Log Line:
A girl comes of age on a
pirate ship.
Extended Log Line:
In the 1600s Caribbean, Isabel, a girl of noble Spanish descent raised by prostitutes
and pirates, must grow to womanhood, assert her independence,
and reconcile the tragedy of her two putative fathers, an Anglo
Privateer and a Spanish Nobleman sworn to kill each other as
they blame one another for the death of the woman they both loved
- Isabel's mother.
The Story
 Isabel is born at sea to Alma Corazon, a Spanish noblewoman unhappy in marriage, stolen by pirates. Joseph, a pirate, falls in love with her and gives up piracy to live with her on the island of Tranquilidad. When the Armada returns from Spain, Alma's husband, Esteban hunts the pirates to avenge her presumed death. He finds Alma and Joseph living together and tries to kill Joseph, but Alma comes between them and dies instead. With her dying breath she makes Esteban swear not to kill Joseph. Both men are devastated. Esteban maims
Joseph and throws him to sea, but does not notice the hidden baby Isabel. Joseph is rescued
by his former crew. Isabel is found and raised by prostitutes.
10 years later, Joseph returns, a maimed, bitter pirate captain. He finds Isabel still alive
and takes her with him to sea. Isabel, an adventuress at heart, is overjoyed, even though her
main task on ship is to swab the deck. One night Eric, one of the pirates, wakes Isabel and
attempts unsuccessfully to molest her. Joseph beats Eric and throws him overboard, then he
trains Isabel to fight and beat men. Still, he will not allow her in battle, locking her
below deck whenever there's a battle. Esteban moves to Tranquilidad to kill Joseph, should
he return.
Cat and mouse games ensue and smuggling flourishes on Tranquilidad. However, a darker force
looms on the horizon, as a mystery fleet of pirate ships descends on the area spreading terror
and plague. While fighting a ship from this fleet, the pirates discover that its captain is the
evil Eric - now Eric the Perv - who survived being thrown overboard. During a critical moment
in battle when Joseph's men are losing, Isabel, now 17, rebels against the no-fighting rule,
busts out of the hold and joins in the battle, changing the energy and turning the tide in
their favor. She is exultant as Eric's men run away, until Joseph tells her she must go to a convent
as punishment for disobeying him and daring to fight. Angrily, she runs away to Tranquilidad
and Joseph follows, to be caught by Esteban. Eric captures Joseph's men and hands them
over to Esteban as well.
Isabel offers to marry Esteban if he pardons the pirates. Smitten by Isabel,
Esteban appeals to the town at their hanging for their pardon,
but Eric and his men attack. Eric reveals that Esteban is Isabel's
real father. A survivor of one of the devastated towns reveals
that Eric is the truly evil pirate. The townspeople and the pirates
join to battle Eric's men and drive them to the sea. Esteban
and Joseph have their own agenda and end up in the graveyard,
by Alma's grave, trying to kill each other. Esteban is angry
that Joseph stole not only his wife, but also his daughter. Joseph
gets the upper hand and as he tries to kill Esteban, Isabel comes
between them and ...well, this is the climactic ending.
Background
Piracy in the Caribbean flourished in large part because Spain was the world
superpower and other countries couldn't fight her Armada. Thus
they encouraged private ship owners to attack at every opportunity.
This is primordial America when the Spanish ruled and everyone
else wanted a piece of the action, when all kinds of ethnic groups
were arriving and being created.
status
Isabel's story is now a feature length screenplay. Isabel's story is of being
American, of bi-cultural conflict, of free trade, lust, adventure
and identity, and the seeds of tragedy continually sown. It's
about seizing opportunities in a rapidly changing world, and
growing up and being independent. But mostly, its about the younger
generation transcending the tragedies and conflicts that plagued
the generation before. It can easily spin off into a Teen-Warrior-Chick-Rampaging-Across-the-America's
TV series with the appeal of the shows "Zena, Warrior Woman" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Once she gets on land, she can retrace the steps of the conquistadors with a
revisionist, multicultural crew. And once she drinks from Pizzaro's
fountain of youth, she can go on adventures for a long time across
the span of American history.
More About Izzy:
- I would like to make a comic book out of this fabulous story. If you are an artist and would like to participate, Contact Me!
- Check out a "prequel", the story of what our protagonist was doing the day before the story started.
- Read the screenplay (Click through the Confidentiality Agreement)
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