Movies make tough jobs – cowboy, detective, prostitute – look glamorous. Faced with a shortage of scientists and engineers, the US government hopes to attract newbies using the silver screen. In 2004, the Air Force Office of Science Research decided to get real-life researchers to develop film scripts, figuring that a block�buster would make biochemistry boffo. An agency grant allowed the American Film Institute to offer a crash course for scientists aspiring to be screenwriters. We ran a few of their treatments past Paul Dergarabedian, president of entertainment research firm Exhibitor Relations and a leading authority on box office success. Picture this: Angelina Jolie as a computational biologist. – Erin Biba
Screenplays: A Scientific Approach
The Probe Scribe: Paula Grisafi, molecular biologist, MIT Pitch: A headstrong Harvard-trained scientist and her rival, a womanizing professor from Norway, are forced to pool their resources to determine the nature of an extraterrestrial object discovered off the North Atlantic coast – a probe that may be killing the world's marine life. Paul says: "The key is to play down the eco-friendly angle and play up the sexual tension between the two leads. A May-December romance could pull big box office sales."
The Lamarck Amendment Scribe: Michael Seringhaus, molecular biophysics and biochemistry grad, Yale Pitch: A genome hacker suspects that a major pharmaceutical company is excluding people from treatment based on their genetic profiles. Can he uncover the truth before it's too late? Paul says: "With a young actor like Scarlett Johansson in the leading role, it could make a compelling thriller. Throw in a top-notch director and it may be an Oscar contender."
Drexler's Laboratory Scribe: John Hulteen, R&D specialist, 3M Pitch: A reserved young nanotechnologist achieves fame and fortune for inventing an energy-generating device and will let nothing – not even the truth – come between him and his newfound celebrity status. Paul says: "A guaranteed indie hit, likely to have a small budget but garner critical acclaim. If the story was more original and had a big star attached, it might have a chance at the box office."
Visions of History Scribe: Sam Mandegaran, electrical engineering grad student, Caltech Pitch: A graduate student in physics at Caltech discovers a way to see images from the past. He and an electrical engineer pal look back and find that, like other unfortunate researchers, their lives are in danger. Paul says: "Time travel stories have been done again and again. That said, they keep making vampire movies, so maybe this one has a chance. It might make a great comedy with Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott, but it's a tough sell."
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