"Truth is so special it should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." - Winston Churchill
Tensions mount on both sides of the Atlantic as a U.K. TV broadcaster and top U.S. investigative reporter clash with powerful institutions determined to suppress the true cause of a mass fatality event.
The Blackwater Project interweaves the pace, pressure and perils of investigative journalism with the duplicity and menace of institutional concealment.
During one sunny afternoon, the Thames becomes a river of death. Casualties include the sons of powerful politicians and international businessmen competing at Henley Royal Regatta. Demands for answers against the imperative for secrecy has protagonists and protectors on a collision course.
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Moving through institutions such as 10 Downing Street, the White House, the BBC and The Washington Post, the screenplay draws on contemporary concerns around secrecy, accountability and erosion of public confidence in politicians and authority.
As officials attempt to contain the fallout, media scrutiny and public anxiety gather force, widening the crisis beyond the event itself.
At the centre lies a covert defence apparatus in which institutional self-preservation, financial patronage and the public's right to know become directly opposed.
Central characters are confronted by choices that test loyalty, ambition, conscience and survival. Disaster looms for decisions made under intense personal and political pressures.
As our protagonists draw closer to the truth, the U.K. Prime Minister and U.S. President are drawn ever deeper into a crisis.
Executive action prevents our protagonists from garnering sufficient evidence to release the story. Bonded by a rekindled relationship, they set aside personal threats to break the story via novel means.
Public anger, reaching from centres of state power to the headquarters of a global corporation linked to The Blackwater Project, gives the drama a breadth which extends far beyond the investigation itself.
Concealment by deception becomes more destructive than the originating circumstances, carrying the narrative towards a climax as power plays unravel. Protestors besiege the deceivers. Stock markets wobble. Our protagonists reap rewards. Others will pay the price.
The Blackwater Project is inspired by an award-winning career spanning news reporting, corporate marketing directorships and leadership of a communications consultancy serving global clients.
It is offered to producers, directors and representatives with expertise in optimising returns from this genre.
A PDF of the screenplay is available on request. Novel pending.