𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲

Sixty One | Cult

TOM

On the plane home Y/N and I made a pact that we'd both relish in each other's work. What else would you do with several hours in a chair? Whilst I would be reading her script (which I obviously had to do anyway for work), she would be watching The Crowded Room finally. It was about eleven hours from Los Angeles to London, so it was more than enough time for us to have a hangover recovery nap too.

My dyslexia makes me take longer to read things, but scripts were nice because the dialogue was short and mostly up to your imagination. Think about a two hour long movie that you sit and watch, that's not equal to two hours of reading. It was great.

INT. Convention Centre
Nick is in his 40's when he is performing on stage, it is set in the 1990's. He has a medium sized audience of about 100 people watching and listening to his motivational speaking. This is not intended to be shown as one continual scene, the film will use this as narration in some scenes, and leave it be as it's own scenes. We will film the monologue continuously and leave to the discretion of director/editors.

NICK
I want to start this all off by asking everyone here to think about yourself for a second. I want you to let your guard down. We're all Brit's and I know we always have this tough old wall up all the time but I want you to be vulnerable just for this short time. Raise your hand if you have looked in the mirror and not liked what you saw.... Yes, I thought that that would be a common one. Okay, now raise your hand if you have had someone close to you pass away. My truest condolences to you all, grief is one of the worst things to experience in life isn't it? Who here has suffered from mental illness? I know I have, I'll be raising my hand for all of these, don't you worry. It's a safe space here. What about being in debt? We've all spent money we haven't necessarily had sitting in the bank right? Taken out a loan too big or promised someone money we don't have? It's super normal.

NICK
Now this one is a personal one so I don't expect anyone to be raising their hands for this, but I can guarantee there are many people here right now who have been the victims of abuse... Physical, emotional, sexual, it's fucked up, I know. But with just those few questions, have shown me that each and every one of us have suffered in our lives. All of us. Now what if I told you, that everyone in this room, would be the perfect victim to join a cult? I know what you're thinking, "I'm too smart to fall for joining a cult" and I don't discredit your intelligence at all. But I was exactly the same as you, thinking that I was smart enough to be able to see through the lies of a cult from a million miles away. But, you never know you're in a cult until you leave the cult.

NICK
Self-incrimination, paranoia, public humiliation, deception, repetitive indoctrination, immense pressure... they're the things that get people to stay in a cult. It's all about fear. It's about mental slavery. How many of you have acted a bit crazy when you've been scared? You start screaming at a dumb little spider. You might jump when you're scared in a movie. Fear is a natural response. But it also something we learn to feel. Fear is what keeps you from leaving a cult. Fear of disappointment. Fear of your own thoughts. Fear of rejection. Fear of displeasing your leader. Fear of not being good enough. If you stay afraid, you stay in the palm of a cult leaders hand. And that's exactly how they keep you.

NICK
They play to your fears, your disadvantages, your mistakes, your anxieties. Because let's be honest, we are all seeking approval in our lives, aren't we? We love hearing that we've done a good job or that we've done the right thing. We want our friends to like us, we want our colleagues to accept us, we want people at the bar to think we're good looking and offer to buy us a drink.

    
Audience laughs
    

NICK
We are born with a desire to belong, it's in our nature. That doesn't mean all of us are going to go join a cult, because I can tell you right now that after I finish talking with you today, you'll be shit scared of cults even more so than you are now. But when someone is at an all time low, when they're desperate for approval and in dire need of acceptance, a cult welcomes them with open arms and promises them everything they want and more.