The Community Ideas Hub

[Papertwinproductions]

Oh, and I’d also suggest having the draw at prime time in the US, and everybody else works around that. Also, if the number of organs is too low, you’d expect there to be no hope. If the chances of winning were one-in-a-billion, I think most people, although they may still buy a ticket, would resign themselves to the fact that they weren’t going to win, taking away from the drama.

For this, i would propose a "Cap". Meaning, those in need of organs, send their names to whomever is behind the Lottery. Not all are chosen. But those who are, are sent a number corresponding to one in the draw.

50,000 apply.
500 are chosen, sent a number, and put forth into the lottery.
10 numbers are chosen.

That's the path i think best suited, and the one i've prematurely followed.

 

[mad_hatter]

Trouble with that though, is that, worldwide, there must be (i'm assuming here) millions of people in need of a transplant, why would only a relative handful of them apply?

 

[wheatgrinder]

I believe that coming up with a REASON why there are only a few organs available is easy, that is what we have writers for. Seriously, a little thought could lead to many explanations....

In the near future the world population is increasing, the world economy is the midst of a slow economic collapse. In an attempt to fill the largest economic sink hole, All UN member states, including the US, have turned ALL health care over to a UN organization. To reduce cost world wide, the UN Organization has established a lottery for life extending surgeries, specifically vital organ transplants.

Or something similar.

EDIT: The important thing is that this is BACK STORY, our movie is NOT about "Why" its about the characters and how they respond to this strange super stressful situation.

Someone can take on a social cometary aspect if they so chose, but in our movie reality, its just noise to the DRAMA of peoples lives.. yeah?

 

[wheatgrinder]

For those that want to go all Quentin Tarantino on it, a remote unit could focus on an ALTERNATIVE underground organ transplant system, say black market, highest bidder etc..

 

[VPTurner]

I just had a neat though VPT... what about corruption or fixing of the lottery? Something a bit sinister? Could that fit somehow? Although, I'm interested to hear your ideas as well... I think each of the groups hashing out their main plots in this thread would allow the others to see what's going on in the world we're creating to get a sense of the fit of each story.

I was picturing family drama. But there are so many potential viewpoints:

Those behind the lottery (behind the scenes leading up to the broadcast)
Corruption within the lottery
The potential recipients and their family drama (where my segment was leaning, focusing on one dysfunctional family)
The potential donors
Underground organ harvesters and their victims

I say first and foremost, we need to establish genre:

Science fiction (futuristic, post apocalyptic world where doctors and high-tech facilities are scarce and expertise in organ transplantation is rare, thus eligible recipients are selected at random)

Thriller (victims on the run from underground organ harvesters seek shelter only to find those who take them in are on the waiting list)

Crime Drama (crime syndicate fixing the lottery, taking bribes, controlling the underground harvesters, and the law enforcement endeavoring to shut them down)

Black Comedy (suicide hotline hijacked by stand-up comics specializing in roasts who actually encourage callers to take their own lives for the benefit of those who want to live)

Or all of the above.

EDIT: Side note, one thing I haven't seen taken under consideration is the fact that not all organs would be a match for all people. My understanding is that there are blood type requirements so the organs aren't rejected. And perhaps that's the basis of the lottery - matching only to those who have the correct blood type for a given organ, and the drawings are broken down based on blood type (or whatever criteria is required for a positive match). And people wouldn't "buy a ticket". They'd be given a number, much like we give pagers today. Perhaps the lottery is limited to low income families or individuals who couldn't afford to pay for the transplants, and the lottery is actually run by a charitable organization.

 

[knightly]

...as long as we keep similarities with "The island" to a minimum

"The Island" is just a more modern retelling of "Logan's Run" anyway... which was the first thought in my head when I heard the logline, but I think a modern look at the effects of a lottery like this would be fascinating.

I'd be willing to help out with FX and color grading of the final cut to shoot for consistency.

There should be a slightly longer piece made about the chronology of the thing as well that the rest can tie into... from the TV announcement of the selectees until the announcement of the winners... or just some nebulous european cinema ending where we stop at "... and the winners are..." then flash a bunch of images of the main characters of the segments (BTW, I hate endings like that). I generally want resolution in my endings, but I think this would have more impact on the audience and spark a bit more debate about whatever issues are addressed in the main piece.

 

[Papertwinproductions]

"The Island" is just a more modern retelling of "Logan's Run" anyway... which was the first thought in my head when I heard the logline, but I think a modern look at the effects of a lottery like this would be fascinating.

I'd be willing to help out with FX and color grading of the final cut to shoot for consistency.

There should be a slightly longer piece made about the chronology of the thing as well that the rest can tie into... from the TV announcement of the selectees until the announcement of the winners... or just some nebulous european cinema ending where we stop at "... and the winners are..." then flash a bunch of images of the main characters of the segments (BTW, I hate endings like that). I generally want resolution in my endings, but I think this would have more impact on the audience and spark a bit more debate about whatever issues are addressed in the main piece.

The ending i had planned, as i had mentioned the subtle emphasis on numbers. That we close, as the announcment is about to be made, and our characters wait with baited breath...

Cut to black: 8,78,55,50,7,19,30,44,85,10.

That was the ending i discussed with Ernest. Whether it works in context, i guess we'll see.

 

[mad_hatter]

The ending I had intended to write would have taken place hours after the draw, with one of the losers doing something quite drastic...

Still, I don't think a rise in population would lead to a shortage of organs. Sure, more people would need transplants, but more people would be willing to donate, there would be more corpses to plunder.

Also, is this a one time lottery, only for people in need of transplants? I know that if all organs were allocated and all of a sudden I required one, days after the draw took place, I wouldn't be too happy about that. Would I just be left to die?

 

[JakeSully]

In the future there are plenty of organs people!
The thing is that, a virus known as fakeiist unobtaniuism, hit mankind years ago. Much like HIV, one might not have the symptoms but one terrible day, you wake up nauseated. Your body hurts. Strange red spots appear all over your body. It's not a curable desease and the tests are extremely expensive due to the machnery needed. Nowadays (or thenadays), the viral outbreak is under control, but it's latent form is not. Carriers are everywhere and tested organs are scarce. Checking the vital bodypart for the virus is only done by a private company working for the lottery, to discourage organ trafficking. Nevertheless, even if there was a checked organ source, the company is fighting to keep the virus under control, and the complexity of the test for this virus is only matched by it's costs. Ergo, the all mighty lottery providing clean and free (or "free"?) organs.

So, the stories must have a winner as the protagonist?

 

[NickClapper]

The ending i had planned, as i had mentioned the subtle emphasis on numbers. That we close, as the announcment is about to be made, and our characters wait with baited breath...

Cut to black: 8,78,55,50,7,19,30,44,85,10.

That was the ending i discussed with Ernest. Whether it works in context, i guess we'll see.

This ending I like a lot.

Are you proposing that that's the ending to the entire film? I like the idea that throughout the film you get a sense of the characters' numbers and then the final cut screen shows the numbers that won. I think it would be a real talking point for the film after people saw it... who had which numbers? So that guy missed out? And that gal got a liver???

That has mileage in my opinion.

 

[Murdock]

In terms of the imagery I'm inclined towards twilight... 7:00 pm?

(But then that's just twilight for us (by us I mean me) greedy Brits and for you Americanos it's the middle of the day )

Why can't there be regional drawings so everyone can take advantage of good light?? "Here is the European drawing. Now the Americas drawing etc." They can still be edited together.

 

[Murdock]

I just had a neat though VPT... what about corruption or fixing of the lottery? Something a bit sinister? Could that fit somehow? Although, I'm interested to hear your ideas as well... I think each of the groups hashing out their main plots in this thread would allow the others to see what's going on in the world we're creating to get a sense of the fit of each story.

I already metioned that, and it was poo-pooed.

 

[Murdock]

Oh, I thought we would end without revealing who won... (joke)

I think this is a great idea. I love unresolved endings. They just get under your skin and you remember them.

 

[Murdock]

It's the broadcast, that is making me sway to lower numbers. A lottery-draw of 500 numbers, surely would go beyond hours?

.

This is why I would recommend a regional lottery draw.

 

[Murdock]

Just to add a few thought to what has already been said:

Does everybody in the world now require an organ donation? Maybe a pandemic of sorts? Is it only people who currently require an organ that are eligible for the draw? If not, will there be more organs available in the future? If not, what would happen to somebody who, one month down the line, needs a transplant? Is that tough luck?

.

The lottery could be a private enterprise where people submitting to the drawing agree to provide an organ if needed. They are all cross referenced for availability and matching. The lottery makes money off ticket sales which more than covers the surgeries and operating costs.

 

[Murdock]

In the near future the world population is increasing, the world economy is the midst of a slow economic collapse. In an attempt to fill the largest economic sink hole, All UN member states, including the US, have turned ALL health care over to a UN organization. To reduce cost world wide, the UN Organization has established a lottery for life extending surgeries, specifically vital organ transplants.

I vote super no here.

 

[Murdock]

I EDIT: Side note, one thing I haven't seen taken under consideration is the fact that not all organs would be a match for all people..

See my post above about the private lottery business.

 

[Murdock]

Sorry to spam the thread but I was in the ER last night so I wasn't able to post.

 

[NickClapper]

I don't think we want to politicize the film here...

This is the explanation that I've come up: The lottery is being run by a private company and is a major international TV event. The organs are being funded by the advertising revenue but are all specific to one blood type (so they might all be livers for people with type A) so that will limit the number of people applying. So thousands of people apply for the lottery, in the hope of getting these organs (perhaps if we chose a rare blood type then that would explain the desperation for organs) and, worldwide, 200 people are sent tickets (this can be our uniform prop that we send to all the remote units) and from that 20 people are drawn live on TV...

I have two cultural influences for everyone:

1.) The Big Donor Show... Look this up on Wikipedia and Youtube if you haven't seen it (I'm on my iPad so I can't post a link).

2.) Never Let Me Go... Personal preference here but this is about organ harvesting and the ethics of it. The book is phenomenal, the film is out soon in the UK and has been out for a while in the US. But I'd say read the book, as I'd say to anyone...

 

[Papertwinproductions]

This ending I like a lot.

Are you proposing that that's the ending to the entire film? I like the idea that throughout the film you get a sense of the characters' numbers and then the final cut screen shows the numbers that won. I think it would be a real talking point for the film after people saw it... who had which numbers? So that guy missed out? And that gal got a liver???

That has mileage in my opinion.

I was hoping you guys would like it. It would be a strong climax to the stories.