Log Line
A reluctant magnate is given the throne in a race against time to thwart two foreign invasions at opposite ends of the kingdom. If he fails, his people and loved ones face catastrophe.
Script Info
Script Type: Feature
Genre: Action/Adventure / Drama
Length: 123 pages
Est. Budget: Over $10M
Screenplay Synopsis
When it becomes clear the ageing KING EDWARD will die childless, the kingdom’s most powerful magnate, HAROLD GODWINESON, realises that Normandy, Denmark and Norway may all press violent claims to England’s throne. Harold visits Normandy to defuse the threat, but fails to persuade the warmongering DUKE WILLIAM that his claim to Edward’s crown is based on a tragic and fraudulent lie.
Upon returning to England, Harold has another problem. His brother TOSTIG, Earl of Northumbria, has lost control of the north through heavy-handed governance. When Harold warns Tostig he must unite the north to meet the challenge from Normandy, his violent brother employs death squads to murder the north’s leading separatists.
Outraged, England’s ferocious north rises in rebellion. Harold is able to prevent civil war only by taking the grievous step of giving in to the rebels and replacing Tostig with the rebel leader MORCAR as earl. The fiery confrontation between Harold and Tostig causes King Edward to have a stroke (Tostig is his favourite). When Tostig is banished, he vows a terrible revenge upon Harold.
Edward never recovers and dies in January 1066. Harold is made king by England’s royal council, but is faced with another heart-rending decision to set aside his loving wife, EDITH, and marry ALDITHA, Morcar’s sister, as the only way to unite the kingdom.
The Normans prepare to invade. But when an invasion does come, it’s not William but the terrifying king of Norway, Harald SIGURDSSON, accompanied by a vengeful Tostig. Morcar’s army confronts them at Fulford but is defeated. Harold force-marches the English army north and falls upon the victorious Norse at Stamford Bridge. Both Tostig and Sigurdsson are killed in the epic struggle, and the invading army is almost completely annihilated.
Scarcely has a mortified Harold buried his brother than word comes that the Normans have landed at Hastings. Marching his battered army south, Harold confronts William in England’s most famous battle just outside Hastings. The fateful fight lasts nine hours, during which an increasingly desperate William repeatedly fails to break the English shield-wall. But as dusk comes on, and English reinforcements arrive on the battlefield, William casts his fate on one final throw of the dice, and forever changes England’s history.
About This Screenplay
I love English history, especially when it was fought on my doorstep in southern England, as was England’s most pivotal battle. 1066 is the most famous date in English history and has been completely overlooked in the historical action/adventure feature genre. Not any more!
Contact:dayp777@gmail.com
Connect:
