What was an otherwise average mid-morning class turned into an exercise in excitement when third-year University of Calgary business student Alexander Dumont came up with what may possibly be the best idea for a film of all time.
Unhindered by his Wednesday morning ARTS 472 History of Modern Dance lecture, Dumont dreamt up what many Hollywood experts say could be bigger than the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings franchises combined.
The film idea, which Dumont is debating calling either The Netherlander or Bleak Beach, reportedly touches on a myriad of themes and historical context. The 21-year-old wunderkind, who admitted to frequently conceptualizing original film properties, said he was able to tie together so many plots and literary allusions because of a full schedule of classes this semester, where he can “just turn his mind off and relax.”
“On the surface it’s like your average action-adventure-fantasy,” Dumont texted to a friend while his instructor provided a soothing background of ambient noise. “But underneath that is this parallel to the modern world and how we’re all really just so alone in our lives.”
“Also, it’s going to have this robot battle against humanity where the robots are the good guys.”
Though Dumont has no experience in screenwriting, filmmaking or access to any kind of equipment, he believes an idea of this magnitude will overcome any shortcomings.
“There are two kinds of people in this world,” Dumont whispered to a casual acquaintance on his left. “Those that are infected with the retro-virus and those that believe the secret president is still alive. I won’t say any more.”
Dumont plans to spend the rest of his free time sketching several of the main characters in his notepad before class ends and he has to return to thinking about important life matters.