Submission Synopsis

Destiny
by Gerald Schoenewolf

Length:
140

Genre:
Action/Adventure

Love Story

Psychological Drama

Blurb/Logline:

Adam has the perfect wife and the perfect life, until both are blown up on Septermber 11.  His mission of revenge takes him to Saudi Arabia, where he lands a date with a terrorist’s wife and destiny.

Synopsis:

On the morning of September 11, Adam makes love to Julie and tells her he thinks she is the perfect wife.  Then, as he is driving to work in Manhattan he hears the news that the Twin Towers have been hit, knowing his wife is in one of them.  He races down to Lower Manhattan, abandons his car, and runs to the twin towers, only to see the second tower collapse, along with all his hopes and dreams.

For weeks he sits in his apartment, glaring at the TV screen.  His friends and family call him but he doesn’t answer.  They come over but he doesn’t talk to them.  He tries grief counseling and ends up walking out in a huff.  One day he sees a picture of the man who flew the plane and of his wife, Seri.  He prints out the picture and enlarges the face of Seri.  An idea occurs to him and he begins to plan his revenge: he will go to Saudi Arabia and blow up the wife of the man who blew up his wife, Julie. 

He becomes totally obsessed with the violence of the Middle East. He builds a vest bomb, quits his job, and books a tour to Saudi Arabia.  In Saudi Arabia he manages to escape two detectives who are following him and winds up breaking into Seri's apartment.  She and he have a confrontation that leads to a dramatic twist, where upon he breaks down and cries in her arms.  Gradually, they get to know each other, coming to understand the people behind the cultural symbol. 

She hides him from the police, who come gunning for him, and they spend a night together.  During this night they fall in love and discuss a possible future together in America, as the story takes on a Romeo and Juliet quality.  It ends when the police break down the door of Seri’s apartment in the morning and shoot Adam, thinking that he is going to blow them up with his homemade vest bomb.  He dies in Seri’s arms. 

Bio:
Gerald Schoenewolf has published fourteen books on psychology and related subjects. These include a fictionalized case history, Jennifer and Her Selves (Dell, 1993), a book of short fictionalized case histories, The Couple Who Fell in Hate (Jason Aronson, 1997), and a book of Eastern philosophy, The Way According to Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and Seng Tsan (2000), which he also illustrated. He has also published several short pieces of fiction in Esquire, North American Review, Prism International, Transatlantic Review, Cimmaron Review and the Minetta Review, and he has authored over 25 articles in psychological and psychoanalytic journals.

Dr. Schoenewolf won the WriteMovies.com Screenwriting Competition in the winter of 2005 for his play, Freud in Love. He has written 15 screenplays, two of which have been produced by his own production companies, Living Center Films—The Interview (2004) and Therapy (2005). In addition to the screenplays, he has written and directed several stage plays in New York and Copenhagen.

Endorsements:
Jeffrey Seinfeld, Ph.D.

NOTE: All material is copyright protected.  No portion of this material may be copied or reproduced, either electronically,  mechanically, or by any other means, for resale or distribution without the written consent of the author.  All copy has been dated and registered with the American Society of Authors and Writers.  Copyright 2009 by The Swetky Agency