LOGLINE
WORLD WAR 1 — British Army Captain Maury Brock’s identity as a loyal servant to military, king, and country is shattered when he confronts his repressed sexuality through his relationship with Owen, a Conscientious Objector that Maury is tasked with imprisoning.
ABOUT
Format: Feature Script
Length: 107 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance Drama
Length: 107 Pages
Genre: Historical Romance Drama
FROM THE WRITER
NOW WE’LL GO TO HELL is a product of deep research and a passion for the forgotten stories of history. The lack of representation of gay narratives in military history — and history in general — is a glaring omission. Some percentage of any given population is gay, so where are all of the stories about gay soldiers in non-fiction, literature, and cinema? Accounts of gay men and women during war do exist and have been documented by historians, but they still remain largely unknown in the greater cultural consciousness. While the relationship between Maury and Owen is of my own invention, I have drawn much inspiration from the courageous and inspiring stories of the relatively few gay soldiers whose stories have been well documented. These men and women gave their blood and lost their lives on the battlefield, only to be disregarded and disrespected upon their return. Some recognition of their sacrifice is long overdue.
In Now We’ll Go to Hell, fictional characters and moments bring to life circumstances that actually happened. The events surrounding the conscientious objectors in Boulogne, France in May and June of 1916 are almost entirely based on fact. These few dozen men, and thousands of other men and women back in the UK, faced persecution, violence, and social excommunication due to their firm rejection of the war. It is important to understand that both homosexuality and conscientious objection were unacceptable to most of British society in 1916. Not to equate the two, but both of these elements of the story represent communities that were oppressed and whose struggle paved the way for a much more progressive and tolerant future. I hope you enjoy the screenplay and learn something about the history in the processs.
-Vince Robbins