Survival Instinct
Logline
Upon escaping the collapse of the building where he works Bill discovers the entire city is destroyed. He encounters a severely wounded woman and a damaged robot, and together they search for the cause of the damage and a means of survival.
Genre
Sci-fi,Adventure,Apocalyptic,Romance,Funny
Short Summary
Bill encounters a rough biker gang that claims he is trespassing on their 'hunting grounds.' Their sadistic leader decides that the trial will include hearing Bill's tale of how he survived the catastrophe before deciding on the punishment. The heart of the story is Bill's telling.
Bill finishes his tale but is convinced he will be executed as entertainment for the gang. He secretly enlists the robot to distract the gang, and then stabs the leader in the neck with a tent peg, killing him. With the robot's help, Bill makes his play to take over the leadership of the gang.
Setting
A suburban part of an unnamed city and the rural outskirts.
Based on a True Story
No
Plot - Premise
Quest,Tragedy
Plot - Other Elements
Philosophical Questions,Other
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Main Character Details
Name: Bill Sweeney
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Desperate,Heroic,Honorable,Educated,Funny,Selfless,Romantic
Additional Character Details
Name: Jennie
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Selfless,Skillful,Modest,Desperate,Empathetic,Honorable,Educated,Decisive,Charming
Additional Character Details
Name: Robbie (robot)
Age: Unknown
Gender: Other
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Funny,Skillful,Selfless,Naive,Faithful,Obedient,Educated
Additional Character Details
Name: The Judge
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Aggressive,Criminal,Leader,Masculine,Villainous,Unapologetic
Development Pitch
The characters are forced into survival mode in a world that has suffered a catastrophic meteor shower that leaves the surface world-wide nearly completely destroyed. Bill rescues Jennie from beneath a pile of debris, but she has sustained a serious injury to her leg. He also helps Robbie, a medical diagnostic robot, to pull himself from the rubble. Although the circumstances are dire, Bill and Robbie develop a rapport, with Bill teaching Robbie about the human sense of humor, of which Robbie is completely ignorant but able to learn fast. Bill and Robbie become a partnership that brings out the best in each of them. Bill and Jennie also develop a relationship that, for them both, is leading to romance. But Jennie's injury worsens, and she cannot go on. The death evident everywhere they look, the overall destruction, and finally the death of Jennie changes the straight-laced engineer Bill into a man capable of dealing with the inevitable confrontation with Judge, the leader of an outlaw cycle gang. This story explores mankind's relationship with AI, and how the survival scenario lays bare the principal characteristics of man and machine. Production of a movie could employ a lot of CGI and require only a small cast, and very little location-shooting.