Meridian

Competition Scripts
22

I am a literal kind of guy so a lot of metaphor is beyond me. How much of the story is real and how much is imagination?

1 Like
23

Good question, I think that a lot of it is in the protagonist’s mind as she descends into madness - like the isolation and appearance of the doppelganger invites the insanity in. Some aspects like the fog and the Japanese sailor must be real… I’d love to hear from the author to better answer your question.

3 Likes
24

Thanks Danny! It is definitely meant to take you down a rabbit hole!

1 Like
25

Thanks for that feedback - A24 is doing really incredible stuff in the horror space, so I consider it high praise to be mentioned in the same thought

1 Like
26

Hey Jordan! Writer of meridian here - love your take on the audience engagement. Part of the fun here was giving you a protagonist that is, at times, her very own antagonist. And as the script moves along and begins to re-contextualize everything we have seen earlier, you can feel your allegiances wavering. Its all meant to invite the question of what we can really know for sure, and who we can trust, if we cant trust ourselves

1 Like
27

Hey Mowen-griffithssr81, thanks for all of your great discussion on my script, Meridian - The script tows a fine line between what is real and what is simply resulting madness from a young woman who is under extreme duress and crushing isolation. While Abby and Olivia are both real, most of Abby’s hallucinations, body horror and otherwise, are a manifestation of her guilt about allowing her ambition to drive her away from home and abandon her dying mother. These are the elements that spiral uncontrollably under the strain of the appearance of Olivia - and why we see Olivia does not break in the same way as Abby

2 Likes
28

Hey Yoni - writer of Meridian here. Thanks so much for your comment, Im glad you found the psychological tax of the script enjoyable! I’ve always loved stories like Shutter island myself where we as the audience need to lean in and think hard about what we are seeing, and even more - what we can reliably believe. I also prefer my endings like INCEPTION where we are left on a final image that lets us make up our own mind about what is true based on the evidence we have collected form our viewing - I hope you got something equally mind bending from Meridian!

2 Likes
29

Hi there, thanks for such a detailed answer. Love the screenplay! I see you’ve referenced A24, Shutter Island, and Inception in the discussion thread - who would be your dream director for the film?

2 Likes
30

So, as to the question of overlapping worlds vs. insanity…it’s both. Cool. So glad you jumped in to explain your intention. I’ve had a lot of fun thinking about how to interpret the script. Appreciate you jumping in to offer some insight!

4 Likes
31

Mark me down as needing a little more clarity in the plot before I get to an ambiguous ending. Maybe setting up Abby’s consuming drive to get the World Record could have been a discussion she has more explicitly with her father before she leaves. He seems to act fairly cruelly to her, but if it comes from a place of long-term frustration over a well hashed over disagreement, it would make more sense.

I’m also a little confused as to Abby’s friend’s death. Is that supposed to be Abby’s fault as well? It’s a big event that starts the movie and then kind of vanishes from the story. Does it just reflect on her state of mind?

2 Likes
32

I took it that Abby feels somewhat responsible for the death because she didn’t express herself like she wanted to. If she had it wouldn’t have happened. I wanted it to play a bigger part too but I do feel like she carried that guilt around with her the whole time.

2 Likes
33

Im going to blatantly cheat and give 3 - Ari Aster, who I think handles dense and layered horror concepts beautifully without forgetting to terrify you. Jordan Peele because his style is so unique and unexpected it always manages to unseat me a little. Finally, Robert Eggers - this was someone I had in mind as I wrote because his slow burn, creeping horror has a very nebulous quality to it. He is the master of letting horror take its time and breathe. He makes me realize that it is often the undefined things that really scare us. Im always filling in the intentional gaps he creates with a scenario that freaks me out the most.
So in short, my choice is someone who embodies 3 legendary directors in 1. Should be easy to find, no?

2 Likes
34

Thanks for your comments! As far as Lisa’s death, I think it shows us a few different things that are important about Abby - first, the trauma of losing a friend has absolutely driven her into a more isolated frame of mind. It also galvanizes this idea that she doesnt want to feel responsible for looking over people. She cant bring herself to really confront the idea of leaving her ailing mother either, and thats because her fatal flaw is selfishness. She is very ambitious, but often to a fault, and thats because she cannot place other peoples needs before her own. Wanting to achieve greatness and capture the record is admirable, but Abby is a case study for at what point that ambition crosses a darker horizon where we are not prepared for the cost

1 Like
35

Of course, Paul. I appreciate that you took the time to read it and did so much deep thinking about it. Ive always loved films that leave some interpretation to the audience - enough clarity to feel satisfied, but enough obscurity to linger with you after you leave a theater. Thanks again for all of your feedback, I’m honored you spent the time with Abby.

1 Like
36

Really bummed this didn’t make the top three :disappointed_relieved:
Will the placement of the top 10 be announced / is there much chance that fourth gets optioned like last year?

2 Likes
37

It was a pleasure to read. I’m surprised this didn’t make the top 3. My guess is that this was #4. Anyway…bottom line is you have a really good script. Keep putting it out there!

1 Like
38

UPDATE 06/11/2025
With the help of the Kinolime team I was able to vote on (a different entry) and believe the specific problem was identified. I use a browser and had zoomed the page to 130%. I noticed the tracker indicators (on the bottom left and right) were behaving weird (but, being new here, I hadn’t realized that behavior was weird). When I un-zoomed back to 100% suddenly I was able to successfully cast my vote (no error message, no “You skipped ahead”, and my original vote and comments had been retained so I basically just had to submit it again).

From a software standpoint it makes sense that the zooming could confuse the software. I’ll go back to voting on some other favorites and thanks, Kinolime, for the help.

2 Likes
39

That’s terrific news, glad you got that sorted. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for casting your vote and contributing to the community! We’re delighted to have you.

40

Hello again,

We don’t currently have any plans to reveal the order beyond the top 3, nor is there currently plans to option beyond the finalists. We won’t shut the door on this as a possibility, but it is not something currently in the works. Stay tuned to our social media and newsletter if you want regular updates on our projects and acquisitions!

41

Will do. Hope you will consider making Meridian. It felt so vivid and cinematic.

2 Likes