I applaud the filmmaker and all the artists who participated in creating this film. It got me thinking. Here is my contribution:
Epilogue/Deleted Scene: (setting) My Character sitting with Wiley Wiggins.
My Character: "One thing I haven't seen--the one thing I haven't heard about yet is--you know, I'm sitting there with my wife watching this movie--And she falls asleep--except I don't notice until I say something--in reaction to what just happened--in the movie, that is--I say, "Oh" or I laugh or something--And I look over at her--because she doesn't say anything--because I'm saying something--not just to myself, you know--and I, like, don't hear a response.
Wiley Wiggins: "Uh, huh."
My Character: "So I look over and she's got her eyes closed. And she's laying down on her side with her arm under her head like a pillow. And her shirt is lifted up over her belly--Well, she's pregnant--like seven months pregnant--And her huge belly--beautiful--is sticking out. And I think then of the kid--you know, the fetus inside there--It's alive--but I don't know what it looks like. I don't know who it is. And it's fascinating suddenly. But the movie's still going. So I turn back to it. But then I'm listening to the movie and my eyes are watching--they're sort of recording the movement--the action--but it doesn't make any sense to me--I mean, it doesn't mean anything to me--because I'm not in it...And then I look back at my wife and I see her belly move--I mean, the baby inside her is kicking her in the ribs--And she moans, Ah--and I can see its little feet push against her skin--like it wants to get out--or at least its getting bigger and it can't stay in there forever. And so I'm fascinated again. And I grab the remote--because I can't do both--and I push pause in the movie--it's digital now, so, like, it could stay that way forever--or until I ran out of power, electricity, or something--
Wiley Wiggins: "Yeah. I hear you."
My Character: "Yeah. So I see this kid kicking my wife and she's moaning and I'm sitting there on the couch touching her leg and watching her. And it's getting late you know. But I start to think--about this kid and how he doesn't have an identity yet--he hasn't been born. He could be anybody you know? I mean, he comes out and sees us and he's like attached to us, instinctively--And he needs to be fed and he needs to be kept clean and healthy--He needs us to survive.
Wiley Wiggins: (jokingly) "He needs you to wipe his ass."
My Character:(laughing) "Yeah! Exactly. And he doesn't know who we are, except maybe in some mysterious genetic way--But it's sort of coded in a language we don't quite understand--at least, we can't really use our code--our language--to make it understood--
Wiley Wiggins: (skeptical look) "Are you talking about cloning or something?"
My Character: "No! Hell no! No. I'm talking about my kid--that I made--with my wife--in our bed. And he's not dead, but he's not quite alive yet--and so--who is he? I mean, what is that like? To be alive in that moment, those nine months in the womb before you're born."
Wiley Wiggins: (after long pause) "I don't know, man. I mean, I forget."
My Character: "No. I don't--that wasn't a question really--not for you--I mean it's just a question."
Wiley Wiggins: (another pause) "Well, did you tell your wife about it--I mean did you ask her--
My Character: "No--Well, she was asleep. (pause) But then I woke her up--after I finished watching the movie--and I told her it was time to go to bed. And then we were laying there--I mean, she groaned when she got up--she didn't want to get up--I offered to just give her a blanket or something--but she got up--so we could sleep together--I mean next to each other. And so I was rubbing her back--we were laying there--she was pretty wiped out--and I started thinking--I started writing something down, but I was laying there in bed still--"
Wiley Wiggins: "--rubbing your wife's back."
My Character: "Right. And I suddenly had to get up. I had to write this down--actually write it down--on paper--not just in my head still lying there in my bed--I was comfortable--but I had to get up...And then I went to the kitchen and turned on the light above the stove. It was soft. It was dim. It was late. I didn't want to wake anybody--I mean, I was totally naked too--I didn't bother to get dressed. And I went out into the kitchen and I found a notebook and I grabbed a pen and starting writing--finally--something. And it came pouring out of me--it was nice--But I heard my wife get up and I heard her walking towards me in the dark--And I say to her--before she can say anything--before she can ask me anything--I say to her" (looks at Wiley Wiggins, intently): "I'm writing."
Epilogue/Deleted Scene: (setting) My Character sitting with Wiley Wiggins.
My Character: "One thing I haven't seen--the one thing I haven't heard about yet is--you know, I'm sitting there with my wife watching this movie--And she falls asleep--except I don't notice until I say something--in reaction to what just happened--in the movie, that is--I say, "Oh" or I laugh or something--And I look over at her--because she doesn't say anything--because I'm saying something--not just to myself, you know--and I, like, don't hear a response.
Wiley Wiggins: "Uh, huh."
My Character: "So I look over and she's got her eyes closed. And she's laying down on her side with her arm under her head like a pillow. And her shirt is lifted up over her belly--Well, she's pregnant--like seven months pregnant--And her huge belly--beautiful--is sticking out. And I think then of the kid--you know, the fetus inside there--It's alive--but I don't know what it looks like. I don't know who it is. And it's fascinating suddenly. But the movie's still going. So I turn back to it. But then I'm listening to the movie and my eyes are watching--they're sort of recording the movement--the action--but it doesn't make any sense to me--I mean, it doesn't mean anything to me--because I'm not in it...And then I look back at my wife and I see her belly move--I mean, the baby inside her is kicking her in the ribs--And she moans, Ah--and I can see its little feet push against her skin--like it wants to get out--or at least its getting bigger and it can't stay in there forever. And so I'm fascinated again. And I grab the remote--because I can't do both--and I push pause in the movie--it's digital now, so, like, it could stay that way forever--or until I ran out of power, electricity, or something--
Wiley Wiggins: "Yeah. I hear you."
My Character: "Yeah. So I see this kid kicking my wife and she's moaning and I'm sitting there on the couch touching her leg and watching her. And it's getting late you know. But I start to think--about this kid and how he doesn't have an identity yet--he hasn't been born. He could be anybody you know? I mean, he comes out and sees us and he's like attached to us, instinctively--And he needs to be fed and he needs to be kept clean and healthy--He needs us to survive.
Wiley Wiggins: (jokingly) "He needs you to wipe his ass."
My Character:(laughing) "Yeah! Exactly. And he doesn't know who we are, except maybe in some mysterious genetic way--But it's sort of coded in a language we don't quite understand--at least, we can't really use our code--our language--to make it understood--
Wiley Wiggins: (skeptical look) "Are you talking about cloning or something?"
My Character: "No! Hell no! No. I'm talking about my kid--that I made--with my wife--in our bed. And he's not dead, but he's not quite alive yet--and so--who is he? I mean, what is that like? To be alive in that moment, those nine months in the womb before you're born."
Wiley Wiggins: (after long pause) "I don't know, man. I mean, I forget."
My Character: "No. I don't--that wasn't a question really--not for you--I mean it's just a question."
Wiley Wiggins: (another pause) "Well, did you tell your wife about it--I mean did you ask her--
My Character: "No--Well, she was asleep. (pause) But then I woke her up--after I finished watching the movie--and I told her it was time to go to bed. And then we were laying there--I mean, she groaned when she got up--she didn't want to get up--I offered to just give her a blanket or something--but she got up--so we could sleep together--I mean next to each other. And so I was rubbing her back--we were laying there--she was pretty wiped out--and I started thinking--I started writing something down, but I was laying there in bed still--"
Wiley Wiggins: "--rubbing your wife's back."
My Character: "Right. And I suddenly had to get up. I had to write this down--actually write it down--on paper--not just in my head still lying there in my bed--I was comfortable--but I had to get up...And then I went to the kitchen and turned on the light above the stove. It was soft. It was dim. It was late. I didn't want to wake anybody--I mean, I was totally naked too--I didn't bother to get dressed. And I went out into the kitchen and I found a notebook and I grabbed a pen and starting writing--finally--something. And it came pouring out of me--it was nice--But I heard my wife get up and I heard her walking towards me in the dark--And I say to her--before she can say anything--before she can ask me anything--I say to her" (looks at Wiley Wiggins, intently): "I'm writing."