The Lost City of Gold

The Lost City of Gold - A movie rough

 

Characters

 

Good Guys

• Carl and Jane, husband and wife archaeologists
• Michael, archeology graduate student, and our stories main protagonist
• Jessica, anthropology graduate student, Michael’s girlfriend
• Daniel, male athlete, Michael’s brother, handsome, smart, and talented but a bit lazy
• Lora, Daniel’s girlfriend, beautiful but vapid
• Tori, organizes and leads expeditions for Carl and Jane, expert outdoor woman
• Terrance and Paul, Tori’s assistants. Terrance is in love with Tori which she is aware of but she doesn’t feel the same way because Tori is secretly attracted to Paul but hasn’t acted upon it because of her job supervising him and the friendship between Terrance and Paul. Unknown to either Terrance or Tori is that Paul is in the closet and in love with Terrance.
• Ryan, brilliant but socially awkward university student who is really good at putting the clues together but not with dealing with his crush on Jessica.
• The good guys also have several other minor members, such as several local Central American guys who have been part of previous expeditions are join the group when they reach Central America.

Bad Guys

• Aaron, archaeologist, competitor with Carl and Jane but unethical
• Mr. Gravis, billionaire businessman and artifact collector, often secretly fund’s Aaron’s expeditions
• Franco, Mr. Gravis’ head of security, enforcer. Secretly worships Pauline
• Jessica, our hero Michael’s girlfriend is unfortunately also Aaron’s lover, although she doesn’t realize how unethical he really is or about his secret backers and how bad they are.
• Pauline, Mr. Gravis’ personal assistant. Beautiful and an expert at manipulating men (and women) with her looks. Also very smart and organized, and not afraid to get her own hands dirty although she prefers to trick others into doing her dirty work.
• The Bad guys also have several other lesser characters for muscle: Gravis/Franco security employees, Aaron’s disreputable Central American contacts, people drawn in by Pauline, etc.

 

 

Part 1 - Opening

The movie opens with Carl, Jane, Michael, and Jessica returning home to the University from an expedition to Central America. They are unpacking and cataloging their findings, during which process we are introduced to their characters. Also during this process we are introduced to Daniel and Lora. While Daniel and Lora are watching the unpacking, Lora, ignoring a request to not touch anything, accidentally breaks an artifact. But the breaking reveals a secret hidden within was golden disc inscribed with a map on one side and ancient American writings. It appears to be about one of the fabled ancient American lost cities of gold.


Part 2 - Research & Betrayal

Our good guys are investigating the original clue, working on translating the writings and researching the legend of the lost cities of gold. We are introduced to Ryan who is instrumental in the research and putting the clues together. We also meet Tori, Terrance, and Paul who are Carl and Jane’s trusted expedition team. They begin organizing the expedition to find the lost city of gold. In this scene Jessica also meets with Aaron, her lover, and tells him of the finding. Aaron informs Mr. Gravis who immediately has Aaron, Franco, and Pauline. Franco begins to put together an expedition to beat the good guys. Pauline seduces Ryan into revealing what he knows and in providing false information to the good guys.


Part 3 - The Race

Both teams manage to leave about the same time and are racing each other to Central America. Several stops are required to acquire more pieces of the clues and fit them into place. The good guys usually manage to find the clues first but the bad guys manage to get the information through Jessica’s betrayal, Ryan’s seduction, or Franco’s stealing it. The good guys become aware of the bad guys, but not of Jessica or Ryan’s involvement with them. Ryan learns that Pauline is from the bad guys and has been playing him but doesn’t know what to do about it: should he warn the good guys or switch to the bad guys. For now he does neither. Both sides actively try to slow down or side track the other. False clues are planted, some good guys are kidnapped, Mr. Gravis’ private airplane sabotaged, and most of the good guy’s luggage is lost at the Denver airport during a layover, although that might not have just been the Denver Airport and not the work of the bad guys.


Part 4 - Into the Jungle

Both teams arrive in Central America about the same time and add local muscle to their expeditions. Still the sabotage and redirection continue and both teams leave separately into the jungle. The conflict turns bloody. Tori sabotages one of the bad guy jeeps thinking to slow them down but the sabotage goes wrong, the jeep crashes hurting Aaron and killing a minor character. In retaliation Franco shoots out one of the tires of the good guys causing a crash that kills several minor characters. Ryan confesses his relationship to Pauline to the good guys. They want to leave him behind but they are too far into the jungle and he would not survive on his own.


Part 5 - the City

The teams arrive separately outside the City of Gold. Now the killing begins in earnest. Both teams set up base camps and begin to build defenses. Jessica sneaks away to visit Aaron who is still badly hurt from Tori’s sabotage. Mr. Gravis insists she poison’s the good guy’s water supply, gives her the poison and sends her back. Several bad guy minions murder several good guy minions but the jungle claims several of its own as poisonous snakes and lethal jaguars abound. Jessica is caught attempting to poison the water supply and her relationship with Aaron revealed. Lori, bored and uncomfortable in the wilderness, flirts with Carl. Carl doesn’t respond but Jane and Daniel are both angry and jealous. Ryan steals Jessica’s poison and sneaks into the bad guys camp, poisoning their water supply. He is captured trying to leave but convinces Pauline he was trying to see her. Pauline give Ryan some water while working her seduction on him. Ryan drinks knowing it is poisoned because Pauline, Gravis, and several minions are also about to drink the poison and he doesn’t want to warn or save them. Ryan, Pauline, Gravis, and several minions die. Franco recognizes the poison and believes Jessica has turned on them, he vows revenge. Meanwhile, the good guys discover Ryan’s absence and believe he has switched sides.


Part 6 - The Battle

Both teams begin to explore into the city. Franco reveals a penchant for building deadly booby-traps and dead falls. Jane, having just argued with Carl about Lora’s flirting is inattentive and walks into a boodie-trap and is killed. Carl cradling the broken body of Jane doesn’t see the Franco arrive and is shot in the back and killed. Without Carl, Jane, and Gravis to lead them both sides degenerate into more open battle in the jungle and the outskirts of the city. Jessica escapes the good guys but becomes lost in the jungle; she falls in quicksand and drowns slowly and alone. Daniel is killed by Franco and Michael almost dies when he attacks Franco in grief. Lora is separated from the good guys, lost in the jungle, but finds the bad guy’s camp, deserted except for the wounded Aaron. She is talking to Aaron when several bad guy minions return. The minions shoot and kill Lori and Aaron is hit and killed by a stray bullet. Michael believes Lori is taken captive. Tori, Terrance, and Paul kill several minions but are hunted down and killed by Franco. They learn their true feelings for each other just before they die.


Part 7 - Conclusion

After the Battle only Michael, Franco and a couple of bad guy minions remain alive, although all of them believe there are others still alive (Michael believe Jessica, Ryan, and Lora are with the bad guys, Jessica and Ryan traitors and Lora as a prisoner, Franco believes Jessica is with the good guys and wants to kill her in revenge for Pauline’s death and he figures there are sill others of his minions about). The bad guys are hunting Michael who is exhausted, injured, and outnumbered. Michael sets up a trail that is an ancient road that lead from the city. It works and he kills the minions but in doing so Franco has time to rush and grapple him. They fight hand to hand for many seconds before Michael, our hero, prevails. Michael staggers to his feet, clutching his side were Franco had kicked him hard enough to crack some ribs, and a face covered in blood from a cut to the scalp and a blow to the nose. The music begins to swell in triumph and the camera pans out so we can see our hero limping up the trail towards the golden city with the sun rising behind it. The city is the prize of the sole survivor and after a dark night it is a bright new morning. Unfortunately Michael staggers into a booby trap set on the trail early in the movie. A hidden noose of rope snares his feet and he is flung into the air and against a set of spikes embedded in a tree and dies. The camera continues to pan out as the music turns briefly ironic and then stately but lonely and lost. The camera continues the pan out and we see the city lost alone in the midst of the jungle. Everyone that knew its location is dead and they died with all the clues they had gathered to find it’s location. The City of Gold remains lost and a legend. The camera continues to pan away, the music continues, and the end credits begin to roll.