T R E A S U R E   I S L A N D

 

 

 

 

SEE JOHN STORM'S NAVIGATOR OR RETURN TO BASE

 

 

 

 

 

 

STUDIOS/THESPIANS: While Treasure Island is developed into a draft screenplay, why not peruse Cleopatra The Mummy, and Kulo Luna $Billion Dollar Whale scripts, using the links in the search bar above. Students and graduates looking for projects, take note: A budget live action film costs in the region of £5 (low) - 20 (high) million pounds to make. Dependent on preparations, locations and casting. That is one heck of a challenge for any filmmakers new to the scene. But what rewards lie in store? Please contact Cleaner Ocean Foundation, if you think you might be up for it, and want to strike gold.

 

 

 

The 'John Storm' Franchise, is a series of original stories being developed as scripts & graphic novels, featuring the amazing solar powered Elizabeth Swann ship and her rugged ocean conservationist captain.

 

Indiana Jones/National Treasure adventure, meets Bond and Blade Runner/Bourne Identity technology - with AI and a high-tech ship thrown into the equation - against a background of Caribbean Piracy and Spanish Conquistadors. What a mix.

 

 

 

 

PLOT SUMMARY: At the request of Blue Shield (and UNESCO), John Storm surveys the sunken Caribbean city of Port Royal with the Elizabeth Swann, in his capacity as marine archaeologist, following a worrying earth tremor, when he discovers the resting place of former buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan. In London, Lord Huntington, of the British Geographical Society (BGS), learns of this, and realizes the find could help him decode a parchment handed down through generations of his family, as a map, that once belonged to Blackbeard, telling the whereabouts of the buried treasure that remained undiscovered on Skeleton Island. Thought to be an unmarked island. Commander Robert Maynard RN, & the BGS fund Operation Hispaniola, doomed to failure, but Storm is persuaded by Huntington to assist further, then shows the map, taking them to Santa Catalina & Isla Providencia, where mutineer John Long kidnaps Cleopatra and Dan Hawk, and Maynard joins forces with the Spanish Navy to capture the Elizabeth Swann, along with the Aztec Gold and Skull. John Storm finds Morgan's treasure and secures a salvage deal with Panama and Mexico, evading the British and Spanish warships, and retaking the Swann. Maynard is then charged with misconduct and absconds, while the pirates sail into the Bermuda Triangle, not to be seen again.

 

 

 

 

M O V I E :  S T O R Y  M A P  (SYNOPSIS)

 

 


PLOT SUMMARY: At the request of Blue Shield (and UNESCO), John Storm surveys the sunken Caribbean city of Port Royal with the Elizabeth Swann, in his capacity as marine archaeologist, following a worrying earth tremor, when he discovers the resting place of former buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan. In London, Lord Huntington, of the British Geographical Society (BGS), learns of this, and realizes the find could help him decode a parchment handed down through generations of his family, as a map, that once belonged to Blackbeard, telling the whereabouts of the buried treasure that remained undiscovered on Skeleton Island. Thought to be an unmarked island. Commander Robert Maynard RN, & the BGS fund Operation Hispaniola, doomed to failure, but Storm is persuaded by Huntington to assist further, then shows the map, taking them to Santa Catalina & Isla Providencia, where mutineer John Long kidnaps Cleopatra and Dan Hawk, and Maynard joins forces with the Spanish Navy to capture the Elizabeth Swann, along with the Aztec Gold and Skull. John Storm finds Morgan's treasure and secures a salvage deal with Panama and Mexico, evading the British and Spanish warships, and retaking the Swann. Maynard is then charged with misconduct and absconds, while the pirates sail into the Bermuda Triangle, not to be seen again.



Aiming for a screenplay 90-100 pages max:

 

 

PROLOGUE: ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY - King Charles II, grants a Royal Charter to his brother James Stuart II, giving him and other partners, the exclusive right to transport goods from Africa, updated in 1663 to include the exclusive right to trade in slaves from the Gold Coast, in supply to British colonies, as cheap labour for plantations in the Caribbean, Virginia and Carolina - the so-called Bloody Triangle.

 

PART I

 

SCENE 1. THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - North Carolina Historic flashback - 1718, 22nd November, a British naval taskforce led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard lay in wait for Edward Teach (Blackbeard), beheading the troublesome pirate after a long and bloody swordfight, including severval gunshots wounds by way of a torturous interrogation. As Blackbeard expires on the deck of the Adventure, he curses the English sailors and their kin, taking the secret of his treasure with him to the Devil.

 

SCENE 2. EARTHQUAKE JAMAICA - Present Day - An earthquake hits Port Royal, disturbing the sunken city. Underwater scenes of chaotic movement ripples, what is left of buildings rocking. A Palisadoes cemetery opening an entrance to Henry Morgan's mausoleum.

 

SCENE 3. BLUE SHIELD ENGLAND - England - Blue Shield, Newcastle University. John Storm is called to Jamaica urgently, requested by UNESCO, to catalogue the archaeological remains of the underwater city, using the Elizabeth Swann's ultra modern array of subsea survey sensors, worried that another quake threatens to wipe out all records. They plan to make the submerged city a UNEP World Heritage Site.

 

SCENE 4. HENRY MORGAN'S DEATH - Historic flashback - Henry Morgan musing taking of a prize ship as a pirate off coast of Venezuela and Panama, while he is working his sugar cane plantation in drunken condition, he has a heart attack. Cut to his funeral ceremony at Palisadoes cemetery, old Port Royal.

 

SCENE 5. SUNKEN CITY SURVEY - Caribbean Sea Present Day - The Swann's sensors scan the ocean bed, revealing what turns out to be the mausoleum and tomb containing remains of the former Governor of Jamaica. It is under threat of imminent and dangerous collapse.

 

SCENE 6. JUNE 1692 TSUNAMI - Jamaica Historic flashback - June 7th, an earthquake hits Port Royal, then a tsunami washes the pirate haven under the sea, covering Henry Morgan's mausoleum. Washing clean the sins of the wicked city.

 

SCENE 7. HENRY MORGAN'S COFFIN - Jamaica Present Day - John Storm investigates target underwater areas using an ROV, then dives the site, coming face to face with Sir Henry's macabre skeletal remains. Then discovering secret compartment in his coffin, and interesting wooden engraving.

 

PART II

 

SCENE 8. BBC JILL BIRD - London. "The intrepid conservationist, Mr John Storm .." News of the archaeological find and condition of lost Henry Morgan, pirate's remains - saved. "And for those of you wondering, there was no treasure."


SCENE 9. OPERATION HISPANIOLA - Lord Huntington acquires funding from the British Geographical Society, with Royal Navy interest in the background, for an expedition to recover relics in the Caribbean, a shipwreck rich in archaeologically important artifacts. Though his secret agenda is to piggy back John's operation in the search for Blackbeard's mythical hoard and the supposedly cursed Golden Skull. Huntington purchases an old Antarctic survey ship, renaming it 'Hispaniola'.

 

SCENE 10. SHIP'S COOK - William Gray helps John Longstride and his band of cut-throats to crew for Huntington's Hispaniola, on the basis of purloined data from a UNESCO report on a description of Henry Morgan's wooden engraving. John Long poses as a cartographer, but proves to be a dab hand on the galley. He is elected ship's cook.

 

SCENE 11. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOS - Huntington contacts John Storm, asking for help with the supposed shipwreck survey - meet in the Caribbean. Asking for ES assistance as portable lab, appealing to Storm's general interest in such matters. At this stage John has no idea about the parchment Huntington has been keeping a secret, thinking he is cosher, as a BGS bigwig.

 

SCENE 12. SKELETON ISLAND - Intrigued as to the map now proffered by Lord Huntington, John agrees to switch attention to the new location, even though not that far off the cost of Panama. The map, though not the original parchment recovered from Blackbeard's Adventure, is sufficiently alluring after checking historical accuracy, as to be believable. John keeps the information recovered from Morgan's casket to himself, genuinely unsure if it relates to the mysterious map - and just in case there are any heritage assets to safeguard, though both men probe each other for more clues continuously. Commander Maynard has bugged the Hispaniola, so knows of their intended location. Speeds to Caribbean.

 

SCENE 13. SANTA CATALINA - The Colombian Archipelago including San Andreas, Santa Catalina and Providence Islands, is swarming with naval ships. Colombian, Mexican, Panamanian and Nicaraguan navies routinely patrolling close by, triggered by the discovery of Henry Morgan's ship 'Satisfaction' at Lajas Reef between 2008-10, the military of these countries have been alive to the possibility of a claim on the Aztec gold, looted by the Spanish Conquistadors. Then re-acquired by the Welsh privateer momentarily in 1671, to be lost again in time again.

 

SCENE 14. TREASURE ISLAND - Rendezvous at Muelle de Barcos, crew asked to remain on docked Hispaniola. Dan and Cleopatra to remain on Swann. But Long shadows Huntington and Storm, as they seek to identify map landmarks. Mostly erased by Hurricane Iota. Huntington is forced to reveal other clues, not included on duplicate map. They find a cave full of pirate skeletons, and a golden skull. John Longstride thinks this is location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure. He noted John's strength in moving some large rocks, impossible for an ordinary man to move. Huntington also surprised at the extraordinary feats.

 

PART III

 

SCENE 15. KIDNAP - Longstride orders Black Jack and Billy Bones to kidnap Dan and Cleopatra going onboard as supposed friendlies - then lock in Hispaniola (then anchored in new location) cabin tied up with Tremaine, to be used as hostage leverage. Then, to steal the Elizabeth Swann. The pirates think they have control of the Swann, but Hal allows that illusion, not wanting to Taser the illicit guests until Dan and Cleopatra are safely recovered. Hal alerts John to events via BioCore, when Longstride tips his hand, give us the map, golden skull and cave contents and we'll release hostages Hispaniola and return Swann.

 

SCENE 16. DOUBLE CROSS - Maynard does deal with Spanish Navy to blockade south-west Caribbean & Santa Catalina/Providence islands, to prevent John or Huntington returning to Atlantic with Blackbeard's/Morgan's gold - which they consider to be theirs - split 50-50. They are prepared to board or sink Swann and/or Hispaniola - to take as prize ships. Nicaragua remains neutral. Mexican and Panamanian governments decline offer to join group. Express concerns, as to cultural heritage, where technically a Colombian Archipelago surrounded international waters, hence they consider blockade, a pseudo act of piracy. Hal intercepts messages as watching brief. Maynard offers Longstride a deal for Aztec Golden Skull, but John Long will will not agree to harming of Dan or Cleopatra. He does secure safe passage through blockade.

 

SCENE 17. BLACKBEARD'S CURSE - Threatened once again, John retakes Swann, actually Hal immobilizes Black Jack and Billy Bones. They (JS & Swann) then rescue prisoners on Hispaniola. Hal locating new anchorage. Huntington and Tremaine clap Longstride, Boon and Bones in irons on Hispaniola. The Hispaniola heads to Muelle de Barcos, to hand pirates over to authorities. But, the pirates escape, purloin a boat from dock, then go to cave and take the Golden Skull, despite Blackbeard's Curse - pushing on to Maynard's ship to deliver Golden Skull, thence through blockade, into Caribbean.

 

SCENE 18. MORGAN'S TREASURE SHIP - John deciphers code on wooden carving with help from Dan and Cybercore Genetica. Putting the Swann into stealth mode, so invisible to blockade, John dives to find the privateer's sunken treasure, thinking in cave, but actually discovers a whole ship, laden with gold, silver and gemstones; huge cargo. He videos ship in water, and holds as evidence and schedule of contents. But does not remove anything from the wreck.

 

SCENE 19. BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - John opens negotiations with Mexico and Panama, keeping Blue Shield in the loop. He plays them video of wreck, all astonished. Panama (owners of wreck) offer 10% to John for location. John accepts 5%, on proviso wreck is preserved as heritage site, and treasure Aztec treasure is recognised, in museum displays, to be divided appropriately, himself as final arbiter with guidance from Blue Shield.

 

SCENE 20. BLOCKADE RUNNER - The Swann navigates a course through a blockade, proceeding in stealth mode, invisible to radar. Not wanting to harm Spanish Armada or Royal Navy ships collaborating to capture John's ship. He reports events to US President. US remains neutral. John goes public with Jill Bird world service broadcasting the find of Morgan's treasure with exclusive footage of: 'Blade Runner.' Commander Maynard is relieved of command, due to be charged with misconduct. He absconds with Aztec Golden Skull. Spain declines to comment on their involvement. An embarrassed UK reserves their position.

 

SCENE 21. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - Pirates boat last reported heading into the Bermuda Triangle, Colombian Navy in pursuit - the mutineers disappear in a freak storm, presumed loss of all hands: BBC and Sky News. Never to be seen again, or so one would think.

 

 

 

 

The pirates, Captain Henry Morgan and Blackbeard, share a ghostly toast down in Davey Jones locker, when John Storm discovers the gold laden treasure ship.

 

 

 

 

 

A TO Z INDEX

 

Acts of God - Violent and destructive natural events, sometimes seen as punishment for wickedness and evil, or injustices

Admiral Benbow, The - A tavern where Jim Hawkins lived

Adventure - An 8 gun sloop captured by Blackbeard

Adventurers - People who explore land and oceans, looking to solve riddles

AI - Artificial Intelligence, by way of computer programs that simulate human like responses

AmphiMax-Calypso - Beach launch and recovery system for SeaVax-Calypso seaweed harvesting machines

AmphiMax-Sargasso - Beach launch and recovery system for SeaVax-Sargasso seaweed cleaning machines

Anne - Queen 1665 - 1714

Apple Barrels - Carried on sailing ships to prevent the crew from getting scurvy

Artificial Intelligence, AI

Battle of Ocracoke, The - Where Lt. Robert Maynard boarded the Adventure, and killed the pirate Blackbeard in 1718

Ben Gunn - A marooned pirate who likes cheese

Billy (One Eye) Bones - Is a dead shot marksman, ex SBS Royal Navy sailor, turned pirate adventurer

Blackbeard - Edward Teach, the Queen Anne's Revenge and Adventure

Blackbeard Island - Georgia, is a location where the pirate Edward Teach, may have buried some of his treasure

Black Dog - A pirate

Black Jack - Pirate computer hacker

Black Spot, The - A dreaded pirate sign

Blue Shield - Organization for the protection of cultural heritage in times of unrest

British Geographical Society - BGS is a fictional thinkers club situated in Pall Mall, London, England

Calypso - Highly rythmic form of African Kaiso music, origination on French owned plantations, spreading to most Caribbean islands

Captain Sir Henry Morgan - Buccaneer, turned privateer and Governor of Jamaica - Death 25th August 1688

Captain Flint - Long John Silver's pet parrot

Captain Nemo - AI autopilot named after Jules Verne's character in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Caribbean Sea - A to Z of the West Indies islands: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin

                       Cayman, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Hispaniola, Jamaica

                       Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Roatan, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin

                       Saint Vincent, Sint Maarten, Tortuga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Virgin US

Characters - Blackbeard's Curse & Pirates Gold

Charles I King of England - 1600 to 1647

Charles II King of England - 1630 to 1685

Charles III - King of England 2022, COP 27, Buckingham Palace

Christopher Columbus - Ferdinand of Aragon & Isabella of Castile

Coracle - A small round boat

Dan Hawk - Computer wizard & electronics genius, crew member Elizabeth Swann

Davy Jones's Locker - The sailors devil, a chest at the bottom of the sea signifying passing and their final resting place

Dead (Man's) Chest Island - British Virgin Islands - Where Blackbeard marooned his unruly pirates in folklore

Dead men tell no tales - Pirates language or code for giving reason to kill another pirate for careless talk

Diamonds - Highly prized gemstones as treasure favoured by pirates

Doubloons - Coins minted from solid gold

Dr. Emmanuel Heath - Anglican Church rector, eye witness account of the earthquakes & tsunami at Port Royal 1692

Earthquake - Jamaica, Port Royal 7 June 1692 and tsunami

Edwin & Marion Link - Port Royal excavations 1959-1960

Elizabeth Swann - A high tech zero emission, autonomous ship, with AI

England - Home of the the Admiralty, British naval forces who operated ships in the Caribbean and all over the world

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum

Evolution of man

Fortress - A fortified building or town, typically sporting cannons and turrets

Gold - Coins and bullion treasure of pirates

Graphics - Blackbeard's Curse and Pirates Gold

Guineas - Gold coins

HAL - The world's most advanced AI, artificially intelligent ship management supercomputer

Henry VII - Eighth King named Henry, English tyrannical (divine) ruler, beheadings without trial & six wives

Hispaniola - Schooner used to sail the Skeleton Island - Island of Hispaniola

Holy Compass, The - Quest for knowledge life eternal, the Cup of Christ or Grail

Hurricanes - Tropical revolving storms, very high winds

Hydrofoils - Underwater wings that lift boats and small ships clear of the waves, for hull efficiency

Islands, Caribbean

Jeremiah Murphy - Discovery Fort James, Port Royal 1859

Jewels - Precious gemstones, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, jewellery

Jim Hawkins - Cabin boy

John Storm - A conservationist and amateur anthropologist, who is an ocean adventurer

Kingston - The capital of Jamaica

Lieutenant Robert Maynard - British Royal Navy, HMS Pearl, the man who killed Blackbeard

Londoner's Island (Lunging) Isle of Shoals, Blackbeard & buried treasure, History Channel

Long John Silver - Pirate captain

Lord James Huntington - English aristocrat and professional treasure hunter

Maps - Treasure charts, usually written on waterproof velum or parchment

Mausoleums - Caskets Vs Coffins, Crypts, Vaults, final resting places RIP

Movies - Ten and more of the best and worst Treasure Island films (so far)

Navigation - A skill that all pirates and naval officers needed to learn before the invention of GPS

Ocracoke, Battle Of - 22nd November 1718

Old Providence - Isla de Providencia, Columbia

Orgies - Port Royal and other pirate locations where morals are very low

Paleoanthropolgy - The study of the development of man

Pearls - Valuable pirate tender

Pieces of Eight - The Spanish dollar is a coin made of silver

Pirates - Sailors who scour the sea for ships they can plunder

Plum Point - Bath Creek, North Carolina is a site where Blackbeard may have buried part of his treasure

Port Royal - The former capital of Jamaica, that got washed into the sea by a tsunami

Port Royal - UNESCO World Heritage Site, tentative listing, Jamaica

Queen Anne of England 1665 - 1714

Queen Anne's Revenge - Former French slave traders ship captured by Blackbeard, rediscovered wreckage historic site

Queen Anne's War - Spanish war of Succession, inter colonial fight for control of the American colonies

Robert Louis Stevenson - Scottish novelist: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Curious Case of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde

Robin John Longstride - A pirate known as 'John Long' to his shipmates. He has a parrot named Captain Flint and cooks

ROVs - Remotely Operated Vehicles, typically smaller underwater vessels for marine survey and salvage work

Rubies - Red gemstones highly prized by pirates

Rum - The devil drink of Jamaica, Captain Morgan's Rum

SeaVax-Calypso - Floating, navigable seaweed harvesting machines for the Caribbean Sea

SeaVax-Sargasso - Floating seaweed harvesting machines for the Caribbean Island, serviced by AmphiMax-Sargasso launchers

Skeleton Island - An uncharted location known only to a few pirates, inhabited by numerous well positioned human skeletons

Sargassum - US Virgin Islands declares a state of emergency April 2022

Scott Tremaine - Ship's captain and explorer

Script - Blackbeard's Curse and Pirates Gold

SCUBA Gear - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, diving equipment and dive computers

Silver - Coins and bullion, pirates treasure, pieces of eight

Sir Rodney Baskerville - Professor of maritime history, specializing in shipwrecks and recovery

Skeleton IslandThe Map, Old Providence

Smithsonian Magazine - March 2011, did archaeologists uncover Blackbeard's treasure on the Queen Anne's Revenge

Sovereigns - British solid gold minted coins, Henry VIII, 1489

Spain - Spanish treasure ships, laden with gold and gemstones

Squire Trelawny - Treasure hunt sponsor

Stealth Ships - Vessels (including aircraft) that are invisible to radar

Storms - Hurricanes, rough seas and tornadoes

Sugar Plantations - Farms where cane is grown to produce sugar

Texas University - Institute of Nautical Archaeology: 1981 to 1990 excavations of old Port Royal

The Goonies - A treasure hunting yarn from 1985 based on the pirates map of One Eyed Willy

The Old Anchor Inn, Bristol

Top Ten Films - 10 best Treasure Island movies index

Tortuga - A favourite pirate haunt of old

Treasure Island Movies - 1934 MGM1950 RKO Walt Disney Pictures, 202? Universal & Mandeville

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Trove - Who owns the treasure that is found buried or stashed away. Is it you or the State?

Trisha Lippard - Cleopatra's alias, to protect her royal identity

Tsunami - A giant wave usually triggered by seismic activity such as an earthquake

Underwater Kingdom - Innerspace, is the opposite of outerspace

UNESCO - World Heritage Sites, top ten United Nations Educational Scientific & Cultural Organization

Universal & Mandeville Studios - Treasure Island under development Oct 2019 >>>

USS Port Royal CG73 - Navy warship named after battles in American Civil War and Revolution

Velum - Animal skin version of parchment

Virginia Beach - Chesapeake, North Carolina, is a spot where Blackbeard may have buried some of his treasure

Voodoo - The practice of black and white magic, now a recognised religion for its healing powers

Water - Traditionally kept in a barrel, but subject to 

William Gray - Former US Navy Captain

William V

Xrays

Yabonga

Zanadu

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Storm rescues a giant humpabck whale and her calf              A religious Nazi sect plan to reincarnate Cleopatra             

 

 

The Elizabeth Swann is to feature in a trilogy of original stories being developed by the Cleaner Ocean Foundation, by way of ocean and climate awareness campaigns.

 

The trilogy includes 'KULO-LUNA, 'CLEOPATRA THE MUMMY,' and 'TREASURE ISLAND,' 

 

A second series could begin with 'THE HOLY COMPASS,' a natural follow on from Treasure Island.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

  THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN STORM TRILOGY - KULO LUNA - CLEOPATRA THE MUMMY -  TREASURE ISLAND - MOVIE SCRIPTS & GRAPHIC NOVEL FRANCHISE

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