F e r o c i o u s
The Daring Adventures of the Celebrated and Notorious Pirate Paul Jones
John
Paul Jones leaves Scotland as a 13 year old "boy sailor" and becomes the most famous naval hero in the world.
“I was formed for love and friendship, not to be a seaman or a soldier.”
A reluctant warrior, a commoner and
a former ‘pirate,’ he’d much prefer to be a poet or lover.
Famous for his savage fighting skills and audacious victories in the American Revolution, he becomes a Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy. He wins battles on the Black Sea but is blindsided by two jealous princes.
Reviled by the London press as a “Blood Sucking Pirate,” because he so notably defeated the British Navy’s “HMS Serapis,” his name is a legend of eternal glory.
In the streets of Glasgow, the nurses of Scotland
Hush their crying charges by the whisper of his name. Benjamin Disreali
John Paul Jones is Ferocious
John Paul Jones won the most celebrated sea battle in the American Revolution, as captain of “The Bonhomme Richard,” against the British battleship “HMS Serapis.” After the Revolution, he is invited by Catherine the Great to serve in the Russian Imperial Navy. Jones fights valiantly against the Ottoman Turks, wins important battles, becomes an honorary member of the Cossacks, but he is blindsided by two jealous Russian Princes.
“My lustrous friend, on the tossing waves of the sea, you are unequaled. On the shiny parquet floors of the palaces, you are undone.”General Alexander Suvorov
An historical drama, set in the 1780s, FEROCIOUS includes 18th century naval battles, glittering Russian palaces, deep romance and vicious intrigues. Similar to Master & Commander, Amadeus, Barry Lyndon, 12 Years a Slave.
Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, is more powerful than the Pharaohs, than the Emperors of old, by far the world’s most potent monarch. Her reign covers 1/6th the surface of the globe.
At war against the Ottomans for
control of Crimea, Catherine invites the brilliant American naval commander
because he is audacious - willing to take outrageous, extraordinary risks.
Arriving in St. Petersburg, Jones is enchanted by the soul of Russia. Catherine
is enamored by the rugged American and openly flits with him.
Nevertheless, Jones falls in love with a young Russian noble woman, Anna Sheremeteva, the Empress's closest confidant and a Lady of the Court. When Catherine learns of their secret love affair, she is livid. The love story of America’s great hero Jones with the heroic Anna, a powerful Russian woman, and his love for Russia, are the basis of the story.
Catherine the Great is one of Russia’s greatest monarchs, beloved to this day. Likewise, Jones is a great hero of France, a Chévalier (Knight of France) and member of the French National Assembly. Jones and Benjamin Franklin were close friends, Masonic Brethren at the Paris Lodge of the Nine Sisters, La Loge des Neuf Sœurs.
FEROCIOUS:
The Daring Adventures of the Celebrated and Notorious Pirate Paul Jones
Roles
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· John Paul Jones, 32, is best known for his blood-curdling reply to the British demand for surrender: “I have not yet begun to fight!” A brilliant radical, an immensely popular historic personality and media superstar, he is later dubbed “Father of the US Navy.”
· Catherine the Great, 58, Empress of all Russia, is the world’s most powerful woman. Her reign covers 1/6th the surface of the globe. She invites Jones to be 'volunteer', first a Major General, then a Rear Admiral in the Russian Imperial Navy.
· · Prince Grigori Potemkin, 35, known for building false front “Potemkin Villages,” is nearly as powerful as an Emperor himself, a very famous character of Russian history, Catherine’s Generalissimo in charge of the entire army and navy.
Karl Von Nassau-Seigen, 33, Prince of a tiny German
principality, is an arrogant aristocrat, a muscular bully. Catherine’s distant 6th cousin, he's also a Rear Admiral in the Russian Navy.
He despises Jones, sees him as a commoner, a street-fighting “corsair” and a rival, with whom he
will not cooperate.
Anna Sheremeteva, 28, a beautiful young noble woman of the Russian court, is the Empress’s Maid-of-Honor and her close confidante. However, Anna and Jones have a secret forbidden love affair.
1. Supporters of the project so far
- John J. McMullen, eminent naval architect and marine engineer, was the first benefactor of this project. He was a distinguished US Naval Academy graduate class of 1940 that led the rebuilding of the John Paul Jones crypt in Annapolis. Former owner of the New York Yankees, the New Jersey Devils and the Houston Astros. He passed away in 2005.
- Dave McComb, of the Destroyers Veterans’ website “Tin Can Sailor” was also an early supporter.
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Dimitri Devyatkin, Producer, Writer (c) 2021
registered WGA West 1925415
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