The origins of the PATRIOT ACT script

In January 2009, writer-director Wayne Slaten completed the first draft for the short film, The Cabin. The story dealt with two brothers meeting at a family hideaway retreat to catch up on life after being separated for six years by the geography and demands of war during the Great American Civil Revolt. As the brothers begin to reminisce, Kane notices things are not quite right with his older brother Arthur. The bittersweet family reunion soon turns into a deadly cat-and-mouse game that ends with Kane killing Arthur only to find out that his brother was dead long ago. Kane removes his brother’s right ear revealing a serial number in the inner ear canal. Kane’s suspicions are validated, Arthur has been replaced with a Legion Model 12 android designed to bring Kane out of hiding. Kane’s role in the Underground Movement during the civil war had made him a target of the new American government. Within seconds the tiny cabin is surrounded with Homeland Security agents.

The story was developed to question how far would a government go to find out your inner most secrets and more importantly Slaten adds,"What price comes with freedom?" Researching the evolution of The Patriot Act by law enforcement and government agencies as the catalyst in an ever-increasing loss of privacy, Slaten used this as the inspiration for writing The Cabin. As the project progressed, the essence of the original concept grew far beyond the initial scope and soon Slaten realized there was a much bigger story to tell. "The storyline opened itself up to questions of war, immigration, greed and morality," said Slaten. "The ability to comment on these issues in the science fiction genre was perfect. By utilizing the Dropas as a catalyst for many of these events, it takes some of the human element out of the equation and opens itself to a wider audience. We see our mistakes through them." That was the birth of Patriot Act, which would result in a final draft of the feature length script two years later.

“The important thing to emphasize was the depth of the characters, the quality of the story and the strength of its underlying plot.”

                                                                                                                               Martin Delon - producer

During the process of writing Patriot Act, Slaten was busy finishing his first feature length film, Backroad, a supernatural thriller set in a small Texas town. After completion of that film, Slaten and producer Martin Delon began to develop the business plan for their next independent feature film venture, Patriot Act. “The important thing to emphasize was the depth of the characters, the quality of the story and the strength of its underlying plot,” said Delon. “Patriot Act is smart science fiction not fluff”. The simple pitch for the film soon became, Patriot Act was in the vein of Blade Runner meets District 9. The team collaborated with executive producer, Nick Nicholson, on potential avenues for developing the production. The trio immediately set to work on attracting and generating the initial financing to secure the film’s limited liability company, legal documents and shoot two scenes from the film as part of their investor package.