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I’m so grateful for the love I’ve received over this script—especially to the Nicholl Fellowships for choosing it as a winner in 2019. It opened a lot of doors to me. I’ve written many scripts since, but this one remains my favorite.

As a fan, I’m always looking for films that land the right tonal mix of serious stakes and absolute fun. I certainly tried with this screenplay. I’ve often described the world I created here as a “fun dystopia” – a place objectively horrible for the characters but that we love spending time in as an audience. Baroque neighborhoods, mutants, robots, grubby humans, gangs, humor, crazy plans and crazier consequences. The mess without the misery.

It’s the story of a Dickensian gang of hardscrabble girls, some of the last of their kind, surviving on guts and skill and love. They find humor in the danger because they have to—Allie most of all, because the pressure of keeping them alive falls to her. Self-preservation tempts her in ways I understand, but she acts in ways I hope I could.

For those in the industry who would like a read, don’t hesitate to reach out on the contact form below.

-w

Primordia came to me from the wonderful Bastiaan Koch, director and originator of the series project, and his company Marauder Film. It’s exhilarating and humbling to be asked to write the adaptation of this wild and inventive game and its rich mythology.

The best stories—certainly those that move me the most—are about the transformation of a person. I was instantly captivated by the story of Horatio, this robot robbed of his memory, searching a dark landscape for understanding of his place in the world. He doesn’t realize it at first, but he’s searching for a better self. It reminded me of how we all wrestle with our innate programming, those positive and negative impulses that seem to pilot us through our daily lives. You wouldn’t immediately think the story of an amnesiac robot would be relatable for the average human in our world, but found a deeply personal story here. In this adaptation, Horatio is paired with Rune, a human girl on a mission of revenge—and in thrall to her own destructive, self-imposed programming. At odds from the start, they must find a way to let go of selfish goals to save themselves—and their world.

But enough about theme—let me gush about how thrilling it is to play in the fantastic weirdness of this world. Robot zombies and angels made of metal. The sands of the Waste and the towers of a lost civilization. Secrets and revelations about the fall of civilization and the rise of a new one. The quest, the landscape, the action, the light and the dark. This is Primordia.

Concept art by Bastiaan Koch (director) and Marauder Film

February 2018, APEX MAGAZINE

This was a weird one! Still one of my favorite story concepts. When I learned about the “living museum” of Colonial Williamsburg and the real pre-industrial farming and blacksmithing skills of its many reenactors, I couldn’t help but think a walled-off version would be a pretty ideal place to ride out a total apocalypse. Following that thread, I wondered how useful I’d be in such a place. I can be handy when I have access to YouTube tutorials–and useless when I don’t. So what would happen to the non-skilled employees already inside? The gift shop workers? Admin assistants and management? It allowed me to explore the anxiety of those (like me) who earn their living entirely by creative–but insubstantial–thought.

Plus it has aliens. Maybe.

Free to read online at Apex Magazine.