GIVING IT ALL AWAY

A Rough Draft Outline for a Screenplay by Ric Hickey and Chris Wanstrath

* (The authors recommend you play the attached YouTube links for the full effect of the soundtrack we have in mind.) Music over opening title sequence: Bachman Turner Overdrive "Giving It All Away"

An affluent well-known high-profile citizen (think Bruce Wayne or Elon Musk) publicly announces that he is releasing all of his personal information to the public as an experiment, just to see what would happen: his social security number, credit cards, bank account numbers, phone number, home and business addresses, etc. He loses everything. Hilarity ensues. What would happen? If the public suddenly had access to this guy's billions? And how quickly would it be drained and dwindled down to nothing? And of course the guy has to learn some Zen-like lessons along the way. Your basic riches to rags story. No more solicitors, good causes, shady characters, or charity benefit balls. He still has the keys to his first car. This is his only means of transportation, though he now finds himself forced to borrow money for gas. Gathering glass bottles to cash in takes too long and yields only a few bucks. He gives blood, gets a cookie. "That's it??? What's the going rate for plasma? French toast?"

Soundtrack: Willie Nelson "If You Got the Money Honey I Got the Time"

All those people who'd been trying to hack his information are suddenly adrift now that it's public knowledge. The twist at the happy ending would have to be something like: guy finds out he forgot about something squirrelled away in offshore accounts, maybe millions… Or a forgotten little company started years ago by an old classmate who asked for a few bucks way back when and now early investors own crazy valuable stock. So he goes thru Hell, learns that money doesn't buy happiness, etc. He's back in the high life, but only for the last five minutes of the movie. Only the high life comes with hilarious new amigos that are fodder for the sequel maybe? He has an evil ex-wife who misses out on the money. She only finds out he's giving it away after it's all gone. Too busy trying to cheat him out of it she missed the boat. (Catherine O'Hara would be perfect for that role.) His personal assistant kicks the shit out of him.

Soundtrack: AC/DC "Down Payment Blues"

Loses all of his fake friends when he's broke except maybe one true friend sidekick comic foil straight man character. He has to crash on that guy's couch when he loses all his many houses, high rise condo, beachfront bungalow. How would his family react? They try to have him committed. Then, when his fortune is all gone, they disown him. Like his friends, they were only interested in his money. And his one pal is broke. Says, "Nah man, I spent all that. Didn't ask for it. Didn't need it." Or, instead of offshore accounts... He gets a book deal to tell his story. It's a huge hit. He sells the movie rights. The film is a blockbuster. Sequels follow, TV adaptation, spin offs, franchise, merchandise, etc. AND THE MOVIE IS THIS SCREENPLAY WE'RE WRITING. (A la the film "Adaptation". Too similar?

Soundtrack: Ray Charles "Busted"

"Being of sound mind and body," he says to himself… Does he give it all away AGAIN at the end? But this time to charity? Riches to rags to riches to rags!? And something has to happen at the beginning of the movie to give him this idea… Perhaps he hears of someone in a similar tax bracket who dies a senseless early death, leaving this world without ever enjoying his riches... He asks himself, "What is the use of all this money? If it is meaningless, then what DOES have true value?" Maybe a very close friend in a similar tax bracket who dies of cancer at the beginning of the movie. Thus our protagonist is left wondering what does it all mean? Money can't buy back your health.

Soundtrack: Woody Guthrie "Do Re Mi"

Screenwriter's note to self: I wonder if this would work better as a play? Would our protagonist talk to himself or the audience or both? Just one of the many questions we'd face if writing for the stage… If it's a screenplay, the sky's the limit. But until someone buys or options our screenplay we wouldn't have any budget to actually produce it. And if someone buys the screenplay, someone else would make it. Someone else will be calling the shots once we've sold it off. Not us. If written for the stage, we could perform it ourselves, just us and a few friends.

*

Additional tunes for the soundtrack: Louis Prima "Banana Split For My Baby"

John Cougar Mellencamp "Do Re Mi"