S K E L E T O N  I S L A N D - T-ISLAND SCREENPLAY

 

 

 

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Skeleton Island, curse of the Golden Skull

 

 

SKELETON ISLAND - Was a pirate secret location, known only to a small number of captains. But as piracy became unfashionable with mass hangings, the numbers of those in the know, dwindled. Until, all that remained was a location carved in wood. Generally hidden somewhere safe by the pirate concerned. This location was useless without a chart giving the exact position that each pirate buried their stash. The maps made on parchment, were handed down to the next generations.

 

 

 

 

 

<<< SCENE 11

 

 

INT. HISPANIOLA - HELM - DAY

LORD HUNTINGTON (60s, distinguished, a nervous energy about him) spreads a carefully unfolded, aged tracing on the navigation table. JOHN STORM (40s, capable, intrigued) leans in, his eyes scanning the markings. Sunlight streams through the portholes, illuminating the faded ink.

LORD HUNTINGTON
The truth is, Storm… this map… it references Henry Morgan directly. But its origins… they lie with a parchment taken by Robert Maynard… from Blackbeard’s ship… in seventeen eighteen.

He looks at John, almost pleadingly.

LORD HUNTINGTON (CONT'D)
I… I hardly need to ask if this… piques your interest? In exchange for your expertise… any information gleaned… future cooperation…

John’s gaze is fixed on the tracing. Two locations are clearly marked: “Morgan’s Head,” a prominent landmass, and a sheltered bay labeled “Blackbeard’s Cove.”

JOHN STORM
(A low whistle)
Amazing. The island… it’s real.

INT. ELIZABETH SWANN - HELM - DAY (SIMULTANEOUS - SUBTLE)

Unseen by Huntington, a faint data stream overlays John’s vision, provided by HAL (V.O. - calm, synthesized).

HAL (V.O.)
John, that is Santa Catalina and Providence Island.

JOHN STORM (to Huntington, casually)
Where exactly is this located?

HAL (V.O.)
Two hundred kilometers east of Nicaragua, four hundred and fifty kilometers north of Panama.

JOHN STORM
(Nodding slowly)
Right.

LORD HUNTINGTON
No reason to doubt its accuracy. The lineage of this tracing… it’s… well-documented.

JOHN STORM
Let me think… roughly twelve hundred kilometers southeast of our current position. Six hundred and fifty nautical miles, give or take?

Huntington stares, impressed.

LORD HUNTINGTON
Remarkable! I would have needed charts and… calculations.

JOHN STORM
So, what prize awaits us there? Blackbeard’s legendary haul? Captain Morgan’s missing Spanish gold? Or… the Aztec treasure, wasn’t it? Stolen by Cortés? It all gets a bit muddled in the telling.

LORD HUNTINGTON
Perhaps a confluence of fortunes. Though… my instincts lean towards Blackbeard. The island… legend speaks of a cursed golden skull. And Blackbeard… he cursed his captors, didn’t he? Surely that extends to any who seek his ill-gotten gains.

Both men chuckle, a nervous edge to Huntington’s laughter.

JOHN STORM
Fairy tales don’t steer my ship, Lord Huntington. Just the cold, hard facts of history.

LORD HUNTINGTON
Nor mine, John. But all the same… booby traps, I shouldn’t wonder. Why else a map?

JOHN STORM
You mean… Indiana Jones style? Set by pirates?

They laugh again, but Huntington’s eyes hold a flicker of genuine concern.

LORD HUNTINGTON (V.O.)
Maynard… Robert Maynard… ill fortune dogged his every step after he claimed that parchment. A shiver runs down my spine at the thought that my own luck might be… turning.

Neither man notices the subtle, almost imperceptible HUM emanating from a small, innocuous device affixed to the underside of the navigation table – a bug.

INT. ROYAL NAVY HEADQUARTERS - LONDON - DAY (SIMULTANEOUS)

COMMANDER JAMES MAYNARD (40s, sharp, intense) sits before a bank of monitors, listening intently to the crackling audio feed from the Hispaniola. The map’s coordinates are displayed on one of the screens. A grim satisfaction spreads across his face.

COMMANDER MAYNARD (to himself)
Providence Island… at last. What my ancestor was denied…

FADE OUT

 

 

>>> SCENE 13

 

 

 

ABSTRACT: 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, though both men probe each other for more clues continuously.

 

 

 

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PROLOGUE: ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY - King Charles II, Royal Charter James Stuart II, transport goods from Africa: Bloody Triangle.

SCENE 1. THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - Lt Robert Maynard, Blackbeard's curse, beheading & torturous interrogation on the Adventure 

SCENE 2. EARTHQUAKE JAMAICA - Present Day - An earthquake hits Port Royal, disturbing the sunken city & Palisadoes cemetery.

SCENE 3. BLUE SHIELD ENGLAND - Blue Shield, Newcastle UK, UNESCO requests Storm catalogue underwater city UNEP World Heritage Site.

SCENE 3.1. SWASHBUCKLING - John tries out Dan's VR sword fencing program, then duel with real pirate cutlasses, Hal keeping score.

SCENE 4. HENRY MORGAN'S DEATH - Henry Morgan has a heart attack; funeral ceremony at Palisadoes cemetery, old Port Royal.

SCENE 5. SUNKEN CITY SURVEY - Present Day, Swann's sensors scan the ocean bed, revealing mausoleum former Governor of Jamaica.

SCENE 6. JUNE 1692 TSUNAMI - Jamaica, June 7th, an earthquake hits Port Royal, then a tsunami washes the pirate haven under the sea.

SCENE 6.1. GHOSTS BLACKBEARD & MORGAN  - Spectral figures cheer on John Storm as he searches Henry's Palisadoes crypt for clues.

SCENE 7. HENRY MORGAN'S COFFIN - John Storm & ROV, comes face to face with Henry's skeletal remains. Finds interesting wooden engraving.

SCENE 8. BBC JILL BIRD - London. John Storm's finds lost Henry Morgan's pirate remains. "And for those of you wondering, there was no treasure."
SCENE 9. OPERATION HISPANIOLA - British Geographical Society, & Royal Navy fund Lord Huntington's expedition to recover relics in the Caribbean.

SCENE 10. SHIP'S COOK - William Gray helps John Long's cut-throats to crew for Huntington's Hispaniola, Long a dab hand on the galley.

SCENE 11. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOS - Huntington (BGS bigwig) asks John Storm for help with shipwreck survey - meet in the Caribbean, Haiti.

SCENE 12. SKELETON ISLAND - Intrigued by map proffered by Lord Huntington, John agrees to switch attention to location, to coast of Panama. .

SCENE 13. SANTA CATALINA - Colombian, Mexican, Panamanian, Nicaraguan patrols re: 'Satisfaction' & hunt for Aztec gold, Spanish Conquistadors.

SCENE 14. TREASURE ISLAND - Hurricane Iota erased map clues, Isla Providencia. Longstride believes location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure.

SCENE 15. KIDNAP - Black Jack & Billy Bones kidnap Dan, Cleopatra - lock in Hispaniola with Tremaine. Hal alerts John to events via BioCore.

SCENE 16. DOUBLE CROSS - Maynard pact with Spanish Navy to blockade Caribbean to capture John & Swann. Longstride deal Aztec Golden Skull.

SCENE 17. BLACKBEARD'S CURSE - John retakes Swann, Hal immobilizes Black Jack and Billy Bones and rescues prisoners on Hispaniola.

SCENE 18. MORGAN'S TREASURE SHIP - John deciphers carving code helped Dan and Cybercore Genetica. Dives to find privateer's shipwreck.

SCENE 19. BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - John negotiates with Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador & Blue Shield for % salvage based on wreck video.

SCENE 20. BLOCKADE RUNNER - Swann navigates through Spanish Armada & Royal Navy blockade in stealth mode, invisible to radar.

SCENE 21. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - Pirates head into Bermuda Triangle, Colombian Navy in pursuit: BBC Sky News. Never to be seen again.

 


 

John Storm and Elizabeth Swann get to Treasure (Skeleton) Island

 

 
 

 

  SKELETON ISLAND REVEALED AS ISLA PROVIDENCIA, SECRET PIRATE DESTINATION CURSE AZTEC GOLDEN SKULL - TREASURE ISLAND - BLACKBEARD'S CURSE & PIRATES GOLD

 

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