LIFE AS WE KNEW IT

LOGLINE

When an asteroid knocks the moon into a closer orbit around Earth, Miranda and her family struggle to survive in a world devastated by tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

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TAGLINE

You don’t have to wait until you’re dead to live through Hell.

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SYNOPSIS

Spring

It’s May 7th, and MIRANDA EVANS (14) can’t imagine how life could get any worse in her small town. Her mom, LAURA EVANS (40s), won’t let her take skating lessons; her friend MEGAN (14) abandons her for her new church friends; her supportive big brother, MATT EVANS (19), is away at college; and her teachers at Howell High keep piling on moon-themed assignments in anticipation of May 15th – the day an asteroid is expected to hit the moon.

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When May 15th finally arrives, Miranda, her mom, and her little brother, JONNY EVANS (13) stand out in the street and watch the night sky. What was supposed to be an exciting astronomical event turns catastrophic when the collision causes the moon to move closer to Earth. People in the street scream and panic. Miranda and her family rush inside their home to turn on the news, but there is no CNN, and the cell phone networks and internet are also down. Laura manages to find a working channel, which reports the moon’s sudden change in orbit has caused massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Thousands are dead. Entire cities and states are completely submerged.

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Over the next few days, things only get worse. Severe thunderstorms strike the town, electricity proves to be unreliable, oil shortages cause gas prices to skyrocket, and there is no way of knowing who is dead and who is alive. Laura drives Miranda, Jonny and an old family friend, MRS. NESBITT (80s) to the supermarket to stock up on supplies. Inside, helpless cashiers look on as people fight over food. Miranda’s family and Mrs. Nesbitt split up amongst the chaos and fill their carts with as much as they possibly can. A phone call from Matt saying he is coming home brings Miranda the best news she’s heard all week.

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Once Matt returns home from college, Miranda feels like the world might finally go back to normal. The electricity comes back on long enough for them to get some laundry done and watch sitcoms on TV. A list of the dead is posted online, and Miranda is relieved when she doesn’t recognize any names. Later, Laura’s boyfriend, PETER (40s), visits after a busy shift at the hospital and advises them to wear insect repellent - mosquitoes are spreading illnesses like West Nile virus. Ignoring Peter’s warnings, Miranda goes swimming at Miller’s Pond, where she reunites with her high school crush, DAN (16). Once back at home, an argument ensues as Laura yells at Miranda for being so irresponsible and forbids her from seeing Dan at the pond again.

 

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Summer

Miranda wakes up one morning to find that the sky is an unusual shade of gray. Matt explains the moon’s gravitational pull has affected the volcanoes, making most of them erupt. Ash clouds hang in the sky, drifting with the wind and blocking out the sun all over the world. Without sunlight, Miranda’s mom gives up hope on the possibility of growing food in their garden, so the family starts rationing their groceries.

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Sick with cabin fever, Miranda visits Megan, who looks very thin and is obviously not eating enough. Megan claims she only needs God’s love for nourishment. Miranda tries to reason with her friend, but Megan is overcome with religious fervor.

The first frost falls in August. Volcanoes continue to erupt, crops won’t grow, and epidemics spread. Tensions in the Evans household run high, culminating in an explosive argument between Miranda and her mom. While Laura is napping, Miranda peeks into the pantry. She gets upset when she sees how much food they still have stored away. Feeling deprived and reckless, she grabs a bag of chocolate chips and stuffs her face. Her mom catches her and gets extremely angry, exclaiming that the chocolate chips were being saved for Matt’s birthday. Laura punishes Miranda by forcing her to eat the entire bag and revoking her next four meals.

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In anger, Miranda runs out of the house without closing the front door, accidentally letting out the family cat, HORTON, in the process. After spending two days searching for him with no luck, Matt breaks the news to Miranda that he might have been captured and killed for food. Miranda is overwhelmed with fear and guilt until Horton eventually returns, unscathed.

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Fall

Miranda and her mom aren’t on speaking terms, but they are forced to stay in the same room together when the natural gas is turned off in October. The family moves all of their mattresses into the sunroom where they can use their wood stove for heat. Needing to escape for a few hours, Miranda bikes into town to check on Megan but stops when she sees older boys with guns in the street, pulling plywood off the storefronts and threatening a pedestrian.

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A few days later, Matt comes home from town with news that Megan and her mother are on the dead list. Miranda bikes to Megan’s church to talk to REVEREND MARSHALL (50s), who tells her that Megan passed away of starvation and her mother hanged herself, but they refused to bury her mother because suicide is a sin. Miranda notices Reverend Marshall does not look starved and realizes it’s because his congregation members give up their food for him. Disgusted, she leaves and rushes home, hugging her mom as soon as she gets there.

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While Matt and Jonny visit Mrs. Nesbitt, Miranda’s mom falls and hurts her ankle. Miranda bikes to the hospital in the cold, but the armed guards won’t let her in and refuse to leave their post to take a message to Peter. She waits outside the hospital for someone to take her message in, but no one helps her. Hours later, Peter steps outside to find Miranda, cold and weak. He drives her home and, once there, bandages Laura’s ankle.

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Since her mom is unable to walk, Miranda takes over the task of visiting Mrs. Nesbitt every day until, one afternoon, she arrives to find her dead. Matt, Jonny, and Miranda take the car and van over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s house to fill them up with supplies. Miranda finds baseball cards, chocolates, and drawing materials in Mrs. Nesbitt’s attic. She gathers them to give to her family on Christmas.

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Winter

On Christmas, it snows heavily over Howell. The Evans family exchanges gifts, sings carols, and makes more food than usual, calling it a feast. They haven’t received mail or seen anyone outside of their own home in weeks. On New Year’s Eve, Matt, Jonny, and Miranda make a resolution to practice skiing in the hopes of getting good enough to ski into town should it ever be necessary.

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Miranda wakes up one morning to find her mother, Jonny, and Matt all delirious with fevers. She skis to the hospital to get help; however, two nurses inform her that everyone else is dead, including Peter. A bad strain of flu has plagued the town, and all Miranda can do is give her family food and fluids and let the disease run its course.

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Miranda wakes up coughing and realizes the wood stove has backfired. She and Matt drag Jonny and their mom into the kitchen to save them from smoke inhalation. The electricity suddenly comes back on. They turn on the radio and hear the president claiming that the country has turned the corner and that good times are ahead – but food is running out.

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Miranda obsesses over the order in which they will all die. Unable to stomach the thought of consuming resources that could keep her family members alive, Miranda decides to sacrifice herself. Under the guise of a post office visit, Miranda heads to town, knowing she won’t come back. She makes it to town, but only just, and collapses against a wall. She sees a bright yellow flier about a meeting in the town hall. Inside, people are handing out food. They give her bags of food and a lift home on a snowmobile. She gets off the snowmobile, shoulders the provisions, and walks toward the house – unsure of what her future holds, but hopeful.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

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MIRANDA (14): Before an asteroid hits the moon and changes life as she knows it, Miranda’s biggest worries revolve around friendships, boys, and grades. However, in the wake of disaster, her priorities shift to food, heat, and survival. She idolizes her older brother, shelters her younger brother, and argues with her mom. Headstrong, loyal, smart, and ultimately selfless, Miranda stops at nothing to save herself and her loved ones.

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LAURA/MOM (40s): In the words of Miranda, “if God’s looking for sacrifices, all He has to do is look at Mom.” A seasoned mother of three, Laura cares for her children more than she cares for herself. When the world starts crumbling around the Evans family, Laura is the support that keeps their household standing. Although she can come across as overprotective to Miranda, she always has her daughter’s best interests at heart.

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MATT (19): Matt is Miranda’s older brother who is away at college when the asteroid strikes. He is sensible and calm, even when chaos surrounds them. In the absence of their father, Miranda leans on Matt in times of crises and believes that, once he gets home, “everything will be okay—like he’ll push the moon back into place.”

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JONNY (13): Jonny is the youngest member of the Evans family, so he is sheltered and treated like a child by his mom and older siblings whether he likes it or not. He often does not understand how dire his family’s situation is, so he mourns the loss of being able to place baseball more than he worries about the loss of life.