Voyage to the Bottom of the Ocean

Having become more than a little obsessed with the recent event of the loss of the Titan submersible, it occurred to me, as I am sure it has to many others in Hollywood, that here is a ready-made plot for a movie. Indeed, I am almost certain that seasoned screenwriters are busy beavering away at this even as I write.

My idea is to combine elements of 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' with 'The Sinking of the Titanic', and maybe even throw in Sir Lew Grade's 'Raise the Titanic' for good measure. It still highly amuses me that when Sir Lew had to abandon his film due to out-of-control costs, he quipped...

"Raise the Titanic? It would have been cheaper to lower the bloody Atlantic!"

Anyway, with the sad story of the Titan submersible setting off to explore the dark depths of the Atlantic at the bottom of the ocean, we have a real-life, aquatic adventure story with a ready-made cast of memorable stock characters.

The story begins with scenes from James Cameron's film of 1997, 'Titanic'. Parts of the beginning of the film are segued into parts of the end. At the end of this montage, the camera follows the Titanic as it slips below the surface of the Atlantic into the depths of the ocean. The camera, with the POV of a survivor, bobs back up to the surface.

A handful of survivors from the Titanic are struggling to stay afloat holding onto deckchairs. They could be the self-same characters in this story of the Titan sub. We fade to the deck of the Victorious, with the same group huddled around the Titan.

It is as if they were meant to die when the Titanic sank in 1912, and over 100 years later fate had conspired to bring them all back together, to once again stake a claim to their souls.

There are two billionaires aboard, one (Shahzawa Dawood) with his young son, (Suleman) who has the ambition of breaking the time record for solving the Rubik's Cube puzzle at the bottom of the ocean. The other rich guy is a Gungho Brit (A Scot called Harry Hardman) out to get himself into the Guinness Book of Records.

We have the highly experienced deep-sea submariner (a Frenchman called Jaques Parle Vant) in his golden years, making one last voyage. And then, the villain of the piece, the maverick designer, engineer, and operator of an un-tested new sub, using innovative new materials. Mr. Rushton Stock.

In a twist of irony, the mother of the boy with the Rubik's Cube (Patience) was the one who had originally intended to accompany her husband. However, as a special Father's Day treat, she let her son Suleman take her place, whilst she remains on board the mother ship.

The backstory is a combination of two things; the sub's owner-operator, Rushton, doing battle with other submariners in the industry who try to warn him off using the sub until it has been tested for safety, and at the same time Rushton is trying to gain the confidence of potential, jittery, well to do clients, who remain unconvinced of the sub's safety.

One wealthy would-be client (Greg Pullman Junior) backs away from the offer when he tells Rushton how his son (Randy Pullman) had expressed fears that the sub might be attacked by a giant whale or octopus, too deep down in the ocean to be saved. Rushton tells him that going to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in his sub will be safer than crossing the street! The client is unconvinced and, even though Rushton offers him a heavily discounted price, he resists the offer and says no.

Eventually, Rushton finds the rich guy, Shahzawa, with his Rubik's Cube-obsessed son, Suleman, and the crew is complete.

As for the other submariner detractors, Rushton simply accuses them of trying to stifle innovation and acts painfully hurt, telling them that he takes comments that one day he is going to kill somebody, as a personal insult.

Rushton is convinced that nothing untoward will happen to the sub, the Titan-ic, whilst down on the bottom of the ocean, and he forges ahead with his plans to dive undeterred.

The day before the dive there is a storm, which almost scuppers the whole idea of doing the dive, but in the end, a window of opportunity is found and they set off.

The Titan-ic is launched from the mother ship, Victorious, and the dive begins as the carbon fiber submersible slips below the surface of the watery deep.

During the descent of the sub, Rushton and Jaques exchange old mariners tales of previous dives, which always end well. Shahzawa and his son Suleman listen intently and between tales offer their own stories of daring adventures of their own. Meantime Harry chips in with a little of his own experiences and hopes for the future. Suleman, from time to time keeps practicing his Rubik's Cube moves.

At one point Rushton tells the others the tale of Captain Smith and his hubris being the cause of the Titanic sinking, without the slightest hint of irony. Shortly afterward, Suleman completes the Rubik's Cube in record time at just 300 meters above the seabed.

As the Titan-ic descends Rushton turns on the outside spotlight and they all see through the cone window, what look like scary sea monsters from the deep.

One hour and forty-five minutes later, up on the decks of the Victorious, all comms with the sub are lost. The crew do nothing for eight hours, due to the fact that this is not the first time comms and navigation have been lost for a few hours. Eventually, an international alert is sounded and the race is on.

Thirteen ships make their way to the location where the sub has apparently been lost. Meanwhile, the whole world holds its breath, hoping beyond hope that the sub will be found and brought back to the surface before the ninety-six hours of emergency oxygen expire.

In the following four days all manner of theories are floated, excuse the pun, including one that the sub has entered the Great Ballroom of the Titanic, lost its ballast, and floated up to the ceiling, where it remains stuck, like a big carbon fiber balloon.

Another theory is that the sub has already re-surfaced and is bobbing around the Atlantic lord knows where. However, as the sub can only be opened from the outside, the race is still on to save the crew of the sub from suffocating.

And yet another theory is that the sub is right where it should be, but is unable to surface under its own power. It is suggested that shallow breathing on the part of the occupants of the sub may extend the 96-hour supply of oxygen.

At one point, a banging noise is detected by underwater acoustic recording equipment every thirty minutes. It is presumed that this may be the people in the sub trying to signal their location to anybody who might be listening.

Unknown to the world at large, the United States secret service have already detected a loud bang in the vicinity of the sub's last known location, at precisely the time that the sub disappeared.

In the end, an unmanned submersible dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and discovers the remnants of what used to be the Titan-ic. From this, it is clear that the sub has imploded and all lives have been lost. The unmanned Rover submersible also finds Sulemaan's Rubik's Cube lying on the seabed, in a distressed condition, but completed.

The story ends with images of the Titanic slipping below the waves, which Patience observes with interest. At one point she sees what looks like her husband and son thrashing about in the icy Atlantic, waving their arms, for help, or goodbye.

As for the choice of Director for the movie, it has to be James Cameron. As a fellow submariner and Director of the film about the Titanic, he is the only serious movie Director with sufficient experience.

Now I admit, this is not exactly an original idea. However, as there are some original elements to it, I am claiming copyright for the whole idea. Any Hollywood Producers who might be interested in taking this on, and believe me it will make millions, please feel free to contact me by email. A full respectful, screenplay can be provided upon the condition of a financial advance being received. Be warned, my attorneys are watching.

On a somewhat more somber note, to those who may think it disrespectful to appear to make light of this very traumatic event, I have the utmost respect for those who lost their lives and their families and friends. I give my deepest condolences and sympathy for such a terrible event and loss.

To those who may detect a hint of black humor, yes there is a little. It is in fact a coping mechanism to process and deal with what has happened. I am somewhat traumatized and angry with the man responsible for this disaster. It was all oh-so preventable and unnecessary. Four lives were sacrificed for the sake of that man's hubris and overblown ego. God may they all rest in peace.