Legacy Artifacts: the First in the Warm World Mysteries
Logline
The detective Buck Jaspers is hired by the Peruvian consul in Miami to recover two mummies that have been stolen from the national museum. An assistant curator is missing and is believed to be in Florida with the mummies. Buck chases his leads to Orlando and a billionaire who collects mummies.
Genre
Mystery
Short Summary
Buck Jaspers narrating "My boot was stuck in black muck again. . . . How did I find myself in Central Florida, chasing an anthropologist, looking for wealthy recluses, driving in road races, and traipsing through swamps filled with alligators and pythons?" A Peruvian consul hires him to find mummies
Buck and his operatives solve the mystery, but an ICE agent and her crew arrive to arrest the thief and his cronies. Buck had been cooperating with her and didn't mind if she got the credit as long as he and his operatives got paid.
Setting
Miami, Central Florida, Orlando
Based on a True Story
No
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain
Plot - Other Elements
Twist
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Main Character Details
Name: William "Buck" Jaspers
Age: 40s
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Charming,Confident,Decisive,Empathetic,Engaging,Faithful,Gracious,Educated,Honorable,Leader
Additional Character Details
Name: Sergio Atahualpa Mishioki
Age: 30s
Gender: Male
Role: Antagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Masculine,Aggressive,Charming,Sexy,Confident,Criminal,Decisive,Skillful,Seductive,Secretive,Gracious,Sophisticated,Manipulative,Unapologetic
Additional Character Details
Name: Carly Noble (ICE agent)
Age: 30s
Gender: Female
Role: logical
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aspiring,Badass,Aggressive,Sexy,Confident,Patriotic,Decisive,Skillful,Flexible,Strong Moral Code,Leader,Honorable
Additional Character Details
Name: Mo
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Role: sidekick
Key Traits: Adventurous,Aggressive,Complex,Confident,Flexible,Honorable,Aspiring,Charming,Empathetic,Engaging,Educated,Sophisticated,Skillful,Sexy
Development Pitch
Legacy Artifacts moves quickly as Buck gathers information about the thief Mishioki, the mummies (Romeo y Julieta de Los Andes),and possible wealthy recluses in Central Florida who have the capacity to build facilities that can hold a mummy collection. To find Mishioki, Buck has operatives staking out Peruvian restaurants and night clubs (Mishioki is a ladies man) around Orlando. One operative he uses is an 18-year-old university student Mo who applies to be his co-driver in sports car races (Mishioki is an enthusiast), but who attracts Mishioki. An ICE agent Carly Noble confronts Buck for stepping on her turf, so he agrees to keep her informed and to let her make the actual bust. Once he narrows his suspects to two wealthy recluses, he must hire a local swamp rat named Serenity to take him and operatives on airboats to investigate the properties. He narrows the search to one and Mo goes there with another operative posing as dates for Mishioki. Buck loses wi-fi contact with Mo, so he leads an intervention to save her and lets Carly know, so she can make the arrest.
Genre
ACTION, COMEDY, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, POLITICS, DRAMA
Brief
Private detective Buck Jaspers is on a mission to rescue 2 peruvian dummies and some stolen treasure for the Peruvian Embassy in Florida. Follow him as he encounters all the usual misfits that Florida has to offer on his adventure to save these artifacts.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: EXCELLENT
Franchise Potential: EXCELLENT
Pace: EXCELLENT
Premise: GOOD
Structure: GOOD
Theme: EXCELLENT
Accuracy of Book Profile
Yes but it could be more descriptive of the main characters.
Draw of Story
Florida is always a ripe environment for the greedy behavior of imbeciles and that is always entertaining.
Possible Drawbacks
It has a very Elmore Leonard kind of familiarity but that's ok.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
A jaded private eye, a hot ICE agent and missing treasure - what could possibly go wrong! Watch and see!
Fanbase Potential
This is a caper story in the realm of Elmore Leonard and to a lesser extent Carl Hiassen. These kind of madcap adventures have been successful in the past so it's possible it could have a base.
Awards Potential
No, Not that kind of film
Envisioned Budget
MEDIUM BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
LIVE BY NIGHT, STRIPTEASE, THE NICE GUYS
What’s New About the Story
It's a surprising location for a movie about stolen artifacts. I'm not so sure about trying to make an ICE agent a sympathetic character given the public sentiment about ICE right now.
Lead Characters
They are very driven.
Uniqueness of Story
Not rare, but still very entertaining.
Possible Formats
Film - Studio, Film - Indie, Film - Streaming, TV Series - Cable, TV Series - Network, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series, TV Series - Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
RECOMMEND
Justification
This is well written and has a lot of interesting plot points. It should be enough to make a decent film from and if the lead character is portrayed by the right actor it could end up a franchise.