Climate Denial: The Movie! (Treatment/Synopsis) by Jason Peters
Bill, a CEO, and John, a hedge fund manager, are two regular, down-on-their-luck billionaires. Bill is facing pressure from his board of directors on account of the company having just finished the year a mere 3 points over LY. Meanwhile, John has recently found his assets seized on account of being indicted for insider trading, and is facing mounting pressure from angry clients threatening legal action as his company moves further and further to distance themselves from John and his previously encouraged, and admittedly profitable, tactics.
One evening at a high-priced watering hole, Bill is sitting at the polished oak bar, sipping on a Private Reserve single-malt whiskey, when John sits down next to Bill and orders the exact same single-malt whiskey. The two end up hitting it off, discussing which among the local gentleman’s clubs is the finest, comparing the contents of their vintage wine collection, and lamenting the quality of the wait staff at the bar. After several more drinks, John ends up having to physically defend Bill from the proprietors of the establishment, after an off-color joke by Bill towards one of the waitresses ends up going too far.
As the two men wait outside of the bar for their Uber taxis (or Lyft; explore product placement opportunities), they both end up breaking down and confessing their recent woes to one another. After an emotional heart-to-heart, both men end up revealing their net worth to one another, and after discovering that both of them are in the rarefied company of being worth over a billion dollars, an unexpected friendship begins to take shape.
The following day, Bill reaches out to John and lets him in on an exciting new development taking place: Fracking, a newfound process for extracting and recovering gas and oil from shale rock. An investment partner has let Bill know that the government of the United Kingdom has just awarded over 100 licenses to various companies across Europe and America, and that his company had secured the very first drilling contract. With this newfound information, Bill turns around and makes a number of what are certain to be highly profitable investments on behalf of his clients, many whom are currently working for the federal government, including Linda, a recent divorcee who just so happens to be the very person in charge of the panel tasked with investigating the allegations made towards Bill and his questionable trading tactics.
Later, Linda requests a sit-down with Bill, so they can go over the different allegations being made against him. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to realize there is an instant connection, and instead of discussing the details of the charges, the two find themselves spending the length of the meeting discussing the merits of a Maserati versus a BMW, as well as which casinos in Las Vegas have the best buffets. As the interview comes to an end, Bill lets Linda know that he came across her name on his list of investors, and that it would really be a shame if he were to be convicted, as he has a number of highly profitable investments coming down the pipeline, the most immediate of which are the fracking investments he has made on her and several others’ behalf. With a coy smile, she let’s him know that he has nothing to worry about, and that she can expect to be seeing him again very soon.
The next day, Jim and Bill are enjoying mimosas at lunch, when a new report comes on the television at the bar explaining that all fracking operations are suddenly being halted by the Federal government, citing new reports from the world’s climate scientists that fracking could contribute immensely to the acceleration of global warming. Furthermore, any contracts currently awarded to American companies seeking to frack in Europe and abroad have been effectively terminated, courtesy of the United States government. Defeated, the two men exchange worried glances, then slump down in their chairs as Jim calls for the check, throwing down his Platinum American Express with a heavy sigh.
Back at their lavish estates, Jim and Bill sip on scotch and smoke cigars while sunbathing on their respective master bedroom balconies. They stare off into the sky, each contemplating their current situations. After several hours, each of them goes into their office and begins to browse the internet for various searches related to global warming. Before long, each of them stumble upon a handful of conspiracy theory web sites, whereupon they become consumed by the sheer volume of information available to their fingertips. Several hours go by as both men become more and more engrossed by the obvious manipulation of the government against the American people. Articles about ChemTrails and the Illuminati open their eyes as to who is really controlling the purse strings of the country. It is the wee hours of the morning and, bleary-eyed, both of them stumble upon information that will blow the lid off of the government, and save their investments in the process:
Global warming, as it turns out, is really all a hoax.
In a shocking turn of events, Bill and Jim open their eyes wide enough to see that all of the world’s scientists, in a plot to keep business owners and corporations from becoming profitable, have banded together to falsify decades of research, and make it seem as though the resulting pollution and environmental destruction that comes from drilling, refinement, and yes, even fracking, is accelerating an increase in the climate of the Earth, which will ultimately lead to the planets early demise, and create uninhabitable living conditions for human beings.
It’s 3 am and both men are exhausted from hours of searching the internet for information, but both men know they have a duty to extol this information to as many of their rich and high-powered colleagues as they can. Understanding the importance of their self-appointed missions, both men open their desk drawers, fish around through the contents, and take out baggies of cocaine. They each carve out several lines, snorting the little white crystals until they have enough energy and chutzpah to finish seeing matters through.
Feeling refreshed and energized, the two men put down their rolled up dollar bills and pick up the phone, dialing all of the richest and most powerful people on Earth, and imploring them to let the Federal government know that the billionaires in this country are tired of being pushed around, and that the days of being manipulated and plotted against are over. The two men, phone call by phone call, whip the nations elite into a frenzy of organization and protesting.
Within days, the economy is in a state of chaos. Most of the major corporations have shut down in protest of the shabby treatment shown to the Presidents and CEO’s of the major corporations of America. The revelation of the hoax of global warming was the tipping point, where the best and brightest that the nation has to offer finally said, “No More!” A boycott by all of the largest companies in America set off a trigger of infighting between the corporations and the Federal government. This ends up lasting several weeks, the entire time during which most of the companies facilities have shut down, in turn refusing to pay any workers they were not contractually obligated to. Before long, looting and rioting grows in frequency, first in the lower-income areas that feel the effects the soonest, but it doesn’t take long before the symptoms spread to more affluent cities and suburbs.
When all is said and done, the stalemate will have lasted six weeks before, sensing that the economy and the nation was on the edge of collapse and about to go over, the government relents and gives into the billionaires demands. Almost overnight, tax codes are re-written, putting into effect decades-removed loopholes and credits, ensuring that the corporate entities will enjoy immense yearly profits to offset the six weeks of lost revenue. Additionally, as part of the agreement, the government is to pay the citizens of the country any and all wages lost during the six week standoff, to ensure that there will be no ill will and hostility on behalf of employees towards the companies they are returning to work for.
As the film comes to an end, Bill is sitting with Linda on an exotic white-sand beach. Jim sits next to the two of them with two gorgeous ladies lounging beside him, with another rubbing his shoulders. They all sip champagne, and laugh, celebrating as Bill reads an article on his cell phone about the overwhelmingly positive financial effect oil shale fracking is having on the fuel industry, with profits up several double-digit points. Bill turns to Linda, and informs her that his investments on her behalf have resulted in a recent seventy three million dollar deposit into her account, after which he tells her he loves her. “I love you, too,” she replies, and they grasp each others’ hand as Jim begins to make out with several of the exotic women by his side.
Fade to Black
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