Short Movie Script on how to earn Cryptocurrencies, and more

MANTIS

Author: Ian MacDonald

FADE IN

EXT. RESIDENCES – FUKUOKA, JAPAN DAY
It's southern Japan, we see a large minimalist modern house
in a very exclusive neighbourhood. We move closer:

INT. GIRL'S BEDROOM - DAY
Two young Japanese girls sit on the bed. Girl talk. This is
MANTIS' bedroom. She's 18, with BETH, 20

MANTIS
Hey cousin, in Japan I just don't
fit in, FATHER barely knows I'm
alive, and I'm in a culture where
I can't achieve what I want.

BETH
(with AMERICAN ACCENT)
Ya, your family treats you like
shit, and I mean dog shit. And
Japan has weird customs. Growing
up in the States was easier,
we're encouraged to be someone.

MANTIS
I see women succeed everywhere
worldwide - Yao Chen, Katy Perry.
It's hard here, mavericks are
frowned upon, especially women.

BETH
So what you gonna do, stay the
girly girl forever?

MANTIS
Not sure, for now I'll shield
myself so I'm ignored.

BETH
OK, I get it - for now ...
Hmmm... Hey, by the way, how are
those cryptos doing?

EXT. - OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
We see MITSUI GLOBAL ELECTRONICS corporate logo lit up on the
top of office building and we zoom towards it, and CUT TO:
INT. MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - INSIDE ELEVATOR - NIGHT
MANTIS is alone with her FATHER. She looks overwrought, and
glances anxiously back and forth from floor number indicator
to FATHER, finally she can no longer keep quiet, bursts out.

MANTIS
(Close Up) . FATHER, are you ever going
to see me, as your daughter? Do
you know you have never hugged me
once, rarely spoken to me. Why?

He turns and looks deeply into her eyes for several floors.
He's about to speak, then the floor bell rings, he looks up
and sees EXECUTIVE FLOOR, then back to her. The door opens,
he lets out a guttural grunt, turns and leaves. She stays
frozen as the door closes. A single tear drips down her cheek
but she brushes it aside as if she has no time for that.
(Close Up) Her expression changes to steely-eyed anger.

CUT TO:

INT. PRESIDENT OFFICE SUITE - MOMENTS LATER - NIGHT
FATHER sits alone and looks outside the window. An APPARITION
appears in the reflection. It is his wife SUKI with a BABY.
He stands to confront her, he's angry.

FATHER
SUKI, how could you do this to
our family?

SUKI
What do you mean?

FATHER
I was away for on an extended
trip 9 months ago. How is this
possible? Who is the Father?
We see them fight back and forth, finally...

SUKI
She's not yours, you never paid
attention. Your brother loved
making love with me, while you
loved making money with your
company.

FATHER
... So my brother, BETH's Father,
is the father of this?

He pauses for several moments

FATHER (CONT'D)
... Hmmm - I've made my final
decision. You must obey me!
...Both of you will leave for
America, but she will stay.
...I will pay you and my now
dead-to-me brother for your
silence, and you must remain
silent forever. Forever! FOREVER!
(dissolve back to present day in
office at night)

FATHER (CONTINUOUS)
No one knows of her illegitimacy,
I've kept it secret all these
years so my company and family
have stayed proud and honourable.
But I could never love that
bastard. CUT TO:

INT. INSIDE ELEVATOR - MOMENTS LATER - NIGHT

MANTIS
that bast---

She stops in mid sentence

MANTIS (CONTINUOUS)
can't even talk to his own
daughter. I'm done with this
family. Enough of this revering
ancestor bull ...
I can't take it anymore.

INT. MANTIS' BEDROOM NIGHT

It's 2012
MANTIS is SKYPING BETH. We see BETH ON SCREEN

BETH
The hot topic at Burning Man was
crypto-currencies, it's gonna be
the next Internet. A whole new
kind of wealth. Do you understand
this? Do you really get it?

MANTIS
Now that you've explained it that
way - I do get it. This will be
the future of money and finance.
I think I can round up $25k to
invest from jewelry and cash and
get going on it.

INT. MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - COMPUTER CENTRE FLOOR - DAY

It's 2017
MANTIS swiftly goes back and forth between 3
computers trading cypto currencies. She has swift actions, in
command, demonstrating skill. An ON-SCREEN LEDGER shows the
original $25,000 is now $3 million. With a few quick
keystrokes she triggers an ON SCREEN algorithm. She waits a
few moments then smiles. An ON SCREEN $150,000 GAIN shows.

MANTIS
Yes! My best trade ever!

She spins her chair over to another computer. ON THE SCREEN
is now FATHER’s company database. MANTIS notices a small
unique icon that intrigues her, something she's never seen
before and clicks on it. 'PASSWORD REQUIRED' comes up. After
several attempts she tries 'MANTIS'. The file opens and
several signed documents appear. She reads them, looking
confused, taking her time to decipher what this is all about.

MANTIS (TO HERSELF)
He bought off my Mother? But who
is this man who's also paid off?

After reading several more documents a penny drops for her.

MANTIS
NO!

She quickly picks up her cell and gets BETH.

MANTIS
BETH, you're not gonna believe
what I'm about to say, so listen
carefully. You know I can pretty
much hack into anything ... I've
found a a secret file in MITSUI's
database why my Mom and your Dad
had to leave Japan.

BETH (Off Screen)
Um, yes you're an amazing hacker,
and they were on the MITSUI jet
when it crashed ... but what do
you mean?

MANTIS
They had to leave because my
FATHER paid them. They had an
affair and a baby - ME. They were
my parents. ... So we're sisters!

BETH (Off Screen)
Sisters ! ... OH MY GOD! ... I've
known things were always strange,
but in a weird way this explains
a lot. But this also means your
so called FATHER is a complete
asshole, and maybe a something
else. What should we do?

MANTIS
Oh, I have plans sister, I have
plans. Now that you're studying
at Harvard Business I have to
share another secret. I've
turned the $25,000 cryptos into
$7 mil as markets have been on a
ride, so with your help I'm gonna
beat that bastard at the only
game he knows: MONEY!

INT. - MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - PRESIDENT SUITE - NIGHT

FATHER is doing administrative work when a chime comes on his
computer. He looks over, is confused, then immediately
concerned. ON THE SCREEN it shows SECRET FILES: UNAUTHORIZED
ENTRY DETECTED.

FATHER
What is this? No, not those
files!

He picks up the phone and dials SECURITY.
INT. VANCOUVER - LUXURY HIGE RISE APARTMENT - NIGHT
TEXT: "2018". BETH is with MANTIS on the sofa.

MANTIS
I had to get away from him so I
came to Vancouver to study and,
um, I bought this luxury condo
with cash. ... and the original
25k is now $37 mil. As you can
see I'm damn good at this.

BETH
Sister, first of all - friggin'
amazing! With your offshore tax-
free trading accounts and your
obvious financial skills I see
you becoming something big,
really big.
... This has been great but I
gotta go, let's get together
again soon. OK? Hugs.

INT. MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - PRESIDENT SUITE DAY
Looking up from a SECURITY REPORT outlining who's hacked into
the corporate databases, he frowns, pauses to contemplate.

FATHER (TO HIMSELF)
Perhaps there is a way out ...

He pushes the intercom to his secretary.

FATHER
Get me Mr. SATO, President of
Matsushita Electronics.

As he waits we see his notes in the margins of the report:
'Cannot discover secret - ruined'. His phone rings. He picks
up.

FATHER (CONT'D)
Good day sir, Yes, I agree it was
a pleasure seeing you in Davos at
the Economic Forum. But Sir, I
must get to the point and ask you
a question: Would you like to
consider a corporate merger?

He listens with a concerned face, burrowed forehead.

FATHER (CONT'D)
Yes, I believe both of our
companies would benefit greatly
if we combine our resources.

We see him listening intently for a few more moments, then a
devious smile begins to appear - he is now much more relaxed.

FATHER (CONT'D)
Yes, when is it convenient to
meet with you?

INT. VANCOUVER - LUXURY HIGH RISE APARTMENT - NIGHT

It's 2019
At the window MANTIS looks down at English Bay.
CNN NEWS plays in the background.

CNN NEWS ANNOUNCER (Off Screen)
...in Japan a mysterious buyer
announced ownership of 5% of
MITSUI, a closely held global
electronics company ...
coincidentally the buyer with the
same name, NAKASATO, is infamous
within the crypto currency
blogosphere...

INT. MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - CORPORATE BOARD ROOM - DAY

The BOARD MEMBERS are meeting along with Mr.Sato, President
of Matsushita Electronics. All board members are smiling,
relaxed. Rather than usually formal in meetings like this,
it's a jovial atmosphere. FATHER calls everyone's attention.

FATHER
MR. SATO, it is an honour to have
you here. After many months of
diligence and negotiation you now
have the documents before you to
buy MITSUI ELECTRONICS. We humbly
ask you to agree to the terms and
move forward. Agreed?

MR. SATO
Yes, these terms are ...
There is a knock at the door, MANTIS opens it.

MANTIS
So sorry to interrupt, but
someone named NAKASATO deeply
apologizes for coming late. But I
was instructed to announce he has
5% shares of the company and is
entitled to a seat on the board,
and want to join all of you now.

FATHER
Yes, ask Mr. NAKASATO to come in
as we have some very good news.

MANTIS pauses, closes the door behind her and proceeds to
hand out a series of documents marked SECRET to everyone. She
walks slowly to the seat next to FATHER, sits calmly down.

FATHER (CONT'D)
What is the meaning of this?

MANTIS
... you all know of NAKASATO.

FATHER
What are you doing? Leave us!

MANTIS
I am NAKASATO
... these documents prove that.

She pauses as they read the papers, then she stands up so
that all can see her now taking command of the room. She
points to FATHER.

MANTIS (CONT'D)
This man is a fraud, and he is
not my FATHER. He bought off my
true parents and sent them away.

FATHER
I demand you leave the room, NOW!

She turns and moves so she stands directly in front of him.

MANTIS
You are done, you bribed the
maintenance worker to adjust the
fuel guage - so the jet crashed.
You are a criminal!

FATHER
No! How did you get these?

Ignoring him, she walks over to MR. SATO who now stands.

MANTIS
Sir, this merger is a charade, a
coverup hoping his sad acts would
be buried and forgotten within
your much larger company. Do you
want to do business with a liar?

MR. SATO give out a despised grunt as he looks at FATHER.
She now goes right up to FATHER, looks him right in the eye.

MANTIS (CONT'D)
But that does not matter - what
does is you will now lose face,
with everyone ... EVERYONE!

FATHER
This is all a big mis...

At that moment POLICE burst in, march directly to FATHER and
arrest him. Everyone stands up as FATHER is handcuffed.
FATHER deeply lowers his head in utter shame, about to be
escorted out. He turns his head to MANTIS who's now seated.
Their eyes are now at the same level, close to each other.

FATHER (CONT'D)
Why? Why have you ..

MANTIS (INTERUPTING)
Why? Why? Because not once - not
once in my life did you ever
honour me ... as family.

FATHER makes as if he is about to reply, but the Police jerk
him forward. All the others stare him down as he leaves. He
slumps ahead, disgraced, head deeply bowed.
MANTIS remains seated, looks the other way as he's escorted
out.

INT. MITSUI HEAD OFFICE - PRESIDENT SUITE - NIGHT

10 DAYS LATER
MANTIS sits in the PRESIDENT'S CHAIR
with BETH close to her across the desk. There is a formal tea
service on the desk.

BETH
The MITSUI stock sure took a nose
dive after his arrest. That was
huge news everywhere.

MANTIS
Yes it did, and it was the
perfect time for me to buy up
that depressed stock at a deep
discount. I'm now the controlling
share holder and I can now run
this company as I see fit. And
the board agrees with me.

BETH lifts up her teacup and motions it towards MANTIS.

BETH
Cheers to that. You got what you
deserved, and so did he.
BETH and MANTIS clink their tea cups.

MANTIS
Kampai!

...FADE OUT.

.