I'll be using this blog as a diary to track my progress and feelings on my Major script.
At the moment I'm torn between which of my ideas to write. I think I'll go with this one:
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Nigh is Now.
Imagine a world with no religion. Faiths followed for hundreds of years are abandoned. The human race is frantically searching for meaning. Now imagine all this is down to you.
Phillip Sands, 54, is a scientist working in London. After the death of his Father, he inherited the years and years of research and took on a huge project - to disprove the existence of any God. One night he cracks it, and euphoric, he tells his wife. Wary of the consequences though, Phillip warns his wife to keep his discovery quiet. But Phillip shares his secret with a fellow scientist who contacts the Media immediately.
Suddenly everyone is after Phillip to reveal the details of his secret, but he goes into hiding. The government’s secret forces and the media hound him, wanting answers. Getting nothing from him, the newspapers, radio and television take it upon themselves to speculate. Speculation turns to assertion and soon the entire world is in a frenzy - “There is no God!”
Phillip’s wife tries to convince him to release the information - “It’s for the sanity of the nation”. But Phillip refuses, claiming he isn’t ready.
Linked through news footage, we follow the different stories of people affected by the so-called revelation. These include born-again Christian, Pete, returning to his vices of alcoholism, drug abuse and gambling. A Muslim lady, Fatima, joins women around the world in what the papers are calling the ‘burkha-off’ rally, where they throw their burkhas to the floor and set them alight, stamping and cheering their new found freedom.
Phillip now lives a hermitic existence. He sits in his laboratory, the blinds down, hugging the top secret file to his chest. He watches news footage obsessively, only allowing his wife into the room to deliver the stack of daily newspapers. He is sucked into the frenzy.
The world is chaotic, people who still believe kill the traitors of their God. Mass graves overflow with unbelievers.
Seeing these horrific images, Phillip finally agrees to make a press statement and explain his findings. He stands up in front of the crowd and takes a deep breath...
News footage reveals Phillip being shot, a manic crowd descending upon his dying body - “The Police have burnt all evidence of Professor Sands’ findings, unread. So now we can all resume normal life”
A former vicar stares at the screen - the fear of God once again filling his eyes, and Muslim women run from their husbands, ashamed. Pete sits in front of the broadcast - dead, a needle sticking out of his arm.
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This is my other idea which I was going to write originally but after developing the other idea, I ended up leaning towards that one. Anyhew, here is the synopsis. Killer Vicar!
The Voice of God.
The Voice of God is a psychological thriller testing the notion of faith. Peter, a 40 year old Vicar in a rural Hampshire parish, hears the voice of Yahweh, the Old Testament God. God begins to test him, to right the wrongs of his congregation.
Peter arrives at his new Parish, and settles in immediately. The congregation warm to him and he is soon one of the community.
Peter’s first big ceremony is the marriage of Emily and Daniel, a young couple who are dedicated parishioners. Emily seeks Peter in private and explains her worries as she has slept with somebody else. Peter is supportive.
But when he returns to the Church, he hears a voice speaking to him. It is God. God makes him question Emily’s behaviour and insists that Peter prove his love for God by ridding the world of this sinner. He must sacrifice Emily or deny his God.
After much deliberation, Peter sums up the courage to invite Emily to the Church to pray for forgiveness. He waits for her “Amen” then grabs her by the neck and strangles her to death. He clears the altar and lays her limp corpse upon it, and prays to Yahweh, but he does not hear a voice. Suddenly it dawns on him what he has done, he panics and throws Emily over his shoulder and carries her across the graveyard to the crematorium.
Emily’s funeral - Peter delivers the sermon coldly, returning to the vestry and breaking down. Yahweh speaks to him “Do not be weak” Yahweh blesses Peter and he feels cleansed once again.
But soon it happens again - an elderly woman confides in Peter about her concern for her friend, Glenys. She has been diagnosed with cancer and has denied God, feeling he has let her down. Peter goes to visit her in her bed, trying to persuade her that God is Love.
But again he hears the voice. Glenys lays dead on the altar, her lifeless limbs hanging off the edge. Peter shouts “She did not get a chance to ask for forgiveness! Couldn’t you wait?” Yahweh replies simply - “She is not welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven”.
In a panic, Peter runs to the local police station, asking about the murders. “They weren’t murders, Father. A simple suicide and death of an elderly woman”
Peter is tested again and again, until he is tested to make the ultimate sacrifice. Yahweh suggests Peter is guilty of the sin of pride in committing these murders.
So Peter prepares for his suicide. He lies on the altar, a razor blade held between his trembling fingers. He looks to the effegy of Christ. ‘He died for our sins...’ Peter slashes his left wrist, watching the blood pour onto the sacred cloth. He wails, jumping up suddenly.
Peter sits in the back of an ambulance, while the paramedics comfort him. “God told me to, I had to”
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So that'll do for a starting post. That's where I'm at right now. Nice.
