Copyright by Noah Ira Zisman 2010

The Report Committee for Noah Ira Zisman Certifies that this is the approved version of the following report:

How to Achieve Extinction Without Killing Yourself: The Process of Writing a Screenplay

APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE:

Supervisor: Stuart Kelban

Andrew Garrison

How to Achieve Extinction Without Killing Yourself: The Process of Writing a Screenplay

Noah Ira Zisman, B.A.

Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Fine Arts

The University of Texas at Austin August 2010

Abstract

How to Achieve Extinction Without Killing Yourself: The Process of Writing a Screenplay

Noah Ira Zisman, MFA The University of Texas at Austin, 2010

Supervisor: Stuart Kelban

“How to Achieve Extinction Without Killing Yourself: The Process of Writing a Screenplay” examines the creative procedure of writing the sci-fi feature Extinction. It explores the step-by-step process of idea genesis through to the third draft.

Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...... 1 CHAPTER 2: THE HOLLYWOOD STRUCTURE...... 4 CHAPTER 3: EXTINCTION IS BORN...... 10 CHAPTER 4: OUTLINE THEN OUTLINE AGAIN...... 14 CHAPTER 5: ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO – DRAFT ONE...... 19 CHAPTER 6: THE PERILS OF A SECOND DRAFT...... 23 CHAPTER 7: THE FINAL EXTINCTION...... 30 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION...... 33 Appendix A: Pitch...... 35 Appendix B: Dead Planet Graffle outline...... 39 Appendix C: Mars Awaken Graffle outline...... 40 Appendix D: Mars Outline...... 42 Appendix E: Dead Planet Treatment...... 44 Appendix F: Mars Step outline...... 53 Appendix G: Mars Cheat Sheet...... 57 Appendix H: Extinction Rewrite Pitch...... 58 Vita...... 62

v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

It took me five years to complete my first script. I can’t be sure of the title because I changed it so many times. I believe the last version was called Don’t Play

Cards With the Devil, named after a Daniel Johnston song that devolves into him screaming “DEVIL” over and over. At one point it was called The Losing Hand, but that was when the protagonist bet and lost his hand (the actual physical appendage) in a gruesome poker match, a scene that I cut

(pardon the pun) in later drafts. This was the screenplay for which I gained entrance into UT’s RTF screenwriting program.

Like a bad relationship held in a broken heart, I have scripts in various states of disrepair that haunt the memories of my computer. I have folders in folders in old hard drives that have buried within them a directory listed as “screenplays” or “writing” or “dope ideas”. The Losing

Hand (I still like that title best despite the fact it no longer carries the pun of the old version) was my best effort to use writing to pull myself from mediocrity.

Don’t get me wrong: I have other skills, especially if I want to embrace a life of administrative assisting or

1 Barista-ing (that’s a fancy way of saying coffee maker for those who are initiated). But I had decided (at least for that moment) that if I couldn’t make something happen with this script, that I didn’t have what it takes to be a successful screenwriter. In short, being accepted into the

RTF program gave me the push I needed (or shouldn’t have had, as the case may be) to keep me toiling as a writer.

As an undergraduate, I had a screenwriting teacher who told a story to illustrate one of the dangers of screenwriting. A man is hired to paint the centerline in the road. On the first day he amazes his employer because he paints fifteen miles – unheard of. The next day he only does five more miles – the first day must have been a fluke. The following day he only paints one-quarter mile.

The boss becomes concerned. He talks to his new employee to find out why his output has decreased so drastically.

The worker tells him that he is painting as fast as he can, but after he fixes what he has already painted he is too exhausted to paint much more. Reworking ad infinitum what has already been written can be a major roadblock to finishing a screenplay for many writers, including myself.

2 This program has been invaluable in giving me tools to tackle the writing process, to move beyond the first 15 miles of centerline. I will go through some of those tools as I examine how I went about my process for writing my screenplay Extinction. I will describe the kind of script

I wrote. And I will explain the genesis of the idea, how it evolved, what the process of tackling it became

(including the outlining process), and changes that evolved through the multiple drafts.

3 CHAPTER 2: THE HOLLYWOOD STRUCTURE

UT emphasizes screenwriting for classical narration

(the three-act structure). The skills that I have developed are certainly transferable to other types of scripts, however, they are best suited to the three-act structure. For other types of visual narrative forms, I will probably have to adjust my process. I make a note of this because there are many alternative structures that are used, even in Hollywood. I have a strong interest in other narrative forms and I try to consider these when I develop a screenplay. I want to be a working screenwriter and I do think that the most likely road to success is through classical narrative structure (three-act). It is important to understand its strengths as well as its limitations.

The classical narrative structure is traditional, the most widely used, the easiest for an audience to digest, and in general, it seems to generate the most revenue at the box office. It consists of an active protagonist that seeks a goal and must change in order to achieve it. It is cause and effect related. It has a catalyst that launches the story, a mid point, a low point, and a climax.

4 My earlier studies in screenwriting presented a different form of story structure than what was emphasized in UT’s program. One theory, based on Joseph Campbell’s

Hero of A Thousand Faces, maintains that all stories are just variations of seven myths. One of these is the hero myth, which Campbell claims can be found in all cultures despite differences in story detail. In other words, there are elements included in all hero myths that strike a chord in people, which the three-act structure seems to share.

The way that three-act structure is approached at UT is less about meeting with all the specific moments that a hero encounters in the hero myth than it is with nailing down story pacing. Having a tight script means that it is paced properly. It builds in tension and crescendos. It fits together neatly and is clean. The story is always briskly moving forward.

I do think, however, that this structure has certain limitations. For instance, a single protagonist that must always be active restricts the point of view. This can make it difficult to convey complicated issues because it constricts the myriad ways a topic can be discussed. A quick example can be seen in the film Slumdog Millionaire.

5 This film does an excellent job of following the three-act structure but as a result of hitting the correct beats and following a single character, its presentation of the female love interest and poverty of India is problematic.

The aim of the film isn’t to go into gender politics or too deeply into class politics. Its main goal is to entertain.

However, dramatizing poverty for the sake of the story leaves the film open to criticisms of exoticizing the poor of India. The politics of three-act structure could be a paper in and of itself, but my goal here is to touch on it in order to point to its limitations.

My interest in film springs from it being the ultimate medium for complex communication. There are many ways that it accomplishes this. If a prototypical three-act structured movie is a modern myth (which I think something like Spiderman is) then many of the ways film communicates are more analogous to poetry than myth. I do think there is some combination of the two that can happen. Pulp

Fiction is an example of an alternate narrative form that has some of the elements of three-act structure. But there is a difference between it and normal three-act structure.

I imagine the approach to writing it would not be the same.

6 Three-act films can be like novels in that they have room for experimentation and can be pushed to exceed their limitations although novels generally have more latitude than classical narrative film. Early Jean-Luc Godard films best illustrate this. Band of Outsiders has many elements of a classic three-act narrative (it is inspired by it after all), but some of the scenes are completely inappropriate for the classic three-act model. One of the most beautiful scenes in the movie is when the three main characters are just hanging out in a coffee shop and they decide to dance. It has nothing to do with the main plot of the film and if we follow the three-act model rigorously, it should be cut. However, it is one of the best scenes in the movie, it’s fun, gives us character insight, provides us with what feels like an authentic moment from the characters lives. Godard intends to push the boundaries of film more than tell a story. It is important for him to expose the artifice of the medium while he is using it to manipulate viewers. All this to say there is a narrative art and a film art that can be at odds.

7 Extinction doesn’t challenge the form in any way and it isn’t meant to. It is a straight story that is best suited for the traditional three-act structure. At the same time, it still has the politics that come with this form. I’m not Godard so when I tried to challenge the politics of the structure, it didn’t have the same results.

For example, at times my protagonist wasn’t as active as he should have been but instead of pushing the boundaries of the form, it dragged my story down. Another example is that I had to sacrifice scientific accuracy for the sake of drama. This frequently happens in film. In Top Gun Tom

Cruise both flies the jet and works its weapons. He has a co-pilot who is completely superfluous in terms of the actual aircraft. This is done because the hero needs to be active and if he isn’t shooting down the bad guys and flying the aircraft, then he would have moments when someone else is doing the heavy lifting.

There are stories that are better suited for alternative structures, and although I intend to experiment with them in the future, this approach was not ideal for this particular script. Some of my favorite movies blend the two. Films like Vertigo, 2001, and Time of the Wolf

8 all have classical narrative elements but also challenge the boundaries set forward by classical narrative structure. Films such as Out of the Past, Star Wars, and

Castaway stay within the confines of the structure but are still stellar works. I’m not trying to elevate one form over the other, but I think the form is a very serious consideration that shouldn’t always be dismissed out of hand.

In the case of Extinction, I played with pushing the boundaries of classical narrative structure, but in hindsight, I see that I should have had a better grasp of this structure before experimenting. Learning the structure is paramount to good film writing, if for no other reason so that when you break out if it, you know what you are doing and why. Films teach us how to watch them. If they are meant to challenge our preconceived ideas about story, they better know what they are saying.

CHAPTER 3: EXTINCTION IS BORN

Extinction is about a man trapped on a spacecraft with nothing but an android, the pinnacle of human technology.

He is faced with the extinction of the human race. He is literally the last man. The original idea was about an astronaut that was conducting experiments in space and woke up one morning to find that somehow the Earth was destroyed while he was sleeping. He was never to know what happened on Earth. He was to live out his last moments coming to terms with his own mortality and the isolation that comes with being the only and last remnant of human existence.

Part of his experiment before the destruction of the earth was to run a monkey through a battery of tests in space, however, after the annihilation of the earth, these exercises obviously became irrelevant. However, the monkey took on new relevance in the face of extinction.

There are immediate and obvious problems with my original idea. First of all, it doesn’t seem very cinematic to have a two hour movie about one guy on a small ship, even if there is a monkey involved. It is too

10 constrictive. There is only so much that a man can say to a monkey before going insane which would at any rate probably not draw in audiences, although if they’d seen

Andy Warhol’s Empire (6 hours of a static shot of the empire state building) they might reconsider. Nonetheless, this was the original kernel. I had this idea when I was an undergraduate at Bard College in 1994.

After years of ruminating about it, I felt it needed to become broader in scope. I wanted to have a little more of the crew and thought that the addition of an android would dial up the complexity of the situation by being a better foil for my hero. I felt that it would be more philosophically complex to focus on an almost perfect facsimile of a human being (but who is, in the end, only a machine) to mirror/question/expand upon the trials and emotional turmoil of my protagonist.

I avoided tackling this as a project and approached it with trepidation because I also felt that it should have some scientific accuracy. I didn’t want to bog it down with scientific details, but I also didn’t want audiences to get tripped up on inaccuracies. The point wasn’t to have another Star Wars but to have something that seemed

11 plausible. I wanted to foreground the emotional journey.

It was important for me to try and get an audience to consider their own relationship to the earth and the human species.

I wanted to evoke a reaction in people that is sometimes evoked in death. I had an Uncle die of cancer.

We all knew he was dying and so we had a chance to bond and talk to him about things we felt were important. However, it was a much different experience when another family member died suddenly. We thought back on our last moment with him. There are things you wish you had said that you don’t get a chance to say. Part of this story needed to have that element - the idea that if we push the earth past the point of no return, what would we wish we had done differently? How would we navigate those feelings?

I was afraid that if it got too fantastic or played too fast and loose with the rules of reality it risked distracting a viewer. Ultimately, that might not be true.

I now think that as long as an audience connects with a character and the character is relatable and believable within the context of the world, then an audience will go along for the ride. That’s not to say that I think I could

12 have a wookie in the middle of the script and people wouldn’t notice, just that I am more flexible in fudging the reality if it means smoother story telling.

As the story developed in my mind, I began to feel a strong pull to try and make it commercial. I reconsidered having it be one person and thought maybe it would be better to have a group. Maybe they would make it to Mars then they could reflect on what went wrong and try to do things differently with their new opportunity. The title at that point was Mars Descending. This is the story I pitched in my first semester:

Mars Descending: After earth is destroyed, an

astronaut and crew – stuck alone in space – must

devise the survival of humankind.

It was meant to have a lot of action, backstabbing crewmates, a struggle to find meaning in a world where everyone you knew (with the exception of your coworkers) was gone. Alas, it was not meant to be. Such is the process of screenwriting.

13 CHAPTER 4: OUTLINE THEN OUTLINE AGAIN

The antidote against getting stuck rewriting the same passages over and over is to outline. Building from an idea kernel to an outline to a step-outline to a treatment before even starting the script is how I was able to write two drafts in a year instead of taking five years to write one draft. Stuart Kelban taught me these tools in the Fall semester of ’08 and this has been extremely helpful in my process. This step-by-step method helped me to clarify my idea and to see what attracted me to it. Plotting out ahead of time made the writing process much more manageable.

The first step is synthesizing the idea into a brief description. You start with the most basic part and build from there. It’s great because it forces you to think about the core of the premise. I had done this part of the process before as an undergraduate and was taught that it should have a beginning, middle, and end just like a screenplay. However, Stuart encouraged us to think about it in terms of a protagonist who wants something really badly, but who is having trouble getting it. His approach

14 has been much more useful in my writing as it has helped me solidify the foundation of my story.

The next step was new to me: a short (one page) outline of the idea. It is comprised of a paragraph for each act. In this version I had a running feud with my protagonist and another character. A whole crew goes to

Mars. A lot was meant to happen. It tracks their progress from Earth as they discover its destruction and how they deal with the trauma and carry out their mission. They eventually arrive at Mars, but there are problems and conflicts between crew members.

In my rewrite of the outline, I returned to my original idea and removed all of the crew. It had Eli on

Earth with his wife until he launches, after which he is joined only by the android. He goes to Mars and then returns but a lot of the major beats are there. One big problem that I didn’t resolve at this stage was Eli’s movement. It became problematic to follow him from Earth to Mars and then back to Earth. It has a feeling of backtracking that crops up again in later versions.

The treatment continues with what I had in the outline and expands upon it. I did a lot of research on different

15 types of propulsion systems. In an attempt to maintain a scientifically grounded piece, I tried to find plausible technology to enhance the story. Launching out of a tunnel is something that survived multiple drafts. There is real science behind it that has to do with math, physics, and other words that have no business being in a paper about screenwriting. In short, it is based on an electromagnetic catapult, but don’t worry I won’t say any more on it then that.

My character introduction for the protagonist had him lecturing to a bunch of pointy-headed intellectuals. The note I got back was that it wasn’t dramatic, cinematic, or interesting in any way. Analyzing this intro was important because it illustrated one of the main pitfalls in screenwriting – one that is a constant struggle. All movies have scenes that explain some element of the story.

Exposition can be very difficult to get across. A good movie will have scenes that have exposition but are also dramatic. Stuart talked about how scenes usually start from option A. The first thing that comes to mind is often option A. Then you dig deeper and try to find a way to convey the scene in a more interesting way – option B. The

16 goal is to always have the option C on the page, to have a unique way to convey a scene that feels original, moves the story, and doesn’t stagnate. This is especially important for exposition scenes.

If outlining is a road map for your script, then it is important to bear in mind that sometimes when plotting your route, you may still choose roads that should not be taken.

However, some roads you don’t realize you’re taking until you are on them. Your car gets stuck in a muddy grove not meant for city folk. Half-breed humans kidnap you. They do unspeakable things. If you are lucky you escape, backtrack, and get on the highway. A choice that I made early on was that I wanted Eli to be flawed, even unlikable. It’s easier to imagine a story of a character that is the ideal in every way; someone who makes all the right choices. But I wanted to do something with a character who wouldn’t be your first choice to send into the lion’s den on your behalf. The fate of the world isn’t always decided by the best and the brightest. I wanted the representation of humanity to be closer to what it probably would be – and that wouldn’t be your first choice. In the treatment, we get the first glimpse of a road that bogged

17 down my story and cost me dearly on one hand, but ultimately freed me up on another.

CHAPTER 5: ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO – DRAFT ONE

By the end of my first semester, I had developed my premise into an outline, a treatment, a step outline, and finally the first act. Many of my major beats are still the same from that beginning process. Because of the logistics of how we workshopped each other’s work, I went late in the semester once we started the actual process of writing the proper script. I followed all the beats in my outline. I had hoped to have a character that starts off unlikable but is redeemed by the end.

It starts with a drone robot that dies in the Martian desert. The drone was working on terraforming Mars. The mystery is that no one knows why the drone dies and a mission is needed to restart the terraforming. Eli is our hero. He is introduced brushing aside a beggar. He goes home, fights with his wife, goes out to party with women of low moral fiber, and does drugs. He switches his blood test out with his rival to get on the mission. We then meet the crew and Adam, the android. He tells his wife

19 that he is going to Mars and she is upset that he’s leaving. That gets us to about page 30.

The class thought it was flawed but Stuart opined that it was “a page one rewrite.” The scenes were too long.

They didn’t have much dramatic tension. Eli was not likable or relatable. The story was eking along. I learned the importance of a character introduction scene here. We are introduced to our hero for the first time when he is not only rebuffing, but also openly mocking a homeless man. I understood my script had problems but it didn’t take the sting out of hearing it should be trashed and started over.

You can have a flawed character if he is relatable. I also think that all heroes are flawed, otherwise the story isn’t interesting. The problem with Eli at this point was that he was just an asshole with nothing redeemable. Maybe

I should have given him a glimmer of something good. In the hero myth, you have a hero with a fatal flaw that gets pushed until he/she can overcome it. Perhaps if I had done the inverse, he would have been a more interesting character. If I had shown a righteous quality in an otherwise bad person, we could follow him easier. In

20 Reservoir Dogs we follow a group of thugs into a robbery.

We follow Mr. White and like him even though he is a thug/robber because he has righteous honor – a moral code despite his profession. The movie explores honor amongst thieves, but I didn’t have anything like this to buoy Eli at this point.

“Kill your darlings” is a cliché of the program here.

Sometimes you have to cut scenes you love to forward the script. I did wind up keeping a few things from my original pages but essentially I did a page one rewrite.

The great lesson in this for me was that I could throw out an entire act if I had to and still work the same story.

There is something freeing about losing the preciousness of your writing. If a scene isn’t working, instead of trying to hammer it in place, I can step back and toss it in the trash if I need to. In the past I might have worked and reworked until I felt like it was right. Now I can throw it out and try to think of option C instead of wallowing in option A.

At the time, the semester ended and I was dejected.

But I worked over break and wrote the true first draft of the script. Maybe technically it was a draft two but I

21 hadn’t rewritten the entire script, only the first act. I wrote a complete story from page one until it ended around page one hundred and ten, so I’m calling that draft one.

It becomes harder as the drafts go on. I feel that if I make significant changes and work hard for a while, then it can legitimately be called a new draft.

In any event, the rewrite definitely was on track. I had a hook scene for my hero that worked, the story world was in place, and all the characters gelled a lot better.

Stuart gave me a lot of tools to use in order to organize my thoughts and push a script forward. Beau Thorne was my professor in the spring of 2009. Though the script was heading in the right direction, I would still have to roll up my sleeves and get down to business.

CHAPTER 6: THE PERILS OF A SECOND DRAFT

Just because you spend a lot of time writing something but then wind up throwing it out, doesn’t mean that you’ve wasted that time. Sometimes you have to follow a path and see where it leads. Even after you’ve tossed it you may bring some elements of what you’ve written back into the story at a later date. Character interviews are often done in order to get a better handle on the characters. A lot of what is written in these never makes it into the story but having the background can help immensely in knowing how a character would react in other situations.

In acting, actors will sometimes prepare for a role by improvising scenes that are implied, or alluded to, by the material they are doing. They do this to understand the emotion of the character during that moment so that when they play other scenes that draw from the character’s past they will have a better understanding of what the character might be feeling. I think writing scenes that get tossed, or doing character studies can be similar for a writer as improving scenes can be for an actor, even if you were just

23 establishing that a character wouldn’t act a certain way.

Improvising or writing scenes that get cut can give you that emotional well to draw from.

Beau started our class by talking about how we needed to be aware of the dual dangers of rewriting. The danger in feeling free to toss things is that you run the risk of throwing out good material because it isn’t quite there yet and starting over rather than polishing it. This is one of the pitfalls Beau warned us against. “Throwing the baby out with the bath water,” is the cliché. I witnessed cohorts do this. They had scenes that just needed a little reconfiguring but instead they trashed them completely and started over. Another related problem is having fatigue with the material. This might cause you to throw out good scenes simply because you are bored with having to rewrite the same thing over and over. Beau’s other warning was not to be too attached to what you have. It’s a fine balance between the two.

Finding the note beneath the note is also an important skill. In a workshop setting you get all kinds of opinions. Sometimes someone will hint at problems rather than address them directly. Other times it is criticism

24 that just comes from someone’s own personal taste. If you are writing a romantic comedy and someone hates romantic comedies, then their notes about changing the story to be a murder mystery are pretty useless. Sometimes it’s hard to articulate exactly what’s wrong. Other times you get wildly differing reactions to a scene. Knowing how to traverse this minefield of criticism is a skill in and of itself.

One tricky thing about writing is being able to recognize if the idea is flawed and should be abandoned or if it just needs the usual work that any screenplay needs.

I had another cohort who was attached to an idea that never got an enthusiastic response but he was so attached to the idea that he pursued it relentlessly. Maybe there was something there that the rest of us hadn’t seen yet and it would come out in the end, but maybe it just wasn’t an idea that had wings. Sometimes you have an idea that everyone is wowed by. More often than not, some people like it and others don’t. For those situations you just write and hope that in the very least it makes you a better writer.

All these questions are ones that I had about

Extinction and tried to navigate through. I got a lot of

25 positive feedback, so I felt like something was there, but

I knew it still wasn’t where it needed to be. I tend to overwrite my scenes. I think it is probably better to have too much material rather than too little but it needed work all the same. I had a lot of drama with the crew in the ship. I had grand death scenes for just about every one of the crewmates. Notes I had before my draft was completed conveyed people being wary of a two-hour movie with just a man and a robot. But after the first draft, my cohorts seemed to feel that those scenes were the best ones. They wanted more of them. Beau’s suggestion was to get Eli and the robot alone together by the end of act one.

I had 60 pages of exposition and character detail up until that point. One criticism I received was that we were acquainted with all these characters who all were then killed off – with the two exceptions of the main characters. So why invest so much time with these guys, especially when it becomes clear that the real story is about Eli and Adam (the robot)? My task was to do as much short hand as possible. I needed to show the world so that we could see what we were losing, kill off all the

26 secondary characters, and get my exposition done all in one act. No small feat for a sci-fi film.

Beau introduced us to the idea of sequences. This became an invaluable tool in the writing process. Act 2 has been a graveyard of many scripts for me. Outlining definitely would help with some of the problems but sequencing helped to break things down further. They provided manageable chunks to work in. The idea is that there are two sequences in Act 1, four in Act 2, and two in

Act 3. By plotting out the specifics of a sequence within the overall story, it became much easier to move from point to point and finish an act.

My script ended with Eli finding a space station with other survivors. He meets them and everyone is excited.

He passes out from exhaustion and hunger. When he wakes up, they are all gathered around him. He exclaims upon seeing them and then we fade out. A lot of my peers felt unsatisfied with this ending. They felt like the script has so much darkness in it that we should get something positive in the end. I rewrote the ending with Eli finding his daughter onboard. His ordeal has this positive reunion

27 to boon the viewer. I tried to make it uplifting without having it pander too much and I felt good about it.

By the end of the Spring 2009 semester, I had a screenplay I was proud of. My peers gave me a lot of good feedback and generally reacted positively toward the final product. I felt like it was a very strong draft and I was ready to move on to other projects. I begin sending the script out to different contests and waiting for all the money, prizes, and accolades to roll in. When they didn’t,

I said to myself, “Well those contests are a crapshoot anyway” – which they are, but…

At the beginning of my internship, I submitted my script to a couple of friends who hadn’t read it and to some students willing to read it (they were also at the internship). I got lukewarm reviews. I read it again to see for myself, now that some time had passed and found that the characters had great moments but the script lagged in some places and still didn’t have a satisfying resolution. There was still something episodic about it.

It was too much to hope that I would have an excellent screenplay after only two drafts. My dad has a book of

William Blake’s poems and his working drafts that preceded

28 them. The second draft of one of his poems had a word crossed out and substituted with another word but the final version had it restored to the original first draft. So,

I’m not William Blake.

CHAPTER 7: THE FINAL EXTINCTION

I begin my third draft for my thesis project but I’m sure it won’t be my final despite the chapter title.

Stuart helped me identify a number of problems. The biggest one was that the beats were not strong enough which is why it felt episodic. I needed to have a clearer goal for Eli. It had to be centered on finding the space station. Everything that happens needed to be motivated by his drive for this.

I changed Adam’s name to Alex because it felt clichéd to have the first functional android with that name. There is a story with the title I, Robot by Eando Binder. It was written in 1939 and was very influential to Isaac Asimov who published a collection of robot stories with the same title. In it, his robot is named Adam, and thus began a trend of naming robots Adam. I’m still a little on the fence about it because it works, but my audience is sci-fi nerds and I think it won’t appeal to them. It seems like a small detail, but it is one of my main characters. From

30 here on out, if you see Alex written, know that it is the same character as Adam.

Stuart echoed Beau by telling me to keep all the great character moments – “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.” For all my trimming and short hand, I over stripped the exposition. In my first draft I had too much of the crew reacting and getting killed. I tried to have

Eli and Adam’s relationship develop sooner by cramming everything into act one. It was better, but still didn’t work. So now I pulled back a little and allowed more time to develop the exposition. I added a few scenes to better explain the world. It pushes the disaster into Act 2, but it starts with the act break so I think it still works.

Though Eli and Alex have a lot of good moments, I think they have more resonance in context with Eli’s relationship with his ex-wife and daughter. They are the two characters with whom he had the most emotional connection on Earth. It was important to give the audience a good understanding of what those relationships entailed so that we could understand how he relates to Alex once all other humans are gone. The daughter had a scene with Eli but I needed something with the ex-wife. I had a brief

31 scene with her that I made longer to give us a better picture of their relationship. This rounded out Eli a little more and we get to see what he gave up in life and what he lost once the disaster hit.

I also wanted this story to have a sense of humans as machines. I tried to have parallel physical problems that

Eli experiences while Alex’s has his own. I also wanted to raise questions about both of their mental states. I wanted the audience to question the logic of both characters. I didn’t want to give a definitive answer on which character was right or wrong but give space for audiences to think about how we navigate in the world in much the same way as a complex robot might.

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION

I have definitely brought the script closer to where it needs to be, but writing is an ongoing process. Walt

Whitman wrote Leaves of Grass until the day he died. At some point you have to pronounce a project done and move on. I don’t want to be working on this project for the rest of my life, and I do feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My experiences at UT have pushed me to be a stronger writer. I feel like I can approach a project now and not get overwhelmed by the scope of writing a screenplay. In

LA, everybody has a screenplay to peddle. Understanding the process and how to approach screenwriting will undoubtedly give me a leg up.

Extinction has come a long way since I first dreamt up the idea of an astronaut who peels the layers of existence away with a monkey. And even though I feel like writing a process paper like this is a little like throwing yourself a surprise party, walking through the process has reminded

33 me of all the tools I’ve gained while working on this project.

Appendix A: Pitch

Introduction – I got this idea from a simple thought experiment. One that I think everyone has done at some point in his or her life. That is to ask the question, “If I could live at anytime in human history when would it be?” For me the answer unequivocally is at the end. I want to know how it ends. I want to know what the final destination for our species is. Are we going to evolve into a higher form of life? Are we going to die from a natural disaster? Or, are we going to destroy ourselves? Now that last one is the one I think most people would say will happen and that’s what I’m exploring. But I’m cheating a little, because this is ultimately a story about redemption – finding compassion. Technically it’s not the end but rather a turning point, only because at the end of our story I’m giving our species a second chance. That’s the big picture but let me tell you a little about our story.

Story - Our story takes place, of course, in the future. The Earth is overpopulated. Mars is being terraformed by robots but something goes wrong. The bacteria sent to Mars, meant to jump-start the atmospheric process, starts mutating and dying and the robots all malfunction and stop working. So a crew is sent to investigate. The trip takes 8 months to get there. One night, while the ship is on autopilot and the Android, Adam, is monitoring things. The crew is suddenly awakened. A catastrophe has happened on Earth. A huge explosion has ripped it’s crust forcing magma into the sky which freezes instantly once it reaches space and shoots debris in every direction. The atmosphere on Earth is devastated. It becomes a planet of fire with such intense heat no life could remain. The first wave crashes into the ship damaging it. The crew votes Eli to spacewalk out to the rotator and repair the damage. While he’s out there the second wave hits and it smashes open the shuttle sucking all crew into space, killing them instantly, with the sole exception of Adam. Eli is the last person alive.

36 Execution tone – Let’s talk a little about the tone. This is a little bit like Castaway in space only with a harder edge. Everyone loves Tom Hanks. Eli is no Tom Hanks. He is more of a Robert Downey Jr. He has got charisma, but he is selfish and arrogant. This is an introspective film but it has some action and is a genre piece in the tradition of some of the more thoughtful episodes of Battlestar Galatica, STTNG, and 2001.

Conclusion- Our story plays out in the relationship between Eli and Adam. They have a contentious relationship because Adam is driven by the mission to Mars and Eli caught up in his own ego and wallows in self pity. Ultimately Eli is forced to face his own selfishness and learn what it means to have compassion for all life. Adam represents the ultimate in human achievement but he is not human. Through his isolation Eli comes to love Adam and in turn long for the existence of any life – he loves all life. In the end he restarts the terraforming process which gives hope toward a new age of evolution. But only after Adam falls apart and is no longer functioning. Eli goes back to Earth to search for the space ark. He arrives starving and thin. In the climax he find the habitat. But his ship has run out of fuel. He suits up, straps Adam to his back and launches out toward the habitat. He narrowly finds the bay hatch and crawls inside just before his oxygen is gone. As he gasps for air the interior doors open and he discovers

37 the last of humanity. They fix Adam, he’s reunited, and they return to Mars.

Appendix B: Dead Planet Graffle outline

Appendix C: Mars Awaken Graffle outline

Astrophysist / Android Why are they sending a manned Hope: They survive and repopulate Commander mission to mars? The process of Pilot terraforming has already begun. The Fear: Humankind and all known life Psychologist / Medical Ofﬁcer drones have stopped working for some cease Geologist reason and the bacteria meant to start Programmer (Robotic Engineer) – Hye the initial stages has genetic problems. Goal: Restore life Programmer (Computer Scientist) – Eli The team is going to ﬁnd out why and Geneticist Botantist - Abhirati facilitate the process then they are supposed to return to earth

Appendix D: Mars Outline

Act I A problem with the terraforming of Mars forces a manned mission to the planet. Expecting to return in a year, geneticist Eli Long says goodbye to his family and is launched into space with Adam – a sophisticated android. The mission goes smoothly until an abrupt explosion destroys the earth. Eli’s grief is short lived, as he has to survive the shockwave of the blast. He immediately radios to possible survivors but receives no responses. The ship is badly damaged and blown off course. He contemplates investigating what’s left of earth but sees no hope in that endeavor. He crawls out onto the shuttle and manually adjusts the thrusters before he is too far off course. Finally, they arrive at Mars.

Act II At Mars, he is unable to commit to landing. His shuttle satellites the planet and he uses the medicinal supply of drugs on board to self medicate. Despondent, he slashes his wrists but is saved by Adam. Adam assumes command while Eli recovers. He lands on Mars and begins setting up the biodome. Eli lives and works in the biodome. He investigates and solves the issue with the bacteria that was part of the terraforming process. Adam fixes the drones. Eli spends the rest of his time scanning earth to try and find possible survivors and to discover what happened. At last he locates the space habitat – he 42

thought would be destroyed in the blast. There are no emissions from it and he is unable to tell if people on it are alive or dead.

Act III After deliberation he decides to go to the habitat. He uses the Earth Return Vehicle, left on Mars in anticipation of his initial mission to return to earth. Fearing the worse (it’s a one way trip), he leaves Adam behind to start life on Mars. Eli barely survives the trip through the new asteroids. He finds the habitat battered but stable. On board there are survivors. The vessel is not capable of staying in its new hostile environment. He helps devise a plan to repopulate the species and to bring the habitat to Mars where it will be able to operate safely.

Appendix E: Dead Planet Treatment

Act I Opening Visual – The earth beautiful and large basks in the warmth of the sun. It is perfect and blue with wisps of white ribbon actively marbling it as it spins. But as it turns darkness engulfs it. The planet slowly loses all color as one side turns out of the light until finally there is only a sliver lit by the sun, then nothing. A long tunnel resembling a subway tunnel holds a single set of thick tubular tracks. A man wearing a white lab suit stands at the end of a platform peering down the seemingly endless track. It glows softly with a blue light. He types into his personal data device then turns satisfied and walks along the platform. He disappears behind a rocket the size of a bus. There is Hindi writing on the rocket. Inside the rocket, beneath a sleek astronaut suit, Agni is typing into a touch terminal. He methodically flicks switches and answers commands given in Hindi. Outside a group of mostly Indian spectators sit in a make shift stadium waiting anxiously. A young woman watches through binoculars. She can see off in the distance a launch tube protruding from the tunnel. An announcer is talking in Hindi. Giving out details of the launch and progress. Inside, the tunnel runway lights up. Mission control is buzzing with an army of engineers and scientists coordinating their efforts. Agni presses a button and

settles into his seat, exhaling nervously. He waits as mission control ticks through each of their procedures. A low hum gently shakes the building. The rocket starts to move. Agni braces as speed picks up and the blue lights of the track all bleed into one continuous streak. The rocket shakes violently as Agni hurtles toward a literal light at the end of the tunnel. The rocket explodes out into the sky. The jets ignite just after it is pushed into the air. Inside Agni gets a reading that disturbs him. One of the gauges springs dangerously high. He speaks with panic and mission control works feverishly to analyze the problem. A crack forms along the side of the rocket as it rises higher into the sky. Plumes of white smoke trail the rocket innocently. The gauge tops out and Agni screams out at mission control. The ship explodes into a million little pieces to the gasps and cries of spectators. Eli Newman presents to a committee of scientists. He stands in front of a screen pointing to various parts of enlarged bacteria. The panel tries to follow along but he is being highly technical and little smug. “You’ve given us a lot to digest here,” states Russell flatly. “Why don’t we consider your proposal and pending our further research into the matter we’ll send it on to the W.A.C.” “You do that,” Eli says and the image flicks off behind him. The group breaks and Eli is met in the hall by Adeline Thompson. He slows and lets his eyes wash over her. They

walk together side by side in a strained professional manner. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard the news,” she says. “I haven’t.” Dr. Tuttle approaches them, “Dr. Thompson, I really need you to…” She interrupts, “not now, catch me in my office after 2.” She waves him off and he slinks away. “I was saying, the Indian launch was a catastrophe.” They stop. “How so?” “The rocket exploded in mid air. The mass driver technology is still young. They really screwed up. It may even have been sabotage.” He considers, “So what does that mean for me?” She laughs, “Well, you’re 4th on the list, so if two more rockets explode you’re on your way.” He rolls his eyes, “Great. Let me know when you have any real news.” They start to walk again. “Anyway,” she says, “I’m hungry. I thought I’d have you for lunch.” He smiles, “Again? People might start to talk.” She says, “Then we’ll have to do it in private.” Eli arrives home. His wife, Helen, is waiting at the door. As soon as he enters he sees a luggage bag packed. He protests but she has made up her mind. They argue until it devolves into him begging her to stay. His selfishness has taken its toll on her. It’s bad enough he is gone for months on various Mars simulators but even in his free time she comes second. Eli promises things will change and

swears to do whatever it takes. Helen is nearly convinced as they embrace. But she smells the perfume of another woman on him. He’s lost her. Dr. Tuttle meets with Adeline. He presents evidence that the atmosphere on Mars is getting worse. The bacteria used for initial terraforming is dying at an increased rate. Now that the Indian launch was unsuccessful, time is of the essence or the whole project will be ruined and they will have to start the process again. She takes this new evidence directly to the International Space Organization. The organization is in agreement. Catalyst- Eli is called to meet with The International Space Organization. The Japanese geneticist was in a car accident. It will be months before he has healed. The German was to go but they gave him an immediate physical and found cancer. Eli is next in line. He’s going to Mars. He’ll be gone for a year and a half. It’s what he’s waited for all his life but he’s not as happy as he thought he’d be. He contacts Helen and pleads for their reunion. It’s a long time apart for a committed couple and an eternity for one on the rocks. She refuses. Eli meets with Adam. He is a small android developed by the Japanese. He is almost perfectly lifelike. He has the appearance of a young man and moves like a teenage boy having not quite gotten used to his body. Eli is curt and makes no pretense of pleasantries. Adam is an android, a tool, nothing more. They go through a battery of run-

throughs. Eli has been preparing for this a long time and is as capable as ever. There isn’t time to build a heavy life launch vehicle. Adam and Eli are flown to the International Space Center. From there they are take a rotating Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket and launch toward Mars. The trip will take longer but they’ll still get there sooner than if they wait for a ground rocket to be prepared. Adam controls the ship and Eli takes naps in a hibernation chamber for weeks at a time while the shuttle drifts toward Mars. He wakes and runs diagnostic tests on Adam to make sure he is function properly. Then he checks all systems. Finally he checks in with IASA (International Aeronautics and Space Administration). “The drones on Mars are failing. We believe that it is because of the mutated bacteria they work so closely with. That is somehow causing increased oxidization on them and corroding their systems.” “Well I’ll find out if the mutated bacteria is capable of that. In terms of fixing the drones, that will be up to Adam.” Eli says. “We’ve already updated his mission.” Turning Point #1- Eli sleeps in the hibernation chamber. Adam wakes him prematurely. He’s confused and not quite awake. There is something wrong with Earth. “Huh?” He struggles for consciousness. The earth has had a catastrophe. Eli pulls on a jump suit and goes to the command console. He sends a radio message out, but receives no response. He demands Adam clarify things.

“Earth is dead. The planet is barren.” Adam shows him video from their telescope. It is of a red and black planet, pulsing with gases like a dark Jupiter. “An unknown destructive force has impacted the planet and it’s shockwave will hit us in 6 minutes.

Act II The shockwave crashes into the ship sending it spiraling out of control. Adam cuts the engine and attempts to seal off the ship’s parts leaking oxygen. Eli puts on a suit and must climb out onto the shuttle and dislodge debris stuck in the thrusters. The ship nearly bucks him off. Eli is overcome with grief. He searches the surrounding space frantically but can’t find any clues or survivors. One thing is clear, the earth as he knew it is gone. He contemplates flying back and investigating but knows he’ll run out of fuel and food. He is destined for Mars. The correct they’re course and take stock of what they have. Most of it is space stuff, which Eli has no use for. But he knows that he doesn’t have an infinite supply of food and no way of growing it. Medical supplies as well are thin at best. They fly despondently through space with Adam insuring the mission is on track. Eli stares out the port-hole and injects himself with pain killers. When not there he is at the console scanning earth. After months, they finally

arrive at mars, but Eli refuses to land. They satellite Mars aimlessly. Eli continues to inject the painkillers. Midpoint - Eli lies with his head in his arms at the console, broken and unshaven. He gets up and climbs into the closet and pulls out a small knife. He slits his wrists and waits while the blood drains from his body. It spurts with each heartbeat and covers his jumpsuit like a Pollack painting. Just as blackness washes over him Adam finds him and furiously works to stop the bleeding. He ties him to a bed and sets up a blood transfusion. Adam is officially in command. He guides the ship to the landing zone on Mars. Adam begins setting up the biodome and he hides the painkillers. He gives Eli psychological evaluations much to Eli’s chagrin. The notion that he may be trapped under Adam’s “care” indefinitely moves Eli to agree to finish the mission. During the day he works on discovering way the bacteria is mutating and in the evening he scans earth. Finally he finds the space habitat but it is badly damaged. He is unable to tell if it is still functional. In the very least, it doesn’t respond to radio communication. He diligently works analyzing the bacteria and trying to communicate with the space habitat. He finds that there is a genetic defect in the bacteria causing it to lose its ability to resist the Martian radiation over time. He can grow out that defect. While scanning the habitat, Eli finds a flicker that looks potential man-made.

Turning Point #2 - Eli makes the decision to leave Adam on Mars to restart life. Adam equipped with Eli’s “cure” can solve the issues of the bacteria and renew terrraforming. It will give Mars the foundation for an environment in which the potential for life could evolve beyond the bacteria. Act III Eli takes the Earth Return Vehicle and launches back toward the dead planet. He is unable to find any more indication of life but is tireless in his research. He figures out that he doesn’t have the fuel to reach the habitat but can use Earth’s gravity to whip him toward it. Upon arriving he sling shots around Earth getting a close view of the black planet that he once called home. His fuel runs out and he sits in the shuttle powerless to control its’ trajectory. He is going to miss it. He has one chance. It its’ closest range, he can launch himself from inside the shuttle and propel himself toward the habitat. From there he’ll have to crawl around and find an entrance. He uses the suction of escaping air to push him toward it, but alas, he is a geneticist not an astrophysicist, his trajectory is still off. Climax – He floats through space watching his shuttle disappear in the blackness and the habitat innocently float bye. His air begins to run out as it spins revealing to him a perfectly intact tree, thriving and growing. Listless in space his oxygen leaves him but he is rescued by a solar power droid and brought to the habitat.

As the door opens he gasps for air and cries out. He is astounded to see the last surviving humans alive.

Appendix F: Mars Step outline

Act I 1. Mars malfunctions. 2. Eli travels home. 3. Eli’s wife, Helen, leaves him. 4. Dr. Thompson gets evidence of Mars disaster. 5. International Space Organization agrees to send a team of scientist to investigate. 6. Eli parties to deal with his broken marriage. 7. Catalyst - The next morning, Eli is called to test to go on the Mars mission. 8. Eli has drugs in his system from partying, so he cheats on the physical. 9. Eli is not chosen to go to Mars. 10. Eli gets a device to fry electronic circuits from a distance. 11. Eli uses device to sabotage the car of the astronaut who is taking his place, injuring him. 12. Dr. Thompson tells Eli he’s going to Mars. 13. Eli meets with the android Adam, and the rest of the crew. 14. They train. 15. Donald, the captain of the mission, antagonizes Eli. 16. Eli contacts Helen and tries to reconcile, but she refuses. 17. The crew takes a shuttle to the International Space Station III. 53

18. Eli looks at the space habitat through the space station telescope. 19. The crew launch off toward Mars. 20. While traveling, they fall into a comfortable routine. 21. Turning Point #1 – The Earth is destroyed.

Act II 22. Asteroids from Earth damage the shuttle. 23. Eli reluctantly helps fix interior. 24. Eli is forced to go out onto the ship and fix the damage outside. 25. An asteroid causes the death of the rest of the human crew. 26. Adam saves Eli. 27. Adam gets the ship back on track to Mars. 28. Eli mourns. 29. Adam and Eli go over the ship’s inventory including medical supplies. 30. Eli starts to eat Holiday rations. 31. Eli searches for survivors finds none. 32. Eli takes pain killers from the meds. 33. Adam confronts Eli about taking pain killers. 34. Adam hides the drugs. 35. Eli has a tantrum and tares up the ship until he finds them. 36. Eli discovers personal files of the crew on VR machine. 37. Adam does all ship duties.

38. Eli makes Adam play cards with him. 39. Eli gets lonely looking at crew’s personal videos. – Something with Donald 40. Eli makes a sexual advance toward Adam. 41. They arrive Mars and orbit. 42. Midpoint - Eli tries to commit suicide - Adam saves him. 43. Adam lands on Mars. 44. Adam sets up biodome. 45. He nurses Eli back to heal. 46. Eli awakes healthy and starts to contribute. 47. Adam finds damaged drones on Mars. 48. Adam starts having mechanical problems. 49. Eli searches for survivors. 50. Eli discovers problem with terraforming. 51. Adam deteriorates. 52. Eli finds Brazilian Habitat but it looks dead. 53. Eli works to repair Adam. 54. Eli’s rations begin to run out. 55. Eli tries to communicate with habitat but it doesn’t answer. 56. Eli figures out how to modify bacteria to fix terraforming problem. 57. Adam malfunctions permanently. 58. Eli reinitializes terraforming process. 59. Turning point #2 - Eli decides to leave Mars.

Act III 60. He launches off toward the habitat.

61. He studies how to repair Adam. 62. He tries and fails again, to communicate with the Habitat. 63. His rations run out. 64. He fails in repairing Adam. 65. Starving, he devises a way to grow algae to eat. 66. Asteroids damage the ship – ruining his fuel supply. 67. He uses Earth’s gravity to whip toward the habitat. 68. He finds the Habitat, but his trajectory is off. 69. Climax - He straps Adam to his back and launches himself out of the shuttle to the habitat. 70. He finds the hanger bay. 71. He gets the inner door open. 72. He finds humans. 73. They fix Adam. 74. They restart life on Mars.

Appendix G: Mars Cheat Sheet

Character list and jobs: Taring Commander / pilot / Astrophysist Baca Colonel / pilot / Astrophysist Su Robotic Engineer Eli Computer Scientist Kentie Geneticist Oates Medical Officer Tarlo Geologist Abhirati Botantist Adam Android / All jobs

Ships Interior: Cockpit/Head Kitchen/Medical Area Lab/Workshop Garden/rec room Bay Crew Quarters Expandable Wing (rec room, lounge)

Technologies of Importance: -Matter/energy transfluxer (not in story yet – can add if I need to take fuel out of the equation) -Algae oxygen tanks (filters carbon and puts oxygen back into the air) 57

Appendix H: Extinction Rewrite Pitch

Pitch: This story is about the last man alive and his relationship to an android. It’s not just any robot; this is an android who is the physical embodiment of humankind’s achievements. He is meant to replace a host of technical advisors who can’t fit on the ship. He is the culmination of our species greatest technology. The earth is destroyed, the crew all die, only Eli can decide what fate awaits our species. Adam is key in helping Eli realize what his duty. Adam reminds Eli what it is to be human and Eli has to rise to the occasion and in turn teach Adam.

Reel by reel: 1. *Open – Training – Su and Eli face off. Picking up Olivia – meet the family Eli leaves behind. Dome – Eli and Olivia bond. Fusion Geo Plant – Meltdown Dome explosion – the beginning of the end, Eli saves Olivia. Medical Center - Helen picks up Olivia and dad leaves.

2. Launch Center – Meet the crew, Eli’s on it. They have to leave in 23 hours. Tech lab- Meet Adam, the everyman crewman. *Launch Center - Eli wants to take a break to say goodbye to his family, but he can’t because there isn’t enough time. He’ll have to call them. 58

The goodbye call Launch tunnel – they launch from earth In space they pass the habitat They get gravity *Meal time – they haze Eli by getting him to eat the sludge produced by the oxygen tanks. He beats the record for must eaten. It’s practically inedible. Eli fixes temp system malfunction while Su sits around. The crew, without Eli, discuss minor glitches and loss of communication with earth. Adam is unpacked

3. The crew is awaken – earth is destroyed. The crew are stunned, shocked, and grieving. Su and Eli fight over Adam – *Eli doesn’t throw the wrench just yells at him. Oates prepares for suicide. The Captain and Tarlo talk about asteroids and options. Oates commits suicide, causes a power surge damaging the rockets. Crew await asteroids 1st wave hits damages gravity arm. *Someone needs to fix the arm. Su orders Eli to go. Eli goes out and the crew is killed by a huge asteroid. Adam pulls Eli in.

4. Eli and Adam repair ship as quickly as possible. They have to set up a new cockpit because the old one is inoperable. It takes days.

*Eli searches space for crew that may be floating around. Adam thinks they are all dead. Eli doesn’t give up. Denial. *Eli hasn’t slept in days, he ends his desperate search, realizing the crew is dead. *More debris comes toward them and they are forced to go toward Mars and away from earth. *Eli scans earth and the surrounding space for signs of life. There is nothing but silence. *Eli passes out from lack of sleep. Adam convinces him to rest. *Eli sleeps for a little while then wakes. He is upset when Adam still hasn’t found any signs of life. He blames Adam. *Eli runs out of options, capitulates to Adam’s insistence on focusing on the Martian mission. Eli gets Henry, who is still inactive. He places him on the table next to his bed and stares longingly as he slowly falls asleep. Eli is depressed, in bed. Adam refocuses the mission. They discuss survival and inventory. Eli finds out about drugs.

5. Some time later. Henry the dog trots through the empty ship until he finds Eli, medicated working on the oxygen tanks Eli plays with the dog and asks Adam where the painkillers are. Adam shows him and Eli begins taking them. Adam starts to show glitches.

Eli’s drugged up ignoring ship’s duties and rummaging through crews stuff. Adam has a surprise for him. Eli’s birthday party, Adam offers sexual companionship. Adam hides Eli’s drugs. Eli demands them and threatens Adam physically. Adam hides and forces Eli to go cold turkey. *Eli is sick with withdrawal. He is unable to do anything. Adam nurses him. Eli is better but he’s mad at Adam. Food rations are low.

6. Eli agrees to help Adam fix the ship if Adam will leave Eli alone the next day. Eli helps but a lot of work needs to be done still. They figure out why the thrusters still don’t work. Then Adam and Eli play the butterfly game.

Vita

Noah Zisman is from Fredericksburg, Va, where he learned to skip a rock across the very river where George Washington stood as a boy. He completed his first Bachelor’s in English from Bard College in 1995. He got a second Bachelor’s in Moving Image Arts from the College of Santa Fe. He has worked in the film industry and as a web designer since 1994. He is married to a true lady of high moral fiber and stunning beauty. And, though he did nothing to deserve it, he has the best little gray dog in the world.

Permanent address: 3101 Jacona Cir., Santa Fe, NM, 87507

This report was typed by the author.