My Life Is a Flop Sequel
Background Music: "On The Nature of Daylight" by Max Richter.
When I was a kid, I found out I was actually in a movie. Instinctively, I understood my life could've been broadcast 24 hours a day to an extraterrestrial ant-like audience who were very involved in my story. I embodied the role unquestionably, trying to give my best interpretation of myself, staying in character 24/7, and hoping to be recognized by the Academy in the future when the final act arrived.
Nowadays, twenty-odd years later, I was thinking back to that, and realizing how wrong I was. Looking back on it (and breaking the fourth wall to my ant-like audience there), it finally dawned on me that this is a fucking sequel nobody asked for.
I'm reasoning it out, and it makes sense. It happened to The Fly, for example. One of the best movies ever made with masterful screenwriting, and breathtaking practical effects. The Fly 2 just doesn't live up to the original. Or what about Donnie Darko? Not many people know there's a sequel called S. Darko that's an absolute clusterfuck, made purely as a corporate money-spinner. Not to mention the same fate American Psycho suffered with its second movie. At the other extreme, we get films no one asked for that turned out brilliant, thanks to the sheer talent and passion of the people behind them: Psycho II, Toy Story 2, Blade Runner: 2049, and Mad Max: Fury Road are some examples. If this life is a movie created exclusively for the entertainment of the expectant alien audience, I've pieced together that it belongs to the duds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everything here is terrible, and I'm deeply grateful to the crew for trusting me to embody the protagonist. I just don't get where this plot is going anymore. And I think the storyline is full of clichés by now: the world-weary character, the boring soul-draining job, the anxiety arc, the paralyzing existential limbo, blah, blah, blah. Most intriguing, why am I the protagonist? I've seen supporting characters get better writing than me in this fictional universe. By this point, the franchise has crossed into trauma porn territory, and I believe it's time for a change.
I'm appealing to everyone involved in this project (the director, producers, and screenwriters) to make major shifts, or throw in the towel and cancel this franchise. To my alien audience and fans who have stuck with this story through all its ups and downs, I'm sorry. You deserve genuine substance, not narrative crumbs.