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The Simian Murder (working title) Original idea and story outline by Andrew Bonime A murder has been committed in a biotech lab. Someone has killed a lab animal. The animal was the offspring of a chimpanzee and a human. Has there been a murder? If so who did it and why? At stake is the very concept of what it means to be human. An intelligent chimp can reason, and evidence suggests that they feel emotion. An intelligent ape has a higher IQ than a retarded human. So how do we make that definition and what does it all mean? It is a fact that the DNA in humans and chimpanzees is 99.9% identical. If that is the case, then was this lab animal a human being? If it was, then someone has committed a murder. If not, it was only property destruction. This compelling drama combines the intellectual dilemma of Inherit the Wind with a taut murder mystery and very human characters who need to figure out not only whodunit, but what was done. The characters have their own personal stories that intertwine with the crime investigation as we learn how and why this crime was committed and then need to decide the nature of the crime which leads us to ponder the very nature of human life itself. It is likely that this film will stir up controversy and debate as well as provide a compelling personality driven drama that will deliver audiences that flocked to films like A Beautiful Mind and plays like Wit, Proof and the classic Inherit the Wind. This is the kind of film that could end up on the cover of Time or Newsweek.
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