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Palo Alto Bang & Burn

When idealistic professor Will Reynolds joins a clandestine government program researching remote viewing, his faith in science and reality unravels as he discovers truths that feel ripped from science fiction.

In the spring of 2013 Professor Will Reynolds, a brilliant but underpaid academic seizes a rare chance to escape his financial struggles. With a baby on the way and mounting debt, a lucrative three-month research contract at a secretive government facility near his alma mater seems like a dream come true. What he doesn’t realize is that the job will thrust him into a world far beyond his understanding of science and reason.

Will’s new role is anything but ordinary. Recruited into a clandestine U.S. Army remote viewing program, he finds himself tasked with impossible missions: locating the mastermind behind the deadliest terror attack since 9/11, identifying the source of the largest classified intelligence leak in history, and unraveling chilling reports of non-human entities allegedly operating command centers across the globe.

As Will’s team delves deeper into these seemingly unrelated cases, the lines between fact and paranoia blur. Each case leads him deeper into a web of classified horrors and unearthly mysteries. Confronted with phenomena that defy explanation, Will’s grip on reality—and his own beliefs—begins to fracture. By the end of his first day, he realizes this job is not just a career opportunity but a life-altering descent into a shadowy world where nothing is as it seems.

Written by:
Format:
Screenplay
Budget:
Micro
Starring Roles For:
Dylan O'Brien
Cooper Koch
Jack Lowden
In the Vein Of:
Black Mirror
Arrival (2016)
Minority Report (2002)
Posted:
09/21/2025
Updated:
04/16/2026
Author Bio:
Craig is the writer and creator of Treading Yesterday, winner of the ScreenHits Universal Pilot Showcase, and the writer-director of two feature films, including Not A Tame Lion, the Grand Prize winner at the 2022 Rhode Island International Film Festival. While Craig has expanded into directing and producing, his passion remains rooted in crafting original stories—an ever-evolving creative pursuit that continues to inspire and challenge him.

Contest Results:
Frights! Camera! Action! (Second Place) [2025]
Hollywood Blood (First Place) [2025]
ReelHeART (First Place, Best Feature Screenplay) [2025]
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[Austin]