Fate Walkers
ACTION ADVENTURE EPIC FANTASY FAMILY MYSTERY CHILDREN'S
1940s & '50s,1960s & '70s
Sharon Hayes (a.k.a. Shar Martin)
Logline
Journey into our futuristic past.... The once magnificent city sat dormant beneath the Amazon jungle, its pulse a terrible ending as a warning to future ages to come. Fate Walkers is a spellbinding adventure filled with amazing treasure, disturbing artifacts, and a shocking revelation.
Genre
Action,Adventure,Epic,Fantasy,Family,Mystery,Children's
Short Summary
Ellis Hollander was a teenage prodigy widely known in archeological circles. He had charge over a dig in the Amazon Jungle, but it was suspected of being haunted and his workers kept running off, forcing him to shut-down the site until rumors about whatever they saw or heard died down.
Ellis returned to the Amazon and found the ancient city, but he first had to overcome a shocking betrayal, and then certain death at the hands of a formattable adversary, before preparing his team to embark on a quest more adventurous than any of them could have imagined….
Setting
The Amazon, Siberian Desert, London, The Congo
Based on a True Story
No
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain,Quest
Plot - Other Elements
Coming of Age,Happy Ending,Meaningful Message,Twist
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Main Character Details
Name: Ellis Hollander
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Complex,Confident,Honorable,Leader,Aggressive,Engaging,Skillful,Strong Moral Code
Additional Character Details
Name: Avrum Hansen
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Role: Antagonist
Key Traits: Crazy,Confident,Complex,Aggressive,Criminal,Desperate,Engaging,Greedy,Educated,Insecure,Leader,Unapologetic,Manipulative,Villainous,Skillful
Additional Character Details
Name: Paulina
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Role: emotional
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Badass,Aggressive,Educated,Honorable,Insecure,Outspoken,Skillful,Romantic,Seductive
Additional Character Details
Name: Salvar
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Badass,Aggressive,Charming,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Engaging,Educated,Honorable,Leader,Masculine,Sexy,Outspoken,Skillful,Romantic,Seductive
Development Pitch
Ellis Hollander comes of age driven to prove himself worthy as any man, and the scary discomfort of falling in love for the first time. An archaeological prodigy, Ellis also learns he has acquired an enemy when the man comes at him with the intent of demoting his standing in the field, and he almost succeeds…. Avrum Hansen is powerful, greedy, and jealous of a boy who reminds him of the handsome lads who once taunted him at boarding school. In essence, Avrum is a psychopath poisoned by his father’s resentment, so hindering Ellis’ progress at all cost is the cure he seeks…. Fate Walkers would make for seasons of adventurous stories as Ellis and his team explore the mystical city and many new secrets hidden beneath the surface of this world.
Genre
ACTION, ROMANCE, DRAMA, FANTASY
Brief
Ellis, a former prodigy, leads his first archeological dig on his own. He is held back from discovering a lost city by the greedy Avrum. Ellis discovers secrets and manages to fall in love with his childhood friend who joins him on the dig despite being constantly sabotaged.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: GOOD
Characterization: FAIR
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: EXCELLENT
Pace: FAIR
Premise: EXCELLENT
Structure: FAIR
Theme: FAIR
Accuracy of Book Profile
The book profile somewhat reflects the narrative although the story focuses more on the interpersonal drama while the profile highlights more of the lost city angle. Matching their focus would better reflect the story.
Draw of Story
The idea of a teenage archeology prodigy discovering a lost city in the Amazon is a great opener of a premise. There is tension built into the dig being the first that they lead on their own and whether the city discovery will cause more problems due to local lore.
Possible Drawbacks
There is a lot of attention to interpersonal drama and family history that takes away from the archeological dig. The dig and the lost city are what is novel rather than a class struggle with secret parentage. Making the story stick to the dig and more of the lost city with "civilization interaction" may help quicken the action and pace to feel more consistent and closer to the original premise.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES A LITTLE BIT ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
The hook is that a archeology prodigy discovers a lost city with his crew in the Amazon with clear signs of life.
Fanbase Potential
With more of an archeology focus rather than a historical lesson of genealogy of the characters this could have a large fanbase. The concept is fun with a lot of plot opportunities involved in the discovery of a new old world.
Awards Potential
Due to its fantasy genre and young cast without a serious thematic issue, this may only win popular awards rather than prestige awards.
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
INDIANA JONES MOVIES, MUMMY, JUMANJI, LONE STAR, OPERATION FINALE
What’s New About the Story
The originality stems from the expedition rather than the character dynamics. Focusing more on the lost city and the digging rather than the bureaucracy of the mission or the aristocratic close-minded ways of old money would infuse more action and novel situations.
Lead Characters
Ellis is confident, loyal, fair and adventurous. Paulina is sophisticated, smart and inoffensive. Avrum is vindictive, misguided and selfish.
Uniqueness of Story
The concept is great about a teen prodigy discovering a lost city, but the focus on their background and pedigree detracts from the pacing and main conflict.
Possible Formats
Film: Streaming, Indie, Studio
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
While the story has many positive points, it has room for improvement (see possible paths below). If you can't change the story at this point, my suggestion is using your notes as a guide to highlight the best aspects of it when taking the next steps, either putting a pitch page together, a treatment, or a presentation.
Tips for Improvement
Further exploration of the actual dig rather than the aristocracy behind the mission would help clarify the conflict and quicken the pacing. It would also allow the characters to develop beyond their origin stories to feel more developed with inner conflicts and transformations of the side characters beyond the protagonist's development.