My name is A.J. Schmitz and I'm the writer, director and producer of PERIPLANET. I’ve always been fascinated with the future, the planet Earth and its complicated history, and our place in it as the current rulers. Everyone who reads this will no doubt be dead and gone in a hundred years, but the human race will still be here. And this is the seed that grows my obsession.
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What happens to us in the future? What happens to the human race when you and I are long gone? What happens to the Earth?
Not knowing what happens to us is something that will haunt me because I’ll never know the great mystery of the human race. How does it all turn out?
This notion really got under my skin about 15 years ago when I started thinking about the Earth’s geology as well as the creatures that have, and currently do inhabit it. The dinosaurs ruled the earth millions of years ago, but they seemed ill equipped to thrive for many reasons… They were too big, ate too much and a host of other problems.
Although Paleontologists believe the dinosaurs became extinct mainly because of Volcanism, the Earths natural ecosystem changes, air breathability and an overall pattern of natural turnover — the dinosaur seemed destined to be wiped out anyway.
And so perhaps are humans. We are very much like the dinosaurs… we use too many resources, cause too much pollution and we are screwing up the Earth. We’re destined to be extinct as certain as the dinosaur… natural turnover. We’re also probably too big as well. We take up too much space, both size-wise and population-wise. So our time is running out…
But what will come next? Scientists say bugs like the cockroach are perfectly suited to live through nuclear war and thrive in the future. And what would a million years of evolution do to them? Make them become intelligent? Stand on two legs? Communicate at a higher level?
That is the premise of my film.
Like Jurassic Park, the fascination of resurrecting an extinct relic and having it live in its new environment is ripe for serious entertainment. Except instead of dinosaurs being resurrected in this time, my premise is to have a human resurrected in the future, when the human race is long gone and we’re nothing but bones in the ground to be discovered again in the future — by the Earth’s next ruler… the Insect!
Bugs and roaches have incredible survival skills and fascinating working systems. They can be communal. They are tough and super strong for their size. They seem destined to inherit the Earth. After the massive Dinosaur and the smaller, yet more dangerous Human, the smaller insect is the next creature to get a shot at ruling the world.
So my film, PERIPLANET, is about that scenario. A man travels to the Arctic where he freezes and is uncovered millions of years in the future. The human race is long gone and he’s been resurrected by the Earth’s new inhabitants – Giant Insects!
Not knowing what happens to us is something that will haunt me because I’ll never know the great mystery of the human race. How does it all turn out?
This notion really got under my skin about 15 years ago when I started thinking about the Earth’s geology as well as the creatures that have, and currently do inhabit it. The dinosaurs ruled the earth millions of years ago, but they seemed ill equipped to thrive for many reasons… They were too big, ate too much and a host of other problems.
Although Paleontologists believe the dinosaurs became extinct mainly because of Volcanism, the Earths natural ecosystem changes, air breathability and an overall pattern of natural turnover — the dinosaur seemed destined to be wiped out anyway.
And so perhaps are humans. We are very much like the dinosaurs… we use too many resources, cause too much pollution and we are screwing up the Earth. We’re destined to be extinct as certain as the dinosaur… natural turnover. We’re also probably too big as well. We take up too much space, both size-wise and population-wise. So our time is running out…
But what will come next? Scientists say bugs like the cockroach are perfectly suited to live through nuclear war and thrive in the future. And what would a million years of evolution do to them? Make them become intelligent? Stand on two legs? Communicate at a higher level?
That is the premise of my film.
Like Jurassic Park, the fascination of resurrecting an extinct relic and having it live in its new environment is ripe for serious entertainment. Except instead of dinosaurs being resurrected in this time, my premise is to have a human resurrected in the future, when the human race is long gone and we’re nothing but bones in the ground to be discovered again in the future — by the Earth’s next ruler… the Insect!
Bugs and roaches have incredible survival skills and fascinating working systems. They can be communal. They are tough and super strong for their size. They seem destined to inherit the Earth. After the massive Dinosaur and the smaller, yet more dangerous Human, the smaller insect is the next creature to get a shot at ruling the world.
So my film, PERIPLANET, is about that scenario. A man travels to the Arctic where he freezes and is uncovered millions of years in the future. The human race is long gone and he’s been resurrected by the Earth’s new inhabitants – Giant Insects!