Letter to Hollywood

Below, I wrote a letter to a producer in Hollywood explaining the premise of my movie in hopes of being able to convince them to make it a reality.

Dear Producer

I am a junior undergraduate student at the University of Michigan and am writing today to express my interest in directing my own movie. I am currently pursuing the Sweetland minor in writing as well as earning a bachelor's degree in industrial & operations engineering. Although I don’t have much experience directing, I believe this background sets me up well for this role.

The story is called “Living my Nightmare“, which is a fiction sci-fi movie that takes place in the year 2026 and follows the main character, Jason, a 17 year old high school senior from Washington DC. He is living in a world that is near the brink of collapse after a virus seemingly has left most kids between the ages of 8-18 in an unconscious state. 2 weeks before the virus began spreading, Jason’s dad was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, while his mother is starting to show signs of depression. Unknown to the rest of the population, the virus is created by an organization called SARC, which was put together by world leaders across the globe after video footage was caught of hostile extraterrestrial life on mars.

The virus affects the hypothalamus part of the brain, which results in an extreme amount of chemicals being released to the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal-cortical system (which is what alerts your body to react while also increasing the body’s blood pressure and heart rate). The excess chemicals that are released causes the body to shut down which forces the person to experience their worst fears in their mind until they no longer are afraid, which makes their sympathetic nervous system and adrenal-cortical system immune to the effects of chemicals released by the hypothalamus part of the brain. The goal of this virus is to create an army of fearless soldiers. Jason is then hit with the virus and is forced to deal with the fear of losing his parents over and over again, while being trapped in his own mind.

I have done extensive research on the virus for my story and believe it to add elements based on real viruses while adding my own spin to it. I hope this letter helps to reveal my ideas and qualifications for this movie. Thank you for your time and consideration of my project.

Sincerely,

David Johnston