productions Genre: CG-2D Animation/Comedy Director: Chris McKay Producers: Chris McKay, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Writers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Chris McKayComposer: Mark Mothersbaugh Main Voice Cast:Olivia Cooke as Ashley Alec Baldwin as William H. Grubb John Mulaney as Randy Raccoon Danny Pudi as W0-RY Niki Yang as Chai Chu Sean Schemmel as Kai Bex Taylor Klaus as Princess Amira James Rolleston as Pete Release Date: July 29th, Y6 Theater Count: 4,230 Format: 2D (2.39:1), 3D (2.39:1), Dolby Cinema (2.39:1) Budget: $95 millionMPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements and rude humor Running Time: 109 minutes (including a 7 minute short)Animation: Done in house by Endless Animation. Worldmeander is used like in Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive, Medusa and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (which combines computer animation with hand drawn animation ala (Paperman/Feast/Pigeon/Medusa/Squirrel Girl) but is modeled where the human characters and human world are animated more like in Paperman but the cartoon characters and cartoon world are pure traditional animation Plot: Soon Edited June 17, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Studio: Endless Entertainment Lin Pictures Director: Guy Ritchie Producer: Dan Lin Executive Producer: Xavier B. IrvingWriters: Guy Ritchie and Allison Schroeder Composer: Alan MenkenSongs by: Alan Menken and David Lippel Director of Photography: Ben Davis VFX: Industrial Light and Magic and WETA Digital Cast: * indicates voice role Liam Hemsworth as Hercules - Asher Angel as Young Hercules Rachel Bloom as Megara Robert Downey Jr. as Hades Paul Giamatti as Philoctetes Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Zeus Carrie Anne-Moss as Hera *Nick Kroll as Pain *John Mulaney as Panic Cynthia Eviro as Calliope Danielle Brooks as Thalia Hailey Kilgore as Melpomene Tiffany Haddish as Clio Renee Elise Goldsberry as Terpsichore Release Date: December 16th, Y6 Theater Count: 4,192 Format: 2D (2.39:1), 3D (2.39:1), Dolby Cinema (2.39:1) and IMAX 2D+3D (1.44:1) Budget: $185 millionMPAA Rating: PG for frequent action sequences/peril, off-color humor and thematic elements Running Time: 122 minutes Plot: Spoiler We open in what seems to be a museum filled with memorabilia of Ancient Greek as we hear a narrator (Patrick Stewart) speaking about the greatest heroes in Greece, such as Odysseus and Achilles but known as great as Hercules as we center in on a vase with Hercules against the Nemean Lion as he is about to discuss the measures of a true hero as a voice tells him to stop. The camera pans up to see The Muses (from left to right; the muse of comedy, Thalia (Danielle Brooks), the muse of dance, Terpsichore (Renee Elise Goldsberry), the muse of poetry, Calliope (Cynthia Evrio), the muse of history, Clio (Tiffany Haddish) and the muse of tragedy Melpomene (Hailey Kilgore)), a group of women in dazzling gold dresses. Calliope, the leader of the muses assure the narrator they have it from here as they’re the biggest fans of Hercules. Thalia corrects Calliope that it’s not Hercules but Hunk-cules, as the narrator retorts that they don’t even tell the story right and refuses to let them take the wheel. Calliope retorts that the way he does it boring. Melpomene, states as much as she loves the true and tragic tale, there’s like a decent of children here as well as nostalgic adults who refuse to watch the original for not being realistic. Clio assures the narrator this time, they’ll add more historic accuracies as Terpsichore tells the narrator to take a break and do something relaxing for a change. The narrator frustrated concedes. Calliope then says that in order to tell the story, they must start from the beginning as she picks up part of the scroll on the vase as it transforms into a staircase as the Muses descend down and start to dance as they sing “The Gospel Truth” which explains that the Titans, cruel and dangerous giants ruled the Earth until Zeus, the son of Titan Chronos who tried to eat Zeus to prevent Zeus from usurping him, and a group of other Olympian Gods manage to banish them to the Underworld and the Olympian Gods took over. The camera then ascends to Mount Olympus as we see Gods sneaking inside the temple as they reach a secret entrance only Gods can open as we see a giant Grecian utopia in a realm high above the heavens and filled with clouds. As we then stop at a house as we see the mighty god of thunder, Zeus (Kurt Russell) above a crib, fawning over his newborn son, the incredibly strong Hercules sleeping in his crib as Zeus tries to get his wife Hera (Carrie Anne-Moss), the goddess of childbirth, to see their son as Hera is rather distinct. It is revealed that Hercules isn’t Hera’s son at all and rather a demigod but the son of Alkmene, a mortal below the surface Zeus had an affair with as Hera is justly rather mad at Zeus. Zeus apologizes to Hera for his infidelity as Hera correct him as infidelities but Zeus reveals the woman died giving birth to Hercules and he couldn’t just abandon his son. Hera refuses until Hercules wakes up and affectionately calls Hera his mother as Hera begins to warm up to the child as she agrees to raise him and states Alkmene was gone anyway. The two step outside with Hercules as we see a huge party full of all the Greek Gods having a baby shower for Hercules (we humorously see a god saying Zeus having another child is as rare as a day ending with y)... Edited July 11, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) THE ANCIENT MAGUS' BRIDE AND THE KING OF CATS Studio: New Journey Pictures Release Date: August 12th, Y6 Genre: Fantasy / Romance Director: Destin Daniel Cretton Theatre Count: 3,275 Rating: PG-13 for Mild Language, Fantasy Violence, Nudity, and Disturbing Images Budget: $115 Million Format: 2D Dolby Runtime: 1 hr 51 m Original Score: Junichi Matsumoto (The score is filled with grandiose swells and orchestral arrangements. The main theme is especially prominent, whether through its full triumphant blast or through a soft piano arrangement. An example of the kind of music in this film can be found in the video below.) Spoiler Major Cast Lana Condor (Chise Hatori) Ewen McGregor (Elias Ainsworth**) Keira Knightley (Anjelica Varley) Mia Goth (Silver) Jamie Campbell Bower (Lindenbaum) Eddie Redmayne (Simon Kalm) Aidan Turner (Michael Renfred) with Jennette McCurdy (Alice) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Joseph/Cartaphilus) Minor Cast (in order of appearance) Jeremy Irons (Nevin*) Gwendoline Christie (Molly*) Anna Popplewell (Mina) Matthew Lewis (Matthew) Catriona Balfe (Titania) Keir Gilchrist (Oberon) Domhnall Gleeson (Spriggan*) *=Denotes a Voice Role. **=Denotes a Motion Capture Role. Abstract: A disillusioned young woman has herself sold at an auction, and a monstrous mage buys her, hoping to make her his apprentice. Spoiler The Ancient Magus’ Bride plot summary Abstract: A disillusioned young woman has herself sold at an auction, and a monstrous mage buys her, hoping to make her his apprentice. Summary: The New Journey Pictures logo comes and goes, and we cut to a wide shot which looks down at a vast, grandiose auditorium. The opening credits is gracefully presented during this shot, much like it is in the movie Roma; in this shot, individuals with masks and matching hoods raise signs, bidding for a large magical creature that is showcased onstage in a glass, water-filled cage. Cut to a meeting room somewhere in the same facility. Our droopy-eyed protagonist (Lana Condor) signs a contract that essentially allows the company to put her up for auction. An eccentric man in formal clothes asks if she really wants to do this, and she verbally reiterates that she wants to go through with this—in her words, she is simply looking for a place to call home, and she doesn’t care what happens to her at this point. She signs a contract, and the signature reveals her name—Chise Hatori. (Pronounced chee-say ha-tour-ee.) We cut between two things as the music starts to swell. The first thing is Chise preparation and transport—men place a mechanism that is both a collar and a pair of handcuffs onto her, and they put a white hood on her, and they walk her through a corridor that is filled with magical creatures ready to be showcased at a moment’s notice. The second thing is that of a robed man’s promenade through a city sidewalk—the man is tall, and his robe is black, and his cane is of an ornate quality—he taps the cane on the door, which is opened by a man in a tuxedo. We cut to Chise onstage, a single stage-light cast over her body. An auctioneer announces the start of bidding for “the product they’ve all been waiting for”—starting at 500,000 pounds. The number climbs higher and higher. Chise looks at the front door and sees the black-robed man walk through it. From Chise’s point-of-view, we see him walk down the pathway, and we hear the people around him murmuring as if they know who he is. He walks onto the stage and stands directly above Chise—a high-angle shot of the man highlighting his dominant stature. We see that the man is wearing a black veil over his head, and that there are long horns protruding from the sides of his head. Cut to another establishing shot of the auditorium, where he utters this: “5,000,000.” Gasps sound from all across the room. Chise stares wide-eyed at the man, and as the man’s veil is gently lifted by the breeze to reveal that his head resembles the skull of a wolf, he tells her that he will make her his apprentice. And under the stage-light, the two stares deeply into each other’s eyes as their clothes sway in the breeze. **** In a reception room, the robed man signs a check and gives it to the eccentric man. Chise stares down as the eccentric shares details about her. Eccentric Man: Age, fifteen. Ethnicity, Japanese. She’s docile, so she should be easy to discipline. The eccentric man proceeds to tell the robed man that he’s supposed to follow the rules of the auction—more specifically, that he can’t waltz onto the stage during the auction—but the robed man denies this small talk. The walks over to Chise and, seeing that she’s staring into space and ignoring his words, grabs her firmly by the chain that is binding her, his body arched towards the girl. Elias: You don’t need to keep your head down. Stand tall, and look forward. Understood? Chise nods. The auctioneers grant the robed man permission to borrow the lobby room, and Chise follows the robed man through the corridor of magical creatures. As they walk, a small dragon-like creature flies near Chise, and Chise examines it. Behind one of the cages, two hooded figures discuss how they can’t believe they let “him” have the “Sleigh Beggy”. As Chise considers the meaning of that sentence, the robed man remarks that she can see the creatures, and asks her for her name. They walk into the lobby, where the two of them are alone. The robed man removes his velvet veil, fully revealing his horned wolf skull head, complete with small red pupils shining from within the dark eyeholes. He introduces himself as Elias Ainsworth. (This is a motion capture performance by Ewan McGregor.) Elias speaks to Chise excitedly, stating that she’s very fortunate to be able to see all of the fantastical creatures—it is not normal of a human being, for them to be able to do this. Chise lowers her head and frowns; we cut to quick edits of Chise as a child (the younger version of her played by Yin’s Megan Liu) as she reacts to ostracization and mistreatment from people around. We cut back to the room as Chise grits her teeth. Chise: I’ve never once been fortunate! The camera lingers on Chise for a moment. Elias walks up to her and stands by her side. Elias: Then let’s make sure there’s good fortune in your future. Elias thrusts his cane into the ground. The space around them fades to black as a bright blue light emanates from the floor beneath them. Elias: Ring of Holly… Dark, thorny vines grow from the depths of the black, whipping around the characters as their robes flow in an invisible breeze. Chise is amazed while Elias is stoic and silent. A bright light flashes, and they find themselves in an English hillside. A secluded cottage sits nearby, adorned with flowers around its exterior. The sky is blue, and the grass is green. Elias explains that they are now near the city of London, and that this cottage is Chise’s new home. But before they go inside, Elias notices that Chise is still wearing the chain locked onto her by the auctioneers. He taps the device with his cane, and all of her chains—the collar and the handcuffs—combust into bright dust, releasing Chise from her bondage. We cut to Chise submerged in a bathtub inside of the house (framed non-sensually, mind you). She quietly remarks to herself that it’s been a long time since she’s last had a bath, and that she’d never thought she’d be able to have one again. As she takes this bath, small female bird-like faeries (known as ariels) fly through an opening in a window near the ceiling; they introduce themselves to Chise and make remarks about Elias before flying away. (The lead one—I’ll address her as the Lead Ariel from here on out—is voiced by Natalie Dormer.) We cut to Chise and Elias in the living room; a servant with white hair and an outdatedly dainty outfit, Silver (Mia Goth), serves them food and drink. Elias: Have something to eat and drink so you can relax. Elias tells Chise that he was “very lucky” today; “Sleigh Beggies” such as Chise are very rare in the world. He tells her that a “Sleigh Beggy” is a “queen bee” individual that attracts magical creatures such as fairies and spirits. These creatures bring fortune and misfortune onto an individual whether the individual can see them or not. It is very rare for a Sleigh Beggy to be able to see these creatures, as Chise can. He tells her that he is a mage, and that, through apprenticeship, he is going to teach Chise to be a mage herself. A birdcage on the table opens, and a small wisp comes out of it; it flies around the room before it changes form and perches on Elias’ hand as a blazing phoenix—this is but one example of what a mage can achieve. Chise asks if she has any right to refuse he apprenticeship. Elias does tell her that she can reconsider at any time; he pats her on the head and tells her that, now, she is like family to him. He places a stone necklace around her neck and ties it together for her—this “adder stone” is that of a circular emerald with a large hole in the middle. It is meant to protect her. The sun sets over the hill. Chise is sleeping in her room when the Lead Ariel flies through the room and attempts, with her words, to lure her into the woods to see something. Chise sneaks out of the cottage and follows the ariel towards the woods; we see a shot of Elias, who is watching from inside the house. Elias: Hmm… Well… I suppose this will make for a good learning experience. We cut to Chise and the Lead Ariel as they walk through the dark woods. They come across a glowing stone in the middle of the woods—the Lead Ariel tells Chise that this is a portal to the world of the faeries, and she invites Chise to join them in their world. Chise steps toward the portal, reaching for it with her left arm as a sinister red glare emanates from the eyes of the ariels, but she stops herself by digging her nails into the arm—so hard as to draw blood. She tells the Lead Ariel that she’ll stay with Elias—while she doesn’t have a family, Elias has treated her like family, even if she’s lived with him for a short time thus far. Elias appears, and the ariels shudder. He reveals that the stone on Chise’s necklace had been a tracking device the whole time. Elias tells the ariels that he’ll have fed to the salamanders the next time they try to lure Chise away. They ariels fly off, their plan having been foiled. Elias gently pats Chise on the head. Elias: Many of the ariels make a habit of seducing us with sweet words. Be careful from now on. Chise: I’m… I’m sorry… Elias: No, I should have told you right away. Elias awkwardly hugs Chise by pulling her into his chest. Elias: It’s my duty to you, after all. You’re my apprentice. Depend on me. Suddenly, Elias sweeps Chise off of her feet. Chise: W-What are you doing?! Elias: It’s easy to get lost in the forest at night. Let’s go home like this. To our home. Elias carries Chise through the woods as they head back to the cottage. On the way, Elias lets the connotation ‘future wife’ slip out during dialogue. Chise asks him about this, and Elias stops under a ray of moonlight. Elias: Oh, have I not told you yet? I bought you to be my apprentice, of course. But I also hope to make you my bride. They stare into each other’s eyes. The forest stands still as Chise takes in this news. **** We cut to Chise alone in her bed, clutching her pillow to her chest. Silver walks in with a folded sweater cradled in her arms; she looks at Chise and smiles. Silver guides Chise to the kitchen. Elias is at the table drinking coffee; he says good morning and tells Chise she’s been asleep for two days straight. Chise asks about the mysterious maid Silver; according to Elias, she’s a being known as a “silky”; she finds enjoyment cleaning, cooking, and doing chores such as sewing—she was the one who sowed Chise’s sweater—and she is apparently unable to leave the cottage at all. As Elias speaks, he finished writing a letter, and the letter transforms into a paper bird, flying out an open window towards its faraway recipient. He then turns to Chise that, on this day, they’ll be going on a “honeymoon”. Chise blushes, still very uneasy. We cut to London’s Paddington train station. Elias gets off the train in an inconspicuous human form (Ewen McGregor without mo-cap), and Chise takes in her surroundings as she follows. On a city sidewalk, Chise asks Elias about the human form, and Elias replies that it’s a magical illusion used when he must go out in public settings such as this. They walk into what seems to be a bookstore—but Elias guides Chise further into the bookstore, where a secret room exists. Elias introduces Chise to a tomboyish woman in a tank top, beige shorts, leather arm braces, and braided hair—she is named Angelica Varley (Keira Knightley). Angelica: This must be your new apprentice… Angelica comically chews Elias out for having the nerve to buy an apprentice when he could’ve found one through other means, and she shoos him out of the work room so that she can teach Chise about the use of magic. Angelica tinkers at a work table as she addresses Chise. Angelica tells Chise that she a mage artificier, and that she makes all sorts of magical items for the use of mages. She also explains the core difference between mages and sorcerers: mages are aided by spirits and fairies, while sorcerers seek magical abilities from darker forces. Before she allows Chise to practice using magic, she pulls back her left arm brace and shows her a collection of blue crystals that have formed on her skin—this scar had come from a silly mistake on Angelica’s part, and it is the kind of thing that happens if a mage isn’t careful with their use of magic. Angelica gives Chise a large crystal and tells her to practice her magic by imagining her favorite flower and forming an image of it from the crystal. Angelica: There’s air around you. You are its pressure. Try to picture that. Chise closes her eyes as Angelica backs away. The crystal begins to grow in the palms of her hands. The room darkens, and gusts of cold air blow against Chise’s body. We cut to Chise’s younger self as she stands amidst a field of daisies. She looks around the field, and she sees her mother (Claudia Kim) who is down at the flowers. Her mother swoops down and begins to pick one of the flowers from the ground. Elias: Chise! Snap-cut back to the room as Elias covers Chise’s eyes with his gloved hand—he is back in his monstrous form. Chise breathes in and out and Elias lets go of her. She looks down at the floor beneath her feet and sees that the crystal had spilled onto the ground, forming into a jagged, crystalized version of a portion of the entire field that was in her mind. Angelica glares at Elias with her arms crossed. She scolds him for failing to tell her about the immense amount of power within Chise—let alone the fact that Chise was a Sleigh Beggy. Chise apologizes to Angelica for making a mess and causing trouble. Angelica forgives her, and she comically blames Elias for being a ‘shithead’ and acting irresponsibly. As Chise walks out of the room, Angelica turns to Elias and tells him that she is going to charge him extra for his business. Chise sits in the store’s waiting room, reading a book about magic. Elias tells her that these books were what they came to Angelica’s shop for—they’ll let her in on many of the things she needs to know as a mage. Cut to a montage of shots as they travel by train out of London and into the English countryside. On the train, Elias asks Chise what she had seen when she was trying to form the crystal. Chise answers truthfully, about the flowers, and about her mother. Elias very coldly asks about her parents, but Chise laments that her having found a home is all that matters to her. They walk through the woods to get back to the cottage, and Chise, unprompted, tells Elias more about her parents. Chise: My father left the family when I was little. And my mother… she jumped off of the balcony. She turns her head to Elias with a broken look in her eyes. Chise: But that was a long time ago. She walks ahead of Elias as he takes in what she’s said. **** As they walk closer to the cottage, they begin to hear the voice of a man who is pleading to get into the cottage. Elias covers his head with the velvet veil, and they walk quickly to see what is up. We cut to a man in glasses, a priest’s outfit, and a cross around his neck (Eddie Redmayne) as he pleads to the housemaid Silver for her to tell him where Elias has gone. Silver is comically stubborn and slams the door in his face. Chise and Elias arrives, and the priest jogs up to them—he complains about how Elias’ housemaid despises him for who knows what reason. Elias and the priest talk to each other as if they’ve known each other for a long time. Finally, he notices Chise. Simon: You must be the new apprentice I’ve heard about. I’m Simon Kalm. Pleasure to meet you! We cut to the characters as they’re sitting in the living room. Simon and Elias have a discussion about the Simon’s position as the priest of the nearby village while Silver comically guards Chise from Simon—Silver really despises Simon, for who knows what reason. Simon takes three envelopes out from his pocket and places them neatly on the table—these are jobs that only a mage like Elias can handle, and these are given as a penalty for participating in a black market auction. Elias: I don’t think of myself as being managed by the church. Simon: I know. I’d rather not bother with this either. We don’t want to mess with you mages who have already lived longer than we know. Elias: How many centuries is it going to take before your superiors rethink their ways? Simon: (sighs) If only God would write us a letter or two. Chise asks Simon if this penalty is her fault; Simon tells her that it isn’t her fault—rather, it’s Elias’ way of obtaining her that is a problem with him and his church. We cut to outside the cottage as Elias hands Simon his regular medicine; Simon thanks Elias, and he walks off. Chise: I never would’ve imagined a priest thinking highly of you. Does he? Elias: Britain is a land of ancient magic. Mages are an important part of life here. Elias leaves the velvet veil over his head and ushers Chise into the house, telling her that it’s time for them to go on their ‘honeymoon’. Chise: …You weren’t kidding about that, were you… **** We cut to the grassy hills of Iceland—it pays for Elias to be able to teleport anywhere with his magic. They traverse the terrain as Chise takes in the sights. Elias: Here, in Iceland, is the Dragon’s Nest. They’re on the verge of extinction, just like us mages. The handful of surviving breeds have been brought up here to be taken care of. It’s remote and scarcely inhabited, which makes it a perfect hiding spot. Suddenly, a large silver dragon swoops into frame from below the edge of a cliff. It stares down menacingly at Chise before grabbing her with its mouth and flying off. Chise reaches out for Elias, and Elias reaches out for her, but they fail to reach each other. A white-hooded figure with long blond hair, who is riding the silver dragon, grins mischievously at the mage. Elias’ velvet veil lifts up in the breeze, and we see his red pupil glaring back in anger. And the dragon flies off, having captured the girl. In the sky, Chise looks up at the man riding the dragon. This man is Lindenbaum, or Lindel for short (Jamie Campbell Bower). Lindel: His half-baked talent makes him cocky. He hasn’t changed much. Lindel tells Chise to look at what’s up ahead. She sees a deep, vast valley, one full of lush vegetation—as well as many different species of dragons. The dragon lands in the valley, close to the glistening lake in its middle—three young dragon hatchlings notice and run close as Lindel dismounts. Comically, the silver dragon throws Chise into the lake by accident as it lets her go. Lindel cringes, and shows great concern for her. In the water, we see Chise as she sinks down to the bottom with a blank expression. From her submerged POV, we watch as the image of the sun fades to a match cut of a window—the drab light of an overcast day emanates from this window, and everything surrounding this window is black. “Chise… Chise!” Snap cut above the surface as Chise breaks above it, gasping for air. With newfound strength, she swims across the lake and pulls herself up on a collection of rocks. She collects herself before looking up in awe at a giant moss-covered dragon. The dragon is that of a four-eyed triceratops with a rhino’s horn and dragon wings—that is the best way I can describe it. This is dragon is voiced by Jeremy Irons. ???: You smell like a mage… A sapling, to be precise… Lindel approaches Chise skiddishly. Lindel: Welcome, Daughter of Thorn. I must say, I do apologize for having you thrown in the lake. Chise: …Daughter of Thorn? Do you know I’m an apprentice? Lindel: The ariels make it so that rumors are carried by the wind. Lindel: (addressing someone hidden) You arrived quickly this time around. When are you going to stop hiding in your apprentice’s shadows, Thorn? Or rather, Ainsworth? Chise looks down at her feet, which are still submerged under the water; a dark circle of shadow swims around her leg, and the shadow rises up from the water and takes the shape of Elias, who lays his hand on Chise’s shoulder. He spends a good deal of time insulting Lindel for the mischievous behavior he’s displayed just now. Lindel: You don’t want your apprentice to freeze to death. Elias looks down at Chise, who is shivering after having fallen in the Icelandic lake. Despite Chise telling him she’s fine, Elias picks her up and casts a spell; small fire ariels buzz around Chise; they fly around Chise at such speed that their flames look like they’re wrapping around her body. When the magic dissipates, Chise notices that both her and her clothes are completely dry. As Elias sets Chise down on the grassy plain, Lindel laughs to himself. Elias: What are you grinning at? Lindel: At this little brat acting like he’s all grown up. Elias: Shut it. Elias tells Chise that the man is Lindel—a mage who is the caretaker of the Dragon’s Nest. His duty is to keep the land of dragons hidden from ordinary humans. Despite his appearance, he’s even older than Elias himself. The three young dragon hatchlings run up to Chise, pleading with her to play with them. They are excited to see a new face in the valley. As this happens, Elias and Lindel take to one another. Elias: Has there been any trouble lately? Lindel: (sighs) They’re making a fuss again, aren’t they? Food has been scarce. A number of dragons have been travelling far… As they decide to move the conversation to a more secluded part of the valley, Lindel turns to Chise and asks her to spend some time with the hatchlings for a bit. Chise looks down at the eager hatchlings and asks what they might want to do. Comically, one of the hatchlings, one that is the same breed as the silver dragon that captured Chise, suggests that they could jump off the edge of the cliff and dive into the lake. Hatchling: Humans can fly these days, right? We see a short montage of Chise playing with these dragons before they’re quickly tired out. As they stop to rest, Chise wanders to the moss-covered dragon who is lying down in the field. The hatchlings walk close and introduce this dragon as “Uncle Nevin”. They tell Chise that his time is almost up—he is going to turn into a tree very soon. Alarmed, Chise looks around at the valley; she notices that many of the hills in the valley are conspicuously shaped similarly to the type of dragon that Nevin is. Nevin: We don’t fear death the way humans do. We live our lives to the fullest, so that we’re never left with any regrets. Chise walks next to Nevin’s head. The dragon talks about the nature and the circle of life, and his contentment with the life that he’s lived. Chise begins to fall to her knees and begins to cry; we see a flashback with rapid-fire cuts of Chise’s past life—this includes the bullying she endured and Chise’s mother walking out and falling from the same window we had seen earlier. The last set of shots in this flashback shows Chise on a rooftop as she walks up to a gate and considers falling from the height of a building as her mother did. Cut to Nevin’s wide dragon eye. Nevin: The living shouldn’t envy the dead. Chise’s eyes snap open in shock. Nevin: You cannot fly, so it’s fortunate that you didn’t. He wouldn’t have known who to take as his apprentice if he hadn’t met you. Chise: Were you going through my memories? Nevin: That was a disrespectful thing to do to a human. I’m sorry. Chise bows her head in sadness. Nevin offers to show her the flight of dragons, so that she can see what that looks like firsthand. Nevin: I don’t have the strength to fly anymore. But I can show you the sky that I see in my mind. Chise accepts; she lays a hand on Nevin’s head and closes her eyes, and she awakens within a vision of the Iceland during sunset. She floats next to Nevin as they soar through the orange sky together. Outside of the vision, Lindel and Elias consider what Nevin is showing Elias with each other. Lindel: It’s the same for dragons as it is for magic, isn’t it? We’re being pushed aside by the changing times and the growing number of humans. Elias: If Chise becomes a mage, she may very well be of the last generation. Lindel: Does that bother you? Elias doesn’t respond. Lindel observes how Nevin is having his final dream, along with Chise and talks about how much Chise is helping Nevin at the moment. But he also brings up how a Sleigh Beggy’s power can hurt its wielder. Elias: She doesn’t know how to hold back yet. Lindel: Isn’t it your job to teach her? Elias steps forward. Lindel: She won’t last three years unless you stop her. Elias: I know. Lindel: Don’t let her out of your sight. There are countless people who want a Sleigh Beggy. The rumors these days aren’t encouraging. Elias: She wasn’t easy to obtain. I won’t let her go that easily. We cut back into the vision. Chise looks up, and a plethora of dragons are flying together in the sky. Nevin: Your name has the character for “bird” within it. You must fly beneath this sky, in order to live. As she looks back up at the pack of dragons above, her body dissolves into dragon’s scales that float away in the wind. Cut back into the real world; Nevin’s skin is cracking; stems and branches grow rapidly from Nevin’s back. Nevin: Thank you, Chise. I am forever grateful that you were with me in my final moment. Chise: (tearfully) But I didn’t do anything! Nevin: …A little while ago, Lindel planted a seed inside my body. It’ll produce beautiful white flowers, I’m told. The tree completely covers Nevin’s body as the body itself begins to give itself to the land. Nevin: You’re a mage, are you not? You’ll need a wand, someday. Make one out of my branches. Good night, little mage… Chise stares wide-eyed at the massive tree in front of her. The hatchling that is the same breed as Nevin tells the other hatchlings that he hopes to be a big tree just like Nevin one day. Elias and Lindel walk up to where Chise is. Elias: Welcome back, Chise. Was it beautiful in Nevin’s sky? Chise: Yes… Elias: That was a rare thing you got to witness. Not many get to witness a dragon return to the earth. Lindenbaum… its beautiful white flowers are in bloom. Lindel: (in lamentation) This is a work of nature. The dragons are at peace with being seedbeds for other life. Elias explains to Chise that once it’s time for her to have a wand, she will come back for it. But until then, their business in the Dragon’s Nest is done. Chise rises to her feet to follow Elias… But she holds her hand on her forehead, and she passes out on the ground. The image fades to black as Elias calls out to her. **** We fade in as a faint meow bellows from with the soundscape. A bedridden woman (Anna Popplewell) sits up and pets a cat who is lying with her. Bedridden Woman: You have nine lives, don’t you? Since you have so many… Why not spare one for me? The cat turns to the camera. We cut to its eye as a man stumbles forward in its reflection. Dissolve to an extreme close up of Chise, who is sleeping on a seat in the booth of a grandiose passenger train. A veiled Elias pulls back a curtain. Elias: Morning, Chise. Chise wakes up. As Elias addresses Chise’s collapse, Chise looks outside of the window—she sees a vast lake, green vegetation, and power lines. Elias: I assume you remember the three missions given to us by the priest. We’re now headed to the first of them. Someone knocks on the door, and Elias tells them to come in. A monstrous, lizard-like engineer glares down at them, informs them that they have a visitor, and walks off.Elias explains to Chise t hat this train is not at all meant for humans. Chise looks down in the corridor and sees a black cat staring up at her. The cat greets her in English. He, too, understands that Chise is an apprentice. Elias: Word travels fast. Black Cat: Rumors spread a hundred miles a day in the cat world. The cat leaps into Chise’s lap, and Chise skiddishly pets it. That cat says that he is currently living its seventh life, and Chise stares up at Elias in confusion. Elias: Haven’t you heard? Cats have nine lives. The cat leaps out of Chise’s lap and begins to trot away, telling them that the King of Cats awaits in the village Ulthar. They arrive in a beautiful countryside and walk through Ulthar, a village with nice town homes aesthetically inspired by the cultures of its past. Chise and Elias see and interacts with many cats, and Chise realizes what a moniker such as the “Kingdom of Cats” entails for a place. As they walk through the village, they pass by a young woman in a red hoodie—her name is Alice (Jennette McCurdy), though our protagonists don’t know this yet. She exchanges a stoic glance with Chise before continuing on. When Chise asks where the King of Cats is, a voice calls to her from above. She looks up and finds a cat with long orange fur standing on the stone wall above her. This cat is further characterized by one blue eye, one hazel eye, and long lashes. The cat introduces herself as Molly (Gwendoline Christie). Molly: I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what I would have done if they’d sent a sorcerer instead. Molly tells them that she already knows they were sent to this village by the church, and she admits to them that something is wrong with their land. Molly: You’ll help us, right, mage? Elias: That’s why I’m here, although I wish I weren’t. A little girl bursts into the scene and excitedly greets Chise. Chise almost panics, afraid that the little girl will see Elias, but Elias has vanished. The little girl tells Molly that it’ll be time for dinner soon, and she runs off. Molly explains that the little girl is her owner, and that she is as proud of the little girl as she would be for her own daughter. Chise looks down at her feet and notices that Elias is swimming around her as a shadow. Elias: I hate kids. They don’t even have magic, but they have the strong ability to perceive the essence of a being. Sometimes, they can see through me. Comically, the cats claw at the shadow defensively, though Elias, of course, remains undamaged. The shadow slithers over the stone to investigate on its own—something doesn’t feel right to him. Chise follows Molly and a few other cats into the forest. Molly tells Chise the story of a man who enjoyed killing cats many years ago. It was the first King of Cats who ended the man’s killing by gathering together all of the remaining cats and attacking him in the same vein as a swarm of rats. To this day, the cats sacrifice their lives in order to hold off the corrupted spirit of this man, which resides on a bay in the middle of the wide lake. One of the cats leaps onto Chise’s shoulder and tells her to look at the bay for a moment. She sees a dark energy stewing on the land. She backs away in horror. Molly resolves to rid her land of the spirit, even if it kills her. Chise: For the girl’s sake? Molly: What kind of mother wouldn’t protect her child? It would be unthinkable, at least to me. Chise sees a quick flashback of her mother that appears and disappears from the screen. She stares down and thinks for a moment. Suddenly, Alice appears and snatches Chise’s arm. She flashes everyone with a blue substance attached to a necklace, and she flies in the air with Chise in her grasp. She flies over the massive lake—“Don’t take this personally.”—and pushes her into the water. As Chise sinks lower and lower, a mysterious hand reaches for her. The image of the water dissolves into an image of the sky. We to the inside of the cottage with the bedridden woman. A man (Matthew Lewis) walks into the room—“Mina,” he says to her. The woman looks up—“Matthew,” she says to him. Matthew brings her yellow flowers and checks her fever. He shoos away the cat that is lying with her on the bed. Matthew: There’s a wandering sorcerer in town. I’ll ask if they have any good medicine. They embrace each other, and Matthew walks off as Mina looks at the flowers. The cat comes back to her, and she pets it. Snap-cut back to the water. Chise floats down in the water as Mina’s voice discusses the events that Chise has just seen in her head—Chise turns around and sees Mina, who tells her that she herself is the core of the corruption. Mina: This man is affixed to me. He won’t let go. It’s my fault that he’s become such an abomination. Black goo—the manifestation of the corrupted spirit—simmers around them. Mina gently taps the black goo, and the black goo swims in rage, instinctively coming between the two women. The goo brushes past her almost lovingly. Mina: This man. Matthew. My husband. Cut to Chise’s face as Mina lifts it up with her hands. Mina: For his sake, and mine… Mina looks sternly into Chise’s eyes, and she whispers something into Chise’s eyes—and the pupils shrink in horror. “CHISE!” Cut to Chise coughing out water on the edge of the lake, her body held up by a concerned, unveiled Elias. Elias: I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. A bit of time passes as the film skips ahead of Chise’s recovery, as well as the explanation of what just happened to her. Elias considers the information about the hoodie girl and states that someone is trying to get in their way. Elias helps Chise up, and he gives her the task of cleansing the spirit of the bay. Elias: You haven’t had a chance to practice magic properly yet. But I believe you can do it. Chise: (swallowing her fear) If you think I can… I’ll do it. Elias: (to Molly) You heard her, King of Cats. Molly: Understood. I’ll clear the place of as many people as I can. Elias: At night, then, when there aren’t any people. We cut to Alice as she hides behind a faraway tree, listening in. Renfred (Aidan Turner), a figure in a trench coat with black hair and a scar across his left eye and cheek, approaches her. Renfred: When are they doing it? Alice: At night. Renfred: Good. That’s when we’ll stop them. **** Night falls. Elias gives Chise the supplies she’ll need for the task. Elias: This is a mantle purified with snowmelt. We use frankincense in the censer. Let’s use a branch of gorse in place of a wand. You would normally need your own chant and wand. But we’ll have to make do. (Chise is basically wearing a fancy white hood jacket, and bracelets around her arms and ankles.) The airless that interacted with Chise in the beginning of the film are here to help, as well—though, as the Lead Ariel says, they’re doing this for the village, not Elias. Chise: Why is it me and not you? Elias: I hate to admit it, but I’m not good at this kind of magic. My essence is shadow after all. I’m not compatible. The submerged image of Mina flashes on and off the screen. Chise gasps, and Elias lifts her chin up. Elias: It’s all right, Chise. All you have to do is picture it in your mind. Just wish for it to disappear, like a spring wind, blowing away the cold winter. The ariels will guide you from there. Chise: Okay. Elias: Chise. Love the world. The world you lived in may not have been your ally. But it wasn’t your enemy, either. Your key is already in the silver lock. All that’s left to do is open it. The wind blows. Leaves scatter in the breeze. The hanging censer gently clangs. Chise’s hair is brushed back. Elias pulls the white hood over Chise’s head. Elias: Then again, that’s just something someone told me. Chise looks up at Elias with innocent eyes. Elias: Do you love this place, Elias? Elias takes a very long time to respond. Elias: Sure. We see a shot of them standing on the edge of the lake. Cut to Chise taking her first step onto the water. We cut to a dutch angle shot—her lantern casts a serious mood on her face; it dawns on her that she is walking on water. She steps across the lake as the Lead Ariel flies around her, spreading pixie dust which glistens against the backdrop of the night. We cut to Chise’s face, which has never been more serious than it is now. Mina’s words enter the soundscape: “For his sake, and for mine, kill us.” She reaches the bay and looks up at the spirit, which boils in a slimy rage. The Lead Ariel tells her to stay calm. Chise swallows, and she brandishes the branch of gorse. She gears up for her job, and she takes a step… But the hoodie girl comes out of nowhere and holds a knife to her throat. We hear pained grunts—the Lead Ariel is held by the gloved hand of the man in the trench coat. Renfred: Sorry. We have a use for that thing. We can’t let you get rid of it. The cats on the faraway shore line hiss in anger. Elias: No wonder I smelled something familiar. Renfred. Renfred turns toward Elias, who is standing on the faraway shoreline. Renfred: It looks like you take good care of her. Is it because she’s your precious test subject, Pilum Murialis? Chise turns to Elias for answers. Elias’ reaction shot shows him staring in the direction of the camera, his horned skull head perfectly symmetrical to the screen. The Lead Ariel pleads for Chise not to listen to Renfred, who squeezes it tighter. He remarks that his glove is made of iron fibers—not good for ariels. Renfred reveals: he’s not a mage. He’s a sorcerer. Elias and Renfrend accuse each other of giving false information. Elias: We detest lies. Renfred: Indeed. All you do is conceal the truth. That’s how you put this unfortunate child on a leash, to try to use her to satisfy your own curiosity. Why don’t you tell her of the fate that awaits a Sleigh Beggy? Of the death that will soon come to her? Chise: Death? My death? Alice: Sleigh Beggies are treasures, in that you create an unending supply of magic, but your bodies are very fragile. Just being alive, you relentlessly absorb and generate magic. Eventually, your body will buckle. Renfred attempts to convince Chise that Elias is only toying with her to satiate his own curiosity. The Lead Ariel continues to squirm in his grip as Renfred approaches Chise. Renfred: Chise, he has no feelings. You can’t expect human kindness from a sham of a human. He bought you with money and tied you down with that thing. (He points to Chise’s stone necklace.) He has a tracking spell on it. …You must have suffered… Chise grits her teeth. The stone of the necklace lifts in the air magically and bursts into pieces. Chise shoves Alice off of her—the knife grazing Chise’s neck—and she pushes Renfred, so that the Lead Ariel is released from his grasp. The ariel falls to the ground, and Chise hurries to help. The cats rush to Chise’s side, and Molly hisses to the sorcerers that this is territory of the cats. Renfred turns to Chise in confusion. Renfred: Why? Don’t you want to be set free? Chise: (standing up) From what? If you mean Elias, you probably wouldn’t understand. Chise releases the Lead Ariel and turns to Renfred. Chise: Even if he was lying, he was the only one to ever call me family. I don’t care whether you were lying or telling the truth. He was the first person to value me. So until Elias lets go of my hand, I belong to him. The ground around her bell-braced ankle emanate a bright blue light. Thorn-covered vines wrap around her vicinity at swift speed. Renfred and Alice are forced to back away as the vines sprout towards them with defensive intent. Alice gets pricked on the cheek by as she retreats. A gloved hand brushes the hair of a wide-eyed Chise—Elias looms behind her, triumphantly, and faces the opponents. Elias: Have you forgotten? I am shadow. I lurk in the shadow of thorns. I am what you call the Pilum Murialis. Elias raises his cane and slams it into the ground. The vines part away like the red sea, disappearing into the night. Elias sees the wound on Chise’s neck. Calling her reckless, he comically leans in and licks the wound with his tongue. The Lead Ariel scolds him for being late. They turn to the ragin sludge as it starts to grow more restless. Elias tells Chise he’ll take care of the sorcerers while she cleanses the spirit. Molly leaps into Chise’s arms and insists on going with her—“It’s the final duty of the King to see that the corruption is gone.” Chise steps toward the spirit as Elias watches from behind. Shes places her hand onto the sludge, and is swallowed by it. **** She snaps open her eyes, finding herself on the floor of a busy nighttime pub. She stands up and notices that her body is translucent The Lead Ariel surmises that they are inside of the corruption’s memories. Chise watches as Matthew enters through the creaky wooden door. He treads through the tavern and approaches a mysterious cloaked young boy with long white hair (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Matthew asks if this young boy is the wandering sorcerer. And of course, this young boy, with pure blue eyes and an unassuming smile, is the sorcerer. The Sorcerer: Are you surprised that I’m so small? The man tells the sorcerer that his wife is bedridden, and that he’s searching for treatment. The boy asks to see the wife in person. The man accepts and begins to guide the sorcerer to his home. Chise watches as a sinister smile grows on the boy’s face. We cut abruptly to Mina’s room. The boy checks her as a doctor would and tells her to get some rest. The man follows the sorcerer outside of his home; Mina searches for her cat, which stares, unblinkingly, at the closed door. We cut outside the home under the cover of the moonlight. The Sorcerer: I don’t think she’ll get any better than she is. She won’t last more than a few years. She was born that way. Can’t be helped. Desperation grows on Matthew’s face. He storms in front of the sorcerer, grabs his cloak, and pleads to the sorcerer that he’ll do anything to make her better. The Sorcerer: Does your wife like cats? The man looks up in bewilderment. The Sorcerer: Does she? That’s perfect then! Have you heard that cats have nine lives? We abruptly cut to the village at daytime—some time has passed. Mina is walking outside as other village women talk about how there’s been a lot of rats lately, and that the cats “haven’t been doing their job”. One of these women tells Mina she saw Matthew go into the forest with an ax. Mina stares towards the path that leads through the woods. The image dissolves into a series of shots which track the overhead foliage (as if the trees in The Revenant had more leaves). As Mona progresses through the woods, Chise, who’s been following all this time, stops and stares with a disgusted look on her face. Lead Ariel: Are you okay? You look pale. Mina continues to walk through the woods. The image dissolves to the shed deep within the woods. Its door is red. Mina: Has there always been a shed here? Chise tries to stop her from going into the shed, but when she tries to grab Mina’s hand, her own translucent hand passes right through it. Mina walks up to the shed and opens the door. Inside the dark room, there are small cages stacked on top of each other; cats swipe their claws past the cage bars in rage and fear. Frenzied meows overwhelm the soundscape. Matthew stands at the end of the room, at a small table, his back turned to the door. Matthew raises a butcher knife into the air, and he swings down onto a creature that is just offscreen, and the blood of the creature splatters all over the place. Mina stares aghast. Matthew turns to her a smiles with a crazed look in his eyes; he holds up a vial of red liquid and tells Mina he’s just finished making her medicine. Matthew explains everything, including the fact that the sorcerer told him to use the cats as ingredients for a potion. Mina runs to Matthew a collapses into his chest. Mina: What happened to you? How could you do such a terrible thing?! You aren’t the kind of person who could do this! Matthew: I can. Because… It’s for your sake. Mina suddenly realizes that she is unable to move. The young corcerer stands in front of the open door, fully cloaked. The Sorcerer: You don’t have to be scared. Drink that, and you’ll go from being weak to able-bodied. You might even be able to live forever. The sorcerer forces open Mina’s mouth and pours the medicine down her throat. The very moment she swallows it, she collapses to the ground and writhes in agony. Matthew: Mina, it’s okay. He says it only hurts in the beginning. Hang in there, Mina. You’ll be well after this. Matthew kneels down and meets Mina at her level. Tears stream down Mina’s face as she gazes into Matthew’s eyes. Her body collapses into a pool of black sludge. The sludge stains Matthew’s hands as it spreads across the stone floor. Matthew stares down in horror. Not a single recognizable feature can be seen within the sludge. The Sorcerer: Oh dear. It failed. She lost her form. I suppose beasts are just beasts after all. They’re easier to process than humans but I guess their strong instincts means they have strong cures, too. Looks like I’ll have to go back to figuring out how to condense souls. Thanks for the valuable research data, mister. Matthew stares down at his stained hands and falls into a mental breakdown as the sorcerer departs. Matthew decides that he needs to kill more cats; he stumbles outside and finds Tim, Mina’s cat, staring up at him. Matthew attacks it with his axe, but the cat is quicker; it leaps off the ground and sinks his claws into his throat. Matthew falls to the ground, and the cat stands on his chest and speaks to him. Tim: You’re not human anymore. You’re a demon. You were deceived by a demon into becoming a pitiful demon yourself. Cut to a top-down image of all of the cats surrounding Matthew, who is struggling to breathe. Tim: I can’t let you live, and I can’t let you die in peace. I was chosen to be king. I also do this for those who died. The footage dissolves multiple times, meandering from the sky, to the water as Matthew’s dead body falls into the lake, to the Matthew body being overcome by the black sludge, to Chise as she stares down, stone-faced, within a black void—tears are falling from her eyes like waterfalls. Mina stands behind her, wearing the villagers’ outfit she had worn on her last day. She apologizes for making Chise see all of that, and she reveals that Chise’s task is for her erase both of them. Mina: Make us not exist. The souls of all living things are part of a cycle. But Matthew and I have forgotten how to return. As have the cats. Chise refuses to this—Matthew and Mina were only deceived—they don’t deserve to be erased. Mina: You must. You have to. All that waits for us if we lose our chance now is an even more painful, endless void. You’re the only one who can help us right now. Molly offers to guide them to where they belong. She reveals that this is her ninth life, and that she has nothing to lose. Chise stammers that Molly’s owner will be sad, but Molly nonetheless insists. Molly: The last king, and the one before, all sacrificed their souls to hold off the corruption. Compared to that, being a guide isn’t difficult. I take solace in the good memories I’ve had with my owner. That’s all I need. Molly and Mina start to walk off into the black void. Chise begins to cry. Then an image of flowers flashes onscreen, and she gets an idea. She tells the Lead Ariel to use her wind powers, and the Lead Ariel asserts her admiration for the cleverness of humans. The Lead Ariel begins to fly around the black void, pixie dust trailing from behind. Chise takes Mina by the hand and insists that no one will be erased. Chise guides Mina with her warm words, telling her to picture, in her mind, the way dandelions are carried by the wind. A strange breeze enters the scene and the Lead Ariel continues to fly. We abruptly cut to a field of blue flowers. Mina’s hair a dress float gently in the breeze. Mina looks around with a smile and sees Matthew standing in the distance. Matthew sees her, and runs to her, and takes her in his arms. Chise watches in the distance as she holds Molly safely in her arms, and Mina thanks her as their two bodies transform into blue flower petals that float on and on in the gentle breeze. We cut back to the scene at the bay, where the black goo is still bubbling. Renfred: How irresponsible. You don’t care if she dies or succeeds? Elias: She won’t die, and I don’t intend to let her. She was expensive, after all. Renfred: You can neither become human, nor return to being a fairy, you filthy creature. Do you really think you’ll be forgiven for buying a human? Elias: It seems you’re still as much of a human supremacist as ever Renfred. Why do you know about Chise? You’ve never liked auctions, have you? That event is strictly private. What happens there is to be kept secret. Besides, what use do you have for this mass of human rage and regret? Alice trembles, and Elias glares at her. Elias: I see. Elias takes a step towards Renfred, and Alice jumps in-between them to protect Renfred. Elias looks down and notices (as eagle-eyed viewers may have already noticed) that one of the sleeves of Renfred’s trenchcoat is swaying in the breeze without any structure within. Elias: Who took that arm of yours? Before Renfred answers, the black goo dissolves into glowing blue flower petals that float away in the air. Chise emerges from the disappearing mass, holding Molly to her chest. Elias compliments her for her work; he steps next Chise, and he admires the flower petals in the air. Chise releases Molly, and the other cats run to Molly, to see that she is okay. Elias: Flowers, huh? That was clever. Lead Ariel: Chise isn’t all about destruction the way you are. Renfred sighs in relief. He takes Alice and leaves without telling Elias anything else about his arm or why he was there in the first place. Renfred: I don’t care how you use the girl. Be careful. There are countless people interested in her. The disappear in a flash of bright blue. Elias: (to Chise) Renfred is infamous for his distaste of mages. He still had both arms the last time I saw him. Something’s going on. (During the last two sentences of that dialogue, we see footage of Renfred and Alice walking through the woods—they meet with none other than the sorcerer who had deceived Mina and Molly.) Chise collapses in Elias’ arms. Elias surmises that her magical circuits have been exhausted, and he tells her that she can get some sleep. Elias carries Chise in his arms as he walks across the moonlit lake. Wearily, Chise asks Elias a question. Chise: Elias? When am I going to die? A long silence, that which is punctured by an establishing shot of the lake illuminated by the moonlight. Elias: You haven’t forgotten, huh? We cut to a shot of the three cats sitting near the water in peace, before cutting to a shot of the water—a reflection of the stars is seen in the water. Elias: In three years, maybe, if nothing’s done about it. I’ve thought of a way to prevent it. You don’t have to worry. Chise: Why didn’t you tell me? Elias: Because there was no reason to. Your death isn’t a part of my plans. Chise: So your experiment is to see if you can keep me from dying? Elias: Sure. To see what will happen if I have a Sleigh Beggy around me, a reservoir of limitless magic. Chise: But you don’t need more magic, do you? Elias stops and standing in the middle of the lake. Elias: I’m half-baked—neither human, nor fairy, nor spirit. I’ve lived for a long time, and seen many humans, but I still don’t quite understand any of them, including you. I can understand your thoughts, but I can’t empathize. I can understand the reasons behind your tears, anger, and laughter, but I can’t make them my own. I bought you because it was advantageous of me… That’s all. Because you had nothing, and you couldn’t depart from the non-human that is me. I let you hear the words that you wanted to hear, and gave you shelter, food, knowledge, and attention. I thought you might learn something if I raised one of you myself. I did plan on telling you after you’d become completely attached to me. Though I had to do it earlier, thanks to Renfred. Chise reaches her hand up to his head. Elias: I know. If you don’t need this memory, I can destroy it for you. Chise’s hand reaches the muzzle of the skull. She runs her fingers across the ragged teeth, smiling calmly as Elias stares down in surprise. Chise: There’s no need to be scared. I’ll stay by your side. Chise drifts to sleep. Her body falls back, and Elias swiftly catches her, bringing her close to his chest. The cats jest with each other about the love that is blooming, while Elias mumbles to himself that this is the first time Chise has ever touched him. Molly tells Elias that she’s happy he’s found what he’s searched for. Elias: …Shall we return to our home, Chise? **** We cut back to the inside of Elias’ cottage. Silver waits at the front door with a basket; Elias takes the basket, stares down at the servant, and departs from the house. He walks through the hills and through the forest until he comes across a massive tree stump. Chise sleeps in a massive white silk hammock, accompanied by magical creatures of a docile nature. The river flows gently as Elias sits close to the hammock, waiting patiently. Suddenly, the birds fly away, and a bright light shines in the middle of the woods. A celtic forest goddess by the name of Titania (Catriona Balfe) approaches them on a white horse. She is accompanied by three black wolves and a midget creature with a rock helmet named Spriggan (Domhnall Gleeson). Titania’s playful husband Oberon (Keir Gilchrist)—a forest god with untamed green hair and antlers, awakens Chise with his forest magic. As the forest people depart, the servant Spriggan turns to Chise and warns her never to follow them into their land. We cut to the passageway between the village and the cottage as the sun begins to set and the sky adopts a warm shade of orange. Chise stands by Elias’ side as he gives Simon is dosage of medicine; Simon celebrates that Chise is awake after two weeks, before he checks his watch and runs off. Elias: Simon hasn’t changed at all in ten years. Chise: …I wish you’d bought me ten years ago. Elias: Even though we’re spending far more than ten years going forward? Chise: …I hope your experiment succeeds. Elias sweeps Chise off of her feet and stares into her eyes with conviction. Elias: It will. Chise wraps her arm around Elias’ neck, and the two share a moment of embrace. Chise: (chuckling) Will it? Elias: We’ll make it. Now, Silver is waiting on us. Let’s go home. The two of them begin the short journey back to the cottage as the screen fades to black. The message CHISE AND ELIAS WILL RETURN is displayed before the credits. The original song “Home” by Aurora plays over the credits. Edited September 22, 2023 by SLAM! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Blue and Gold: Black 2 The Future Studio: Endless EntertainmentDC EntertainmentTencent Pictures Director: Peyton Reed Producer: Peyton ReedExecutive Producer: Xavier B. IrvingWriters: Chris McKenna and Erik SommersComposer: Mark Mothersbaugh Director of Photography: VFX: Industrial Light and Magic VFX Supervisors: Unknown for now Main Cast: (** indicates voice performance) Asa Butterfield as Michael Carter/Booster Gold Jake T Austin as Jaime Reyes/Blue BeetleMichelle Rodriguez as Black Beetle Jessica Barden as Young Elizabeth Carter Jimmy Tatro as Gregory Carter/Warhead Antonio Banderas as Chiller with Kevin Hart as Timekeeper Cierra Ramirez as Rita Gutierrez Ian McKellen as The Narrator ** Kevin Michael Richardson as Starro The Conqueror and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Carter Genre: Superhero/Comedy/Sci-fi/Adventure/RomanceRelease Date: May 27th, Y6 Theater Count: 4,295 (including 405 IMAX theaters)Format: 2D (2.39:1), 3D (2.39:1), Dolby Cinema (2.39:1) and IMAX 2D+3D (1.44:1)IMAX: Select sequences shot in 70mm IMAX (1.44:1). Footage cropped to 1.9:1 on digital IMAX screens.Budget: $155 millionMPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, thematic material, crude humor and a brief rude gestureRunning Time: 145 minutes (2 hours, 25 minutes) PLOT: WIP Spoiler We open with a montage of what happened in Blue and Gold ala the opening of 22 Jump Street as the narrator (Ian McKellen) says it’s been a year and our heroes are preparing for their most difficult trial yet… scoring dates for Prom but first here’s some exposition that will stop them. We see Black Beetle hiding in the sewers but suddenly a green light hits her. She turns into a bunch of particles and is whisked into space inside a spaceship. She is approached by a green insectoid like human. The alien introduces itself to her and explains that if she wants the Blue Beetle dead, he’d like to help gifting her a container but says he wants the Scarab back. The container opens and reveals a black and red Scarab. The alien says due to her history, he’s made altercations for her. Black Beetle smiles at the camera as once she fuses with her Scarab as she prepares to time travel. We then show Metropolis in utter destruction as Starro The Conqueror, a giant starfish is invading the city, spurting our parasitic starfishes that latch onto citizens faces, brainwashing them. Suddenly, heroes Blue Beetle, sporting a blue suit of scale like armor with blue bug like wings, a pair of antennae on his back come out, with a black face with piercing red eyes and Booster Gold, with a gold and blue jumpsuit with a flight ring, a force field belt, and energy blasting gauntlets arrive with a boombox. Blue Beetle warns Starro to seize his actions or he’ll be the next menu item at Red Lobster. Booster Gold says his villain trash talk is improving, which Blue Beetle thanks his friend for the compliment. Starro looks rather annoyed but before he can speak, Blue Beetle searches for their battle music, as he and Booster Gold bicker until they find the perfect song. https://youtu.be/QvK0IqalDX4 Everybody by Backstreet Boys blares as the opening credits roll while Blue Beetle and Booster Gold fight Starro. The teamwork of the duo has improved during the last movie as Booster Gold blasts the starfish off the brainwashed citizens without hurting them as Blue Beetle fight Starro and stopping him from spreading more parasites, while showing more control over the Scarab. The two also save each other multiple times and Blue Beetle takes a parasite for Booster Gold as the two are forced to fight each other but Booster Gold luckily gets the parasite off of his best friend. As the song ends, the two combine and fire a powerful blast at Starro’s eye, killing the villain as the two celebrate before getting covered in blue and purple goo. Blue Beetle quickly notices they’re late as he and Booster Gold quickly race to Metropolis High as they do a Ferris Bueller Day Off style run, as they land in a pool to clean of the goo, as they sneak into the men’s locker room at school and undress (Jaime’s suit retracts into his back) and go back into their civilian alter egos: Jaime Reyes and Michael Carter. The two then make sure the boom box is okay as they head into the gymnasium as their fellow seniors are preparing decorations for Homecoming. The two are warmly greeted by their peers, with one joking they’re a few minutes earlier than usual but still late. Michael says they got caught in traffic as a classmate notices blue goo on their boom box which Jaime quickly wipes off saying that they stopped for food on the way as an excuse. The two are on ladders hanging up a banner, Michael express excitement over Prom, remembering his days in high school and all of the chicks there but before he can start making colorful innuendos Michael notices Jaime is staring off into space at his crush, the new girl as well as cheerleader and member of the chess club, Rita Guiterrez. Michael encourages Jaime to talk to her but he refuses as he doesn’t think he has what it takes. It is revealed that although the two are somewhat popular, Jaime has been viewed in some sorts of ways as Michael’s sidekick/shadow which Jaime is somewhat insecure about. Michael says he’s a great guy but he just needs confidence as Jaime retorts he has confidence but has other things to focus on. Michael “accidentally” knock over his ladder as Jaime falls down doing some oober gymnastics instead of using the Scarab to avoid suspicion which impress everyone especially Rita. Jaime chuckles as he quickly glares at Michael, calling him a dick. After a normal day at school, Jaime and Michael then head to Jaime’s house for a surprise birthday party for Jaime’s father, which thanks to some faulty fireworks as candles, causes the cake to explode all over the house... Edited June 4, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 10 minutes ago, Xillix said: 42 Leap Avenue - Comedy/Action - Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller You sly dog. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) THE NEON PSALMS Studio: New Journey Pictures Release Date: December 25th, Y6 Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama Director: Scott Derrickson Theatre Count: 2,913 Rating: PG-13 for Language, Suggestive Themes, and Thematic Elements Budget: $45 Million Format: 2D Dolby Runtime: 1 hr 38 m Original Score: Henry Jackman (Incorporates eccentric electronic flourishes in a similar way that Jackman used them in Pokemon Detective Pikachu.) Cast Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Josephine Graves) Winston Duke (Simon Graves) Caleb McLaughlin (Harris) Taliah Webster (Maya) Evan Peters (Eric Strauss) Matthias Schoenaerts (Pastor Barnabas) with Lizzy Caplan (Publishing Agent) and Jasper Pääkönen (Mauler) Notice on Costuming All performances are performed in real robot suits rather than motion capture, expect for one obvious example from a non-major role, which is shown in CGI. The standard model for the robot is definitely more robotic than it is human; if you’ve seen Love, Death, and Robots, the standard robot is like the tall bipedal silver one in the first episode—albeit looking much less like a punk. All of the main characters wear this standard model unless otherwise stated. Abstract: In a future where all of humanity has uploaded their consciousness into robot bodies, a university overpass collapses in the city of Neo Paradys; to cope with the event, religion professor Josephine Graves sets forth to write a book of poems inspired by the Davidic Psalms. Spoiler We begin with an opening credits sequence that displays modern-day footage of major advancements in the field of robotics. It is set to the song “Hello World”. The song’s final chord plays, and we fade into an establishing shot of the city of Neo Paradys. The camera as if it were looking down from a balcony; rows of sleek, silver skyscrapers decorate the borders of the screen, and Blade Runner-esque holographic advertisements litter the sides of the buildings. People of all walks of life are walking out and about on the street below; a robot businessman in a suit and hat trots down the sidewalk with a suitcase in his hand, and a robotic young couple laugh together as they walk down the other sidewalk. You might think that the sky is overcast and grey; quite the contrary—it’s strikingly blue, and completely cloudless. We cut to street level and pan from a flower vendor on a corner to a straight view of a road—and far away, above the road, rests a walkway where pedestrians and cross over the street. Suddenly, the walkway creaks, before collapsing onto the street below, crushing the futuristic cars underneath. One car that we see heading towards the wreckage puts on its breaks, stopping by the skin of its teeth. All of the pedestrians on the sidewalks peer towards the walkway, gasping in concern. Emergency vehicles drive to the rubble, and policemen and firemen hurriedly rush to the scene as a crowd begins to form. They try to take remove as much rubble as they can as part of their rescue effort. Police cars with specific university designs come to the scene as well. One of these robots in particular has modeled himself after the classic, blocky, stereotypical toy robots—the name of this robot is Simon Graves (Winston Duke). He runs as fast as he can to the scene and finds a female police officer. Simon: Can we help you guys? Officer: Yes. We need all the help we can get. They remove all the rubble they can. Simon looks down and sees the front of a red car that’s been crushed underneath the overpass; he takes off all the rocks he can—a process aided by the inherent strength and precise calculative mind of the robot body—and he sees a metallic body of a young man inside. The body is damaged beyond repair, but the man is still holding on to life. Simon: I found someone! Other first responders come to Simon’s aid as they pull the body out of the car. The paramedics come with a foldable table; they place it on the ground, and the first responders lay the body down. The paramedics agree that this body is damaged beyond repair and that the man isn’t going to last much longer. One of the paramedics hurriedly straps a transmission device onto the man’s head. We cut to the point-of-view of the man as the paramedic leans towards him and tells him that they’re going to transfer his consciousness into one of the temporary replacement bodies that is stored inside of the hospital. The man asks the paramedic if his family will be able to recognize him, and the paramedic assures them that they will. Simon holds the man’s hand and tells him that everything is going to be okay. The paramedic presses a button, and the consciousness leaves the body, and all of the body’s lights fade away. **** We cut to a vibrating communication signal below the hearing mechanism on the side of a violet robot’s head. We cut to the robot, Josephine Graves (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), as she turns to a class of students. Josephine: I… I’m getting an emergency call. The students whisper nervously amongst each other as Josephine holds her finger on the signal and turns toward the whiteboard. Josephine: This is Ms. Graves… Yes… Oh… Okay… Thank you… I will… Bye now… Josephine turns toward the class. Josephine: Um… The walkway… It’s just collapsed. This alarms the students. They talk amongst each other as Josephine stands in silence. We cut to Simon as he enters an apartment. Josephine is pacing around the living room, but she stops when she sees Simon. The two robots walk slowly towards each other, and they hold each other close. We cut to news footage from their holographic television as it displays an in-depth report on the collapse, including the cause of the collapse (something not initiated purposefully by any individual or organization, something caused by a fault in the structure), and the finalized tally of lives lost—ten total. Josephine and Simon sit on the couch, and we can see that chords coming from their arms are plugged into outlets in the wall—they are recharging. They talk to each other about what happened that day; Simon describes the harrowing events he saw in detail, while Josephine tells him about her class and how they reacted to the news. The bridge had belonged to the university, Josephine laments; virtually, they had just built it. She hopes out loud that, the next time they build a walkway, they build it as properly as they can. They both agree with each that they have to trust in God after an event such as this. Josephine is finished with her recharge much sooner than Simon (who had just gotten to the apartment). So Josephine goes into her work room and sits at her desk. She opens a notebook, grabs a pen, and rests her chin on her hand. Josephine: I have to respond. But how? The stares down at the notebook for a moment before turning on her holographic computer. She flips through the applications until she comes across an app that contains translations of the Bible. She hesitates before pressing it, and she finds herself flipping through the books before coming across the book of Psalms. She flips through all of the Psalms, and, suddenly, she gets an idea. She looks down at her paper and, at the top, she writes: The Neon Psalms Josephine sets down her pen. She stares at the words, and the words stare back. **** In the classroom, Josephine attempts to write on the whiteboard with an electronic writing device, but it fails to work. Frustrated, she puts it on a charger and grabs another one. She writes the question: “Why do bad things happen.” Once she’s done, she turns to the students. Josephine: Why do bad things happen? Throughout time, people of all cultures and all religions have attempted to answer this question. They’ve asked themselves this question after war, famine, plagues, death. Of course, we invented a way to upload the consciousness of a human into a robot body, for the very purpose of mitigating the power that these bad things can hold over us. And even now, we see that bad things can still happen to us. Our bodies can be destroyed before our minds can be sent to another body—once that happens, the mind is gone forever. And even in an idyllic city such as our own—Neo Paradys—villains in the undercurrents of society can capture you; they can transfer your consciousness to another body for their twisted purposes, or they can alter your memories, your personalities, your train of thought. Such is the most probable reason for the recent missing persons cases we see on the news. Of course, there are still bad things of a smaller scale that affect our lives even in this era—breakups and divorce, poverty and homelessness, being laid off from a job. Life not going the way you want it to. But none of this changes the fact that we still need an answer to our central question. Why do bad things happen? Furthermore, if there is a god, why would he allow these bad things to happen? A blue robot (Caleb McLaughlin) raises his hand. Josephine: Yes, Harris? Harris: Why even ask that question about God? Didn’t the First Transfer debunk the concept of the human soul? Josephine: Ah, yes. A very popular belief in this day and age. Is there a soul within our bodies if our bodies are no longer flesh and blood? There are no wrong answers to this question, as there are no wrong answers to our central question. Harris states that wrong answers do exist. A scarlet robot (Taliah Webster), who is sitting across from Harris, twitches her eye. Maya: How could you say that? Harris: Well, some answers are inherently flawed and foolish. Maya: That shouldn’t mean people don’t have the right to have their own answers. Harris: So if someone told you that you have a soul within your body, you’d be okay with that? Maya: I mean, I don’t believe it, but I’d be okay with that. Josephine: That’s enough, you two. This is an environment for exploration and open-mindedness, not for arguments. You wanna argue, get yourself two podiums and a stage. Otherwise, listen to the lecture and stay on topic. Alright? Now, where was I… Harris and Maya exchange looks as Josephine writes more words on the board. **** We cut to Josephine as she walks through the streets of Neo Paradys. She walks past robots of many types and sees many advertisements, vendors, and overall vibrance. A voice-over begins of her reciting a poem about contentment with one’s place within the span of time. We cut to Josephine reading the poem aloud to Simon in the apartment, just as she finishes the last line. Simon tells her, half-jokingly, that the poem sounds like a psalm, and Josephine tells him that that’s exactly the point. She’s writing these poems as a creative side project in order to address the role of biblical faith in their robotic era. Each ‘psalm’ is written in a way that expresses worship while simultaneously incorporating era-appropriate topics. Simon tells Josephine that it sounds like a good idea and that he supports it, but his response is notably reserved and unconfident. We cut to Josephine giving her students another lecture. This time, the lecture is a general introduction to the religion of Christianity (the topic chosen on the grounds that Judaism had been covered during the last session); the lecture contains information about the central figure (that being Jesus of Nazareth), the crucifixion and resurrection, core beliefs of the faith, and statistics regarding the amount of Christians in the world then and now. Josephine tells the students that the amount of Christians in the world has generally decreased despite the worldwide peace brought forth by the First Transfer and its consequences. One student raises their hand and asks if she thinks that is a good thing or a bad thing. Josephine dodges the question by suggesting that such a conclusion is up to the discretion of each and every individual. As the bell rings, she tells the students that they need to remember to answer their daily ‘quiz questions’. After class, Harris and Maya meet each other in the hallway. They officially apologize to each other for the way they acted to each other on the day after the bridge collapse. Harris invites Maya on a date, and she accepts. We cut to Josephine as she grades papers in her office. Another robot professor with a grey, skinny, ‘antique’ body (Evan Peters) walks into the room. Josephine: Dr. Eric Strauss. Still in the old model, I presume? Eric: They don’t call me a hipster for nothing, dear. Eric saunters into Josephine’s office and falls into the guest chair. He asks her how she’s been keeping, and she tells him she’s been doing alright. He asks her how she’s been handling the bridge collapse—since it’s happened, it’s cemented itself as a talking point among the people of Neo Paradys—and Josephine reveals that the bridge collapse spurred her idea to write the Neon Psalms. Eric stands up and saunters closer to Josephine. Eric: I bet you have a great way with words, Jo. Josephine glares at Eric. Eric: What? Normally, you’d be laughing at my compliments. Josephine: Eric. You’ll always be my friend. But you can’t be acting like that towards me. Eric: Aw, come on, now. You didn’t have any problem with it before. Josephine: Yeah. I didn’t. Then the collapse happened. Eric: (sarcastically) Don’t tell me you’re falling back in love with that security guard. Josephine: He’s my husband, Eric. And he’s my husband for a reason. I love him, and I need to be spending as much time with him as possible. So do yourself a favor and stop flirting with me. Eric: (sarcastically) Okay, Jo. Whatever you say. Josephine: You’re still a good friend in my eyes, just so you know. Eric: Sure, sure. Reassure the lover that he’s in the friend zone. Josephine laughs to herself and continues working as Eric walks out of the room. **** Josephine is walking across the university campus when he sees Simon in his security uniform (which really just consists of a hat and a badge) talking with a small orange hovercraft robot far off in the distance. Josephine does not call out to Simon; she very simply walks towards him at considerable speed with a happy look on her face. The hovercraft robot thanks Simon and glides away. Then, Simon turns to Josephine with a cheeky smile. Simon: Josephine. Pleasure to see you here! Josephine: As is you. They give each other a hug. Simon: Headed back to the apartment already? Josephine: Yes, I’m all finished with classes. Simon: I’m still on patrol for a while. But I’ll be there as soon as I can. Josephine: Glad to hear you’ll hurry there. Simon: Of course. You’d probably wanna read another poem to me. I wouldn’t ever wanna miss that. Josephine: Oh, you’re just saying that. Simon: No. Really. The conversation continues for a little while and ends when Simon asks if she’s still going to church on Sunday—to which she replies ‘of course’. Simon unfortunately can’t go because—as Josephine undoubtedly knows by now—he has to testify in court as a witness in regards to the bridge collapse. He doesn’t really want to do it, but he understands that he must. We cut to Sunday morning as Josephine is hunched at the desk in her apartment, trying to write a poem—it’s clear that she’s been afflicted by writer’s block. She noticed the time and, amazed by how long she’s been staring at a blank page, she rushes out of the room. She walks into the church many minutes after the service has already begun. An electronic organ is playing during the service. Robots of all types are inside of the church. Josephine sits down in one of the pews, and she looks up to the front of the sanctuary, and in a cubicle, two white, gender neutral bodies wade through the water that is inside of the cubicle. The pastor (Matthias Schoenaerts) warmly guides the other robot through the confession, and he lifts his hand in the air. Pastor Barnabas: Upon your profession of faith and in accordance with the Lord’s command, I baptize you, Samantha, in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of his death… The pastor dips the robot into the water and raises him up. Pastor Barnabas: Raised to walk in new life. The churchgoers applaud the baptism. Josephine nods her head in joy. **** After the service, Josephine decides to visit Pastor Barnabas. She walks into his office and sees that his regular body—one with a charcoal black standard model—is sitting lifelessly in the office. Josephine begins to panic. Josephine: Oh god, oh god, oh god… She reaches for the door to get help when a voice stops her. Pastor Barnabas: You mustn’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Josephine. Josephine turns to the pastor, who is perfectly alive. Josephine: Pastor Barnabas… You… Pastor Barnabas: Not to worry, Josephine. I was only transferring from the body I used for the baptism. In the event that someone who wants a baptism does not have a waterproof body, they are given a simple waterproof body from the church, and I wear the same body so that they don’t feel afraid. Does that make sense? Josephine: Yeah… It does. I’m sorry for panicking… Pastor Barnabas: It’s okay. It happens. What is it that you’re here for? Josephine tells him about the Neon Psalms that she is writing and wants advice from him. Pastor Barnabas asks to read the work she’s done so far; he does, and says that the work is excellent, but he gives her a word of warning: she must be careful not to exploit the words of the Bible. Josephine is confused in regards to what he means by ‘exploit’. Pastor Barnabas reiterates that she shouldn’t be rewording the book of Psalms for her own purposes. Josephine tells him that’s not what she’s doing at all—the poems are inspired by the psalms, and she’s only paying homage to them. Pastor Barnabas shakes his head and tells him that she’s walking a fine line; Josephine tells him that she disagrees, and she walks out. At the apartment, Josephine talks to Simon about her conversation with Pastor Barnabas as they charge their batteries together. She tells him that she has no idea what she’s going to do about it. Simon: You’ve been using your own voice, right? Josephine: I’m not trying to write like myself, Simon. I’m trying to write like God would. Simon: Well, maybe that’s the issue. Josephine: What do you mean? Simon: There’s more than enough of God within your work, but there might not enough of your own voice? Josephine: I have to be honest, I’m really scared that my own voice might overcrowd the message I’m trying to convey through the work. Simon: Well, consider this. God will take care of the ‘message’ part of the process. All you have to do is write the words. You can write them any which way you want. Don’t be rigid. Be free. I promise you it’ll work out. Josephine’s charging is finished, so Simon playfully shoos her off, so that she can go write. Josephine sits down at her desk, and from her voice-over, we here that she’s writing a psalm about love and its place in society. The voice over is juxtaposed with scenes of Harris and Maya as they go out on their date during the nighttime, when the city streets light up with neon signs and the people are hustling about in search of a good time. They do a variety of things together, and the date culminates when they go to see a movie—where actors are transferred into bodies specially made for the story of the film. This particular film is about a cowboy in the wild west, and on the screen, we see that he saving a woman who is tied to the train tracks. Harris and Maya, well, their eyes are practically glued to the screen. We see that the cowboy pulls the maiden off the tracks just before the train runs her over, and in the seats of the theater, Harris and Maya laugh together and embrace each other. We cut to the city sidewalk as Harris walks Maya back to her apartment. Harris goes to unlock the door for her, and he struggles for a good moment to unlock the door. Once he does, he turns towards Maya… But Maya has vanished. Harris runs around the apartment building and finds Maya in an alleyway. Robots with bodies modeled after grey anthropomorphic wolves are tying her up and putting her inside the back of a black van. One of these wolf-bots glares at Harris with dark eyes—sinister red pupils amidst black screens. Harris begins to back away, but the wolf-bot continues glaring, his stare unwavering. Harris: I’m so sorry, Maya… Harris hastily abandons the scene as the wolf-bots finish their job. **** We cut to Josephine’s class. She notices that Maya’s chair is empty. She looks over at Harris and notices that he has his head down in sadness—he’s not taking notes like the other students. The bell rings, she dismisses the students, and the students funnel out of the room; she attempts to ask Harris what’s wrong, but Harris walks past right past her. Josephine knows that he is trembling in fear. We cut to Josephine sitting in her office, thinking to herself. Harris walks into her office and sits down at the desk. Josephine asks him what’s wrong, and Harris buries his face in his hands. Harris: Maya was captured by the Hounds and it’s all my fault. Harris tells Josephine about the Hounds—they are an organization that are infamous for capturing young robots for nefarious purposes. He tells her that he ran from the scene like a coward and could’ve done so much more to help her. Josephine asks Harris if he saw the license plate number of the van, and Harris, by searching through his recent memories, is able to tell her the number. Harris continues to tell Josephine how much he hates himself for letting them take Maya, but Josephine tells him that everything is going to be okay. We cut to Simon, who is driving a patrol car throughout the university, receives Josephine’s communication call. Simon: Hey, Jo! Josephine: 3YD-H104. Simon: …Is that a license plate? Josephine: Put it in the system. Hurry. Simon: (speaks as he types) What’s going on? Josephine: One of my students was kidnapped by a gang called the Hounds. Simon: …Describe what she looks like to me. Josephine: Modern standard body, like mine, but scarlet red. And with a long brunette wig. Simon messages the other policemen that there’s been a kidnapping, and he drives off madly. We cut back to Josephine as she sits in her office and struggles to keep her composure. Eric walks in and asks her what’s wrong, and Josephine looks at him. Josephine: Let me ask you something. Professor to professor. Suppose one of my students is kidnapped. Eric: …Oh my god. You don’t mean— Josephine: It’s exactly what I mean. A girl—her name’s Maya—she went missing yesterday night. Eric: Sheesh… Well, I hope they find her. Josephine: Define ‘they’. Eric: Well… You know… The police… The authorities… Josephine takes a communication call from Simon, who tells her that, through drone technology, they found where the Hounds’ secret base is: a basement-level business within the red light district. Simon: The police need time to organize a raid against this specific group. The bodies of the Hounds are specially designed for violent encounters. Josephine: …Then I’ll get her myself. Simon: What? No, that’s— Josephine ends the call and stands up from her desk. She walks past Eric, who is astounded. Eric: You’re going there yourself? That could be suicide! You could be captured yourself! Josephine: I’m not leaving my student in the line of fire. **** We cut to Josephine as she takes a crowded subway train, swamped in dread and fear. We cut to her as she walks through the city at night. The neon signs permeate the landscape, and the signs get more and more promiscuous as she walks. She suddenly finds herself in the red light district—and she is wearing a new determination on her face. She walks past the robots who are stumbling around, the ones who are trying to gain something from her—they hold no power over her. She finds the staircase and descends down. She rings the doorbell, and a grey antique body, one with neon-colored spray paint plastered all over the body, answers the door for her. Josephine: I have business with the Hounds. The man lets her inside the room. She walks into the room and stops—the Hounds stand around her in a circle, blocking her from escape. A Hound with jagged spikes acting as a long headdress of metallic hair (Jasper Pääkkönen) sticks his red pupils onto Josephine. He introduces himself as Mauler and asks her what she’s here for. Josephine: You kidnapped my student. I’m here to take her back. Mauler: (snickering) Are you now? Josephine: Try me. Mauler: Well, we didn’t kidnap her. You can ask her yourself. She came to us by her own volition. She wants to be here. So Josephine: Bullshit. I have a witness. Mauler: …Mrs. Josephine Graves, is it? Maya’s said a lot of things about you. (Josephine grimaces.) Mauler: Trust me when I say that she’s enjoyed what we’ve been doing to her. Josephine: Only because you’ve brainwashed her. Mauler paces around. Then he looks back at Josephine. Mauler: Tell you what. We’ll let you ask her three questions. You find definitive proof we’ve wiped and replaced her memories, we give her back to you. You don’t find proof, you leave emptyhanded. You ask her more than three questions, we devour you. You try to take her without any proof, we devour you. If you leave without her and show your face here again, we devour you. You’re not the first person who’s found our hideout and tried to get their loved one back. And not a single person’s succeeded with this system. So I’ll give her to you out of sheer amazement if you manage to find evidence. Do we have a deal? We cut from Josephine and Mauler glaring at each other to Josephine walking through a short hallway. She looks through the small windows of closed doors and sees young robots sitting alone under red light. Eventually she finds Maya’s room. Maya’s body is scratched and bruised. Josephine steps in and shuts the door behind her. Josephine: Maya. Maya: (slowly standing up) …Mrs. Graves? How nice of you to visit! Josephine: How’ve you been doing in this place? Maya: Omigosh! I love it here! The Hounds do all sorts of things to me, and I can’t get enough of it! It’s like a home away from home! Josephine recoils in disgust as Mauler chimes in from the communication call. Mauler: That’s one question. Two left. Josephine composes herself. Josephine: You’d really rather be here than in my class? Maya: There’s no place I’d rather be than here with Mauler. Not with you. Not even with Harris. Mauler: You have one question left. Josephine’s eyes widen. Josephine: Then let me ask you a ‘quiz question’. For old time’s sake. Maya: As long as I get to stay here forever. I’ll do anything. Josephine: …Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Maya fails to come up with an answer. We cut Josephine as she opens the door of the room and drags Maya out. Maya pleads to Josephine, asking frantically where she’s being taken. As they head for the door, the Hounds stand in front of them and block their escape. Mauler, who is standing in the corner of the room with the spray-painted robot, motions them out of the way. Mauler: Out of her way, dogs. She got it. The Hounds are bewildered and shocked, but they step out of their way nonetheless. Mauler: Why’d you ask that question, if I may ask? Josephine turns to Mauler. Josephine: I had just taught her who Jesus was in my class—all the historical information about him. I know she didn’t believe, but everyone deserves to know exactly who Jesus is. You wiped him from your memory to eliminate any shred of hope she might have been able to have. You’re evil. I pray that you find it in your heart to change. Maya hobbles to Mauler and wraps her arms around him. Maya: Please don’t do this to me. I don’t want to leave you. Mauler: Maya. In a minute, you’ll see why this is happening. Just go. I’m not who you think I am. This devastates Maya. Josephine takes her by the hand and drags her out of the building. One of the Hounds asks Mauler why they can’t chase after them, and Mauler says that even if they wanted to, it’s raining outside, and they aren’t waterproof. Josephine and Maya walk on the sidewalk through pouring rain until they’re safely out of the red light district. They stop walking, and a squad of police cars drive past them at blistering speed. Maya screams at Josephine and tells her she’s stolen her away, and she continues to scream as Josephine reaches around to the part of her body just below her head. Josephine opens a compartment and taps a few buttons, and Maya’s mind is switched back to the way it was. Maya comes to her senses, and she falls into Josephine’s chest, wailing in her arms. The scene ends with a voiceover of one of Josephine’s poems; this time, it’s talking about the wicked, as many of the psalms do; and this poem is juxtaposed with footage of the police in indestructible bodies raiding the base, arresting the Hounds, and curing the other captives. **** Josephine and Simon talk to each other in the apartment as they recharge their battery. Josephine describes the harrowing experience; Simon asks her why she felt compelled to go get Maya herself when she knew the police was going to get them. Josephine tells him that something came over her, and that she needed to ensure that Maya would be okay. Simon tells her that he’s proud of her and that she’s probably a better policeman than he is—of course, Josephine shoots the compliments back to Simon by reminding him how he helped save lives after the bridge collapse. They embrace one another. Harris goes to Maya’s house, and her parents let him in; Harris tells the parents that he’s ashamed of what he’s done, and the parents forgive him. He finds Maya sitting on the couch; she’s in a new standard model body, one that’s bright pink. Harris rushes to her and embraces her; he tells her that he’s sorry for what he did, and that he’ll try to become someone who protects her and keeps her by his side from now on. They embrace one another. Josephine sits in a high-rise office where a female publishing agent with a green standard model body (Lizzy Caplan) is talking with her about the poems. The publishing agent asks her why she’s choosing to publish the poems in a modest poetry magazine when she could just as easily self-publish her own book and gain a lot more notoriety; Josephine’s answer is that the poems aren’t about her. The agent asks her to read a poem aloud, and Josephine stands up in front of the desk and reads a poem about God’s love, mercy, and majesty. The poem is clearly inspired by the experience she had saving Maya. The agent is very impressed with the work and surmises that there’s a real story behind the words. We cut to Josephine walking through the hallway of the university; Eric sees her and tells her that he’s read the poems and that he’s really enjoyed them. We cut to Josephine in the classroom; she writes words on the whiteboard and looks out at the students, specifically at Harris and Maya. Maya hastily and joyfully takes notes, while Harris simply stares blissfully at Maya from across the room. We cut to Josephine as she walks through the city streets once more. All of the activity she sees fills her with joy. We cut to a similar overhead shot to the one that we started with in the beginning of the film as Josephine continues walking down the sidewalk. Josephine: (voice-over) If you asked me before if I believed we have a soul within these robot bodies, I would’ve said a simple ‘yes’. Now, it’s not just a ‘yes’. Now, it’s an ‘absolutely’. Cut to black. Credits are accompanied by the original song “I Need Something More” by Art Garfunkel and Daft Punk. Edited September 22, 2023 by SLAM! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xillix Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Friday the 13th Release Date: May 13, Y6 Studio: Red Crescent Pictures Genre: Horror Director: Adam Green Theater Count: 3,613 Shooting Format: 35mm Academy Flat Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Release Image Formats: 4K DCP Release Audio Formats: 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos Production Budget: $15 million MPAA Rating: R Running Time: TBD Major Cast: TBD Plot Summary: A loose remake of the 1980 film of the same name by screenwriter Victor Miller, with some elements from the sequels as well. (WIP) Spoiler FRIDAY, MAY 13TH, 1994 The film opens with a prologue. Someone opens a creaky wooden drawer in a kitchen, sorting through its contents, searching for a particular utensil. They settle on a large steak knife, its serrated edge gleaming into the lens. The camera pulls back and we see it is Pamela Voorhees, a redheaded woman in her late 20s, working in the kitchen of a summer camp. She uses the knife to slice up a slab of roast beef to make sandwiches for the campers. A middle-aged man, Sean Christie, enters the kitchen to ask her if lunch is ready yet – but Pamela admits she’s a bit behind. She apologizes, explaining it is her son Jason’s birthday – and she took the time to make him a special treat. Sean, her boss and the camp’s owner, says that’s fine – but she’ll need to hurry up, as the kids are getting hungry. Warm and understanding, Pamela nods and happily gets back to work. Cut to lunchtime – the children and counselors are gathered around picnic tables near the camp’s large main cabin, eating their sandwiches. Pamela is carrying two sandwiches and a small paper bag, wandering through the dining area searching for Jason – but she can’t find him. She stops and asks Sean where he is, and he replies he hasn’t seen him – but that he was supposed to be in a group of kids with a counselor named Betsy. Come to think of it, Sean realizes, he hasn’t seen Betsy either. He does know her group was up by the lakeshore before lunch. Pamela goes to the group’s last location along the shores of Crystal Lake, calling out Betsy and Jason’s names. She doesn’t see either of them – but she does hear sounds coming from a small cabin nearby. When she knocks on its door, there’s no answer, but she can hear people inside. The door is unlocked, so she enters to find Betsy and one of the male counselors, hurriedly re-dressing themselves after an intimate encounter. They swear they weren’t doing anything, but Pamela doesn’t buy it. She begins scolding them, but before she can finish her tirade, she interrupts herself by demanding to know where Jason is. Betsy insists that Jason is at lunch. She’d had one of the more responsible kids round up the others and take them there. But when pressed, she admits she didn’t actually see Jason leaving. Furious and terrified, Pamela storms back out of the cabin, screaming her son’s name as she searches the area frantically. Finally, the faint sound of splashing catches her attention. She turns her gaze to the lake. Far from shore, her newly 8-year-old, deformed son Jason is struggling to stay afloat. His misshapen head bobs in and out of the water, his arms flailing about as he panics. Pamela shrieks, dropping the food she’s carrying; a candle-adorned cupcake rolls out of the paper bag onto the sandy shore. She runs out onto a nearby dock and dives into the water, swimming as fast as she possibly can toward her drowning son. But he disappears beneath the surface before she can reach him. For a few moments she continues on, desperate, diving under to try and find him – but the water is dark and murky. She resurfaces, glancing around hysterically, but there is no sign of Jason. Pamela lets out an agonized, almost inhuman wail of grief – and her eyes lock on Betsy, who is now standing by the shore, staring out at her in shock and disbelief. Pamela falls silent. The camera gradually zooms in on her eyes as she glares at Betsy with a quiet, murderous rage. The camera zooms all the way in on her iris, then her pitch-black pupil fills the screen. From out of the darkness flies the title, which races toward the viewer until finally coming to a stop as it collides with a previously-invisible pane of glass and shatters it, the shards flying out of frame. FRIDAY THE 13TH Edited June 3, 2019 by Xillix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAM! Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) FACEPAINT Studio: New Journey Pictures Release Date: May 13th, Y6 Genre: Horror Director: Ari Aster Theatre Count: 2,805 Rating: R for Language, Sexual Themes, Nudity, and Disturbing Images Budget: $15 Million Format: 2D Dolby Runtime: 1 hr 35 m Cast Alden Ehrenreich (Silas) Emmy Rossum (Amy) Jared Harris (Pastor Gabriel) and James Earl Jones (The Entity*) *=Denotes a voice role. Abstract A young couple puts on facepaint that doesn’t come off, and they begin to turn into the things they’ve been painted to be. Spoiler As the opening credits appear onscreen, a young man named Silas (Alden Ehrenreich) walks into an indoor flea market that’s filled with a whole bunch of antique knick-knacks. He walks past other people and looks at other things in the room until he comes across a brown, rusted box with strange designs engraved on it. He opens the box and sees that it’s a face-painting kit with tools and a wide range of colors. He examines the attached price tag—zero dollars. And just like that, through a brief montage, we see Silas taking it through the cashier line, setting the box down in the passenger seat of his car, driving through busy city roads, and parking in front of a quaint apartment building with a smile on his face. He hurries up the stairs and walks into his apartment—the living room walls are orange, and there is a kitchen, a bedroom (with a bathroom further inside), and another room that is being used as a makeshift art studio. Silas walks into this studio and finds Amy (Emmy Rossum), who is busy painting on canvas. They greet each other, and Silas gives her the case of face paint—“Happy Anniversary,” he says. Amy examines the case, and before Silas can finish a frenzied spiel about the validity of the face paint as a gift, Amy leans in towards him, and they kiss. Amy tells Silas that she wants to use the face paint that night, much to Silas’ surprise. We cut to Amy as she applies the finishing touches onto Silas’ face. Amy has painted the features of a lion onto Silas’ face. We see that Amy’s face has stripes of many colors on her face—like the colors of a rainbow—and this is because she had invited Silas to paint her face, and Silas is much less experienced when it comes to the arts. As Amy applies the finishing touches, Silas, a musician for a church worship band, tells her that he’s really confident in the band’s setlist for the next Sunday’s service, and that he’d love to see her at the service sometime. Amy lovingly tells Silas that she simply doesn’t feel the same way about religion as he does. As Amy finishes, she looks at the paint in the case and notices that the amount of paint in the case has remained the same—there’s no evidence that any paint has been used. Silas suggests that it is a good problem to have. Amy jokes about how the case might be cursed in some way. Silas shrugs off the notion. We cut to a sex scene. Amy is lying on the king sized bed; Silas leaps onto the bed and crawls toward Amy. Amy asks Silas what his pride is, and Silas tells her that she is his pride. They indulge in their pursuit of pleasure; the camera dollies away as it watches them from top down, and the setting around the bed dissolves from a sparse bedroom to a lush jungle. We cut to the next morning as the sun rays shine down from the windows. Silas rises from the bed, the paint still on his face, and he sneaks to the bathroom, so he does not wake up Amy. He turns the shower on and hops in; after some time, he rubs his face and notices that the paint on his face is completely unaffected by the water. Silas turns the shower off and rushes to the bathroom mirror; the paint is exactly as it was when it was first painted onto his face—no water damage, no friction damage from his towel. Silas wakes up Amy, who tries to use makeup remover to get the paint off. But the makeup remover isn’t working either. So without a way to take off the paint, they’re forced to wear it for the time being. Silas anticipates not being able to go out in public very much, and he makes a quick run to a grocery store to buy things they need—this spree includes obtaining two raw steaks. Silas notices that he’s receiving dirty looks and snide remarks from other people in the store, but he does his best to shake them off. He walks up to the cashier, and the cashier tells him that she likes the whiskers that are on his face—a ‘very nice detail,’ she says. Silas feels the whiskers, understands what is happening, and begins to panic. We cut to Amy as she tries more ways to get the makeup off of her face—all of the them fail. Her phone vibrates, and she sees frantic text messages from Silas telling her what is happening. Suddenly, a voice calls for her from within the studio. She walks from the bathroom to the studio, and she finds that the case of face paint, which sits on a small retractable table in the middle of the room, holds an invisible entity which speaks directly to her with a menacing voice (James Earl Jones). The entity tells her that there is no reversing the curse, and that she should just accept it. So she does. Silas comes back to the apartment with the groceries—he accidently drops a glass jar of grape jelly on the floor, and it shatters. He rushes into the studio and finds that Amy is completely nude; she is using the paint in the case to continue the color pattern of her face on all of the parts of her body. Silas is very upset by this, and the scene ends with him running to the bathroom and crying to himself. We cut to the apartment at nighttime. Silas is alone on the couch—he’s sleeping on the couch tonight. Amy shows him her fully-painted body, and she tells him that she’s not sorry about painting herself—it’s her body, and she can do what she wants with it. She can accept what’s happening if she wants. With a sigh, Silas tells Amy that he is going to talk to his pastor tomorrow to see if there’s any advice he can give. We cut to the next morning as Silas sheepishly walks into the furnished office of Pastor Gabriel (Jared Harris). Silas is wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap to hide the fur that’s grown on his face. He sits down, and they talk about the curse, and about Amy. Pastor Gabriel tells Silas that he shouldn’t come to the services until they are back to normal. Silas takes great offense to this, feeling like he’s being banished from the congregation. Pastor Gabriel tells Silas to try and find the good in the situation, and he strides out of the room and Silas pulls down his hat to hide his tears. We cut to Amy in the studio as her skin is becoming to become like fabric. The entity tells her that she isn’t becoming a sentient being like Silas is. Rather, she is going to become what amounts to a pile of multicolored ribbons. The entity jokes that Amy will become something that is worthless. Amy is devastated by this. She tries to open the case, but the contact speeds up her transformation, and her body becomes much more springy. At this point, Emmy Rossum is now doing a motion-capture performance. We cut to Silas as he sets one of the trays of raw steak down on the kitchen countertop. He breathes in and out, and he rips open the packaging. He tears into the meat and tries to chew it, but it’s too much for him; he vomits into the trash can under the sink. And he slumps down onto the floor, sweating profusely. Amy comes out of the room and sees Silas on the ground. She chastises him for eating the steak raw when she could’ve cooked it for him. Silas stands up and tells her that she looks like a rainbow mummy, and they get into an ugly argument, where they’re swearing at each other about petty things they find to be irritating about the other person. Silas mutters the word worthless under his breath, and Amy tearfully demands to know why he ‘called him worthless’. Silas ‘swears to God’ that he was telling himself that the conversation itself was worthless, and that Amy is the most important thing in the world to him. Amy collapses into Silas’ arms and cries. After a moment, Amy collects herself, and she lets an unassuming Silas know that he has a tail. We cut to nature shots of the lush jungle. Silas and Amy hold each other close as they lie down on the bed that is now within the jungle. Amy tells Silas that the entity within the case has been speaking to her. Silas tells her that he’ll always love her no matter what. Amy’s essence dissipates, and her body collapses into a pile of ribbons. The jungle fades away, and the bed is in the drab bedroom once more. Silas runs the ribbons through his padded hands, and he wails like a child, crying out to God for mercy. We cut to Silas as he stands in front of the bathroom mirror. He splashes cold water onto his face. The transformation is taking more and more of a hold on him—he almost look unrecognizable. He stares at his lion eyes in the mirror, and he gains conviction. He storms into the studio, where the case is on the floor, and a black essence has spread onto the floor around the case. Silas tells the entity that he is going to end its tyranny. The entity tells Silas that he is only dooming himself if he does such a thing. Silas tells the entity that he could care less, and he pounces onto the case. Silas tries to tear the case in half with his hands. The entity attacks him, and Silas’ body becomes more and more like that of a lion’s. Unfortunately for the entity, Silas is also gaining the strength of a lion. Silas applies one more burst of strength, and the case bursts apart into many pieces. Some of the paint splashes around the room, and that paint evaporates as if the floor was lava. Silas collapses onto the floor, and his body rapidly completes its transformation. Amy’s voice whispers ‘thank you’ to Silas, and Silas shuts his eyes. We cut to the jungle. The sky is somewhere in the realm between magenta and pink. A lion lies down on the soft dirt path. After a moment, it stands up on all four of its paws and struts along the dirt path before it. The lion looks ahead and finds rows of multicolored ribbons lying on the path. The lion leaps toward the ribbons as a housecat would leap towards yarn, and it plays with the ribbons with its front paws. The lion looks ahead and notices that the ribbons on the path are all leading to a shining light in the distance, and the lion therefore follows the guiding ribbons as it trots toward the light. Fade to black. Edited September 22, 2023 by SLAM! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) X J 9 : R E B I R T H Director: Gore Verbinski Writers: Gore Verbinski and Kelly Marcel Composer: James Newton Howard Director of Photography: Simon Duggan Cast: (*Mo-Cap) *Natalia Dyer as Jenny Wakeman/XJ-9, the teenage robot heroine Bradley Cooper as Brad Arbuckle, Jenny's washed up friend from high school. Jordan Gavaris as Tuck Arbuckle, Brad's slightly smooth talking younger brother. Damian Lewis as Clancy Sharp, an associate of Sheldon Lee with devious plans. *Florence Pugh as DeCiM, a lethal robotic assassin designed as XJ9's improved version. Ana de Armas as Pilar Fernandez, a robotics executive with a trove of secrets. Lance Reddick as Gideon Stockwell, a kind hearted engineer and close friend of Sheldon Lee. Yaya Dacosta as Brittany Crust, Tiffany's cousin cousin and a vain fashionista. Stephanie Beatriz as Tiffany Crust, Brittany's cousin and a vain fashionista. Jete Laurence as Ivy Arbuckle, Brad's daughter and an aspiring inventor. with Rami Malek as Sheldon Lee, an eccentric yet optimistic and brilliant billionaire inventor. and Lily Tomlin as Nora Wakeman, a robotics legend and Jenny's "mother" Hidden Cast (SPOILERS): Spoiler *Bex-Taylor Klaus as Queen Vega, queen of the cosmic robotic empire Cluster Prime *Kate Miccuci as Kilgore, a wannabe evil robot who is too damn cute. Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Dramedy/Thriller Release Date: November 18th Theatre Count: 3,958 Additional Formats: 3D, IMAX, Dolby Cinema Runtime: 147min (2hr, 27min) Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and some mild language Budget: $170 million A slightly more mature spin on the mid-aughts cartoon of the same name, set 20 years after the events of the series. Jenny is awakened after 20 years of being shut down, shocked to find the world had changed radically. She must adapt quickly to fight off a new threat and uncover the secrets of her past. Special thanks to @Rorschach for his help on this production. Spoiler We open on a suburban neighborhood with some futuristic elements that otherwise looks right out of the 50s. An inventive woman, Nora, is testing a flying bicycle (that runs on water) with her daughter, who loves to explore her mother’s experiments. All seems exciting, kids and grownups (and dogs) watching in awe, but the bike suddenly begins to malfunction, leading the terrified daughter to begin to gain less and less altitude and soon begin to fall. Nora rushes to catch her using a trampoline deploying drone, and she’s thankfully okay (and even wants to do it again). However, Nora’s husband (and the girl’s father) soon arrives, and he’s less than pleased. After a fight in their home, we find out that he is taking the daughter away, leading to a tearful goodbye and Nora pleading not to leave her. The daughter is also heartbroken, hugging her mother tight. “I’m sorry, Jennifer. I’ll miss you.” The opening credits show live-action re-creations of the memories of XJ9 (Jenny Wakeman) from her point of view, from her young friends to her high school misadventures to the many times she had saved the world. Her best friends, Tuck and Brad, along with the awkward Sheldon and mean Crust Cousins, Britt and Tiff, are shown in the sequence. We get to the company credits and cast list before the title drops. X J 9 : R E B I R T H 40 YEARS LATER We get a few glimpses of an art deco Metropolis with powerful technology all around. A few radio billboards introduce the billionaire engineering mastermind and CEO of TruLee Tech, Sheldon Lee (Malek) as he welcomes the people to the bustling city of New Roswell. Cutting to a bar in the lower part of town, a robotic bartender (and all the patrons) are annoyed at a man (Cooper) drunkenly and shrilly singing Karaoke (namely the below song). The man is introduced as Brad as the bartender begs him to leave, offering to put his drinks on the house. As people heckle him, Brad whines that things are hard enough with him losing his job and his wife, but all he has is the song in his heart. He’s quickly – and humorously – ejected by the robot. He goes to his phone and calls his brother, Tuck. Outside the bar, a car pulls up. The man driving is Tuck (Gavaris), Brad’s more straight-laced (comically so) brother. He’s annoyed at constantly having to get him out of trouble. They start to bicker in a brotherly manner, Brad calling out Tuck’s refusal to have a fun adventure, with Tuck retorting that Jenny’s been gone for 20 years. They’re not going back to the same life before. A voice in the back asks for another story about Jenny. We find out that there was a young girl in the back seat (Laurence) all along – Ivy, Brad’s daughter. She responsibly took tabs on all his spending that night, while Tuck comments that it’s not normal for a child to know all that. She should just – you know – be a kid. Brad uses this to brag about how amazing Ivy is, but Tuck isn’t quite happy. He’s further annoyed because he had to use the GPS to get here since Brad got banned from his favorite bar before. The GPS sends a myriad of directions, ones that Tuck doesn’t quite recognize. Still trusting the device, Tuck keeps driving. Brad apologizes to his behavior to Ivy and they share a tender moment in the car together. As they comfort each other, both clearly missing their wife and mother respectively, without making it clear what happened to her. Tuck suddenly realizes that the GPS was leading them to a mysterious facility, all fenced off. Confused, they step out briefly to investigate. Tuck verifies that the address is correct, but they are surprised to see it completely abandoned. Brad says that he heard it was abandoned around 20 years ago. After a moment of some confusion, the GPS starts working again, and they are able to keep moving. Ivy, however, keeps looking at the facility as they drive away to their suburban hometown of Tremorton. Tuck brings Ivy and a still inebriated Brad inside and trusts that they will be okay for the evening. The next day, Tuck heads to work as an acting professor at the Tremorton Community College, remarking that, due to budget cuts, they are stuck doing Two Lonely Zookeepers: The Musical for the fourth year in a row as their fall musical. Most of the students are predictably annoyed, but Tuck tries to cheer them up by suggesting an immersive electroswing direction of the show. Tuck notices the building falling apart, glaring at the fancy new sports arena being built just across the street. Walking past, Brad (wearing white and blue clothes) leads a walking tour of Tremoton, home of the legendary XJ9. Through the tour, we find out that XJ9 was a global legend who was mysteriously shut down 20 years ago. That is only a theory, however, as many believe she was destroyed. Also, XJ9’s “mother”, Nora Wakeman, had disappeared a few years after XJ9 did, further complicating the plot. The tourists are nonetheless very fascinated in the story, several idolizing XJ9 and wearing her merchandise. They stop back at a museum dedicated to her. As the tourists look around, Brad simply looks on, feeling upset, deeply longing to see Jenny again. He lightly tears up, wincing at his volunteer badge. “I wish this thing paid.” Tuck suddenly calls Brad. As he sets his GPS…. he somehow gets the same address as the facility from last night. This has to be a glitch…or there must be something in the facility that they all need to see. Once they arrive, Tuck still shaking in terror. it is fenced off, but no lighting is there at all. The electric fence doesn’t even work. The three scale the fence and make it inside, shocked at the minimal security. The only thing inside is a large set of downward stairs. They step down, walking through an ominously empty space, reaching a chamber with a small, tomb-like metal cylinder in the center. Ivy, almost entranced, goes forward to see if she can open it. The voice in Brad and Tucks’ phones also sends mysterious messages telling them to open it up. Tuck tries to stop her, feeling super uneasy, but it’s too late. The cylinder opens through a blast of fog that pushes Ivy back towards Brad. A mysterious figure comes out of the fog, but their shape is hard to make out. Moreover, it’s revealed that the room was trapped with explosives. A massive explosion detonates the plant, but the figure shoots out through the ceiling and towards the sky, holding the three. They are set upon the grassy ground far from the explosion, and in the moonlight, the three are shocked to see her full identity in the moonlight, floating about them. Her metallic white and blue armor, LED eyes, and extending limbs…. It’s Jenny Wakeman herself, XJ9. (mo-cap by Dyer). Brad is completely floored to see Jenny, as well Tuck (who is blabbering like a fool). Jenny, however, becomes infuriated, not recognizing Brad and Tuck (and not believing them when they confirm their identity). She realizes that it’s a school night, and mom is going to kill her if she’s not home. She rockets away and takes to the sky, slightly confused at some new buildings in the town. After arriving at Nora Wakeman’s (her “mother”) old house, she ends up terrifying a completely different family that now lives there. Jenny becomes incredibly confused, stumbling out. Jenny also sees a magazine with Sheldon Lee on it and begins to excessively panic. After Brad, Tuck, and Ivy find her, she realizes that it’s been a very, very long time. She sobs, so sorry she tried to kill them. As they reconcile, the family in the house kindly asks them to leave, the police showing up to their door. Jenny awkwardly carries the three away. Back at home, Brad tells Jenny about how the world has changed, from culture to current events. Lee had become a contemporary genius, finding scientific ways to curb global hunger, climate change, and more. He’s a true renaissance man, and Jenny herself says that she can’t wait to meet him again. Brad, seemingly slightly jealous, remarks that he’s just as awkward as he was in high school, now with more money. Jenny soon asks about his mom, and Brad struggles to break the news to her about her disappearance, but it helps that he’s truly exhausted. Brad, Tuck, and Ivy soon fall asleep. Jenny remarks to herself that she has a lot to learn about. However, she’s also unsure of why she had been down for so long. Jenny uses a projection on her chest to find out various news outlets, including her mother’s disappearance and the alleged disbanding of ‘Skyway Patrol’ after strict closed door policy was put on earth regarding celestial life. Jenny remarks that it’s at least one less thing to worry about. Elsewhere, we cut to somewhere remote as a woman, Pilar (De Armas) gets a blaring notification on her device. Running to her apartment, she pulls up a laptop in her high-tech space as she sends an urgent message to someone. “She’s been reactivated. I’m booking the next hypertram to New Roswell.” Putting a lot of equipment into her suitcase, she runs out the door, a poster for XJ9 on the inside. The next morning, Jenny instinctively rushes to school, thinking that last night was only a dream. However, people are shocked and confused to see Jenny back, several taking pictures. The shock fades away, and Jenny herself thought there would be a bit more fanfare. Before she leaves, a teacher reminds her that she never technically graduated and was legally enrolled by Nora Wakeman, so she is still technically a student, much to her annoyance. Brad and Tuck, however, are temporarily claiming her as their legal guardian. Jenny is forced to endure school, a bit uncomfortable at not knowing anyone yet At lunch, Jenny notices a giant, moth like monster attacking town, nervously waiting around for permission to leave. Jenny suddenly remembers, using some rusty memory bank files, that she never had to wait. She simply goes for it. Running out of school, she finds Brad nearby, asking if she’s still capable of her heroic actions. Jenny struggles as the moth finds her, unable to quickly remember how to use her tools, but she suddenly is able to deliver some swift punches to the moth in a cartoonish yet exciting style (Think live-action Speed Racer) – she eventually opens a screen in her monitor to show different tools hidden in her arms, and they soon transform into a giant beam of light. The moth flies into it and disintegrates. Jenny squees, cheering with the town as she forgot how much fun saving the day was. As the crowd cheers for her, we cut to Jenny excitedly recounting the action to Brad, Tuck, and Ivy. Ivy is incredibly interested, while Brad is almost euphoric to see Jenny in action again. Brad remarks that she’s just as amazing as she ever was, and that she may be even stronger than DeCiM. Jenny asks who this is, but Brad deflects, remarking that she’s just a piece of junk who tried to take Jenny’s heroic spot but keeps failing. Tuck, however, is still processing this. He’s unsure of why Jenny got activated, skeptical of her presence. Suddenly, their doorbell rings, and it’s Pilar. Pilar is excited to finally meet XJ9, having only read stories about her as child. As Tuck asks how she found them, Pilar remarks that she was alerted to the presence of XJ9 by locals and came as soon as possible, otherwise being vague. However, she has four tickets to TruLee Tech’s annual conference this weekend in New Roswell and wants to bring the four of them. Brad and Tuck share hesitation, the former especially, but Ivy and Jenny beg them to go, especially since it might be a chance to catch up with Sheldon. Pilar also assures them that they will have 5-star accommodations. Cut to them arriving on train to New Roswell. Pilar leads the four to the hotel as she and Tuck quip to each other a bit. Brad becomes a bit protective of Jenny, and it’s clear they had deep feelings for each other at one point. He doesn’t even let Tuck speak to her that much, but Jenny is slightly unsure of what to think. They were kinda sorta “dating” but now….he’s 40 and she’s still a teenager. Jenny connects to internet and forecasts a scenario with thousands of uncomfortable thinkpieces. Tuck opens up that Brad hasn’t been this happy in years, so he’ll let the euphoria die down a bit. Ivy remains in awe looking out the window, while Pilar invites Tuck to the drink cart. Meanwhile, Sheldon is putting on a dapper suit and getting ready with the help of his AI assistant, Zetti (voice cameo by Janice Kawaye). He meets with two of his closest board members as he gets ready, his engineering head Giden Stockwell (Reddick) and mentor Clancy Sharp (Lewis) as they help him make final preparations before the conference and exposition. He’s clearly more eccentric and awkward than the other two, so Sharp offers to lead a lot of the negotiations. Lee also wants to make more donations, remarking that he thinks being a billionaire is immortal. At least get him down to $800 million, please! Sharp is concerned about how he is handling the company, but Stockwell has faith in him. Lee comes out, top hat and all, to greet the city to numerous cheers. A news reel on him playing, showing his humble beginnings as a dorky high schooler who became a robotics genius who wanted to use technology to make the world a better place for everyone. His persona is very unusual, but he truly means well. As we see more of his technological creations, we find out that he also idolizes the mythos of XJ9, having apparently been close to him in the past. Lee does not discuss it, only eager to focus on the future, including a flyover from their special guest at the convention, DeCiM! The sleek, purple robot (mocap by Pugh) flies over the crowd, lightly smiling, introducing herself as the new hero of the world. Lee narrates over her introduction, remarking on her famed deeds of heroism and having saved millions of lives in the last five years. She’s as strong as 1,000,080 men and has several tools, from multiple katana blades to laser eyes to even a built in panini press. DeCiM rallies the crowd, but seems relatively stoic. She remarks that if anything bad is to happen, she’ll be on the job. (We find out there’s even a cartoon about her) The five arrive at their hotel, while Jenny immediately wants to explore town, Ivy asking if she can join her. Brad allows it, and they’re soon off. Ivy and Jenny bond as they fly through the city, both sharing memories with Brad. Ivy remarks how Brad used to work for TruLee but is unsure of why he got fired. Jenny tries to cheer him up, knowing that Sheldon will recognize her and help them get back on their feet. They continue to chatter, Ivy soon looking up to Jenny like a best friend, just as Brad and Tuck once did. However, she wishes she could go back to those times, and wishing she could find her mother. The four soon walk through the expo, Brad feeling uncomfortable and staying behind. Pilar tells her that she will be able to get them close to Sheldon, although XJ9’s presence (still in a relatively incognito state) will certainly alert him anyway. Still, she needs to keep a low profile, because there could be a lot of danger here. The expo is full of awe and wonder, while Ivy looks on with wonder, wanting to be an inventor someday. Tuck chatters with Pilar a bit, while Brad still can’t shake his mood. Pilar suddenly bumps into Stockwell, who recognize each other readily. They are invited to personally meet Sheldon. Stockwell worried if he will be busy, but Pilar looks to him in a certain way. “Oh, he’ll sure as hell make time for that.” Brad doesn’t seem to excited, but knows that Jenny wants to see him. As Lee walks through his office, he soon sees Jenny, Brad, Tuck, and Ivy together. Pilar ducks out. Sheldon is speechless, soon freaking out with glee and hugging Jenny, excited like a child on Christmas. He expresses love, but not the creepy kind seeing how he’s almost 40, but is nonetheless ecstatic. Jenny calms him down, asking him to not make a huge scene. He respectfully obliges. After they talk while walking through the conference hall, she asks about Nora. Sheldon suddenly becomes vague and doesn’t answer her questions. Tuck snarks that he’s definitely not hiding something. Sheldon mutters to himself that this didn’t turn out as well as he hoped. Suddenly, Clancy Sharp comes in, needing to relocate him due to an attack on the city train. Jenny rushes out to see that a large chunk of the above-ground train track has exploded. While onlookers are terrified, Jenny assures them that she can deal with this in her sleep. Brad runs after Jenny, leaving Tuck and Ivy behind. Jenny nonchalantly flies over to the train and folds out her arms into makeshift train tracks to cover the gap. The train rushes over, tickling Jenny, but she is nervous to find that the train is still out of control, and she can’t stay in this position forever. Racing towards it, she struggles to find something that will slow the train down (the powers are fried) without hurting the people inside or causing mass damage. Creating a sonic wave of energy in front of the train to gradually slow it down (while quickly making the gap bridge again when needed) – it seems to be working. However, another robot appears, much stronger and faster than XJ9, and she catches the train effortlessly, slowing it down with a breeze. It is DeCiM, who seems coldly cockier and more confident than Jenny. Simply approaching her, she shadily thanks Jenny for the assist and flies away. “Welp, at least I didn’t have to do that alone.” Either way, Jenny is exposed, but the media’s attention revolves around DeCiM, much to Jenny’s confusion. Looking up her files, DeCiM seems to be a far greater hero than the years before, and Jenny is just yesterday’s news. Jenny is unsure of what to make of this but remarks that at least she won’t have to be the only hero anymore. Jenny flies away and over to the debris, trying to see if the police have any clues to a potential culprit. They turn up blank but want XJ9’s autograph. She agrees….if they provide any information on the whereabouts of her mom. They quickly ensure her they don’t have any, and they quickly get her picture. Jenny soon gets back to the hotel, where Tuck and Ivy are asleep, but Brad waits for Jenny, offering her a drink (it’s oil – don’t ask how he got it) – They both are happy with each other’s company, wishing things could go back to normal. Jenny remarks that she has a lot more freedom now, but….it was kinda nice when she got the credit for saving the world. DeCiM appears and gives a kind word to Jenny, apologizing if she came off as cold earlier. She’s not wired to handle emotions, and sometimes can come off the wrong way. Jenny forgives her, and they begin to gush about each other’s powers, DeCiM almost thanking Jenny as basically her predecessor. Jenny is unsure of what she means, but DeCiM deflects. Brad is concerned about her presence and asks her to leave, but Jenny calms him down. DeCiM whispers an idea to Jenny, and she seems super excited about it. “Perfect, I’ll make an announcement tomorrow.” The next day, DeCiM is all over the news, giving interviews and acting like a hero, while also showing major props to XJ9. In fact, with some discussion with Sheldon, they are turning the last night of the conference into an all-out duel between the two robots, the admissions going to charity. She publicly calls out Jenny to accept the challenge, and she does. At the TruLee headquarters, Stockwell expresses concern with Lee for authorizing the challenge on Sharp’s request, but he assures her that it’ll be so exciting to watch, almost feeling more excited by DeCiM than his old high school friend. Sharp continues to egg him on, telling him that this is what the people want. Stockwell accuses Lee of letting Sharp manipulate him, but Lee denies it, almost lightly insulted. The next day, crowds line up at an area, Tuck lampshading how big this was despite being planned like two days in advance. Pilar agrees, and they continue to chatter. Brad, however, is deeply concerned for Jenny and feels like his suspicions are being validated. DeCiM and Jenny make some friendly talk before the event, Jenny completely unaware of DeCiM’s intentions. The race contains four stages: 1. A jet pack race with several mid-air obstacles, including moving spikes 2. A simulation to try and save a falling airplane 3. Diving underground to reach a hidden object and return it to the surface 4. Putting the object inside a blimp somewhere in the city. DeCiM and Jenny smile at each other as they begin the intense competition, Brad watching intently, along with Ivy and Tuck. Jenny powers through the obstacle course despite almost getting hit. One swinging brick surface almost hits Jenny, but she bursts through it, albeit slightly disoriented. DeCiM beats her, however. In terms of saving the aircraft, two fake airplanes (filled with humorously placed mannequins) are dangled about the stadium, as extreme blasts of air carry them upward. Jenny and DeCiM rush to take care of everything, as they cannot simply lift up the airplane due to their strength sensors “failing” – they have to go inside and disable the controls, getting into their system. Jenny is able to win, thanks to DeCiM getting stuck behind a mannequin in an embarrassing position. DeCiM becomes lightly angry, but almost can’t. Something seems to be holding her back. During the battle, Brad rushes into unauthorized territory, trying to give Jenny advice and look at the situation. The underground dive, however, will be the real challenge. The five begin to shoot downward, moving through a tunnel covered with neon light that seemingly goes for miles. Jenny’s signal gets messed up, but she powers through. Both soon arrive in the same, darkly lit room, as two glowing spheres are hiding at the bottom. DeCiM finds Jenny…and starts a cutthroat, backstabbing attack that ends in her stunning Jenny, blasting her to the side of the platform, which only goes even further down apparently. So deep, they can’t see the ground after that. DeCiM quickly apologizes, remarking that she went too far. Jenny remarks that she’ll be okay, letting DeCiM go ahead. It seemed like only an accident. Her powers begin to fleet, as she suddenly gets a video message from her mother, Nora Wakeman (Tomlin), messy white air and goggles and all. She warns Jenny that it’s a long story, but she’s going to be okay. She has the tools to pull off a quick reset remotely. She just needs to forget she saw her after this. It seems lucid and almost comforting to Jenny, almost like it was an angel coming to see her. Brad tries desperately to reconnect to Jenny, hoping to get her back up again and giving motivating words. Soon enough, Jenny shoots back up with the sphere in hand, blasting from the ground to the sky in one take, the cheers from below celebrating loudly. She quickly tries to find the blimp. Lee, the whole time emcee-ing the event, makes a huge show out of it. (Imagine Harold from Moulin Rouge!) Finding DeCiM, they get into another intense mid-air battle, Jenny respectfully playing along with DeCiM but her opponent seeming far hastier. It seems like DeCiM is almost trying to get Jenny killed but does so in a way that makes everything look like an accident. This is halted once they both find the blimp. Charging towards it, they end up crashing into each other, but DeCiM pushes through and wins. The crowd cheers for DeCiM, who goes back to pleasing the crowd. Jenny admits it was a good match, but Brad accuses her of being naïve and trusting DeCiM. She reveals that she got connected to Nora, however, while Pilar promises that it was just a dream. Tuck becomes confused at how much Pilar is trying to cover up, but she makes nothing of it. “I just need to find out where she is…and why I was shut down.” Jenny wishes the world was simpler like it was when she was a kid, just fighting some random villain each week and enjoying the simplicity of being a teen. The convention winds down, and Jenny simply wants a calm night in with Brad, Ivy, and Tuck. Tuck, however, wants to get a drink with Pilar, starting to question her true intents. Pilar promises that something far deeper is going on, something she’s trying to keep them out of. She suddenly asks Tuck to hide under the table, and he hurriedly does so after a funny moment. Sharp soon arrives, asking where XJ9 went. Pilar assures him that they had left town, revealing that she is also a senior engineer at TruLee. Tuck is terrified, but Pilar realizes that, with light feelings for him, she needs to show him the truth. They sneak behind Sharp as he boards a limousine, ordering a taxi (driven by show creator Rob Renzetti) to follow. Meanwhile, Brad and Ivy are fixing up Jenny, who sustained light injuries. Brad apologizes for his behavior, remarking that things haven’t been amazing since she got deactivated, and this was the most alive he’s felt in years. He became interested in robotics and wanted to join TruLee to see if he could find her again. Ivy wants to help, remarking that she had been building her own robot after school. Brad remarks that she’s too young to be messing with that, but Jenny wants to hear about it. There’s some tension, with Ivy noticing Brad’s self centered behavior, but Jenny wants to believe that his friend is just in a bad spot. Brad, meanwhile, gets a call from Sheldon Lee. Lee asks a few questions about Jenny, seeming less chipper than normal. Lee seems to be interrogating him, but unbeknownst to Brad, an associate of Sharp has a gun pointed at Lee’s head. Tuck and Pilar follow him to a secret speakeasy, where it’s revealed that Sharp is making deals to go behind Sheldon’s back and sell high tech war androids across the planet, seeing how current global affairs are pushing towards war. Sheldon would never approve of this, so he has to take matters into is own hands. DeCiM is revealed to be his enforcer and cheerleader, proudly putting her price tag in the billions. She built her reputation up via heroic actions and has gained the trust of the people, guided by Sharp and his associate (who imply that they set up various accidents that DeCiM would save people from.) “Which military will get me? Only time will tell, boys.” One man refuses to participate, revealing himself as loyal to Lee. After soured negotiations, Sharp coldly orders DeCiM to do her thing. Long, spikey arms come out of DeCiM’s back, and we see Pilar and Tuck’s horror as he’s hacked to death. Pilar quickly leads him away, telling them to get out of here and get far away from here or Tremorton. After a tense moment, Pilar promises that she will do all she can to keep them safe, but knows that if she tries to keep looking this project, or even Nora’s whereabouts, it won’t end well for either. Both are soon found by one person inside, and Pilar becomes horrified. Seeing a couple make out by a motorcycle, Pilar and Tuck hop on the bike, throwing them a hundred-dollar bill. They ride their bike through the city to escape an enraged DeCiM, driving like hell. This reminds Tuck of a time in his childhood when he – Pilar doesn’t want to hear it – she needs to ensure they don’t get killed. Pilar rushes her bike under a large truck by drifting sideways and zig zags through traffic, remarking that she’s been taking biking lessons. They get away and awkwardly arrive at the nearest safe haven, a Chuck E. Cheese esque parlor. They hide behind a mechanical band and get away. However, as they exit, the spiky mechanical arms drag them away quickly. Brad, Jenny, and Ivy are in their hotel room, not having heard from Pilar or Tuck and starting to become worried. Brad only gets a text that tells them to get as far away from here as possible. Brad scoffs, remarking that Tuck always messed things up for them, making some embarrassing points. Jenny tells him to knock it off, telling him to focus and keep reading the texts. “Take the nearest train to Grand Rivington.” Jenny forgets where that was, but Brad quickly points it out. Technology isn’t always superior, Brad chuckles. Jenny lightly does but realizes now isn’t the time for jokes. Brad and Pilar are in danger, and this has to all connect to her past. Jenny worries about the truth, but Brad promises that he’ll be there for her. Sheldon, meanwhile, is alone in his headquarters, eagerly trying to call Brad back with a look of desperation. Before he can reply. soon abducted by DeCiM and locked into a closet. He’s covered head to toe with rope, tied up and unable to move. The train station is swarmed because of people leaving the convention, and more people stop to see Jenny. She doesn’t feel good about this, especially since Tuck hasn’t replied, but Brad promises to keep her safe. Ivy notices people quickly entering trains, almost subconsciously, and they become extremely overcrowded. The station becomes deserted in a record time, as the three notice drones flying past. Suddenly, the monitors are the station are overtaken with images of Tuck and Pilar tied up in a room, guarded by several drones. Sharp shows up in another monitor as Gideon Stockwell rushes in, relieved to have found them but worrying it’s too late. “It seems our relationship was built on a dubious conclusion, but I’d instead like to make you an offer,” Sharp announces. Through a tense stand off, several of the train station drones surrounding the three, Sharp explains that Sheldon, while a genius inventor, is completely inept as a CEO. The world’s greatest tech has always started from the military, the art of war. There was a nobility to it, a beautiful order to the world. He wants to move back to selling militarized robots and become a stronger power in the world. DeCiM soon appears at the train station, threatening to kill Brad and Ivy (and now apparently Stockwell) if Jenny does not come with them. Jenny notices that the trains haven’t left the station, becoming horrified. A tense standoff begins, where Jenny tries to move the trains away using a booming sonic signal, but DeCiM tries to stop her for “breaking the rules.” DeCiM, restraining all of them, is asked by Jenny how she could do something so horrible. DeCiM’s emotional sensors mean that she can’t get too attached to the people she’s bound to protect, which means that following orders is a lot less ambiguous. Sometimes she feels bad and googles ethics, but ultimately doesn’t care. That attachment is Jenny’s weakness, and a marked improvement on herself, the ultimate upgrade. Jenny asks what she means. Sharp hastens the deal, asking if DeCiM had her ideal moment (she did)…and we see Nora Wakeman appear on the screen, much to everyone’s shock. Wakeman tries to diffuse the situation, telling Jenny to go with Sharp and support his program. Tears are swelling up in her eyes. Jenny has several desperate questions, but Nora tells her daughter that she has a lot to explain but can’t do it now. Eventually, Jenny turns to feeling hurt and betrayal towards her mother, which is only hastened by Sharp, seeing Jenny’s rage. Sharp slowly reveals that Wakeman had been involved with the early plans of her stage, serving as a close mentor to Lee as well. She created a stronger, faster, smarter military android, a harbinger for destruction….an XJ10. Jenny realizes that DeCiM was built by Nora. Nora tries desperately to explain herself, but Jenny’s world begins to fade out. She’s utterly devastated. Screaming, she charges DeCiM/XJ10, who quickly pins her down, mocking her for being an inferior version. Brad yells at Nora for creating her, blinded by anger just as Jenny has. However, Sharp slips that Pilar and Tuck actually never gave away the location, leading Brad to realize that Sheldon’s call gave them away. Sharp orders DeCiM to destroy the station, and she takes a pulsing bomb out of her hand. Jenny desperately tries to cover her friends before it detonates, also blasting away the train. KABOOM! As the smoke clears, Jenny, Brad, Ivy, and Stockwell are okay, and the trains seem far away, but the place is in utter ruins. Moreover, Jenny is soon mortified when she sees that Clancy controlled the narrative and is framing her for the train station attack, which killed nearly 100 people. Jenny quickly blasts away out of horror, leaving Stockwell, Brad and Ivy behind. Ivy sobs into Brad’s arms. Police investigate the space, while Tuck and Pilar, now free, return to them. Tuck blasts Brad, blaming him for causing this, while Pilar and Ivy are reluctant to defend him. The brothers begin to fight, but Ivy stops them, knowing that they need to find Jenny. Brad admits that he feels like he’s nothing without Jenny, and Tuck coldly admits, “I could have told you that.” The stunned silence causes the brothers to separate. Tuck remarks to the remaining three (Ivy stays with Tuck) that they have to try and find Jenny and stop this from happening. As strong as DeCiM is, they can’t let….this (looking around) happen on a bigger scale. The four are shocked. Tuck tries to lighten the mood by assuring them that he knows two people who may owe her a favor. Jenny has flown away to somewhere in the Andes, damaged from the explosion but terrified at everything that happened. She’s desperate to find Nora and make her answer for this. Remembering that her mom had a tracking signal in her suit, she is able to reverse wire it internally to reverse the connection and help her find Nora. She smiles, getting a destination in Copenhagen, but knows that she must stay hidden. Looking through an internal storage, she finds something that really annoys her, but may be her only last resort. Pilar, Gideon, and Tuck arrive near a large, booming bar, Ivy being told to wait at a coffee shop. Tuck asks how useful this will be, but Tuck remarks they have little other choice. Going inside to a blaring club, Tuck remarks that he personally wants an audience with the C Squared. At the top of the party, two beautifully dressed women, introduced as Brittany (DaCosta) and Tiffany (Beatriz) are changing outfits repeatedly with the help of a robot. They soon find that the party is downstairs. They act incredibly snotty, mocking him for showing up. Their mean girl personalities from high school clearly carried over. Tuck asks for a favor, and the girls mock him. When Pilar asks Brad if they really owed him, he just meant it in a more general sense, not that they explicitly owed him a favor. Pilar sighs. Soon, however, Tiffany remarks that they have to get back, a lot of people are waiting for their cut. Brittany tries to shush her, but she soon inadvertently babbles about their lives as illegal traders and fixers. They get into so much trouble. Brittany becomes mortified when she finds out that Pilar was recording the whole time. Cut to them negotiating upstairs above the party. They quickly change their tone, hypocritically remarking how they got so swept up in pettiness in High School. Tiffany tells them that they can provide a private jet to find Jenny (and by the way, they should probably apologize for their behavior in person someday) and take care of the rest – just try not to get too much damage on it. Stockwell knows how to fly a plane and promises to deliver. Brittany and Tiffany have a mild existential crisis over their first true act of kindness, but obviously have a lot to sort out. As they get wrapped up in an over the top discussion, the four slip away. “WAIT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE THE PLANE IS, SILLY!” Brittany shouts. They’ll be done soon enough. Jenny, now wearing an exoskeleton made of flesh, duct tape covering the back of her neck, arrives in Copenhagen and finds the house that Nora is likely in. It’s the same house Pilar left earlier in the movie. Jenny comes inside to see Nora, maintaining her typically stoic presence for only so long. She breaks down into tears, while Jenny acts more like her mother in the cartoons, simply wanting to know what was going on. Nora promises to explain everything. There’s a lot to go over, so she hopes Jenny has her listening module still active and strong. Brad, meanwhile, kicks around town, but keeps getting messages from Sheldon via voice. They seem completely muffled. Brad is able to sneak in using his existing TruLee credentials, which were mistakenly not deleted, and is able to find and untie Sheldon. Both share a light bit of bonding as they assess the situation. Brad admits that he heard murmurs about the deadly project and quit the company because of it. Sheldon admires that, admitting that he didn’t want to even become a full blown industrialist, but was pressured by Sharp. Both miss the ease of the past, as well as their time with Jenny, but Sheldon remarks that they can’t keep expecting it to come back. They have to play their new roles…but that also doesn’t mean they have to play roles they don’t want to. Sheldon may be able to hack into some correspondence so Brad can find Jenny and stop Sharp. Sheldon also gives him a flash drive with information on DeCiM and her weak points. He apologizes that his dreams went too far, as he only wanted to help make the world a better place. Things got way too out of hand, and he feels responsible. As Sheldon begins so ramble, Brad admits they’ve both made mistakes, making an imaginary toast. They smile at each other. However, before Brad can leave, Sheldon asks him to tie him up again so they don’t think he escaped. Brad awkwardly obliges. She was involved with the project at first but became terrified when Sharp claimed possession of XJ9. Lee was a good kid, but he was too easily manipulated by him. It became clear that Sharp wanted to use XJ9 as a military weapon, and the only way she could hide Jenny from him was to hide her away and trap her hiding spot, faking a story of her disappearance. After Sharp found out, he was enraged. He had found information on Brad and XJ9’s friends and threatened to kill them unless Nora built a new weapon. Pilar had been her closest friend and associate, working with her to keep the façade, but she knows she has to fight back. If her daughter can forgive her….or better yet, even if she can’t. Nora and Jenny soon reconcile after an emotional conversation, both missing the relative simplicity of the past and their past mistakes (Well, mostly Nora.) Eventually, we have to move on and change with time, but we don’t have to change who we are deep down. However, they know how they can stop him. Nora feels a duty to stop her. Jenny was still hands down the best thing she had ever created, and with all she had done and the evil she reluctantly helped to create, she may be the key to ensuring things go back to how they once were. Nora soon admits that things won’t go back the way they once were, but they’re not supposed to. She seems excited to redeem herself and see her daughter again, trying to inspire that same energy in Jenny. Indeed, she also might have a way for them to set things right, adding that she wouldn’t create something if she didn’t have a way to reign it in if thing went awry. She can find DeCiM just as she did to XJ9, and just because she is stronger and quicker in wit, that doesn’t mean that she is unbeatable. It’s revealed that Sharp is preparing to take on his role as de factor CEO of TruLee and travel overseas to Europe in an airship to sell multiple billions of dollars’ worth of synthetic tech. A small navy follows from beneath his airship, carrying the tech. DeCiM is guarding him, ready to ensure that nothing bad will happen. She’s very much willing to follow Sharp’s orders. Sharp remarks that Skyway Patrol could only wish to get its hands-on weapons like these, at least when the organization didn’t completely fall apart. DeCiM, however, feels nervous that Jenny is going to come back. She demands validation that she is indeed the stronger version, but Sharp reassures her. “I am the future; I have to win this.” DeCiM begins to show more rage than ever, but her emotions are still blocked. Sharp calls her out, telling her not to get too emotional. The hot pink private jet from Brittany and Tiffany arrives near the fleet, and Tuck is annoyed that their hot pink jet will do little to blend in, but it indeed has an impressive camouflage feature. Stockwell is a skilled pilot, while Pilar tries to connect with Nora. Every time she gets a message, however, she keeps getting intercepted. Ivy reveals that she was on the plane, much to the adults’ horror. More so, they are soon found out and surrounded by droned. DeCiM prepares to take out their jet, but just before she can, a giant blast of energy shoots through the sky and slams DeCiM away. As DeCiM is slammed, a helicopter pulls in close, piloted by Nora. She thanks Jenny for the extra boost of speed. Nora gives advice to Jenny, but also admits that she overstated how much info she had on her weaknesses. Jenny is less than pleased. Sharp is appalled to see the intruders and orders DeCiM to kill Jenny and her allies. Stockwell rushes his plane through the air to avoid the drones, racing through a raging sea in the middle of the night. He dives close to the waves and ends up trapping the drones in giant splashes of water, disabling them and causing some to explode. DeCiM, meanwhile, gets into an all-out brawl with Jenny. They fly through the air and use knife/chainsaw like tools, projectile weapons, and even laser eyes against each other. Both have quite the myriad of tools and are forced to reckon with them. Nora, meanwhile, sneaks into one of the ships and tries to hide inside, knocking out a guard quite readily. He’s pretty shocked as he collapses. Brad motorcycles toward the coast nearest to the battle and tries to radio Tuck, who is still mad at him. He is deeply apologetic for his behavior and being possessive of XJ9, while Tusks asks if he can save the forgiveness until after they die. If they stay alive. Brad admits that he has information on DeCiM’s weakness, retreating to a nearby pub to his location and set up a connection. Brad barges in, connecting the drive to his laptop and trying to send something over with the spotty connection he has. The bar patrons seem confused by his harried behavior, especially as he only requests a LOT of coffee. Jenny and DeCiM’s brawl takes them underwater and through the sky, as DeCiM tries to disorient Jenny until she is too weak to move. Jenny notices that DeCiM fights in a cold, hostile manner. DeCiM promises that the lack of emotion and connection makes her stronger. Thankfully, Jenny shoots a blade off DeCiM's back, and she makes an awkward quip about how DeCiM needs to cut it out, but suddenly, DeCiM freezes. She seems literally unable to process the bland joke. Brad realizes that DeCiM’s aversion towards emotion is not just a feature, but it may also be a bug. Brad tries to convince Jenny (via Tuck) to spur an emotional reaction out of her any way she can. She won’t be able to know what to do. Desperately trying to fight it, DeCiM keeps attacking Jenny, who tries to scare her, make her laugh, cry, and so on again, trying to create a big reaction. DeCiM remains stoic, but soon begins to freeze up. Jenny uses this to deliver a swift blow that lands her on a boat below, almost sinking it with her force. Nora is excited to see her daughter kicking ass again, remarking that she’s got to get out of the house more. Jenny flies back to her, as a now enraged DeCiM prepares to attack once more, refusing to be played as a fool. She’s supposed to be the superior version. Jenny tries to help her out, knowing that if she can feel just as she does, then she doesn’t have to go down this path. DeCiM refuses, starting to cry (as a robot can). “So this is what it’s like….it’s a nice feeling. Jenny…you win this round. Maybe…. all of them.” letting herself drown in the ocean below. Jenny looks on with light sadness. However, she now has to catch up with Sharp. Seeing her friends in trouble, she goes full hero more with a fury in her heart, helping them take out the drones and attacking almost anything in her way. Sharp’s inventory is almost destroyed, and he begins to panic. Stockwell, meanwhile, also realizes the ship has several laser guns, using it to destroy the ships below. Pilar tells him that people are on those ships, so he picks them up in the Jet before, as Tuck and Pilar tie them up, lightly flirting with each other. Jenny soon arrives on Sharp’s ship, and he seems utterly defenseless and pathetic. He promises Jenny that he can ensure that the past can return, that she can go back to living a simple life, just as she had known things. Sharp wants to revive an age of conquest and power. “We’re sure to hit the stars soon enough, I need to make sure we come out on top. We can both leave this space happily.” Jenny remarks that she has a new normal. New friends, new role, new life. But she’s the same hero she always was. As Jenny is about to restrain him, she’s shocked to find out that Sharp is actually a robot in exoskin. Sharp takes a small canister containing “Cyanoil” and takes it to his mouth. “Vexus…sends…her…regards.” Sharp collapses, as Jenny is shocked. As they arrive near Portugal, several ships awkwardly land, while Tuck kisses the ground. He and Pilar share a funny moment, though Tuck admits that he’s gay. Pilar knew it, valuing their teamwork and friendship, never looking for romance. The flirting was all in jest. She winks at him. Jenny and Nora share a truly close moment together, Nora promising that she will be there for Jenny from here on out and not give her any surprises. Jenny, however, could actually give high school a try, now that her name is cleared and all. Brittany and Tiffany soon arrive, more relieved to see their jet safe than Jenny herself. Jenny remarks that some things never change. However, the two cousins apologize, bawling their eyes out after their existential crisis. Tiffany admits too much, much to Britt’s annoyance. Jenny awkwardly walks away as they keep rambling. Brad also arrives via a last-minute flight, realizing that he truly got to help Jenny. Tuck runs up to him, giving him a hug, as does Ivy. They reconcile, Brad promising to keep getting back up on his feet while Tuck promises to support him every step of the way. Brad also wants to see this robot that Ivy mentioned she was working on, but she remarks that it’s still very much a work in progress. Brad and Jenny also agree to keep their relationship as friends, Jenny teasing him and trying to look for singles in Tremorton, as well as job postings. Brad feels a bit embarrassed, but everyone laughs together. Jenny, amidst that laughter, suddenly realizes that Vexus was mentioned, but Tuck remarks that she probably won’t have to deal with that for two years. Jenny, Pilar, Brad, Tuck, Ivy, and Nora buy back their original home and turn it into a new headquarters of XJ9, a new global superhero. In a way, things went back to how they’ve been before, but Nora is trying to be more and more transparent, her re-appearance making global headlines. There’s a lot she still needs to learn about, but she’s excited to get back into the swing of things. We also find out that Sheldon Lee was freed, dramatically scaling back TruLee’s operations to avoid another takeover like that. He promises to support Jenny and her new “family” while also spending recklessly on getting them a vacation around the world, becoming further and further from being an excessive billionaire. The six accept. XJ9 flies through Tremorton, slowly rebuilding her image as a hero. The world has changed, and she has changed with it, but the core of Jenny is still the same. She’s still the hero of the world, but it’s more complicated than a Saturday morning cartoon. Come what may, she has everything she needs and is ready to live in the now and fight for the future. Jenny smiles as she makes peace with the world. Stockwell, however, goes off on his own way. It is revealed that he himself is a robot too. He steps into a secret spaceship on the side of town, pulling up a screen. He soon reaches the Queen of Cluster Prime, Queen Vega (mo-cap by Taylor-Klaus). She is excited to hear that her mother’s plan had been thwarted for now. Earth’s connection to extraterrestrial life and the world beyond the stars had been severed, but XJ9 can become the new champion and bring things toward galactic unity. For now, it’s time to watch and see what happens. THE END The end credits are set to animation in the style of the cartoon, animating the cast in the style of the show’s animation. The song is "Still Moving on" by Icona Pop, which reconciles the themes of nostalgia but trying to not live in the past. It is similar to this song: A post credits scene shows Ivy working on her latest robot, something she had found the pieces for at a local junkyard. Brad, Jenny, and Tuck are eager to see it. Ivy unveils her creation, using air quotes due to having much of the wiring in place already. It’s more of a refurbishment, frankly. The tiny creation reveals itself as….Kilgore. (voice by Kate Miccuci) Jenny tries to feign excitement, knowing Ivy is unaware of the horror that she had brough back. Kilgore brags about being evil, but Ivy sprays it with oil, remarking that it’s a big no-no. Jenny sighs in relief. Edited September 23, 2019 by Spaghetti 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xillix Posted June 4, 2019 Author Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Voicemail Release Date: October 28, Y6 Studio: Red Crescent Pictures Genre: Horror Director: Jee-Woon Kim Executive Producer: Takashi Miike Theater Count: 3,305 Premium Formats: Dolby Cinema, IMAX Shooting Format: Digital 4.3K (Arri Alexa LF) Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Release Image Formats: 4K DCP, 4K Dolby Vision DCP, 2K IMAX Digital DCP, 4K IMAX with Laser DCP Release Audio Formats: 5.1, 7.1, Dolby Atmos, IMAX 12-Channel Production Budget: $30 million MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 110 minutes Major Cast: Morena Baccarin (Yara), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Harold), Dalila Bela (Natalie), Megan Charpentier (Stacie), Rorrie D. Travis (Isaac), Esme Creed-Miles (Melanie/Naomi) Plot Summary: A loose remake/reimagining of the 2003 Japanese film Chakushin Ari by director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Minako Daira, previously remade in English as 2008’s One Missed Call by director Eric Valette. Spoiler We open on an autumn afternoon at a nondescript American high school. A line of text, typed letter by letter onto the screen as if in an SMS message, informs us of the time and date: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 4:14 PM The last of the school buses pulls out into the street. A student is sitting by the front steps to the building’s entrance, waiting for her ride home. She’s texting away on her phone, asking her mother how much longer she’ll be. An indication that her mother is typing a response appears, lingering for several seconds before vanishing. She waits and stares, the phone idling long enough for the screen to turn itself off. In the black mirror, careful viewers will spot the silhouette of a human figure standing above her, on the roof of the school. Frustrated, the girl wakes up her phone and begins writing another text – only to be distracted by the sound of her mother’s car pulling up to the curb. She stands up and begins to walk towards the unremarkable minivan- And suddenly the body of another teenage girl falls from the roof and slams down on the pavement directly in front of her. The student shrieks as she is splattered with blood, dropping her phone to the pavement. The camera zooms in on its cracked, glitching screen, which displays the opening credits and title card: VOICEMAIL Fade in on an establishing shot of another high school – a newer building, more modern-looking. The trees are in their full autumnal colors, leaves swirling on the ground as the wind blows them around. It’s early morning, and students are just beginning to arrive for the day’s classes. The time and date appear again: MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 7:55 AM Inside, a teacher, Yara Ribiero (Morena Baccarin), is meeting with the school principal in his office. The two are having an argument – the kind of tense but polite disagreement that simmers rather than boils, the acrimony conveyed in long, unblinking glares, crossed arms, and stern, measured words. It’s about a student in the history class Yara teaches – Natalie Lloyd. Yara believes, based on her behavior and a suspicious injury from several weeks ago, that Natalie is being abused at home. But the administration believes Yara is grasping at straws, and that there isn’t enough evidence to make a report. Natalie has seen the counselor repeatedly and denied any troubles at home. Yara is unwilling to cede the point, but the argument is cut short when the principal points out class is about to begin. She leaves in a huff, warning him that when the truth comes out, he will regret his decision. Just before class begins, Yara calls Natalie (Dalila Bela) – who’s having a discussion with her friend Isaac (Rorrie D. Travis) – over to her desk on the pretense of discussing an assignment she’d turned in late. Instead, she simply slips her a piece of paper with her personal cell phone number written on it. Yara tells her to call if she ever needs anything, and, reluctantly, Natalie takes the number and slides it into her pocket. The bell rings and the students, Natalie included, take their seats as Yara steps in front of the whiteboard at the head of the classroom. Across town, detective Harold Yates (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is in the station filling out paperwork. He checks his cell phone for messages, but sees nothing but his own outgoing texts to a woman named Jess – his sister. She hasn’t replied since yesterday afternoon. Harold calls her up, but is sent straight to voicemail. He leaves her a message asking her to call back as soon as possible – they’re supposed to be planning their parents’ anniversary dinner. He then second guesses himself and apologizes for bothering her with so many messages, since, he reasons, she’s probably just stuck grading papers. He says he looks forward to hearing from her and, rather awkwardly, hangs up. In the middle of Yara’s class, the sound of a ringing cell phone interrupts the lesson. It’s a strange, eerie tune, and when Yara asks whose it is, no one takes responsibility. A fellow student sitting nearby identifies the sound as coming from the bag of a female pupil, Stacie (Megan Charpentier), but Stacie denies it – it’s not her ringtone, she insists. But at Yara’s urging, Stacie checks her bag – and it is in fact her phone. By the time she’s fished it out of the bag, it’s been too long and the ringing stops. Yara gently scolds her for leaving her phone on during class and confiscates it. THE RINGTONE: At the end of the school day, as kids begin to filter out to the buses, Stacie comes back to Yara’s classroom to pick up her phone. She’s still upset that it was taken, claiming the call could have been an emergency. Indeed, she sees that she has a voicemail waiting, showing her teacher the screen to prove she’d kept her from getting some important message – but when she pulls it up, she becomes confused, then agitated, claiming someone must be playing a cruel joke on her. It’s not just the strange ringtone – the call, according to the log, came from her own number. And then there’s the timestamp, which claims the message was left on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 7:50 AM. Assuming someone has hacked her phone somehow, Stacie decides to listen to the message to see if it offers any clues to their identity. The first thing she hears on the recording is the sound of running water, as if from a faucet. Then a loud, metallic bang. A startled voice calling out - “What the fuck?” It’s her own voice. Then there’s a piercing scream and another loud bang. The message ends. Freaking out, Stacie attempts to delete the message – but nothing happens. She can’t get rid of it. Yara, who couldn’t hear much of it, tries to reassure her it’s just a prank, or some kind of glitch, but can’t calm her student down. As Yara tries to ask what was in the message, the pair are startled when Stacie’s phone rings again – but this time with a normal ringtone. It’s just one of her friends telling her the bus is about to leave, asking her what’s taking so long. That evening, Yara returns home and checks her mail. Among the bills and junk mail, she finds a letter addressed to her, sent from a state prison. The name of the writer is Eberardo Ribiero. Without opening the letter, she angrily rips it to pieces and throws the scraps away. The next morning, we open again with a typed-out onscreen subtitle: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25 – 7:47 AM Buses are beginning to arrive at the high school, with students chatting, stopping at their lockers, and milling about before classes start. Yara is finishing her preparations for the day in her classroom when she spots Natalie passing by the door. She’s walking with a slight limp that she’s trying to hide. After hastily scribbling the first of the day’s lecture notes on the whiteboard, Yara rushes out into the hallway to try and catch up with her. But Natalie has disappeared into the growing crowd of students. Persistent, Yara continues down the hallway, weaving through groups of kids in search of Natalie. Several students glance at her, confused, and one of them, carrying a cup of iced coffee, is distracted enough to bump into a classmate – Stacie. The coffee spills onto Stacie, ruining her shirt. Stacie heads to the girls’ restroom to wash up. There’s no one else inside; the doors to all of the stalls hang open. She heads to one of the faucets, turning it on – it sputters noisily before clearing up and offering an uninterrupted stream. The large mirror on the wall gives Stacie, and the audience, a clear view of the empty stalls behind her as she dampens a paper towel and tries to clean off her shirt. Suddenly, one of the stall doors swings shut on its own, slamming closed with a loud metallic bang. “What the fuck?” Stacie calls out, turning around to the source of the noise. Glancing under the now-closed door, she can see the feet of another girl inside the stall through the gap. Out in the hall, Yara is still looking for Natalie, but seems discouraged, about to give up. Then she hears Stacie’s shrieking from inside the restroom. Everyone in the hallway turns their head, startled, but none of the students go to check. Yara, perhaps worried it could be Natalie, goes running for the door, slowed by the throng of teens packing the corridor. Cut back to inside the restroom. Stacie’s head slams down hard against the counter, leaving a pool of blood. It happens again, and again, the sound of her skull cracking clearly audible as her forehead smashes into the corner of the hard slab. Her blood begins to flow into the sink, mixing with the water from the faucet and swirling down the drain. By the time Yara arrives and throws open the restroom door, not even twenty seconds after the scream, Stacie is dead. Her teacher watches as her lifeless body crumples to the floor in front of the still-running faucet, her face an unrecognizable, bloody mess. A few students peer in through the door behind her, and all of the witnesses recoil and scream in shock. A short time later, several police cars and a mortician’s van have arrived at the school. The buses, which never even left, are now being loaded back up with students to take them home. Inside, near the scene of Stacie’s death, Yara and a handful of other students have been kept behind for questioning. Harold Yates has been assigned to investigate the incident, and is tasked with interviewing Yara. He begins by trying to console her as best he can, but Yara is plainly uninterested in his attempts to be sympathetic. She’s not only still horrified by what happened, but visibly angry at Harold’s presence. Still, she begrudgingly cooperates to the extent she can. She didn’t see anyone else in the restroom, and she didn’t see anyone leave it right before she went in. “There were a lot of kids in the way, though. Could you have missed someone leave if they were blocking your-” “Yes, maybe. I don’t know,” Yara responds defensively. “You asked me if I saw anyone. I didn’t. None of the kids did either.” “Well,” Harold responds, clearly a bit frustrated, “we have officers interviewing them too, so we’ll find that out on our own, thank you.” “Sure you will,” Yara replies sarcastically. After a tense pause, Harold continues the interview, asking the usual questions – did Stacie seem depressed or suicidal? Did she suspect Stacie might have been on drugs? Did she have any enemies? Were there any threats made against her? Yara answers no over and over again, her patience waning each time. Then she remembers what had happened the previous day. She hesitates, and Harold picks up on it. “Is there something? Anything. No matter how small.” “Well, it’s stupid...” Yara says, unsure about saying anything at all. “I need to know everything you know,” Harold presses. “...yesterday, Stacie got a weird phone call. Like, some kind of prank. It went to voicemail, but it said the message was from her own number. And that it was left this morning.” Puzzled, Harold furrows his brow. “This morning? But she got the call yesterday?” “Yeah, in the middle of first period… she thought someone might have hacked her phone. And when she listened to the message, she was really freaked out.” “Did you hear any of it?” “Not really, no. Just noise. But she was scared. Maybe… maybe someone did threaten her.” Harold assures Yara that Stacie’s phone will be taken into evidence and checked for the message. Again, he tries to tell her that the police department will do everything they can to find out what happened, but Yara seems unconvinced. Still, she accepts Harold’s card when he offers it, telling her to call him if she remembers anything else useful. On one of the school buses taking the kids home early, the sound of confused, frightened students talking amongst themselves is deafening. Sitting alone in the back corner seat is Natalie’s friend Isaac, trying to contact his parents on his phone to tell them about being sent home. Neither one is answering his texts or calls. The kid sitting across the aisle from him leans over to talk to him. “Didn’t you know Stacie?” he asks. “Not really,” Isaac replies absentmindedly. “We’ve been working on a group project together. Mostly just online or over the phone.” “Ohhhh. I didn’t know her either. My friend says she was a real bitch though,” the kid continues. Isaac glares at him, and he gets the message to shut up loud and clear. Just then Isaac’s phone rings – with the same creepy melody that interrupted Yara’s class the day before. His screen lights up, indicating an incoming call from a number – one he reads over intently, confused. He recognizes it as his own. Hesitantly, he answers. There is the sound of whirring machinery in the background. Quickly, though, this is drowned out by his voice, screaming in terror. “STOP! STOP IT!” he shouts over and over, a repetitive pounding sound like knocking on a large metal door providing a backbeat. Terrified, he hangs up. As soon as he does, he receives a notification that he has a new voicemail. It’s still from his number, dated WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 10:16 AM. He doesn’t bother listening to it; he knows it will be more of the same. However, his attempts to delete the message are fruitless. Isaac is still shaken as he is dropped off in front of his apartment building by the school bus. He goes inside, taking the elevator up to the fourth floor and making his way down the hall to his family’s apartment. The door is locked, and knocking elicits no answer. Neither of his parents have responded to his texts. A neighbor – a frail old lady – pops her head out of the door across the hall to inform him that his parents are both out and about. Her clothes and face are speckled with red, which she insists is paint. She invites him inside, but there is something off-putting and a bit creepy about her demeanor. He politely but awkwardly refuses, taking a seat next to his door and waiting for someone to get home. Natalie arrives home soon after, finding that the front door to her house is locked as well. When she knocks, though, she does get the attention of her father – a large, disheveled man who is presently sitting in front of the TV with a beer, watching a trashy daytime talk show surrounded by his own garbage – empty cans, snack food wrappers and the like. He’s frustrated by the sound of knocking interrupting his viewing, indignantly stomping over to the front door and peering through the peephole. When he sees his daughter, his mood does not lighten. He pulls the door open without unlatching the chain, the old wooden frame creaking at the strain as it is stretched taut. “The fuck are you doing here?” he asks. “I called you, dad. I left a message. School sent us home.” “You know I don’t keep my phone on when I’m watching TV,” he scolds her, as if this is her fault. “And why in the hell would they send you back this early?” “A girl died, dad. The cops came and everything. Someone might have killed her.” “Bullshit! How’d you come up with that one, huh? You lazy little bitch.” “If you don’t believe me,” Natalie replies, evidently used to this sort of behavior, “Check the news.” Mr. Lloyd falls silent for a moment, one angry eye glaring at her through the crack in the door. He doesn’t appreciate being told what to do. Finally though, he relents, confident she is lying. “Fine. I will. But when it turns out you’re full of shit, you’re gonna be in trouble.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket, powering it on and waiting for it to boot up. Then he loads up a local news app and, to his surprise, finds the top headline is in fact about a suspicious death at the high school. Without apologizing, he unlatches the door, turning away from his daughter and walking back over to the couch as he steps inside. “At least you can clean up this goddamn mess now that you’re here,” he grunts back at her. Isaac is still sitting in front of his apartment, waiting for someone to come home and let him in. His mother has finally replied to a text message, saying she’s on her way back from the grocery store. He navigates through his contacts, deleting Stacie’s number, and then decides to text Natalie about the strange message he got on the bus. There is no reply, though. Natalie’s phone is on silent mode so as not to bother her dad while she cleans. Isaac sends a few messages before giving up, and soon his mother arrives back to let him in. She is, unlike Natalie’s father, genuinely concerned about her child, and as the pair enter the apartment together they begin a long conversation, distracting Isaac from his attempts to contact Natalie. At the police station, Harold is going through Stacie’s phone. There’s no sign of the strange voicemail that Yara had told him about, no sign of anything suspicious at all. He’s interrupted by a call on his own phone – it’s from the county coroner’s office. Instinctively, he assumes that it’s about Stacie, and begins to ask about her – only to be gently, sympathetically corrected. It’s not Stacie’s body they need to talk to him about. It’s his sister’s. Barely keeping up a brave face – his cheeks still stained red from the tears he’s recently wiped away – Harold arrives at the county morgue to positively identify his sister Jess. She’s been dead since some time on Sunday, but no one had found her body until today. Her death appears to have been a suicide; when a coworker of hers from the school where she taught a few towns over came to check on her after not showing up for two days in a row without calling in, she found her roasted alive with her torso shoved into her oven. Harold confirms the body is his sister’s, but refuses to accept that she would have killed herself. There was no indication, he says, that she was depressed. She loved her job – so much that she even tutored kids from all across the county after school. Still, he can’t think of any other reasonable explanation for how she wound up the way she did. Her personal effects – wallet, jewelry, cell phone – are turned over to the devastated Harold. Later that night, after cleaning up from the dinner she made for her and her father, Natalie finally gets a moment to herself. She retreats to her small bedroom at the end of a short hallway in the corner of the house – which doesn’t have a door – as her drunken dad sits back down on the couch. Pulling out her phone and the piece of paper Yara had given her that morning, she hesitates for a moment before beginning to dial her teacher’s number. She completes the sequence, but can’t bring herself to press the call button. Instead, she adds the number to her contacts, silently telling herself she will have it in case she feels she truly needs it. Then she finally sees Isaac’s messages about the strange phone call he’d gotten – the weird ringtone that matched the one on Stacie’s phone, his own number, the timestamp from the future, the disturbing audio. Concerned, she finally texts him back, and for a while they discuss what they think is going on. When her father calls for her from the living room, Natalie, in the middle of typing out a reply, doesn’t answer immediately. That brings him storming into her room to punish her. When he sees that she’s been exchanging messages – with a boy, no less – he becomes even more enraged. He takes her cell phone and then proceeds to punch her right in the face. The camera pulls out backwards through the empty door frame of her room, hiding the further abuse that we hear occurring on the other side. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 10:12 AM The date and time are typed out over a wide establishing shot of Isaac’s apartment building. School is out today again because of Stacie’s death, and Isaac is home with his mother. He’s concerned because of the abrupt loss of contact with Natalie the night before. He sends her another text, again with no reply. He goes back to his saved voicemails, noting that the time indicated on the mysterious message is fast approaching. His mother can see the look of anxiety forming on his face, but when she asks him about it, he simply mentions his friend not texting him back. How would he even begin to explain this to his mother? It didn’t even make sense to him. Besides, he assures himself silently, it’s probably some sort of sick joke. Just then there’s a sudden, light but sharp series of knocks on their door. It’s the old lady from the apartment across the hall, who Isaac’s mother greets warmly as Ms. Carruthers. She’s on her way to the consignment shop to try and sell some of her paintings, she explains, but she needs help carrying them all. Since there’s no school today, she was hoping he could give her a hand. At his mother’s silent urging, Isaac agrees to go with her. They head over into her apartment, which is surprisingly clean and tidy save for the stack of paintings propped up next to her easel waiting to be taken away. Her TV is on in the background, playing the local news. She tries to be thankful and polite to Isaac, but he is clearly a bit creeped out by her anyway. That feeling is greatly reinforced as he picks up the paintings and sees the newest one – a portrait of Stacie, crying. More than a bit freaked out, he asks Ms. Carruthers why she would paint this. She says she saw her picture on the news early that morning when they released her name, and felt moved by the loss of “such a sweet young thing.” She intended the painting as a tribute, she says. Isaac politely suggests that perhaps it would be in poor taste to try and sell this particular piece. Ms. Carruthers seems surprised at the notion, but ultimately agrees. The two make their way down the hall to the elevator, Isaac carrying all of the paintings as his slow, elderly neighbor lags behind. There is a girl waiting for the elevator already, shown only in out-of-focus glimpses, her dark hair, white dress, and thin shape vaguely visible. The elevator arrives with Isaac and his neighbor still quite a ways up the hall, and the girl steps into the car alone. By the time the pair reach the elevator, it’s back down on the first floor. Ms. Carruthers tries to make small talk as they wait for it to return, which Isaac tunes out. When the indicator dings and the doors slide open, Isaac eagerly steps forward. He catches himself at the last minute, inches from disaster, stumbling and dropping the paintings onto the floor. The doors are open, but the car is not there. In front of him is only the darkness of the empty shaft. He glances up at the floor counter above the doors – the car is still stopped down on the floor below. Just as Ms. Carruthers remarks on how strange this is, a girl’s arm shoots up out of the shaft, grabbing onto Isaac’s ankle and pulling. With a shocked gasp, he tumbles into the void. Isaac lands on top of the elevator car. He’s hurt, but not too badly – it was a short fall. There is no sign of the girl. The people in the elevator are startled by the loud, heavy thud, but their efforts to leave the car are stopped by the doors suddenly slamming shut – which they also do up on the fourth floor in front of Ms. Carruthers. The elevator passengers frantically slam on the buttons, but to no effect. With the loud whir of machinery, the car begins its ascent to the top floor. Muffled by the thick metal roof of the car, Isaac’s screaming is barely audible - “STOP! STOP IT!” The camera remains trained on the increasingly panicked passengers as the young man’s fists bang uselessly against the roof, the elevator climbing ever upward despite all attempts to halt its progress. Finally, with a wet, sickening squelch, Isaac’s body is pressed against the top of the shaft. Stubbornly the car continues to force its way upward, Isaac’s agonized vocalizations growing more intense as he is crushed. The lights in the car flicker as a final lurch of several inches finishes the job, bones snapping just above the passengers, blood beginning to flow down through the air vent in the car ceiling. Cut to Natalie’s house. Battered and bruised, she is scrubbing the toilet in her filthy, tiny bathroom when she is surprised to hear the sound of a cell phone ringing out in the living room. It’s a ringtone she doesn’t recognize – the same creepy melody from before. A frightened look of realization dawns on her face as she recognizes it as the song that played on Stacie’s phone the day before she died – the one Isaac described in his messages. She stands up and rushes out of the bathroom only to find her father angrily answering her confiscated phone. His vulgar greeting is interrupted by the sound of his daughter’s voice on the other end of the line. We do not hear the message, only the muffled sounds of the call as he jerks his head around in confusion. “Natalie?” he asks. “What the fuck is this?” He hangs up the call and catches sight of his daughter at the other end of the room. Natalie begins to ask what the call was, but her father won’t let her speak. He accuses her of trying to play some sort of joke, of having another phone stashed away somewhere to call him with. He stomps towards her like a hungry beast, and as his body fills the frame, we cut away. Harold has been called to the scene of Isaac’s death, and is just wrapping up the questioning of Ms. Carruthers. She is adamant that she saw a hand reach out of the shaft and pull Isaac in, but Harold understandably doesn’t believe her. Something else she says does catch his interest, though – she mentions how strange it is that he would die just a day after “his friend Stacie.” Upon further questioning, though, she can’t really say for sure how well they knew each other or even if they really were friends – just that he recognized her painting of the girl. It’s enough, though, that Harold asks to speak to Isaac’s mother for a moment as she’s being interviewed by another officer. Remembering what Yara had told him about Stacie’s odd voicemail, he asks if Isaac had mentioned anything similar. He hadn’t, she says, but she adds that he did seem oddly fixated on his phone right before he died. He’d been worried about a friend not replying to him, but she got the sense there might be something more going on. Unfortunately, Isaac’s cell phone was in his pocket when he died and was crushed along with his body. Several hours later, Mr. Lloyd is passed out drunk on the couch, TV still on, blaring out a news update about Isaac’s bizarre death that morning. Horrified, Natalie – now even more visibly battered – decides she has to call Yara. But her father still has her phone, which is just visible sticking out of the side pocket of his torn jeans. As quietly as she can manage, she steps around the garbage on the floor, the spots of the wood paneling she knows creak. The grisly details of her friend’s sudden demise are repeated loudly in the background and, distracted for a moment, she accidentally kicks a discarded can. It rolls noisily across the floor, causing her to freeze in terror. Thankfully, her father’s snoring drones on undisturbed. Closing the gap, she reaches gently over the couch armrest, stretching out her arm and wrapping a few fingers delicately around the top of her cell phone. Gradually, she pulls it loose, sliding it up and out of the pocket until it falls out onto the stained cushion. With a sigh of relief she picks it up and leans back, holding up the screen. As she lifts the device up to her face, she glimpses the reflection of a girl in white standing behind her by the entrance to her bedroom. With a sharp, quiet gasp, Natalie turns around. For just one or two frames, the girl’s left foot is visible as she steps through the door frame. Just as slowly and carefully as before, Natalie works her way back across the living room toward the doorway and peeks her head around the frame carefully. It doesn’t look like there is anyone in her room. She steps inside, turning around to examine the corners, but finds nothing. Nervously she steps over to the far corner of the room – as far away as she can possibly get from her father without leaving the house – and checks her messages. Indeed, she has a voicemail from her own number, dated WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 9:37 PM. The current time is 8:56. Turning the volume down as low as it will go, she plays the message. “DAD, NO! STOP!” she screams in the recording. Also audible is the sound of her father’s grunting and panting in the background, and finally, the crunching and breaking of several bones. The last words in the message are her father’s - “Oh God, no...” Yara is also watching the news report about Isaac in her own apartment when she gets a call from a number she doesn’t recognize. She stares at the screen for a moment, her breath caught in her throat, before deciding to answer. It’s Natalie, whispering through the line so that Yara can barely hear her. Frantically, Natalie rants about how she’s scared, how she got the call that killed Isaac, how she has less than an hour to go. Only hearing and understanding some of what is being said, Yara attempts to calm her down over the phone, asking in a sympathetic, understanding voice what she can do to help. There is silence on the line for several seconds until Natalie reluctantly responds, “call the police. Send them here.” Yara asks if her father is hurting her, and offers to come and get her, as if ignoring any mention of the cops. Natalie urgently, softly repeats. “Send the police. Please. I need to hang up now. I can’t let my dad hear me.” The call ends. With some trepidation, Yara pulls out the card Harold gave her and decides to call him. However, there is no answer. She stays on the line long enough for the phone to beep and begin recording a message, but decides not to say anything, hanging up and dialing the police station instead. Harold, meanwhile, is busy going over the case files in Stacie and Isaac’s deaths. As he looks over Stacie’s information, something seems to stir in his memory. He pulls his sister’s phone out of a drawer in his desk, scrolling through the contacts. Sure enough, Stacie’s name and number are in there. He finds a series of text messages exchanged between the two – Stacie was one of the out-of-town students Jess had been tutoring after school. They were even supposed to have a session on Monday night, before both of them mysteriously died. On a hunch, he looks through Jess’ outgoing calls. Sure enough, he finds a call was placed from Jess’ phone to Stacie’s at 8:41 AM on Monday morning – the morning after Jess had died, and roughly the time Yara said Stacie got the strange call during class. He picks up his own cell phone, which had been set to silent, and notices Yara’s empty voicemail. He promptly dials her back. Yara, meanwhile, is getting nowhere with the police. Without any sort of specific information, they’re unwilling to dispatch anyone to Natalie’s house. They try to refer her to CPS, but she knows that will take too long. Frustrated and desperate, she’s on the verge of screaming at the officer on the phone when she gets a call waiting notice from Harold’s number. She abruptly hangs up on the station to answer his call, greeting him with a rude, curt “What?” Harold asks what the problem is, and Yara replies that one of her students is in danger and “you people” aren’t doing anything about it. “Did someone else get one of those calls?” he asks. Yara is surprised to hear him mention it. “How did you know?” “I’d rather talk about it in person, if you don’t mind.” “Great,” she says facetiously. “Then you can meet me at Natalie Lloyd’s house and I can explain it to you while I get her out of there.” “Natalie Lloyd? She’s the one who got it?” “She said something about a call, but right now I’m more worried about the father everyone’s been letting beat her for who knows how long. If the cops don’t have the balls to go stop him then I will.” “Woah, woah, slow down. Natalie told you about this?” “She just called me saying she had less than an hour and that I had to get the cops over there. But your buddies at the station aren’t in any big hurry.” “Look, stay where you are, I’ll go check on Natalie, and then I can come and talk to you so we can-” “Fuck that!” Yara shouts. “I’m going over there now. If you want to talk to me in person you’ll need to do it there.” Before Harold can say anything else, Yara hangs up and heads out the door. Muttering obscenities to himself, Harold bolts up from his desk and also sets out for Natalie’s house. Harold arrives first, pulling up in an unmarked car and parking across the street. He walks up to the front door and knocks loudly, calling out for Mr. Lloyd. This wakes him from his drunken dreaming, and he groggily walks over to the front door, once again unlocking it but leaving the latch in place as he looks through the crack. “Mr. Lloyd,” Harold asks, “may I speak with you outside for a moment?” “Who in the hell are you?” the father responds, prompting Harold to show him his badge. At the sudden commotion, Natalie goes to peer out through her door frame – but when she sticks her head out, she is startled to see the girl in white standing there, staring right back at her. She retreats back into her room as the confrontation between Harold and her father escalates. We get a good, clear look at the girl (Esme Creed-Miles) for the first time as she walks slowly into the room, cornering Natalie. As Natalie silently cowers, the girl approaches, unspeaking, extending out her arms as if to embrace her, the faintest look of sympathy in her eyes. That’s when the front door slams shut and Mr. Lloyd charges back to his daughter’s room, finding her crouched down in the corner, the other girl having vanished. He grabs Natalie and drags her, screaming, out of the bedroom. “YOU LITTLE SHIT,” he yells as he pulls her into the bathroom, “YOU CALL THE COPS ON ME!? YOU DON’T LIKE HOW I TREAT YOU!?” Natalie struggles to fight back, to break free of his grip, but it is useless. “I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I DON’T LIKE, BITCH! TWO OF YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS DIE, BUT I’M STILL STUCK WITH YOU!” He slams the bathroom door shut behind them, locking her inside with him. By the time Yara arrives several minutes later, having driven from the other side of town, the scene is being treated as a hostage situation. With the father unwilling to talk, and both holed up inside, a SWAT team is being called in to rescue her. Yara panics, angrily shouting toward Harold, asking what he’s done, why he didn’t wait for her. Other officers hold her back, but Harold approaches her and tries to calm her down, insisting that the team they’ve brought in are highly-trained and will be able to rescue Natalie. The SWAT van pulls up and the team begins staging for entry. “You’re gonna kill her,” Yara accuses, voice lowered as she begins to cry and tremble. Cut to inside the house, where the wall clock in the living room shows that it is now 9:35 PM. The camera dollies over to the bathroom door, which is shaking as Natalie tries in vain to kick it open from the inside. Her father’s ranting and shouting is loud, insane, incomprehensible word salad. The camera holds on this scene for an uncomfortably long time, until finally the SWAT team breaks down the front door and swarms into the house. Breaking the knob off the bathroom door and forcing it open, they find Mr. Lloyd in the process of strangling his daughter to death. An officer fires off a beanbag round that strikes him in the head, stunning him just long enough for another cop to pull Natalie out. Outside, Yara is watching and listening with baited breath, her eyes locked in an unblinking gaze at the front of the house. After several uncomfortable seconds, Natalie is carried out through the front door, still alive but barely conscious. Yara instinctively goes to run to her, but Harold gently holds her back. Moments later, a handcuffed but still combative Mr. Lloyd is dragged out of the house as well. He is shoved into the back of a cruiser and locked inside. By now a news van has also arrived and begun to broadcast the events. Natalie is put on a stretcher and loaded into the back of an ambulance, and Yara demands to go and ride with her, but Harold refuses, saying she will be looked after. Yara tries to push her way past him, but he stands strong, warning her she’s very close to being arrested herself. Before she can reply, their attention is wrested away by the sound of Mr. Lloyd shrieking in the back of the cop car. Mr. Lloyd is convulsing, almost as if having a seizure, his arms flailing around, his body rocking back and forth, slamming against the screen separating the back seats from the front. As the cops and the news cameraman turn to watch, Yara insists she can see someone else in the car, someone ducked down below the window – she’s glimpsing hands and arms that have grabbed onto the man, shaking him, battering him, twisting his limbs around. They are, in fact, there, but between the rapid movement and the glare of the lights from the emergency vehicles on the glass, they are very difficult to make out. Harold runs over to the back of the news van, Yara following, and the two take a look at the monitors receiving transmissions from the camera. With the aid of the camera’s zoom lens, they are now sure they see exactly what Yara has described – at least for a split second, before their view is obscured by officers rushing over to try and open the car door. For some reason, they cannot. Suddenly, Mr. Lloyd’s head is slammed up against the window. It happens once, then again, and again, until finally, on the fourth strike, the window shatters. His screams cease as he finally dies, and only now are the police able to pry the door open. There is no one else inside the car – but now it can be seen that Mr. Lloyd’s body is horribly twisted, joints bent backwards, arms and legs tied together in broken knots. Harold asks the technician at the back of the news van to play back the footage of Mr. Lloyd’s convulsions. “You saw it too?” the technician asks, surprised. “I thought I was going crazy.” But when he plays back the footage, the hands that had been puppeting Mr. Lloyd’s body are gone without a trace. As the scene is wrapped up, Harold agrees to give Yara a ride home, as she’s feeling too shaken to drive herself back. They take the opportunity to discuss the phone calls – how Natalie said she’d gotten one, and Isaac had too, and how Harold had discovered Stacie’s call had come from someone else – after she had also died suspiciously. He avoids mentioning that this “someone else” was, in fact, his sister. Yara fills in the fact that Stacie and Isaac had been working on a project together and had exchanged phone numbers for that purpose. Harold asks her to repeat everything she remembers about when Stacie got the call, and she begins to describe the strange ringtone – -Only for that very tune to suddenly begin playing from her own phone. Mortified, she retrieves the device from her pocket, the screen indicating an incoming call from her own number. Harold implores her to answer it, but she can’t bring herself to do so. He tries to snatch the phone from her, but she won’t let him, pulling it away. Finally the ringing stops, and instantly she gets a notification of a new voicemail – dated THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 7:00 PM. Yara freaks out, ripping the case off of her phone, smashing it against the dashboard until the screen is shattered. Harold tells her to stop, but he can’t do much about it while he’s busy driving. She drops it to the floorboard and stomping it with the heel of her shoe until it’s a dead, non-functional mess. Finally, she rolls down the window and tosses the remains of her phone out onto the street, breaking down in sobs and screams. By the time they arrive back at Yara’s apartment, she’s calmed down somewhat, with significant help from Harold. To his surprise, she invites him inside, where she hesitantly thanks him for saving Natalie. As politely as he can, he asks her what her issue is with the cops – why she couldn’t trust him before. It takes a bit of coaxing, but eventually, Yara agrees to share her story, shown in flashback. She can’t even bring herself to look at Harold as she relates the tale. When she was a child, Yara’s father Eberardo was abusive as well. Her mother tried to hide it from Yara and Aberto, her younger brother, but they would sometimes hear him beating her at night when they’d gone to bed. Eventually it became too much for their mother to handle, and she killed herself. After that, the father’s rage turned on the children. Yara always tried to protect Aberto from their father, and as such bore the brunt of his abuse. It all culminated one night when she was ten years old, and finally worked up the courage to call the police after a particularly bad beating. When the cops arrived, they were able to get Yara out of the house before things escalated – but her little brother was taken hostage by their father, locked inside. When the police broke their way in, Eberardo shot Aberto in the head, killing him. The police arrested him just before he had the chance to shoot himself. Ever since, Yara has blamed not only her father, but the police themselves for causing her brother’s death. “I should have saved him myself,” laments a tearful Yara. “I should have gotten him out of there, whatever it took. But I called them, and I – I got him killed.” “God...” Harold replies carefully. “I… I can’t begin to say how sorry I am. But you have to understand… it was your father who killed him. Not you, not the police. Just a… a sick, sick man.” “Sick?” Yara asks scornfully in response. “Is that all? When I get sick I don’t go around shooting people. After it happened everyone was making excuses. My father’s lawyers said it wasn’t him. It was the alcohol, and the disease, something wrong with his brain. The police said it wasn’t them, that they did everything they could. So if it wasn’t either of them, then whose fault could it be but mine?” Harold tries to formulate a reply, but can’t think of anything to say. Instead, he asks a question of his own. “What happened to your father?” “Locked up in prison for life,” she replies coldly. “Some state facility for the criminally insane. He’s eligible for parole, you know? They think they can fix him.” She shakes her head angrily, her jaw clenching. “People like him can’t be fixed. They should have let him blow his fucking brains out.” Again, Harold is at a loss for words. He tries to change the subject. “You said Natalie got the call,” he points out. “So why is it that her father was the one who was killed?” “Maybe they understand,” Yara replies. “Whoever’s doing this. Maybe they saw him and knew he was the one who had to die.” Finally, after staring dejectedly forward for the entire conversation, Yara turns to look at Harold – and behind him, standing up against the wall, she sees the girl in white. She screams and recoils, but when Harold turns around, she is gone. Sitting on the floor right where she was standing, though, is Yara’s phone, completely intact. The screen is displaying the voicemail notification. Delicately, Harold picks up the phone. He offers to listen to the message for Yara, but she refuses, deciding she wants to hear it for herself. As a compromise, she puts the phone on speaker mode and plays the message. This time, there is no screaming, no banging, no menacing ambiance. Just the sound of Yara’s hushed, terrified voice asking a simple question. “Why me?” Harold is confused. “That’s it? There’s nothing else?” Yara shakes her head. “No. That’s the whole thing.” She pauses, looking again at the timestamp. “7:00 tomorrow night. Less than 24 hours.” “This doesn’t make any sense,” Harold says. “What are we even talking about here? Ghosts calling people on the phone, going through their contacts?” “My grandparents were religious,” Yara interjects. “My father didn’t like it, but sometimes they’d tell me stories. Things that happened to them back in Brazil. A lot of things that didn’t make sense unless-” “Unless ghosts are real?” “Do you have a better explanation?” Yara asks. “We both saw that girl. In the car, and now here. She killed Mr. Lloyd, she killed Isaac and Stacie, she killed-” “-My sister,” Harold interjects. “What?” “I didn’t mention it before, but… the person who died before Stacie, the one whose phone called her. It was my sister, Jess. She was Stacie’s tutor.” “My God,” Yara says softly. “I’m so sorry. But then you see what I mean… whatever’s happening, this is real. And all the victims are linked. If we can trace it back, maybe we can figure out how to stop it. Do you know who your sister got the call from?” “No. I’d have to look at the phone records, and I can’t do that without a court order. I won’t be able to do it by tomorrow night.” “Well, it has to be someone she knew. Someone who died just before her.” “I’ll look through her contacts and see if I can find out tomorrow,” Harold says. “For now… you need to get some rest. Do you want me to stay here tonight? In case-” “-In case the ghost comes back? What are you going to do about that?” “...I don’t know,” Harold admits. “Look, as far as I can tell, I’m safe until tomorrow night. Until seven, she can’t touch me.” “We don’t know that for sure. I’d feel better if-” “Go find out who called your sister,” Yara says in a demanding tone. “I’ll try to get some sleep. I’ll pick up my car and visit Natalie in the hospital in the morning. She might know something else.” Defeated, Harold sighs and nods in agreement, saying he will call her when he finds anything out. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 11:44 AM The date and time are typed out over an aerial shot of the hospital. Yara has been waiting inside for hours when a nurse arrives and informs her that Natalie is finally awake and ready for visitors. The two have a tearful reunion inside the hospital room, though Natalie’s voice is hoarse and weak as they talk. She thanks Yara for saving her, and the teacher simply nods, a sad look in her eyes. “Natalie, you said you got a call… the same call that killed Isaac?” “He told me about it before…” she trails off. “It was just like his. Except my dad was the one who answered.” “After you got the call, did you start seeing a-” “A girl, in a white dress,” Natalie confirms, growing visibly frightened. “How did you know?” “...I’ve seen her too,” Yara confirms, admitting she got the call shortly after Mr. Lloyd died. Cut back to the police station, where Harold is looking through the contacts on his sister’s phone, searching for the name of anyone who might have died recently. Eventually, he hits upon a match – two, in fact. Twin sisters, Melanie and Naomi Cornell, both also students Jess tutored. Both had committed suicide in a town on the other end of the county just last week – or at least, that was the official ruling. He continues his research as we cut back to the hospital. Yara has finished explaining what she knows about the curse to the frightened and guilt-ridden Natalie, who feels responsible for putting Yara in danger. After all, if she’d never put Yara’s number into her phone, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But Yara reassures her that it’s okay – that she’s just happy Natalie is safe. Natalie suggests that, if everything Yara said is true, she might be able to stop the curse by deleting all the contacts from her phone. One by one Yara deletes all of her stored names and numbers, which proceeds without incident until she reaches the last name on the list, the one at the very bottom sorted alphabetically by last name – Harold Yates. No matter how many times she tries, she finds she is unable to delete his number, leaving him the only target. Frantically, she tries to add in new numbers – first a made up one, then a corporate number she finds printed on a label in the room. The phone refuses to accept any of them. Suddenly it rings – it’s Harold calling to explain what he’s found. He’s found photos of Melanie and Naomi, who were identical twins. Both of them looked exactly like the ghost they saw in Yara’s apartment. Melanie, it seems, killed herself by jumping from the roof of her school on the evening of Friday, October 21st. The very next day, Naomi also died in an apparent suicide, having reportedly run out into the street in front of a car. Their parents are both missing, the mother having not been seen since shortly after Naomi’s death, and the father having apparently dropped off the map during a business trip to Mexico. Harold has a friend, Tim, who is a cop in the town where Naomi and Melanie lived. He says he’s arranged a meeting with him in a few hours to discuss the case, and he’ll keep Yara posted – but she demands to go along with him. Reluctantly, Harold agrees. Yara says her goodbyes to Natalie, once again insisting that whatever happens is not her fault. As Yara exits the room, Natalie sees the ghost cross in front of the door to her room, following Yara. 3:14 PM Yara and Harold meet at Harold’s apartment to go over what they know again while waiting for Tim to show up. Yara relays to Harold how Natalie’s father answered the call, suggesting that may be why he died instead of her. She also warns him about his number being the only one left in her phone, and is quite apologetic about the whole thing. But he says it doesn’t matter. “I’m not going to get the call,” he insists, “Because we’re going to stop this before tonight.” He says he doesn’t want Yara using her own phone anymore, and provides her with his own spare – an older model from a few years ago he’d recently been persuaded to upgrade from. Different number, different network than his own current phone or Yara’s. He’s not sure it will help, but it makes him feel a little better. He also asks her to call him from this phone to make sure something works. Yara dials his number, and Harold’s phone rings with a pleasant, calm tune as her name comes up on his screen. Harold smiles wistfully as he listens to it. “I set it up so this will only play when you call me from that phone. That way I’ll know it’s you right away,” he explains. “It’s pretty,” comments Yara. “I know,” he says. “It was my sister’s favorite song. She’s the one who convinced me to use it. We’ve had the same ringtone for years. It’s silly, but…” “I don’t think it’s silly,” Yara says. The two share a quiet, sad moment, which is suddenly interrupted by Tim’s knocking on the door. He’s arrived with copies of the case files on the Cornell family – and there’s quite a lot to go through. As he explains, Child Protective Services was in the process of building a case against Naomi and Melanie’s mother, Mary, when they both died. Neighbors and teachers had noticed signs of likely abuse and reported it, and the girls had met with a social worker. Both pointed the finger at their mother, saying that she would always hurt them whenever their father wasn’t around. Notably, Melanie had more obvious signs of abuse than her sister. Both claimed that Melanie was the one who would step in and try to protect Naomi, thus receiving most of the beatings herself. The theory the police eventually worked out was that, when her father went missing and she lost contact with him, Melanie had killed herself in despair, unwilling to bear the burden of protecting her sister alone. Naomi had followed suit the next day, too afraid of what her mother would do to here without Melanie around. Then, knowing she would be blamed for her daughters’ deaths, Mary went into hiding. The search for her, Tim explains, is still underway, as is the search for the missing father in Mexico. Tim pulls a cell phone out of his pocket – Naomi’s phone, which he’s “borrowed” from the evidence locker. Harold looks through the recent calls, but can’t find an outgoing call to Jess. In fact, the last call placed from the phone was a call to Mary – the morning after Naomi died. “Did Mary have your sister’s number?” Yara asks Harold. “Of course,” he replies. “She always exchanged numbers with the parents when she was tutoring.” “Then the reason the police haven’t found Mary is because she’s already dead,” Yara concludes. “The call went from Naomi, to her mother, and THEN to Jess.” “Woah, woah, what are you talking about?” Tim asks incredulously. “How does a phone call mean she’s dead?” Harold simply thanks him for his help but says he can’t explain just yet. He asks to hold on to Naomi’s phone, which Tim is reluctant to agree to, though he is eventually convinced. “But it’s my ass on the line,” he says. “If someone finds out, I’m taking you down with me.” “What about Melanie’s phone?” Harold asks. “They never found it,” reveals Tim. “Why do you care so much about the damn phones anyway?” “It’s probably nothing,” Harold insists unconvincingly. “Wouldn’t it have been at the school?” Yara asks eagerly. “That’s where she died. She must have had it with her.” “It wasn’t on or near her body,” Tim explains. “We don’t think she brought it with her that day. Her mother might have confiscated it. Maybe we’ll find it if we find her.” Tim, already running late for the start of his shift, has to leave. He says he’ll keep Harold posted and reminds him again not to lose any evidence. Once he leaves, Yara picks up Naomi’s phone and begins scrolling through the contacts, finding the number for Melanie. She dials it, and instead of going straight to voicemail, there’s a long period of ringing. “Melanie’s phone is still on,” she informs Harold. “So?” “So maybe there’s some way to trace it? If that’s where it all started, where it’s coming from, maybe if we destroy the phone-” “You tried that with yours and it came right back,” Harold points out. “Isaac’s phone was crushed when he died but Natalie still got the call. Why would this be any different?” “I don’t know,” an exasperated Yara admits. “But isn’t it worth trying? I can’t just sit around waiting to die!” “I can’t just do that on my own. I need-” “A warrant. I know,” she admits. As she does, though, she copies Melanie’s number from Naomi’s phone into the one Harold has just given her. “What’s that for?” “I might need it for something,” she says cryptically. Harold’s about to protest, but stops himself. Instead, he changes the subject. “If we’re right about this – that it started with Melanie – that means her first victim was her own sister. But why?” Yara sighs. “Maybe she resented her. She spent so long protecting her… suffering for her. Maybe she felt obligated to. Like it wasn’t fair.” A pause for a moment, then Yara adds - “I can only guess. My mother had a saying. In English it’s something like… we all live under our own separate skies. We try our best, but no one can ever really know how someone else feels. What it’s like to be them. We can only understand so much about each other.” Harold takes a moment to process that. “She was in a tough spot. Keeping secrets from you, trying to protect you. She probably felt like-” “No,” Yara interjects sadly. “She was right.” Harold hesitates, not sure if he should say anything else. But he figures he has to try. “What about you and Natalie? Would you have gone as far as you did to save her if you didn’t know how she felt? You put your life on the line for her.” “I guess I did,” Yara admits. She forces a smile. “Still trying to protect people from my father, maybe.” Harold says he will follow up on the search for Mary, in case that offers any more clues or she has Naomi’s phone with her. However, he suggests that Yara go home and try to take it easy. He is expecting her to object, but surprisingly, she agrees – though she certainly doesn’t seem happy about it. Harold advises her that he will stay in touch, and that she can call him any time if she needs anything. “I’m gonna do everything I can to figure this out. You’ll be okay,” he assures her. She nods silently in response as the pair go their separate ways. Yara returns to her apartment and tries to relax – a plan that doesn’t last very long at all. She is understandably anxious and winds up heading to her desk, looking up information about Melanie and the rest of the Cornell family online. The time counts away as Yara pores over every news article she can find about their deaths and disappearances. A stylized time-lapse of the computer screen shows her sorting through the information, the rapidly-passing time being shown onscreen. Finally, at 5:44 PM, she stumbles across one of Melanie’s social media pages. It’s been turned into a tribute with remembrance posts from teachers, friends, and distant relatives. One of the more recent shared posts has a link to a song – one of Melanie’s favorites, apparently. “Who else remembers having to hear this every time Mel forgot to turn off her phone in class?” the post reads. She clicks the link and is immediately greeted with the same foreboding tune – albeit in a lusher, more instrumental arrangement. She can’t bring herself to listen for more than a few seconds. Yara clicks into the photo section, where most of the recent uploads are older pictures posted by friends – including, ironically, several family photos of the girls with their father and mother, the body language of the twins clearly showing their hesitation to be near her. But scrolling through them, she is surprised to find a picture Melanie took of herself in the bathroom mirror – one from the day she died. In the photo, she’s pulling down the shoulder of her white dress, revealing a large, serious bruise. The description she wrote is a single word - “Evidence.” More importantly for Yara, though, the photo was taken with her phone, clearly visible in the mirror, proving she did have it with her at school that day. Just as she reaches for the phone Harold gave her, it begins to ring. He’s calling her himself. It turns out that what may be Mary’s body has been found in a town outside of the county, and he’s on his way there with Tim now. Frantic, Yara tells him how she knows Naomi’s phone is at the high school and tells him to come back – but he’s stuck in the car with Tim and can’t just force him to turn around and abandon his assignment. Yara declares that she will go find the phone herself, which Harold thinks is an awful idea. Despite his warnings, and his insistence that he’ll find a ride back as soon as he can, she is unwilling to wait for him. She has an hour and a half left – she’s not going to spend it sitting around helplessly. She tells him to meet her at Melanie’s school when he can, then hangs up and gets in her car. As she starts the engine, Yara sees Melanie’s ghost reflected in the rear view mirror, sitting in the back seat. Yara turns around with a gasp to look, but the shot does not cut away, remaining behind her. Yara’s body blocks the mirror from our view as she stares into the darkness just off to the side of the camera. For several tense seconds she stares, breathing heavily. But nothing happens. Finally, she turns back around, and we see the ghost has vanished from the mirror. She puts the car in drive and departs. The trip across the county takes over an hour, leaving her precious little time once she finally makes it to the school. The autumn sun has long since set. The time is typed out onscreen – 6:51 PM. 9 minutes to go. As she steps out of her car in front of the dark, empty building, she calls Harold. As it turns out, the body they found was not Mary’s. He says he’s on his way back, but admits that he doesn’t know if he will make it there before 7:00. “She’s stronger here,” Yara says over the phone as she approaches the front door. “I can feel it. This is where I’m supposed to be.” “Be careful, okay?” Harold tells her. “I’ll see you when I get there,” he adds optimistically before the call ends. Yara tries to get in through the front entrance, but, predictably, finds it locked. She walks through the vacant parking lot, around the exterior of the building, eventually finding an emergency exit door with no way to open it from the outside. But as she passes it by, suddenly she hears it creaking open behind her. Turning back, she glimpses a flash of Melanie’s dress stepping inside. The door hangs open menacingly, beckoning her inside. Slowly, she steps through, into the dark hallway beyond. The door remains open, a thin sliver of faint light shining in. Using the phone Harold gave her as a flashlight, Yara begins exploring. She finds the controls for the lights along the wall, but they require a maintenance key to use. Judging from the damp sheen on the floor, she’s just missed the janitor. The blackness remains. Yara dials the number for Melanie’s phone, and to her surprise, she faintly hears it ringing at the other end of the hall – the same creepy tune that accompanies the curse. Eagerly she runs down the shadowy corridor, closing the distance as fast as she can. But by the time she arrives at the foot of the stairwell at its end, the ringing has stopped. Looking around with her light, she sees no sign of Melanie’s phone. She dials the number again, and now the sound of ringing is coming from above her – from the top of the stairwell. She ascends rapidly, but the sound does not seem to become any closer – it’s as if the phone is being carried away. She emerges onto the second floor to find another hallway, one that looks almost identical to the one below. As the ringing stops, she hears another sound – the gentle creak of a closing door. Turning her light to the source of the sound, she finds the entrance to a girl’s restroom – the place Melanie had taken her photograph on the day she died. Redialing the number once more, she is now sure the ringing is coming from inside the bathroom. She approaches the door cautiously, gradually pushing it halfway open and peering inside. The black, windowless room is illuminated only by her flashlight – and the glow of a single cell phone screen. But when she cast her light on the device, the audience will be able to recognize it – as the phone that belonged to Jess. Suddenly another screen lights up, the ringing becoming louder – Stacie’s phone. Then another – this one shattered and discolored. Isaac’s. Yet another, Natalie’s. Frightened, Yara hangs up the call and the ringing stops, the screens going dim. She leans through the doorway, shining the light around in a simple search pattern. The phones that were just ringing have disappeared – and there is no sign of Melanie’s. But then she hears a noise coming from inside the room, to her left, outside the narrow field of view she has looking through the door. A footstep? Cut to a shot from inside the bathroom. Reluctantly, Yara steps forward into the room just beyond the door frame, pushing the door completely open. As it swings out of the way, it reveals Melanie’s ghost, lit only by the dim evening light filtering through the hallway windows, hanging upside down from the ceiling – yet walking, slowly approaching Yara from above and behind, her dress hanging upwards and covering her body as her hair dangles down. Yara continues to shine the light around, causing lens flares that obstruct the image. Each time a flare passes, Melanie has moved forward an impossible distance, despite always maintaining the same methodical pace, until finally, she is within arm’s reach of Yara. Yara finally steps fully into the room, allowing the door to close behind her. With her flashlight, she can see there are three stalls along the left wall of the bathroom. She heads for the closest one, pushing open the door. There is nothing remarkable about it – recently cleaned, the tiles still just a bit damp. Something shoves her from behind and she stumbles forward into the stall, dropping the phone onto the floor. The door closes behind her with a deafening bang. She scrambles to pick it up as it slides around on the wet tile. When she finally does, she turns the light back to the closed stall door, where it illuminates a pair of feet standing on the other side. A woman’s, clad in dirty, white heels. The door begins to swing open again, revealing Mary standing there, glaring down at her. Yara screams, crawling under the divider separating this stall from the next one. But as she pulls her feet through, this door swings open as well, revealing Natalie’s father on the other side with the same blank, emotionless stare. She continues on through to the third and final stall, only to see another pair of feet under the door. As she pushes herself onto her feet, it swings open to reveal the specter of her own father, just as he appeared in her childhood flashbacks, his burly frame completely blocking the exit from the stall. Crying and shaking with fear, Yara backs away from him, further into the stall – then suddenly stops as she bumps into something. Her breathing stops, her body freezing. Softly, the arms of a child wrap around her abdomen from behind. “Please, Yara,” cries a young boy’s frightened voice. “...Aberto?” she whispers. “Don’t let him hurt me,” her brother begs. Yara reaches down, pulling his hands off of her body. She turns herself around, shining the light back at the child – and the gaping, oozing bullet hole where one of his eyes should be. Yara shrieks, and the apparition of her father grabs her from behind, slamming her down onto the floor. Aberto watches silently as his father beats her, heavy, hairy fists pounding into her chest and shoulders as she flails her arms about, trying desperately to defend herself. Finally, with a primal scream, she clenches her eyes shut and fights back, kicking, punching, biting into - Nothing. She opens her eyes and the visions are gone. She is all alone again in the dark, empty restroom. She shines the light around the room to be sure. No one is there. Glimpsing at the phone’s screen, she notices the time in the corner. 6:58. She has two minutes left. Wiping tears from her face, she forces herself to stand. She forces the door open and steps out into the empty hallway, turning her head left and right. There are several rooms in this hall, and another hall around a corner – plus the entire first floor. She doesn’t have time to search the entire building. Then, without even dialing, she hears the ringtone again, coming from inside a locker a short way down the hall. Yara takes a moment to steady her breath before making her way over to the sound’s source. The lockers are labeled alphabetically by last name – L. Clayton, P. Cleaver, S. Corman… M. Cornell. Melanie’s locker. There’s a combination dial on the handle, but it’s unlocked. Yara grabs it and pulls the door open. Inside, sitting on the bottom, is her own phone, showing an incoming call from Melanie Cornell. She leans down, reaches in and grabs it with her free hand, answering the call as she raises the phone to her ear. “What do you want?” she whispers. For several seconds, there is silence. Then, eventually, quietly, almost meekly, comes the reply. “You.” Melanie’s hands shoot down from above, clasping around Yara’s neck. She drops her phone, barely hanging onto the one Harold gave her as the ghost begins to drag her down the hallway, out of frame except for her cold, pale arms and her flowing black hair. Yara fights to break free, clawing at Melanie’s hands, but her grip is ironclad. Yara’s feet can’t get traction, the soles of her shoes uselessly squeaking against the wet linoleum. They turn a corner into an adjoining hallway, accelerating beyond normal running speed as they approach its end – and a dark metal door labeled “Roof Access.” Yara is shoved through the door, collapsing onto the steep, narrow stairs beyond it. A booming clash echoes as it closes. Yara gasps for air, her breaths abrupt and ragged. She tries to stand, failing at first, until she finds the banister along the barren concrete wall and pulls herself up. She pulls the handle on the door, but it is locked. There is nowhere to go but up. Cut to Harold, speeding along a dark rural road headed into town. He pulls up behind a slow-moving sedan, illegally passing it, nearly colliding with a van coming the opposite direction. He ignores the blaring of the van’s horn, glancing down at the dashboard clock. He has one minute left. He’s not going to make it. Cut back to the rooftop of the school. The horizon is faintly visible in the background, only a few stars poking through heavy cloud cover in the sky. The door to the access stairs squeaks open as Yara steps through. The roof is largely empty and featureless, save for an industrial air conditioning unit and a few other spartan utilities. Looking around, Yara sees no safe way back down. She checks the time again. 6:59. Less than one minute left. Somberly, she walks over to the edge of the rooftop. There’s no railing. She can see how easy it must have been for Melanie. Stoically, she contemplates jumping. Going out on her own terms. She peers over, the edge, down to the spot on the pavement where Melanie’s body must have landed. Melanie is there, her broken body lying in a pool of blood. As if sensing Yara’s gaze, the dead girl stirs. Her eyes open, an arm popping back into its socket. She crawls over to the wall – and then UP it, her filthy fingers digging into the mortar between bricks as she drags herself towards Yara, fixated on her target with an unblinking, bloodshot stare, her red-soaked dress billowing softly in the wind. Yara gasps and steps back from the edge, but she can still hear the scraping of flesh against the brick growing louder, closer, more disgusting by the second. Just as the time rolls over to 7:00, the ghost lifts herself over the edge, climbing onto the roof and standing on her shattered legs. Yara drops the phone and asks - “Why me?” Melanie shambles towards her, blood dripping onto the roof, leaving a trail as she agonizingly forces herself forward. She tilts her head quizzically, a somber look of pain on her face. Even in death, there is something beautiful about it. She echoes the question. “Why me?” Melanie raises her arms, the elbow on one bent the wrong way. She reaches forward, her straining for an embrace. Cut to Harold in his car, just down the street from the school. The dashboard clock reads 7:01 PM. He’s too late. Holding back tears, he turns on his blinker, preparing to turn into the parking lot. Then his phone rings. His sister’s song. Clumsily he snatches the phone from his pocket, picking up the call as fast as he can. “Yara?” It takes a moment for her to speak, but Yara’s voice comes through. “...she knows,” she says. “She understands me.” “Yara? Are you okay? What-” She hangs up. Harold parks next to her car, not bothering to close the door behind him as he gets out. He looks over the building, lifts his gaze skyward, and spots her silhouette on top of the school. He tries to get in through the front, but it’s still locked. Running around, he quickly finds the open emergency exit and goes inside. Harold emerges onto the rooftop to find Yara right where he’d seen her from below, standing by the edge. He calls out to her and she turns to face him, tears sparkling down her face. He rushes over to her, and, without thinking, embraces her. She hugs him back. “What happened?” he asks breathlessly. “Are you okay?” It takes a moment for her to speak. “...she knows,” she says. “She understands me.” Confused, Harold lets her go. Takes a step back. Pulls his phone out of his pocket. He has a new voicemail from his own number, timestamped 7:03 PM. The current time. In the corner of his eye he notices a vague shape, something lying on the roof. Focusing on it, he can vaguely make out the contours of Yara’s corpse. Yara’s ghost grabs his wrist and pulls with impossible strength. Harold goes over the edge, falling in slow motion down to the pavement in the same spot where Melanie died. His skull hits first, his neck breaking a fraction of a second later. The last thing he sees as his eyes gaze skyward is Yara and Melanie on the roof’s edge, looking back down at him, hand in hand. Cut to Tim, just arriving back at his local police station, a few blocks from the school. As he steps through the front door, his phone rings. Jess’ song. Puzzled, he slides it out of his pocket, recognizing his own number on the display. He presses the innocuous little green button to accept the call. Edited September 24, 2019 by Xillix 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAM! Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) THE FEMINIST Studio: New Journey Pictures Classics Release Date & Theater Count: - September 2nd (4 Theaters) - September 9th (21 Theaters) - September 16th (275 Theaters) - September 23rd (850 Theaters) - September 30th (2,590 Theaters) Genre: Biblical Epic Director: Lynne Ramsay Rating: R for Violence and Gore Budget: $30M Format: 2D Dolby Runtime: 1 hr 16 m Original Score: Dustin O’Halloran (An epic orchestral score with various tones.) Cast Thandie Newton (Deborah) Diego Luna (Barak) Florence Kasumba (Jael) Nonzo Anonzie (Heber the Kenite) Amr Waked (Lappidoth) Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Shamgar) with Rodrigo Santoro (King Jabin) and Nathan Jones (Sisera) Abstract: A cinematic enactment of the Biblical story of Deborah and Barak. Spoiler We open with an army of hundreds of Philistines marching along a cliffside. The army stops at the sight of Shamgar (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), who wields an oxgoad and stands imposingly in front of the path of the Philistine army. The army gears up, and they rush to attack him. In very bloody fashion, Shamgar slays the Philistine army, warrior by warrior, until those are left turn away in fear. Shamgar wipes off his mouth with his fist and walks toward the camera until he’s so close that the screen is black. The title card appears on the black screen. We cut to ‘Many Years Later’ in the streets of Israel. The nation is doing evil in the sight of the Lord; this is shown through a tracking shot that shows the Israelites worshipping idols, practicing promiscuous behavior, stealing from each other, and fighting with each other. Suddenly, a trumpet sounds, and the Israelites turn towards the sound. On top of a hill that overlooks the Israelite city, the commander of King Jabin’s army, Sisera (Nathan Jones) rallies his troops and charges toward the city. We see elongated scenes of violence and carnage against the Israelites. King Jabin (Rodrigo Santoro) stands before the captured Israelites. He explains that he is King of Canaan, and that, from that moment on, the Israelites are now under the command of his nation. Jabin explains that his army has nine hundred chariots that are fitted with iron, and that any Israelite who opposes him and his nation will be put to death. We cut to a montage of enslavement and oppression against the people of Israel. We cut to a scene where Israelites are building a large stone bust of King Jabin’s head—‘twenty years later’ appears in the shot. A Canaanite in menacing armor walks up to the stone bust and states, without a reason, that the bust doesn’t look right. He kills all but one of the workers and tells the survivor to assemble a new crew to finish the work. The Canaanite struts off without fear of punishment. The survivor falls to his knees and cries out to God for mercy on the Israelites. We cut to the leaves of a palm tree as they sway against a clear blue sky. We cut to a woman—Deborah (Thandie Newton)—as she sits under the tree; the tree as on a hill which stands near the town of Ephraim. Two women approach her; they are the recently widowed wives of a farmer, and they’ve come settle a dispute over who gains ownership of a goat. The first wife claims she should own the goat solely because she was the first wife of the farmer. The second wife claims she should own it, because she was the one worker with the farmer as a servant in order to make use of the goat. Deborah rules that the second wife should own the goat. Before they leave, Deborah asks them if either of them know the whereabouts of Barak, son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. One of the women does know, and Deborah tells her that he needs him to visit. At night, inside the home of Lappidoth (Amr Waked) and Deborah, they engage in small talk about the day they’ve had. Deborah reveals to Lappidoth that God desires to use her to rescue Israel from King Jabin’s army. Lappidoth goes quiet at first, but he tells her that she’s been such a vessel to God that he’d be foolish to restrain her from the endeavor. Lappidoth is scared and uncertain, but he allows her to be used by God. They give each other a hug. On the hill, Deborah sits under a palm tree, and Barak (Diego Luna) trudges up to the hill to meet her—him walking up to the hill is drawn out. Deborah tells him this: “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’” A breeze swoops in. Barak hesitates in anxious fear. He tells her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” In response, Deborah replies, “Certainly I will go with you. But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” They stare at each other for a moment. We cut to a scene where Barak and Deborah are departing from the land, and Lappidoth watches their departure from a distance. We cut to a couple who is sleeping in a tent—Heber the Kenite (Nonzo Anonzie), and his wife, Jael (Florence Kasumba). Suddenly, Heber sits up in alarm. Jael asks him what is the matter, and Heber tells that they need to travel to a specific place away from home. We cut to the morning as Heber disassembles his tent while Jael watches—Jael tells Heber that she doesn’t understand why they need to leave the place they’ve lived for so long, and Heber tells her that they need to trust in God. We see breathtaking footage of them traveling across the land; Jael rides on the donkey and looks on uneasily as Heber trudges through the sandy plains before him. Eventually, we cut to the couple as they reach a big leafless tree standing alone. There are other tents and other people around them. Heber says, “This is a great tree of Zaananim. We are near Kedesh. This is where we are supposed to be.” As Heber pitches the tent, Jael looks at her surroundings. The camera whirls around gently, cutting every so often, as uneasiness and uncertainty overwhelms her. We cut to Barak as he stands with Deborah before a multitude of men. He goes into a long rallying speech, pleading with the Israelites that they need to fight for their freedom—that the God who struck the walls of Jericho will assure their victory, no matter how few men they may have. Barak points his sword towards Deborah and claims that the presence of the prophetess is proof that this uprising is truly meant to take place. The men are uplifted by this speech, and they join Barak’s cause. We cut to Sisera as he is being given a canteen of stream-water for him to drink. One of his men tells him that they need to talk. They head back into a tent, and the man tells Sisera that the Israelites are organizing an uprising and are headed towards Mount Tabor. Sisera asks him who it is that is leading the rebellion. The man answers: “Barak son of Abinoam… and the prophetess Deborah.” Sisera laughs in the man’s face, tickled pink by the idea that a woman could lead a successful rebellion. He stomps out of the tent, raises his sword in the air, and yells out loud, to anyone who is near enough to listen, that he shall gather his entire army and all his iron chariots, and he will punish the Israelites for their rebellion against King Jabin. We cut to Barak’s army, one only 10,000 strong, as the army marches solemnly up the winding passageway to the top of Mount Tabor. They reach the top and stare down the steep hill they stand upon. Barak tells the men their strategy: as the top of the hill is a height advantage, they will wait for Sisera’s army to appear before them in the valley below. Once the army appears, they will wait instructions from Deborah. We cut to a shot of Deborah as she stares down into the valley, her white clothes dancing in the breeze. We cut to the village near the great tree of Zaananim as Sisera’s tens of thousands of troops trudge right through the village. Jael finds herself in the middle of the army as they march past her in an unorganized, almost lawless fashion. Within the mass of men, Jael looks up at one of the chariots and sees that Sisera is driving one of them. Her and Sisera make eye contact—Jael’s wide-eyed gaze met with Sisera’s menacing glare. Jael is struck by fear, and she searches frantically for a way out of the horde of men. Just before she is struck to the ground by an oncoming chariot, she manages to push her way out, and she runs to her husband Heber the Kenite, who had been standing off to the side, worried for her safety. They embrace each other; Heber’s face is flushed with relief while Jael begins to sob. We cut Barak’s army as they rest for the night. The men eat food and enter a state of rest. Barak treads away from the other men, and he comes across a tree that stands singularly at the top of the mountain. Deborah is sitting beneath the tree, examining the stars. She addresses Barak without looking his direction. Deborah: You do not believe me. Barak: What do you mean? Deborah: You do not believe me when I say that Sisera will not be given to your hands. Barak stares down at her sternly. Deborah: Am I not correct? Barak doesn’t know what to say to her, so he steps away. We cut to Heber and Jael as they sleep together. Heber tells Jael what all of the villagers no doubt know by now: there will be a fight between the Israelites and Sisera’s army. Jael whispers sweetly to Heber that she knows Sisera was the one who glared at her, and that, in the event Sisera shows his face inside their tent, she will kill him herself, and she knows exactly how she would prefer to go about such an action. Heber warns her that, because there is peace between their family and King Jabin of Hazor, such an action would break such peace. Jael tells Heber that Sisera is a murderer, and that he is a fool to stand against the Israelites—had he not considered the many legends describing the power and might of their God? Because Heber does not believe that Sisera will be coming into the tent, so he simply tells Jael to get some sleep. We cut to daytime. Barak, having been sleeping on the hill, is awakened by the sound of a bugle from the valley below. Barak and his troops stand up. A loud voice from within the valley—Sisera’s—screams at Barak to gather his troops and face upon their swords. Barak gathers the men and turns to Deborah. Deborah: Move on, for this is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you? Sisera’s troops lick their lips from within the valley. Sisera, upon his chariot, cracks a wide smile. It is clear that Sisera’s army outnumbered Barak’s army by a wide margin. Barak turns to his men and yells that it is time for them to fight—a final rallying cry. Then he stands before Sisera’s army… and he pulls out his sword. The sword scrapes against his sheath as he whips it out, and that scraping sound cancels the soundscape. Sisera’s army is unnaturally affected by the sound of the scrape; they all cover their ears in agony. The sound that reintroduces the soundscape is Barak’s scream—"CHARGE!!”—as he runs down the hill, and his army follows. Sisera’s men, with terrified faces, enter a state of confusion and begin to kill each other instead of focusing on the oncoming threat. Barak’s troops pour down the mountain—they rush past Deborah, who is standing stoically, and the wind of their feet causes her white dress to dance in the air. The Israelites begin to crash into Sisera’s army, and they begin to slaughter them. Not a single Israelite is slain by Sisera’s men. Sisera begins to understand the gravity of the situation, and he calls for a retreat. Many of his men are still fighting each other in confusion, but a good portion of them turn back. Sisera is told by a petrified solider that his iron chariot is stuck in the rocks. He does not tell any of his men what he is planning to do; he simply leaps out of the chariot and flees in fear of Israelites. The Israelites continue to chase and kill the men of Sisera’s army for several minutes. Sisera runs with all his might, and he pushes anyone in his way to the ground. It begins to rain, and the chariots begin to get stuck in muddy passageways. The Israelites, given faster speed than the enemies, overtake many of the men. As Sisera continues to run past his men, his men begin to curse him with their words, telling him that he is leaving them to die. All of Sisera’s army is overtaken, but Barak continues run; he is the only man chasing after Sisera. Sisera runs like a machine through the muddy terrain, his eyes displaying maximum fear. Barak slows down, saddened by his failure, as the Israelites behind him, finishing off the last of the enemy troops, are overwhelmed by the spirit of victory. Back in the village, Heber tells Jael that he must go for the moment, and he leaves. Jael sits alone in her tent. We cut to Sisera as he runs through the village—though we can see that he is thoroughly exhausted and on the verge of running out of stamina. He peers, through the corners of his eyes, at the villagers around him; they stare in amazement at his solitary presence. Jael walks out of her tent and sees that Sisera is running for her tent. Jael feigns a smile. Jael: Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don’t be afraid. Sisera hobbles into her tent, and he falls down onto his knee. Jael covers a blanket around him. Sisera takes a moment to catch his breath. Sisera: Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. Jael looks down at Sisera for a long time, and Sisera stares back at her. Sisera is no longer glaring at her; his eyes are practically that of puppy-dog eyes. Sisera: Please. Jael searches the tent and finds a container of milk. She holds it up to Sisera’s lips and pours the milk gently into his mouth. Sisera drinks from the container, and he is satisfied. Jael covers Sisera with another blanket, and Sisera looks up at her with pleading eyebrows. Sisera: Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say, ‘No.’ We cut to Jael as she stands in front of the tent for a moment. She peers back into the tent and finds that Sisera has passed out from exhaustion. She sneaks into the tent with a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. She crouches over Sisera’s body. She positions the tent peg over Sisera’s forehead. She breathes sporadically. She raises the hammer into the air. She strikes. She strikes again. Blood spurts throughout the tent. She strikes again and again and again and again. She strikes until the peg is lodged into the ground. The hammer falls between her fingers onto Sisera’s corpse. Jael looks up towards the sky, shuts her eyes, and cries. Heber comes back from where he had come from and sees Jael stumbling out of the tent. He looks inside of the tent and stares aghast at the sight. We cut to Barak as he storms through the village with two of his men behind him; Jael and Heber are standing outside of the tent as they approach. Jael: Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for. Barak pushes past her and peers into the tent. He sees the dead body of Sisera, and terror and sadness grow on his face. He looks at Jael, who stares at him with teary eyes. The two men who came with Barak begin to joke about how Deborah had been correct. Barak runs further from the tent, falls to his knees, and cries to himself. We cut to a slow motion shot as Israelite soldiers rush toward King Jabin, who is sitting defenseless in his throne room. The soldiers pierce him with their swords, and the king dies. We cut to a nighttime celebration around a campfire, dollying out from a tambourine that is being hit by a woman. The woman sings a song in the Hebrew language as she hits the tambourine. The Israelite soldiers dance around the campfire in victory. Barak sits alone near the fire, and Deborah sits beside him. Barak does not look at her. Deborah holds Barak’s hand. Deborah: Barak. God is given the highest glory. But neither of us are left without honor. Bark looks at Deborah and smiles. We cut to a shot of Deborah and Barak as the two of them stare at the flame while the Israelites continue to dance around it. We cut to a lengthy montage: Hannah, the mother of Samuel, fervently praying for a child. Rizpah, a mother during the time of King David, protecting the corpses of her seven dead sons from scavenging vultures. Esther walking into a room and sitting down with King Achashveirosh and his mischievous servant Haman; gulping, steadying herself, and preparing to speak. Mary sitting on a donkey, travelling with Joseph across the desert towards Bethlehem. A woman rubbing the feet of Jesus with perfume. Mary Madgalene traveling on a rocky path with two other women. Phoebe, one of the individuals given a proverbial ‘shout-out’ by Paul at the end of Romans, accepting people into a church gathering. Joan of Arc rallying troops. Harriet Tubman leading escaped slaves through the Underground Railroad. Elsie Bowerman helping row a lifeboat away from the sinking Titanic. Rosie The Riveter flexing her muscle and smirking. A digitally de-aged Jodie Foster shaking the hand of director Jonathan Demme as she walks onto the set of The Silence of the Lambs. A group of young women sitting in a circle, studying the Bible, and praying together. We cut to Barak and Deborah as they stare at the flame. Barak rests his head on Deborah’s shoulder. Our final shot is on the other side of Deborah and Barak as they continue to observe the dancing. Cut to black. Edited September 22, 2023 by SLAM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) DELAYED TO YEAR 7 Edited September 21, 2019 by Alpha 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) LESEDI: The Phoenix Princess Studio: Endless EntertainmentVillage Roadshow PicturesLin PicturesDirector: Gina Prince-Bythewood Producers: Dan Lin and Travis KnightExecutive Producer: Lauren MontgomeryWriters: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Christina Hodson, David Callaham and Shannon TindleComposer: Dario MarianelliDirector of Photography: Henry BrahamVFX: Weta Digital and Industrial Light and MagicVFX Supervisor: Philippe Rebours Cast: *indicates motion capture performance, ** indicates voice performance Kiersey Clemons as Lesedi Saoirse Ronan as Ira *Gerard Butler as Alvaros *Zhāng Ziyi as Tora Tye Sheridan as Evan Michael Fassbender as *Bobby Moynihan as Ignus with Ana de Armas as Daveed Diggs as Chiwetel Ejiofor as *Jon Hamm as and *Helen Mirren Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Action/Comedy-dramaRelease Date: November 4th, Y6 Theater Count: 4,352 (including 405 IMAX theaters)Format: 2D (2.39:1), 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX 2D+3D (1.44:1)IMAX: Select sequences shot in 70mm IMAX (1.44:1). Footage cropped to 1.9:1 on digital IMAX screens.Budget: $190 millionMPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy action violence, thematic elements, frightening images, and mild languageRunning Time: 150-160 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes to 40 minutes) (estimate) Edited June 4, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddroast Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Reserved for one piece II 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddroast Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Hellsing Genre Horror/Action Director Joe Cornish Written by David Slade and Joe Cornish Release date 10/21 y6 Major cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Alucard Daisy Ridley as Integra Hellsing Lucy Boynton as: Seras Victoria Ben Mendelsohn as Walter Dornez Gerard Butler as Father Alexander Anderson Daniel Brül as The Major Oscar Isaac as Tba Theatre Count:4113 Budget: 75 million Format: IMAX 2d+3d Cinerama Dolby cinema 2d+3d Mmpa rating: R for intense Violence and gore, disturbing images and language. Edited June 28, 2019 by Reddroast 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddroast Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 Reserved for The Lugosi Heist (this is the Edgar Wright/Joe Carnahan joint) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YM! Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) High School Musical: East vs West Studio: Endless Entertainment Release Date: 2/11/Y6 Genre: Family/Romance/Musical/Dramedy Director: Kenny Ortega Rating: PG for thematic elements and rude humor Budget: $35M Theatre Count: 3,708 Format: 2D Runtime: 111 minutes Cast: Auli’i Cravalho Cameron Boyce Daniel Hurtlestone Taliah Webster Julian Dennison Nicholas Hamilton Sabrina Carpenter Lin Yun with Hugh Jackman Ben Platt and Lucas Grabeel Plot: WIP Edited June 4, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
