[Screenplay Idea] Unnamed War Thing

[Varine]

I got an idea for a screenplay a while ago and never really felt like developing it, but now I've got nothing else to do, so I thought what the hell.

Backstory:
Alright, it takes place in 2018. The US-Mideast conflict has escalated to a near world war status, with essentially the entire Middle-East becoming a battlefield with no clear front. Sunnis and Shi'ites are openly fighting throughout the area, along with Israel and the US, along with other nations although on a lesser scale, attempting to restore some amount of peace to the region, essentially attempting to make the area a commonwealth (i.e. the US wants to pretty much control the Mideast and Israel wants to not be bombed anymore). North Korea and South Korea have also began to have large scale conflicts, and Taiwan and China are also fighting over Taiwan's independency. Russia is selling pretty much everything needed to make their own WMD's to North Korea and Iran, as well as making millions of arms shipments, but don't cross that line to avoid going to war with the other world powers, having to deal with a huge civil war of their own. Australia, Canada, and Great Britain are mostly involved with these wars, rather than in the Mideast, not wanting to get drawn back into a problem that they feel is the US's (much like the US did in WWI and WWII).

Main Story:
The US has a huge draft at this point, with over 8,000,000 actively in combat and 100,000,000 either in reserve or on leave.
In April of 2018, massive bombs are set off in many of the major cities of the US, leaving over 10,000,000 people dead and countless more injured. In addition, a new ship being made on the Pacific coast is destroyed, causing billions of dollars in damage. The ship was the largest and probably the most advanced vehicle ever having been made, and was going to be used pretty much as a battallion of it's own, having enough power to destroy pretty much anything.
By the next day, the US intelligence agencies all have targeted Russia as responsible for the attacks. The US President uses the Red Telephone to contact the Russian President, and Russia promptly makes an announcement that they took no part in the attack. They blame instead the revolutionaries who are attempting to overthrow the Russian government, calling it corrupt and a new Soviet Union. The rebels generally were pro-US, actively denouncing the Russian government for their arms sales and lack of participation in the war against terrorism. However, the revolutionaries send an announcement to the US that it wasn't them and they don't know who would attack them, but explain there is a splinter group that dislikes the US and most of western society. Soon after, the splinter group takes responsibility for the attack and Russia promises that they will be dealt with appropriately.
As the next few months go by, Russia begins to overpower the revolutionaries, which, secretly, are backed by the US with arms and money. A group of several hundred Special Forces Operators are assembled and send to help with the revolution, but all identification is to be left behind to avoid a trail leading back to the US.
The story follows a team of the Spec Ops, who operate with the Russian Revolutionaries as they try and push the front back westward. The revolutionaries capture some of the soldiers from the splinter group, and they interrogate them and find that they have set up headquarters in a captured missile base near Kaliningrad. The Spec Ops team is given an Okay to take it, and they lead a force to overtake it. However, a mole informs the splinter group about the plan and as they reach the silo, the missiles began firing. They try and make their way to the control room, hoping that they'll have time to disactivate the missiles. They make contact with the US to see what they can do. NORAD tracks the missiles, discovered to be advanced Topol missiles capable of striking almost anywhere in the world. NORAD's tracking system attempts to estimate likely paths, which will hit the US, Australia, Korea, various places in Europe, and glass western Russia. In desperation, the US makes contact with the Russian government for deactivation codes, which they get, but too late for several of the missiles. Several of the warheads hit in Western Russia and throughout Europe, but most are destroyed or deactivated. One of the two missiles headed for the US are deactivated, but the other has already armed and the warheads have been released. Missiles are fired at them in an attempt to stop them over the ocean. One of the warheads strike Seattle, while another is destroyed over San Francisco, but detonates several miles above the city, still causing massive amounts of damage to the area.
In the base, they discover documents and computer logs being sent between the Russian government and the splinter group trying to negotiate. The group was given a shitload of money to do the attacks on the US, secretly approved by the Russian president, but they then took the base over and were making demands, which the central government wasn't agreeing to.
The rebels assemble a large strike force and prepare for an assault on Moscow, now intending to take down the president and have the revolutionaries declare a new government which the US and their allies would recognize as the official government of Russia. As the force approaches Moscow, having managed to get around the front, they are met with heavy opposition. They win the battle, but with less than a hundred soldiers left. As they prepare to storm the palace, several helicopters show up and waste the force. Soldiers drop down, with the Russian President and Prime Minister, the two who now have essentially taken roles as dictators. As they walk around, looking at the survivors and waiting for them to die, one of the revolutionaries grabs a gun and starts shooting at the two government figures, and wounds the Prime Minister before running out of ammo. The President walks over and kicks him a bit, then shoots him in the head. As they walk over to the main character, one of the Spec Ops, he bends down and looks at him, noticing that he's not one of the rebels, with better equipment. The President begins talking to him, and calls over a medic to keep him alive. Having been shot several times in the lung, he's having trouble breating and will die soon without aid. He orders that the survivors are to be saved if possible, and begins to walk around again.
Another one of the main characters, a rebel, is seen in the background being congratulated and thanked by the President and Prime Minister.

In the final scene, some of the rebels and Spec Ops are seen in a prison-like hospital room, being treated only enough to stay alive. Someone being beaten and interrogated can be heard behind a door. As the scene fades, it turns into a panorama of Moscow, with a huge force of US helicopters filled with troops flying towards the capital as F-35's fly past them and begin to drop down.

Anyway, any comments or critisism? I've not started writing it yet, I think I'll start once I'm out of this semester.

 

[Seb!]

I like the idea of it, and since you know a lot about the subject you can assure accuracy. I see that the story is going to follow the Special Ops and the Rebel, but will you focus on the world leaders as well?

Another thing is that you're going to have to explain more in depth about the involvement (or not) of the other world powers. Telling a story about many different wars at different times focusing on different people is going to be difficult, and it would help to find a plot device that connects them in a way that is easy to narrate.

Looks interesting though, it would be great if you posted your start here. :thup:

 

[aznsteph]

lolz at the war between China and Taiwan and the Koreans because :

-China would crush Taiwan w/ sheer numbers and with rapidly growing new technology

-North Korea would demolish the South cause almost every single penny in their government is spent in the military and noz =/ my half sis is south korean ><

dunno about the other contries tho xD and it makes it kinda feel like some kinda Call Of Duty 5 plot =]

 

[Varine]

lolz at the war between China and Taiwan and the Koreans because :

-China would crush Taiwan w/ sheer numbers and with rapidly growing new technology

-North Korea would demolish the South cause almost every single penny in their government is spent in the military and noz =/ my half sis is south korean ><

dunno about the other contries tho xD and it makes it kinda feel like some kinda Call Of Duty 5 plot =]

With the US backing Taiwan with weapons like we are, China would have some issues. As I recall that was the attitude that America had when we entered Vietnam, and then again in Iraq in 2003. And The Soviet Union when they invaded Afghanistan. And Britain when the colonies rebelled.
Taiwan has a population of around 20 million people I believe, and right now a lot of their weapons are sold to them by the US. China would have to work at it, especially with Britain, Canada, and the Australia backing them.

North Korea is so incrediably underdeveloped, regardless of the amount of money that they spend on their military, that South Korea would in all probability win any war between the two. The NK GDP in 2006 was 40 billion. South Korea's was over one trillion. North Korea has a population of 25 million. South Korea has 50 million. North Korea's military spent less than 10 billion last year, I believe. South Korea spent about 30 billion. Which one do you think is more capable of winning a war?

I like the idea of it, and since you know a lot about the subject you can assure accuracy. I see that the story is going to follow the Special Ops and the Rebel, but will you focus on the world leaders as well?

Another thing is that you're going to have to explain more in depth about the involvement (or not) of the other world powers. Telling a story about many different wars at different times focusing on different people is going to be difficult, and it would help to find a plot device that connects them in a way that is easy to narrate.

It's going to centrally focus on the special forces group, which is aiding a platoon of the rebels, so it's not going to jump around to the other wars much. Rather it's just a back story to offer a little bit of an explanation about why the world powers are trying to avoid directly going to war with each other. Since I'm planning it as a screenplay and not a novel it's a little harder to draw in everything else that's happening in the world, but I'm planning on having dialog and such refer to other events enough that it'll hopefully make it somewhat clear what the state of the world is in.
There will be a few scenes that switch off to world leaders, like the US President making an address to the nation or parts of the conversation between Russia and the US presidents and all of that. Since chances are I'll not be directing it simply because I've no experience in that field and probably will have a pretty hard time getting funding for it if I did try to, and it would also probably suck, then going in depth with anything is a bit hard to do because I would have to make the directer be able to visualize it as I do as best I can.
But for the most part, it'll be about the platoon.

 

[Varine]

I just wrote this today. I wrote an outline of everything, and now I'm working on the actual screenplay. This isn't very good right now, especially since it's just a screenplay and not being acted out so you have to use your imagination a lot, and it's pretty short, just the beginning part of it. It would probably only take up maybe ten minutes at most. But nonetheless, here it is:

Spoiler

EXT. ABOVE CITY IN IRAQ - DAY
The CAMERA follows an AC-130U Spooky gunship fly over the city. The Spooky fires 105mm cannon rounds at enemy vehicles. The rounds rip the roads up and damage many of the buildings near the targets. An anti-air missile hits the left wing and the Spooky crashes.
EXT. CITY IN IRAQ - ROOFTOP - DAY
The CAMERA opens over a large Iraqi city with a battle being fought between UN soldiers and Arab guerillas. The CAMERA zooms down onto a building, on which a sniper is perched with an M107 sniper rifle. The sniper is JAMES FAIRE. He scans the battlefield. The CAMERA slowly circles around him as he pulls the trigger and the weapon fires. Faire turns on his radio.
FAIRE
A-A gunner is down.
EXT. CITY IN IRAQ - CITY STREETS - DAY
The CAMERA follows a US soldier hiding behind a small brick wall. His name is COLIN AUSTEN. He has an M16 with an M203 Grenade Launcher attachment and a reflex sight. He is equipped with the Land Warrior system, and, like the other soldiers, is wearing a desert pattern camouflage uniform. A grenade lands near him and he jumps away, covering his head as he lands on the ground. The grenade explodes, and he runs to hide behind a derelict M1 Abrams tank. He shoots an enemy that is running across the street. An enemy T72 tank rolls down the street and fires at a building a soldier with an anti-tank weapon is in. The corner collapses and the soldier is killed.
AUSTEN
Get a Javelin locked on to that!
ABRAMS OPERATOR
We got it on thermal; cancel the Javelin.
An M1 Abrams fires a round through another nearby building and it hits the T72, which shortly after explodes.
FADE TO:
EXT. SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SPACE NEEDLE - DAY
The CAMERA circles above the Space Needle in Seattle. A lot of people are crowded in the area for a special event. The CAMERA moves closer to the mass of people as a black, compact car stops nearby, the front facing the Space Needle with headlights turned on bright. Several people look at the car confusedly, and it begins to move forward. The people move out of the way as it passes, and it stops right next to the Space Needle. A few people try and see through the tinted windows. The car then explodes, and the Space Needle slowly begins to tilt to the side and falls.
EXT. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK - EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - DAY
A large explosion blows up a large portion of the base of the Empire State Building.
EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
The CAMERA shows massive amounts of explosives installed under the bridge. The CAMERA then pulls above the bridge to show a traffic jam as the explosives go off and cause the bridge to collapse.
EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE OF UNFINISHED CAPITAL SHIP - DAY
The CAMERA shows the size of the capital ship, a massive United States warship that is nearly mile in length that is nearing completion. The CAMERA then turns and speeds away to follow a large missile that is headed for the ship. The missile hits the ship in the middle where the control rooms and towers are, breaking the ship almost in half and causing parts of the deck to collapse.
EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. - WHITE HOUSE - MORNING
The PRESIDENT of the United States is giving a speech. Various clips of bombs going off in major cities, people crying, and people trying to help others is played while the President speaks.
PRESIDENT
Yesterday, our nation was deliberately and successfully attacked. A curtain of disbelief has fallen over America; unyielding sadness and anger can be seen in the eyes of every American. Over ten million of our mothers’, our fathers’, our brothers’, sisters’, friends’ and neighbors’, lives have been ended. The victims were not just military personnel, but of those who were targeted only because they are American. And yet it is because we are American that such a unity can be formed, seen in those responded without hesitation in their daring, selfless attempts to rescue strangers, in those who have volunteered to help in any way they can. America is a beacon of freedom and unity, a beacon of power and of help, to the world, and it is times like yesterday when that light falters. But that beacon will now burn ever brighter. Last night, your prayers could be heard through the world for those affected by this attack. Yesterday, it was not only America that was rocked by these acts, but the world; I wish to extend a thank you to our friends and allies who have given their condolences and offered their aid. Those responsible will be found, and when they are, they will be punished accordingly to their actions; we will illuminate the shadow that covers the valley of death if necessary. Of this I assure you; we will go forth to defend the freedom of this world.

Oh, and I'm using a program to write it, so it doesn't copy over right but I think you'll be able to figure it out. I don't really want to go add in all the spaces and indents right now.

Critisism, comments, ect.

 

[BANANAMAN]

I like it...It's well thought out. Though im sure it could use some improvement...
U think off a name for it yet?

 

[Miz]

Thing about war movies... I hope you know that although I am a writer. I am a huge international affairs watcher. So I think you should know that Russia would probably be destroyed if this were to happen.

Because if you attack US Soil, especially with bombs it automatically goes from 'DEFCON 5 (Peace)' to 'DEFCON 1 (maximum readiness for War) meaning the United States would be at any time ready launch a full nuclear strike against the suspected country or area.

BTW not many countries could trust the Russian Federation as it is... Although it said the most conflict between nations would be the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation in the next 20 years. Yet, it is possible that the Soviet Union could come back and try to gets its revenge

Its a good story but you need just a little more background information

Name Suggestions (so far): The New Soviet Red

 

[Varine]

Russia is one of the strongest and militarily advanced countries in the world. They would be quite capable of defending themselves against the US. The entire time I was in the Army, Russia was the one country that no one wanted to have to go to.

If we got attacked and the blame was put onto a renegade force, and we were told by one of the most powerful countries in the world that if we tried to go after them, they would go to war with us, and to leave it to them because they say they'll do it, while we're already in a huge war, we're not going to just go blow them up so that we can take out the group.

And just because we may go to DEFCON 1 it doesn't mean you're instantly going to war. It would mean that we'd be prepared to counterattack immediately if necessary. And if the country is attacked it doesn't automatically go to DEFCON 1, either. The lowest it's been is DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

[Miz]

Yes but besides 9/11 and the revolutionary war the United States has never been attacked by another country on its own soil. Although its true that the US would probably not attack the Russian Federation, but it doesn't mean the US wouldn't do Espionage and as well try to take a military mission into the rebel area on there own. (Being a stubborn nation we are)

You might want to put that into your story... That would be most interesting XD

 

[Varine]

Yes but besides 9/11 and the revolutionary war the United States has never been attacked by another country on its own soil. Although its true that the US would probably not attack the Russian Federation, but it doesn't mean the US wouldn't do Espionage and as well try to take a military mission into the rebel area on there own. (Being a stubborn nation we are)

You might want to put that into your story... That would be most interesting XD

We've been attacked plenty of times before. The USS Cole in 2000, the WTC bomb in 1993 are pretty recent.

The plot is pretty much based off that. I don't know how well my description is, but the premise is a Special Forces team that's sent to take out the breakoff group of the Russian Rebellion, and are also helping the rebels as they are in support of them more than the current government. I'm using Afghanistan kind of as a reference, during the Russian invasion in the 1970's when the US backed rebels.