WeTopia!

Description

WeTopia! is a comedy drama that satirises TechBro hubris while soothing a complicated sibling rivalry. Wendall and Adam Rose are AI Wunderkinds. They\'ve devised an App, allowing customers to upload their consciousness to the WeTopia cloud, freeing themselves of all decisions. It\'s Utopia: everyone behaves according to WeTopia\'s special AI algorithm. The film begins at the launch, in a theatre foyer. The crowd are restless, they have to wait 40 mins while Wendall writes the last bits of code on stage. Adam has to control the masses. They demand access, but Wendall isn\'t ready. So Adam offers a Beta version of WeTopia: iTopia. The difference being that rather than the greater good, it encourages selfishness. The crowd mishear Beta as Better, and demand the App. Fearful to deny them, Adam lets them download it - unleashing hell. Adam explains all to Wendall, who is furious - he brings his two tablets which contain the code, and smashes them on the floor. Adam persuades him to tweak the app, so they can be saved from themselves. Amongst chaos, they put aside their differences and for the first time, work together - for the greater good. The App delivers the necessary peace.

Biblical Connection

Moses and The Golden Calf. I plan a fairly faithful adaptation in terms of plot - but with extra focus on the relationship between Moses and Aaron. Aaron was the one who did most of the speaking and organising, while Moses took the credit. That is a great dynamic for conflict, but also for comedy. I plan to use a mix of satire (the current AI doomsaying) and broad comedy (the obsessive tech-fan crowd and the brother\'s relationship). Imagine Step Brothers meets Steve Jobs (the Danny Boyle film). The world of arrogant tech saviours is ripe for puncturing - Effective Altruism, Longtermism and AI all potentially profound and silly at the same time. I see Wendall (Moses) as charismatic and gifted with code but ultimately not as intelligent as Adam (Aaron). That feeling of one sibling being more prominent than the other is a subject I know well, so I can uncover both the comedy and the emotional release. The key is to find humour in the situation, without undermining the significance of the 10 Commandments. Though there will be space for mild mockery if approached sensitively. Basically, in 10 minutes I want the audience to laugh and to cry!