LEVIATHAN
a sci-fi thriller by Ayden Salazar
ZULU PICTURES PRESENTS
the mandela effect
(psychological phenomenon) • a phenomenon where a group of people recall an event differently or remember something that never happened.
SYNOPSIS
In the midst of a brutal space war, American pilot Jimmy is sent on a mission into the Leviathan wormhole — a rift that erases the existence of all who enter.
Inside, he finds his long-lost friend Ben, trapped in a parallel universe of shifting time.
As Jimmy uncovers the truth behind Leviathan, he realizes only his friendship with Ben — one that defies space and time — can help him end the war.
A high-stakes sci-fi thriller exploring the Mandela Effect, packed with psychological twists, moments of friendship, and breathtaking space battles.
ONE PAGER / RESOURCES
inspirations:
General theme: Even amid the brutality of war, friendship transcends space and time, bearing the power to end conflict.
motifs and genres:
Dystopian sci-fi
time travel
friendship
A lot of sci-fi & time travel elements borrowed from Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”
open cast position
ABOUT: The film’s antagonist - a distinguished scientist for Los Alamos Labs’ Virology Department. Studied rabies in the Congo in Africa. Spearheaded the experiment of a giant, lab-born killer bat. Has apparently gone insane.
CHARACTER TRAITS: Mysterious, enigmatic, mythical, somber, God-like, deranged
COMMITMENT: Minor character; monologue scene; time commitment ~1-2 hr
The setting on Earth: San Francisco
Two timelines are explored: (1) flashbacks of Jimmy and Ben prior to Ben’s military deployment (2024)
(2) “Current” timeline (sometime after 2024), in which Jimmy is assigned on Leviathan mission; Ben doesn’t appear to exist in this timeline.
the bat
a silhouette with a red luminescent light attached to it, giving audience awareness of its location
scene list
in chronological order
introduction sequence
opens with a frame of sky with bats flying across. Silhouette of cowboy is overlaid across.
mission dossier
cowboy thumbs through the documents pertaining towards his mission
tent ambush
cowboy is attacked by the bat while in his tent, causing the tent to fall off side of cliff
face to face with the bat
cowboy encounters the bat in a grassy field and manages to land a hit with his bow
desert traversal montage #1
cowboy walks across the vast desert, a fight for survival
coyote attack
cowboy, dazed and dehydrated, collapses. fends off a hungry coyote.
bat flyover
bat flies over the cowboy’s head, leaving him awestruck
flashback: hot air balloon disaster
cowboy has a flashback of when bat attacked during a hot air balloon festival
desert traversal montage #2
cowboy continues traversing the desert, suffering the effects of rabies
kurtz’s cave
cowboy stumbles upon cave in the middle of desert. encounters the enigmatic figure of Kurtz inside.
kurtz’s monologue
Kurtz lectures the cowboy on the moral and existential implications of his mission
cowboy death scene
Cowboy wakes up outside the cave, dying of rabies