Need help with my location

I am stuck on where to set my latest script. I was going to have it be in Jakarta but it turns out that it’s the second most densely populated place on earth. Damnit!

What I need is a medium to small non western city in a tropical area that people will not immediately recognize. It has to be right on the coast. It has to have an area within 100 miles that’s not populated where the super awesome, uber secret testing facility that no one would notice could be located. Jakarta had everything I wanted minus the huge population. Lots of cool history and such. Anyone have any suggestions?

odocoileus said:

http://www.papuaweb.org/goi/pp/peta-hr.gif

Papua New Guinea is in the same part of the world, has much less population, dense jungles, big mining operations, and in the Irian Jaya part, warfare and political turmoil that might be useful in amping up the drama.

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That just may be perfect

odocoileus said:

http://www.papuaweb.org/goi/pp/peta-hr.gif

Papua New Guinea is in the same part of the world, has much less population, dense jungles, big mining operations, and in the Irian Jaya part, warfare and political turmoil that might be useful in amping up the drama.

Click to expand...

Everything about Papa New Guinea seemed perfect, having it take place at Port Moresby, but there is one problem. It starts off on a cruise ship that gets blown off course. I cant figure out where the cruise would be coming from where the storm could throw them to Port Morseby and have it make sense. The characters cant know where they are. A cruise around Indonesia might work but I think that Port Moresby would be too far away? The northen part of Australia appears to have nothing there, so a cruise would not be going there. It just seems that in order for a crusie ship to get close enough to wash up at Port Moresby they would know where they are. (Before getting lost all communication systems fail, big wave comes and throws them off course, so they can be a hundred miles off course or so i figure).

Here are some big selling points for Port Moresby:

Old WWII base at Port Morseby

In 1994 Port Moresby was ranked the worst place in the world to live, in the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking of 130 of the world's capital cities. High levels of rape, robbery and murder and large areas of the city controlled by gangs of thugs, known locally as "raskols" were cited. According to a 1994 article in the Guardian[1] newspaper, unemployment rates are estimated to be between 60 and 90% and murder rates three times that of Moscow and 23 times the rate in London.

The dry climate created by this leads to occasional drought and drinking-water shortages, but the mountains also shield the city from the heavy rains that regularly sweep across the rest of the region from May to November. With offshore protection provided by coral reefs, the rain shadow also helps to insulate the harbour from harsh weather approaching from the northwest.

no brak€$ said:

Western Australia could be good as well. Wouldn't have to worry about subtitles, and not to mention, I feel it is more likely what you are writing would be ONLY found in a Western Country.

However, if you are feeling like you can't change things (it happens to everyone), I think these would be good choices as well:

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Many parts of Northeastern Brazil

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It needs to be a decent sized city so i dont think Western Australia would work, and its actually good for there to be peopel speaking a foriegn language.

Dubai would be cool because of all the press its been getting, but you would know in a second where you were, plus it doesnt fit the criteria of the ship getting lost (Although i didnt say that at first so you didnt know!)

Phnom Penh isnt on the ocean, a river wouldnt work, same with Brazil

Thanks though - you sent me on a fun adventure through Google Earth!

odocoileus said:

http://searchwarp.com/swa7464.htm

there are cruises that port in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. So the Brisbane to Darwin, or Perth to Darwin leg of a cruise might work.

http://www.worldstats.org/continents/australia/maps/australia_political.jpg


govt. officials in Port Moresby would speak English. the general public would speak pidgin and their tribal language. You may want to set your story in an out of the way place, far away from any big city. More isolation = more tension, more at stake, more of an alien environment.

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Very cool ... Could someone have an organic farm somewhere in Australia (Where one of the crops is [font=&quot]marijuana)?[/font]

odocoileus said:

google "marijuana farm" +"Northern Territory". apparently the tropical climate, sparse population, rural isolation, and general indifference to govt. authority make it a favored region for weed growers.

maybe you'll have to make a trip for "research"

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Perhaps i will. It is about time for a vacation

thanks for all your help

Mac H. said:

That's what people in Australia say as well. "Perth is a nice place to live, but it's so far from the city.."

Just some background - the largest city in Western Australia (Perth) has 1.5 million people - and very cute wildlife (quokkas)

http://heleneinperth.canalblog.com/images/quokka.JPG

Ignoring the language issue, Northern Territory as already mentioned would be better - it is known for crocodiles, etc and visually very impressive scenery.

Oh yes - plenty of space to grow weed too..

Mac
(PS: There is a BIG reason to film in Australia .v. Papua New Guinea - filming here gives you access to government funding and great tax subsidies.)

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Filming in the most dangerous city in the world wont be a ton of laughs either but the crime and gangs will add a ton to my script so i think im going to go with that.