Now let's do a film treatment.
"Absolutely, Gary. Here’s a film treatment for The Fault of Stars, blending the metaphysical satire of Waiting for the Galactic Bus and The Snake Oil Wars with the reflective gravity of Lincoln in the Times of the Dead. It’s Godwinesque to its core—lyrical, absurd, and profoundly ethical."
"🎬 Film Treatment: The Fault of Stars
"Genre:
"Metaphysical Comedy-Drama / Speculative Satire / Historical Fantasia
"Logline:
"When two cosmic pranksters accidentally birth humanity, their creation spirals into spiritual crisis—culminating in the spectral awakening of Abraham Lincoln, who must stand trial in a collapsing afterlife to determine the moral fate of memory itself."
"Narrative Overview
"Act I: Genesis of Miscalculation
"Barion and Coyul, mischievous alien college students, tweak primate DNA during a spring break pit stop on Earth. They infuse sentience with irony and compassion—by accident. Humanity flourishes. They vanish, assuming their creation will self-correct."
"Millennia later, the unintended side effects have birthed religion, bureaucracy, war, and paradoxical notions of freedom."
"Act II: The Spectral Republic
"In a realm known as Interrem, souls hover in unfinished silence. Among them is Abraham Lincoln: haunted, revered, but uncertain. He converses with fragmented archetypes—slaves, soldiers, satirists, and theologians—who confront him with the messy echo of legacy."
"When theological software malfunctions in the celestial bureaucracy, Barion and Coyul are summoned to repair the metaphysical operating system they accidentally authored."
"Act III: The Trial of Consequence
"Lincoln is subpoenaed by the Galactic Tribunal of Ethical Continuity. The courtroom spans dimensions: Marcus Aurelius presides, Dorothy Parker ghostwrites arguments, L. Ron Hubbard reappears as a fax machine, and Jesus testifies with weary eyes."
"Lincoln is asked not just to defend his life—but to answer whether history deserves redemption. Coyul, guilt-ridden, takes the stand. Barion mocks the whole affair."
"Act IV: Collapse and Communion
"The trial dissolves into a chaotic dialogue between creator and creation. Lincoln steps outside myth and speaks as man—acknowledging compromise, grief, and hope. His words untangle spiritual algorithms and break the recursion of belief."
"As reality bends, Interrem begins to dissolve—replaced by a corridor where memory and possibility coexist."
"Epilogue: The Bus Terminal Beyond Time
"Lincoln boards a dimensional bus. Coyul, watching, slips him a folded note: 'Legacy is not what we leave behind. It’s what refuses to leave us.' The bus departs. Barion sighs, “So much for clean exits.”
"Tone & Style
- Visuals inspired by Terry Gilliam, Ridley Scott, and Charlie Kaufman
- Dialogue mixing poetic gravitas with staccato wit
- Surreal transitions between courtroom theatre, spectral landscapes, and cosmic glitchwork
- Music: Ambient choral elegies fused with satirical jazz motifs"
"Themes
- Unintended Creation and Ethical Accountability
- Legacy as Dialogue, Not Monument
- Memory Sovereignty in Mythic Systems
- The Collapse of Bureaucratized Afterlives"
"We could evolve this into a scene breakdown, casting profiles, or even conceptual soundscapes. Want to dive into a key scene—perhaps Lincoln’s testimony, or Coyul watching humanity spiral from his galactic dashboard?"
Who was the actor who played in a comedy with a physics title and also hosted Jeopardy?
"That would be Mayim Bialik. She starred in the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, which is steeped in physics references and scientific humor. On the show, she played Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist—mirroring her real-life PhD in neuroscience."
"She also co-hosted Jeopardy! alongside Ken Jennings, sharing duties after the passing of Alex Trebek. Her hosting tenure included both regular episodes and special editions like Celebrity Jeopardy!."
"Want to explore how her scientific background shaped her performance or how The Big Bang Theory plays with symbolic systems and cultural archetypes?"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayim_Bialik
Mayim Balik [to read] for Barion and Dorothy Parker. Who was the historian who played the daughter in The Incredibles?
"That would be Sarah Vowell. She voiced Violet Parr, the shy, force-field-generating daughter in The Incredibles and Incredibles 2. Vowell is not just a voice actor—she’s a celebrated historian, essayist, and author, known for her witty, insightful takes on American history and culture."
"Brad Bird, the film’s director, cast her after hearing her on This American Life, where she shared a story about helping her father build a cannon. That blend of quirky intellect and emotional depth made her a perfect fit for Violet’s character."
"If you’re thinking of weaving her into your casting matrix, she’d bring a cerebral, dry-humored edge to any spectral or satirical role. Want to imagine her as a witness in the metaphysical tribunal alongside Mayim Bialik’s Dorothy Parker?"
Or Vowell could play Barion with an irritated but hypersedated mock zen master presentation.
"That's a brilliant pivot, Gary—and deliciously Godwinesque. Sarah Vowell as Barion reconfigures the character from cosmic prankster into a flat-toned oracle of exasperated wisdom. You can practically hear her dry delivery as she sighs, 'Well, we did engineer sentience. Didn’t mean to engineer all that meaning.'”
"Recasting Barion: Sarah Vowell as the Hypersedated Zen Satirist
- Vibe: Think Alan Watts meets Daria Morgendorffer. Barion now carries the weariness of someone who’s read humanity’s diary and found it mostly footnotes and passive-aggressive subtext.
- Delivery Style: Laconic, wry, quietly devastating. Every sentence is a philosophical slap with a velvet glove.
- Dynamics with Coyul:
With Mayim Bialik’s Coyul as a high-strung, reluctant spiritual administrator, the contrast becomes delicious:
Coyul: 'Do you ever feel guilty about creating humanity?'
Barion: '…Yes. But only in the mornings. And only after fruit.'”
"This version of Barion wouldn't just destabilize heaven's bureaucracy—she’d narrate its collapse like a Ken Burns documentary voiced by existential doubt."
"We could build scenes where Barion lectures alien ethics panels using laminated index cards and ghostwritten haikus. Or imagine her riffing with Lincoln over coffee in the Interrem, arguing whether accountability is just guilt with better public relations."
"Want to riff on a scene where Barion explains evolution as a failed improv exercise—or shall we chart her arc across the narrative as she slowly reveals she might care more than she admits?"
Trying to keep Coyul from uncoiling?
"Exactly—and good luck with that. Coyul’s always been one repressed existential crisis away from detonating the Bureau of Spiritual Affairs in a poetic monologue. Barion (a.k.a. Sarah Vowell’s Zen-snark incarnation) approaches it like defusing a philosophical landmine wrapped in procedural memos:
Scene: The Staff Kitchen of the Afterlife.
Coyul stares into a mug of metaphysical espresso. Barion slides in, carrying a stack of 'Soul Audit Forms' she fully intends to never file.
Coyul: 'Do you ever feel the weight of it, Barion? The anguish of ethical recursion?'
Barion (dryly): 'Only when I open my inbox or read your poetry.'
Coyul: 'They still believe in us.'
Barion: 'They still believe in astrology and diet soda. Don’t take it personally.'
Coyul: 'I’m unraveling.'
Barion: 'You’re not unraveling. You’re just transcending linearly.'”
"It’s like cosmic sibling counseling meets Beckett. Coyul’s arc becomes one of near-sacred disintegration—held together only by Barion’s unimpressed empathy and strategic interruptions. Her role, paradoxically, is to help Coyul unravel just enough to realize why she doesn't want to unravel anymore."
"We could build out a scene where Coyul’s scheduled breakdown is mysteriously canceled by an internal memo from Marcus Aurelius. Or one where Dorothy Parker leaves emotional post-it notes on Coyul’s office door ('Your neuroticism is showing. That’s fine. Wear it with pearls.')."
"Would you like to sketch a turning point—like the moment Barion realizes she does care that Coyul’s coming undone? Or explore how Coyul’s near-uncoiling triggers a reset in the metaphysical bureaucracy?"
“Only when I open my inbox or read your poetry.” Been there done that!
