| On The Bench |
GENRE: Science Fiction.
LOGLINE: In a post apocalyptic world where just a few humans exist, one man tries to get by each day with periodic Zoom meetings with other survivors, all of whom await their demise which is sure to come.
STATUS: In development. Script to be written by Eric Nemoto depending on who is cast, with the projected shoot date being either late 2024 or summer 2025.
Inspiration
On The Bench will loosely follow the storyline of the 1950’s science fiction drama, On The Beach. This Stanley Kramer classic, starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Fred Astaire, told the story of Australia, after World War III, being the only remaining haven for mankind after the rest of the world has been nuclear annihilated. However, wind currents carrying lingering radiation all but condemn those on the continent to the same fate suffered by the rest of the world. When the survivors receive a strange signal from San Diego, a submarine commander undertakes a mission with his crew to see if there is hope for humanity. But when the source is traced to a refinery it turns out to be a false lead. A Morse code machine is still running on auto-control, and a telegraph key is entangled in a window shade’s pull cord and a half-full Coca-Cola bottle, which is being pulled by an ocean breeze, causing radio signals. In the end, after the submarines returns, we know that everyone will perish.
On The Bench will try to emulate the dramatic pathos of On The Beach, but instead of a country that awaits its fate, it will be the surviving members of a world who attend a Zoom meeting. This concept is fueled by the great success another YBS movie, Covid Release, which was filmed entirely via remote means. Similarly, it is envisioned that somehow, these surviving members have found each other and meet regularly to commiserate before whatever is defined to be the event that will soon take everyone’s lives. Why all of humanity is gone and yet electricity still exists to power computers to enable a Zoom meeting? Why just these people have survived? What exactly is the extinction level event that has left just these people? These matters will be discovered in the writing. In effect, Covid Release proved that a movie can be shot through Zoom. On The Bench will attempt to replicate it, except that the movie will follow one primary survivor who will be the lead.
Filming Concept
YBS’ intent is to keep making movies, consistently, one way or another. This means if it has a budget it will make a movie, and if it didn’t have a budget, it would find a way to make a movie anyway. On The Bench is a movie that falls into the latter. Cast who are recruited will be primarily non-union and who will work on a micro budget. Filming, as with Covid Release, will primarily be done on Zoom, according to the script, and only one character, the lead of the survivors, will be featured in daily life, living alone and dealing with the inevitable impending doom. The relevance of the titled “bench” is that our hero/heroine in the end will sit on a favorite bench to await their fate.
A Man Lives For His Zoom Meetings As He Awaits His Impending Death In On The Bench
On The Bench Shall Endeavor To Create Art Utilizing The Recording Function Of Zoom
Creating A Story Around The Cast
On The Bench shall be written according to the cast that is eventually recruited to be a part of this project. Those asked to consider being involved will come from interested members associated with Eric Nemoto from TAG – The Actors’ Group, from being a part of previous Yellow Brick Studio / LegacyVision Films, and his acting class, known as the Actors Gym. Those eventually recruited will be asked to describe the characters they wish to play, and to answer such questions as: “Where does your character live? “What happened to you and those around you from the disaster?” “What is the character’s personality given the overall gloom of the impending future?” Of course, the central need is to define the overall disaster that has doomed them all, which makes it plausible that the totality of mankind has been destroyed save for these remaining souls, and yet there still exists electricity to power up their computers and an Internet that still apparently works. In essence, On The Bench, will be a unique project that will draw from the creative ideas of many.
On The Bench – A Movie That Will Be Pieced Together By The Creativity Of The Participating Cast
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