The Echo Chamber
Christopher Nolan pitches terrifying doomsday thriller that is definitely not based on the 2016 election
INT. EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE ROOM, PARAMOUNT PICTURES — DAY
Critically acclaimed writer-director, Christopher Nolan, sits across from two studio executives.
Nolan: Okay so imagine that there’s this parallel universe. Let’s call it: The Echo Chamber.
Exec. 1: Uh huh. I’m listening.
Nolan: And life in the Echo Chamber is great. Everyone gets along, they share the same opinions, they engage in the same kind of behaviors.
Exec. 2: Like what kind of behaviors?
Nolan: Oh y’know, being morally outraged about stuff, mocking Mid-Westerners, captioning Paul Ryan memes. That kind of thing.
Exec. 1: And this Echo Chamber is supposed to be a happy place?
Nolan: Oh yeah, it’s super fun! People who live in the Echo Chamber have a GREAT time.
Exec. 2: Who are those people exactly?
Nolan: Urban dwellers, kombucha sippers, basically anyone who’s ever read a Jon Ronson novel.
Exec. 2: Gotchya. So what happens? Where’s the conflict?
Nolan: Okay so everything in the Echo Chamber is pottering along just fine until one day, its steely walls are completely shattered, exposing the people of the Echo Chamber to the harsh realities of the broader world.
Exec. 1: This is sounding a lot like the 2016 election.
Nolan: Oh no, it’s a completely original concept. Trust me. So anyway, no one sees this cataclysmic disaster coming. The people of the Echo Chamber just wake up one day to find their whole world has changed and they now have to learn to live in an entirely new reality.
Exec. 2: And what is this new reality? Zombies?
Exec. 1: Swamp people?
Exec. 2: Post-apocalyptic famine?
Nolan: No. The new reality is that people who live outside of the Echo Chamber have a vastly different worldview to them.
Execs. 1 & 2:……
Nolan:…….
Exec. 1: That’s it?
Nolan: Yep.
Exec. 1: Well that doesn’t seem very scary. Isn’t this supposed to be a horror?
Nolan: Oh, it’s terrifying. Trust me.
Exec. 1: Yeah I dunno, Chris. Are you sure you don’t have anything else to pitch?
Nolan: This is the best completely original idea I’ve had in my entire life. Trust me.
Exec. 2: Let’s rewind to the part about the Echo Chamber being shattered. How does this happen?
Nolan: Maybe a hurricane. Or a car bomb. I haven’t quite worked that part through yet.
Exec. 1: And is the Echo Chamber shattered permanently? Can its inhabitants ever return?
Nolan: Technically they can. But no one really wants to. Now that they know the Echo Chamber was merely providing them with a simulated reality it kind of feels tainted.
Exec. 2: Oh I see. So the Echo Chamber is like a really nice dream you don’t ever want to wake up from.
Nolan: Exactly.
Exec. 2: But when you do wake up, you know there’s no point trying to slip back into the dream because it’ll just mean having to go through the painful process of waking up all over again.
Nolan: Exactly. The best thing you can do is get up and forge ahead with the next four years. I mean, your day.
Exec. 2: Okay, I think I can see this working.
Exec. 1: I dunno. It still sounds a lot like the 2016 election to me.
Nolan: Completely different. Trust me.
Exec. 2: Tell us more about the Echo Chamber. What’s life like there? Is it notably different to base reality?
Nolan: Quite different, yes. For example, its inhabitants are heavily dependent on public transport and Yelp. There’s also a lot of artisanal product consumption.
Exec. 1: Sounds like you’re just describing New York.
Nolan: Not New York. Trust me.
Execs. 1 & 2:……
Nolan gives two thumbs up.
Exec. 1: Okay so basically this is a story about a bunch of people stepping out of their insular bubble, only to discover that there are some people out there who don’t agree with them.
Nolan: Not just some. A LOT!
Exec. 1: Hmm, I guess that is pretty terrifying. Maybe I can get on board with this. My only concern is that the plot feels a little lackluster. Any way we can work in some nudity? Or death?
Nolan: Oh don’t you worry, it has loads of death: the death of hope, the death of all faith in humanity, the death of the political establishment.
Exec. 1: It thought you said this wasn’t about the 2016 election.
Nolan: It’s not. Trust me.
Le Fin
