[ Screenplay ]
Before I start writing I need to state two things. First off, I'm glad to see
that Mr Rothman finally able able to produce
Jathia's
Wager. Second is a
disclaimer; I wrote the first complete draft of Jathia’s Wager
referred to as
"The Love Story Envisioning".
This means I had some vested interest in the project back when it started in
early 2007.
Now, let me get to the heart of this post. The final film has the same issues
that the original seven page partial draft written by Mr Rothman had. There
is no plot, no driving force, and no reason to empathize with the main
characters. The sad thing is because what I saw in that partial draft was a
deeper meaning than what Mr Rothman decided to portray. However, with the
summary below it doesn’t surprise me it was lost.
[...]
[ Screenplay ]
I've finished
my version
of the Jathia's Wager. The more I read the script the more I realize I
have no interest in the character Jathia in any version I've seen so far. The
character that peeks my interest is the teacher/guide (the guy in the "bowler
hat" as a few have refered to him as).
That being said I may look at a story based on him in the future. However, I
just don't see enough of a plot arc to be inspired to write about him at
this moment. I suspect it will take a while to flesh him out in the way
that I think is best.
Anyways, the
public forums
is where I suspect to see commentaries since I don't offer such ability
on my site (yet).
[ Screenplay ]
I'm slowly working on a second draft of Jathia's Wager. I've
heard back from my trusted first readers and those on the
public forums. As a result, I have a laundry list of
things I need to work on. However, don't expect to see any updates until
maybe the end of next week. I'm still mulling over a few comments made by
my trusted first readers.
[ Screenplay ]
This last week I've been working on an alternative version to
Solomon Rothman Films'
Jathia's Wager. To quote the press release he wrote:
Jathia's Wager is a science fiction story about a young man living in an isolated
community of humans, who must make a life changing decision about his future
and his species.
As I read the script I saw it being more of a science fiction "coming of
age" story. I also asked myself what would drive someone to leave behind
their own "species" and give up their humanity with no hope of returning.
And if you can't guess it... The reason I found was "love."
Not saying it's an original reason, but love tends to be a driving factor
for many of us to do things we wouldn't normally do when we are sane. And
I didn't set out to transform it into a love story. It just happened as I
was attempting to resolve the main character's motivation. =-)
With that being said I present my version of
Jathia's Wager -
Draft 1 - A Love Story Envisioning.