Titanic screenplay

1 BLACKNESS

Then two faint lights appear, close together... growing brighter. They

resolve into two DEEP SUBMERSIBLES, free-falling toward us like express

elevators.

One is ahead of the other, and passes close enough to FILL FRAME, looking

like a spacecraft blazing with lights, bristling with insectile

manipulators.

TILTING DOWN to follow it as it descends away into the limitless blackness

below. Soon they are fireflies, then stars. Then gone.

CUT TO:

2 EXT./ INT. MIR ONE / NORTH ATLANTIC DEEP

PUSHING IN on one of the falling submersibles, called MIR ONE, right up to

its circular viewport to see the occupants.

INSIDE, it is a cramped seven foot sphere, crammed with equipment. ANATOLY

MIKAILAVICH, the sub's pilot, sits hunched over his controls... singing

softly in Russian.

Next to him on one side is BROCK LOVETT. He's in his late forties, deeply

tanned, and likes to wear his Nomex suit unzipped to show the gold from

famous shipwrecks covering his gray chest hair. He is a wiley, fast-talking

treasure hunter, a salvage superstar who is part historian, part adventurer

and part vacuum cleaner salesman. Right now, he is propped against the CO2

scrubber, fast asleep and snoring.

On the other side, crammed into the remaining space is a bearded wide-body

named LEWIS BODINE, sho is also asleep. Lewis is an R.O.V. (REMOTELY

OPERATED VEHICLE) pilot and is the resident Titanic expert.

Anatoly glances at the bottom sonar and makes a ballast adjustment.

CUT TO:

3 EXT. THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA

A pale, dead-flat lunar landscape. It gets brighter, lit from above, as MIR

ONE enters FRAME and drops to the seafloor in a downblast from its

thrusters. It hits bottom after its two hour free-fall with a loud BONK.

CUT TO:

4 INT. MIR ONE

Lovett and Bodine jerk awake at the landing.

ANATOLY

(heavy Russian accent)

We are here.

EXT. / INT. MIR ONE AND TWO

5 MINUTES LATER: THE TWO SUBS skim over the seafloor to the sound of

sidescan sonar and the THRUM of big thrusters.

6 The featureless gray clay of the bottom unrols in the lights of the subs.

Bodine is watching the sidescan sonar display, where the outline of a huge

pointed object is visible. Anatoly lies prone, driving the sub, his face

pressed to the center port.

BODINE

Come left a little. She's right in front of us, eighteen meters. Fifteen.

Thirteen... you should see it.

ANATOLY

Do you see it? I don't see it... there!

Out of the darkness, like a ghostly apparition, the bow of the ship

appears. Its knife-edge prow is coming straight at us, seeming to plow the

bottom sediment like ocean waves. It towers above the seafloor, standing

just as it landed 84 years ago.

THE TITANIC. Or what is left of her. Mir One goes up and over the bow

railing, intact except for an overgrowth of "rusticles" draping it like

mutated Spanish moss.

TIGHT ON THE EYEPIECE MONITOR of a video camcorder. Brock Lovett's face

fills the BLACK AND WHITE FRAME.

LOVETT

It still gets me every time.

The image pans to the front viewport, looking over Anatoly's shoulder, to

the bow railing visible in the lights beyond. Anatoly turns.

ANATOLY

Is just your guilt because of estealing from the dead.

CUT WIDER, to show that Brock is operating the camera himself, turning it

in his hand so it points at his own face.

LOVETT

Thanks, Tolya. Work with me, here.

Brock resumes his serious, pensive gaze out the front port, with the camera

aimed at himself at arm's length.

LOVETT

It still gets me every time... to see the sad ruin of the great ship

sitting here, where she landed at 2:30 in the morning, April 15, 1912,

after her long fall from the world above.

Anatoly rolls his eyes and mutters in Russian. Bodine chuckles and watches

the sonar.

BODINE

You are so full of shit, boss.

7 Mir Two drives aft down the starboard side, past the huge anchor while

Mir One passes over the seemingly endless forecastle deck, with its massive

anchor chains still laid out in two neat rows, its bronze windlass caps

gleaming. The 22 foot long subs are like white bugs next to the enormous

wreck.

LOVETT (V.O.)

Dive nine. Here we are again on the deck of Titanic... two and a half miles

down. The pressure is three tons per square inch, enough to crush us like a

freight train going over an ant if our hull fails. These windows are nine

inches thick and if they go, it's sayonara in two microseconds.

8 Mir Two lands on the boat deck, next to the ruins of the Officer's

Quarters. Mir One lands on the roof of the deck hous nearby.

LOVETT

Right. Let's go to work.

Bodine slips on a pair of 3-D electronic goggles, and grabs the joystick

controls of the ROV.

9 OUTSIDE THE SUB, the ROV, a small orange and black robot called SNOOP

DOG, lifts from its cradle and flies forward.

BODINE (V.O.)

Walkin' the dog.

SNOOP DOG drives itself away from the sub, paying out its umbilical behind

it like a robot yo-yo. Its twin stereo-video cameras swivel like insect

eyes. The ROV descends through an open shaft that once was the beautiful

First Class Grand Staircase.

Snoop Dog goes down several decks, then moves laterally into the First

Class Reception Room.

SNOOP'S VIDEO POV, moving through the cavernous interior. The remains of

the ornate handcarved woodwork which gave the ship its elegance move

through the floodlights, the lines blurred by slow dissolution and

descending rusticle formations. Stalactites of rust hang down so that at

times it looks like a natural grotto, then the scene shifts and the lines

of a ghostly undersea mansion can be seen again.

MONTAGE STYLE, as Snoop passes the ghostly images of Titanic's opulence:

10 A grand piano in amazingly good shape, crashed on its side against a

wall. The keys gleam black and white in the lights.

11 A chandelier, still hanging from the ceiling by its wire... glinting as

Snoop moves around it.

12 Its lights play across the floor, revealing a champagne bottle, then

some WHITE STAR LINE china... a woman's high-top "granny shoe". Then

something eerie: what looks like a child's skull resolves into the

porcelain head of a doll.

Snoop enters a corridor which is much better preserved. Here and there a

door still hangs on its rusted hinges. An ornate piece of molding, a wall

sconce... hint at the grandeur of the past.

13 THE ROV turns and goes through a black doorway, entering room B-52, the

sitting room of a "promenade suite", one of the most luxurious staterooms

on Titanic.

BODINE

I'm in the sitting room. Heading for bedroom B-54.

LOVETT

Stay off the floor. Don't stir it up like you did yesterday.

BODINE

I'm tryin' boss.

Glinting in the lights are the brass fixtures of the near-perfectly

preserved fireplace. An albino Galathea crab crawls over it. Nearby are the

remains of a divan and a writing desk. The Dog crosses the ruins of the

once elegant room toward another DOOR. It squeezes through the doorframe,

scraping rust and wood chunks loose on both sides. It moves out of a cloud

of rust and keeps on going.

BODINE

I'm crossing the bedroom.

The remains of a pillared canopy bed. Broken chairs, a dresser. Through the

collapsed wall of the bathroom, the porcelain commode and bathtub took

almost new, gleaming in the dark.

LOVETT

Okay, I want to see what's under that wardrobe door.

SEVERAL ANGLES as the ROV deploys its MANIPULATOR ARMS and starts moving

debris aside. A lamp is lifted, its ceramic colors as bright as they were

in 1912.

LOVETT

Easy, Lewis. Take it slow.

Lewis grips a wardrobe door, lying at an angle in a corner, and pulls it

with Snoop's gripper. It moves reluctantly in a cloud of silt. Under it is

a dark object. The silt clears and Snoop's cameras show them what was under

the door...

BODINE

Ooohh daddy-oh, are you seein' what I'm seein'?

CLOSE ON LOVETT, watching his moniteors. By his expression it is like he is

seeing the Holy Grail.

LOVETT

Oh baby baby baby.

(grabs the mike)

It's payday, boys.

ON THE SCREEN, in the glare of the lights, is the object of their quest: a

small STEEL COMBINATION SAFE.

CUT TO:

14 EXT. STERN OF DECK OF KEDYSH - DAY

THE SAFE, dripping wet in the afternoon sun, is lowered onto the deck of a

ship by a winch cable.

We are on the Russian research vessel AKADEMIK MISTISLAV KELDYSH. A crowd

has gathered, including most of the crew of KELDYSH, the sub crews, and a

hand-wringing money guy named BOBBY BUELL who represents the limited

partners. There is also a documentary video crew, hired by Lovett to cover

his moment of glory.

Everyone crowds around the safe. In the background Mir Two is being lowered

into its cradle on deck by a massive hydraulic arm. Mir One is already

recovered with Lewis Bodine following Brock Lovett as he bounds over to the

safe like a kid on Christman morning.

BODINE

Who's the best? Say it.

LOVETT

You are, Lewis.

(to the video crew)

You rolling?

CAMERAMAN

Rolling.

Brock nods to his technicians, and they set about drilling the safe's

hinges. During this operation, Brock amps the suspense, working the lens to

fill the time.

LOVETT

Well, here it is, the moment of truth. Here's where we find out if the

time, the sweat, the money spent to charter this ship and these subs, to

come out here to the middle of the North Atlantic... were worth it. If what

we think is in that same... is in that safe... it will be.

Lovett grins wolfishly in anticipation of his greatest find yet. The door

is pried loose. It clangs onto the deck. Lovett moves closer, peering into

the safe's wet interior. A long moment then... his face says it all.

LOVETT

Shit.

BODINE

You know, boss, this happened to Geraldo and his career never recovered.

LOVETT

(to the video cameraman)

Get that outta my face.

CUT TO:

15 INT. LAB DECK, PRESERVATION ROOM - DAY

Technicians are carefully removing some papers from the safe and placing

them in a tray of water to separate them safely. Nearby, other artifacts

from the stateroom are being washed and preserved.

Buell is on the satellite phone with the INVESTORS. Lovett is yelling at

the video crew.

LOVETT

You send out what I tell you when I tell you. I'm signing your paychecks,

not 60 minutes. Now get set up for the uplink.

Buell covers the phone and turns to Lovett.

BUELL

The partners want to know how it's going?

LOVETT

How it's going? It's going like a first date in prison, whattaya think?!

Lovett grabs the phone from Buell and goes instantly smooth.

LOVETT

Hi, Dave? Barry? Look, it wasn't in the safe... no, look, don't worry about

it, there're still plenty of places it could be... in the floor debris in

the suite, in the mother's room, in the purser's safe on C deck...

(seeing something)

Hang on a second.

A tech coaxes some letters in the water tray to one side with a tong...

revealing a pencil (conte crayon) drawing of a woman.

Brock looks closely at the drawing, which is in excellent shape, though its

edges have partially disintegrated. The woman is beautiful, and beautifully

rendered. In her late teens or early twenties, she is nude, though posed

with a kind of casual modesty. She is on an Empire divan, in a pool of

light that seems to radiate outward from her eyes. Scrawled in the lower

right corner is the date: April 14 1912. And the initials JD.

The girl is not entirely nude. At her throat is a diamond necklace with one

large stone hanging in the center.

Lovett grabs a reference photo from the clutter on the lab table. It is a

period black-and-white photo of a diamond necklace on a black velvet

jeller's display stand. He holds it next to the drawing. It is clearly the

same piece... a complex setting with a massive central stone which is

almost heart-shaped.

LOVETT

I'll be God damned.

CUT TO:

16 INSERT

A CNN NEWS STORY: a live satellite feed from the deck of the Keldysh,

intercut with the CNN studio.

ANNOUNCER

Treasure hunter Brock Lovett is best known for finding Spanish gold in

sunken galleons in the Caribbean. Now he is using deep submergence

technology to work two and a half miles down at another famous wreck... the

Titanic. He is with us live via satellite from a Russian research ship in

the middle of the Atlantic... hello Brock?

LOVETT

Yes, hi, Tracy. You know, Titanic is not just A shipwrick, Titanic is THE

shipwreck. It's the Mount Everest of shipwrecks.

CUT TO:

17 INT. HOUSE / CERAMICS STUDIO

PULL BACK from the screen, showing the CNN report playing on a TV set in

the living room of a small rustic house. It is full of ceramics, figurines,

folk art, the walls crammed with drawings and paintings... things collected

over a lifetime.

PANNING to show a glassed-in studio attached to the house. Outside it is a

quiet morning in Ojai, California. In the studio, amid incredible clutter,

an ANCIENT WOMAN is throwing a pot on a potter's wheel. The liquid red clay

covers her hands... hands that are gnarled and age-spotted, but still

surprisingly strong and supple. A woman in her early forties assists her.

LOVETT (V.O.)

I've planned this expedition for three years, and we're out here recovering

some amazing things... things that will have enormous historical and

educational value.

CNN REPORTER (V.O.)

But it's no secret that education is not your main purpose. You're a

treasure hunter. So what is the treasure you're hunting?

LOVETT (V.O.)

I'd rather show you than tell you, and we think we're very close to doing

just that.

The old woman's name is ROSE CALVERT. Her face is a wrinkled mass, her body

shapeless and shrunken under a one-piece African-print dress.

But her eyes are just as bright and alive as those of a young girl.

Rose gets up and walks into the living room, wiping pottery clay from her

hands with a rag. A Pomeranian dog gets up and comes in with her.

The younger soman, LIZZY CALVERT, rushes to help her.

ROSE

Turn that up please, dear.

REPORTER (V.O.)

Your expedition is at the center of a storm of controversy over salvage

rights and even ethics. Many are calling you a grave robber.

TIGHT ON THE SCREEN.

LOVETT

Nobody called the recovery of the artifacts from King Tut's tomb grave

robbing. I have museum-trained experts here, making sure this stuff is

preserved and catalogued properly. Look at this drawing, which was found

today...

The video camera pans off Brock to the drawing, in a tray of water. The

image of the woman with the necklace FILLS FRAME.

LOVETT

...a piece of paper that's been underwater for 84 years... and my team are

able to preserve it intanct. Should this have remained unseen at the bottom

of the ocean for eternity, when we can see it and enjoy it now...?

ROSE is galvanized by this image. Her mouth hangs open in amazement.

ROSE

I'll be God damned.

CUT TO:

18 EXT. KELDYSH DECK - NIGHT

CUT TO KELDYSH. The Mir subs are being launched. Mir Two is already in the

water, and Lovett is getting ready to climb into Mir One when Bobby Buell

runs up to him.

BUELL

There's a satellite call for you.

LOVETT

Bobby, we're launching. See these submersibles here, going in the water?

Take a message.

BUELL

No, trust me, you want to take this call.

CUT TO:

19 INT. LAB DECK / KELDYSH - NIGHT

Beull hands Lovett the phone, pushing down the blinking line. The call is

from Rose and we see both ends of the conversation. She is in her kitchen

with a mystified Lizzy.

LOVETT

This is Brock Lovett. What can I do for you, Mrs... ?

BUELL

Rose Calvert.

LOVETT

... Mrs. Calvert?

ROSE

I was just wondering if you had found the "Heart of the Ocean" yet, Mr.

Lovett.

Brock almost drops the phone. Bobby sees his shocked expression...

BUELL

I told you you wanted to take this call.

LOVETT

(to Rose)

Alright. You have my attention, Rose. Can you tell me who the woman in the

picture is?

ROSE

Oh yes. The woman in the picture is me.

CUT TO:

20 EXT. OCEAN - DAY

SMASH CUT TO AN ENORMOUS SEA STALLION HELICOPTER thundering across the

ocean. PAN 180 degrees as it roars past. There is no land at either

horizon. The Keldysh is visible in the distance.

CLOSE ON A WINDOW of the monster helicopter. Rose's face is visible,

looking out calmly.

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