World War Z & Beyond: Interview with the Prisoner. Starring Brad Pitt as Gerry, and Michael B. Jordan as Abel.
BLACK SCREEN
Thirteen years after the first zombie viral outbreak, the earth remains devastated with no significant
improvement. United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family now head world recovery OP
from the Faroe Islands Base in the North Atlantic Ocean. People of high intelligence are sought out
among the world's survivors to help try and rebuild science teams from every field. Gerry interviews a
potential candidate that could help rebuild scientific research and development infrastructure.
FADE IN:
GERRY and ABEL sit across from one another at a huge generic table placed in the center
of a darkened room. Above the table a light dangles illuminating enough to see the men's
faces but not much more. The room feels like it goes on forever because of the pitch black
darkness in all directions surrounding the table. A temporary makeshift room designed
specifically for interrogations, but in this case used for an important interview. Gerry turns a page
from in the folder of Abel's history.
GERRY
Abel Jones, convicted of murder at the age of nineteen in 2006. Took a
Cop's life while shoplifting with a gang. You pleaded not guilty. Why?
ABEL
What is this? I've been moved around a dozen times since 2013 and
never interviewed like this. Kept isolated without explanation.
GERRY
People like you are a last resort protocol. And now we're here.
ABEL
Where's here?
GERRY
Answer my question first.
ABEL
Oh I get it. Whoever you are. Whatever group you serve, you got
wind of my potential. I was kept in the dark, but I heard rumors.
GERRY
The rumors are true. A virus did rip through the world, but what
you don't know is that the devastation is complete, and those of us
left don't have much time. There are only a few million people
left on earth, and most of us are here, Faroe Islands. Not much progress
made over the last thirteen years. There are no more governments.
No more armies. No more wars between humans. There's just the war
on this virus that keeps evolving faster than we can conquer it. Zombies
are real.
ABEL
(lowers head)
My family.
GERRY
I'm your judge, and jury now. I need to hear what happened that
day in the mall. I need to feel like we can trust you.
ABEL
What does all that matter if you need my mind?
GERRY
We're desperate yes, but you're not the only candidate we could use.
This is not a negotiation. If your story is not convincing, you're
fucked. This is a last chance. Convince me you're not an actual
piece of shit, and it was manslaughter. Better that you didn't even do it.
Too bad the cameras weren't higher quality.
ABEL
I didn't study biology or medicine. I want to help advance AI.
Need software engineers?
GERRY
No. We need virologists. I don't doubt you'd learn fast with your
genius level mind.
ABEL
Artificial Intelligence can learn faster, and may even come up
with answers. Why are you fucking with me?
GERRY
You can do both. Tell me your side from that day in 2006. I have
the authority to free you to join our team, or you can finish out your
sentence.
ABEL
Ok I'll play. It was a smash and grab job. Four of us. We hit that mall
a few times before so they switched to armed officers, but we didn't
know that. As we ran out a cop was pointing his gun right at me.
I plowed through him, and I heard a shot go off, but I kept running
without looking back. I was tackled by a different cop who was
yelling my Miranda rights while cuffing me. I couldn't fight or escape
because I got the wind knocked out of me. Later after processing I
was told I killed an officer and was being charged with murder.
Need some time to make your judgement?
GERRY
I saw the security camera footage. It's clear as day. It was manslaughter
not murder.
ABEL
They lied about the evidence; they said the footage was inadmissible
because it was inconclusive.
GERRY
I don't need to lecture you about being there in the first place.
You're on the team. Don't fuck this up, it's your chance to be a hero.
More than a hero. You could be the catalyst - the team member that
puts our research over the top for the win finally - before we go
extinct.
Abel breaks down and cries as if he had been holding in his pain for twenty years. He nods yes over
and over again.
ABEL
(barely audible)
Thank you. Thank you.
FADE TO BLACK:
THE END.
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