The Frankenstein Theory

Where do you want me to look,

here to the camera or to you?

VICKY:
Just look at me.

Nah, just ignore camera.

Okay. Let's see.

Grew up in Washington D.C.

My parents were diplomats.

I attended GDS, it was a

private school in the city.

I graduated high school

when I was 16.

That's impressive.

Well, not really.

I started early and

skipped 8th grade.

College was Columbia.

Double major in

history and chemistry.

Odd combination.

No, not really, not really,

not when you

consider my work.

After college I received

my Masters in European History

from Oxford.

I liked Oxford,

I liked it a lot.

That's where I met Annie.

And then, uh, then here to L.A.

for my Ph.D.

Why Los Angeles?

The department chair,

Paul Zelevansky.

He's, uh...

He's by far the best mind

in my particular

area of expertise.

Which is...

Yes, well, that is the heart

of the matter, isn't it?

These letters...

They changed my life.

My grandfather showed them

to me when I was about

And since then,

the subject of those letters

has been the focal point

of my whole life.

What is the subject?

Well, uh, here goes.

In the novel Frankenstein,

the opening narrative is told

through a series of letters

that a Captain Walton

writes to his sister,

Margaret Saville.

Walton is an Arctic explorer,

his ship gets trapped

in the ice,

somewhere in the Arctic Circle,

and it is there that he meets

Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

He tells Walton his story.

Walton then relates

this same story to his sister

through a series of letters.

And these letters form

the basis of the novel.

These letters are

the basis of the novel.

What are you saying exactly?

I'm saying that, um...

I'm saying that Mary Shelley's

Frankenstein,

the novel,

is a work of non-fiction.

I'm saying

it's a work of non-fiction

disguised as fiction.

Or, or more accurately,

it is a fictionalization of

one of the most incredible,

true events in human history.

Annie, what's up?

Can I talk to you, please?

Yes... Um...

Can I talk to you now, please?

Could you excuse me for just

one second, please?

VICKY:
Yeah, of course.

No problem.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[WHISPERS]

You want me to eavesdrop?

VICKY:
Yeah.

Good friend.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

JONATHAN:

They'll be here as long as

they need to be.

ANNIE:
Just tell them

to go please.

We talked about this.

You know that they

gotta be here

as long as they need

to document me.

So you can do

whatever you want,

and I just have to

live with it?

You can let them finish

what they're doing

and they'll leave.

I don't even know

what they are doing.

[MOUTHING]

Should we go?

Maybe I should just

cancel my trip.

Yes, that'll be great.

I guess, that's not

important to you.

It's absolutely what

you do every single time.

Don't "please" me.

That has nothing

to do with what we are

talking about now.

Fine. You know what?

F*** you. F*** you.

Do whatever the f*** you want.

[WHISPERS]

That's not good.

VICKY:

Okay. [CLEARS THROAT]

Is everything okay?

Yeah, I'm sorry about that.

We just got our

schedules crossed.

Sure, is it...

Should we...

take off and maybe come

back tomorrow?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Yes. Maybe

that's not a bad idea.

Sure thing,

we'll do that.

Okay.

Okay.

BRIAN:
Luke, Luke.

Hi! My name is Brian

and I run sound

on a documentary film crew

our latest subject

is f***ing...

Frankenstein!

Are you f***ing

kidding me, Vicky?

You're welcome.

Oh, thank you.

You have got some

awesome friends.

I can't wait to see

where this goes, man.

Do not f*** this up.

Guys, do not f*** this up.

I just spent an hour

talking him down.

What I might f*** up

is his girlfriend.

Oh, come on.

Did you see her?

What she was wearing.

Hey, stop it.

She and I...

Looked at me.

Smelled me.

All right, look, guys,

I don't know

what's going on

with her right now,

'cause she's not usually

this highly strung,

but we have got two days

until we go to Canada

and she's not going with us.

So just keep it

together until then,

'cause I don't know

about you,

but I need this job.

[ENGINE STARTS]

VICKY:
Okay, so we're

back on our way

to Jonathan's.

Hopefully today

will go a little smoother

than yesterday did.

Obviously, there's some tension,

between Jonathan and Anne

over Jonathan's theory.

I've known Jonathan

since college.

He always lets his work

take priority

over the rest of his life,

it's just that right now...

Sorry. Um... Where was I?

You were talking about

your obsessive,

slightly insane friend who is

looking for Frankenstein.

Brian, and I say this

with love,

please have some respect

for Jonathan.

He's a friend of mine.

And if that's not enough,

do I need to remind you,

he's paying for all of this?

He has my undying respect...

As does his girlfriend.

Oh, my God!

[TIRES SCREECHING]

What the f***!

I'm so sorry.

Get the f*** out of the car!

I'm so sorry,

I didn't see you.

Get the f*** out of the car.

Get the f*** out of the car!

I'm sorry!

BRIAN:
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

VICKY:
Jesus!

F***ing...

Okay, let's go.

You sure you're okay?

Yeah. I'm fine.

Busy day.

The Illuminati was

a secret society

that was founded in

Ingolstadt University

in the late 18th century.

Now central to their work

was discovering

the origin of life,

which they felt was

the key to immortality.

They worked relentlessly

and they passed on information

and experiments

so what you have,

if you can imagine it,

is the greatest

scientific minds in Europe

building upon each

generation's work.

Culminating in the creation

of what most people call

the Frankenstein Monster.

The actual creator was

Johann Venkenheim,

he was my grandfather's

great-great-grandfather.

This is Johann's lab.

So what does

this prove exactly?

What does it...

Well, it's a genetics lab.

That's from my family's

photo archives.

That was the first

of its kind.

I mean, f*** Mendel,

Johann was the father

of modern genetics.

His work predates Mendel

by over half a century.

While Mendel was splitting peas

and fooling around with flowers,

Johann was bringing something

miraculous into the world.

Something that's never

been done before,

hasn't been done since.

And who do I read

about in a text book?

At any rate this,

this lab...

This is where

he created him.

VICKY:
Can you explain that?

JONATHAN:
The technique?

No, I can't.

The technique is lost.

The notes,

the research destroyed.

It seems that Johann

and whoever assisted him,

they were so frightened

or appalled by

what they'd created,

that they destroyed everything

so that the experiment

could never be recreated.

BRIAN:
That sucks.

That sucks?

Yeah, it sucks.

It sucks

because it means

no matter how much

evidence I collect,

no matter how much

data I collect,

my theory will

never be accepted

until I find him.

And I can say now with

the utmost confidence

that the Frankenstein Monster

is real.

That he exists,

and he's alive now,

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