Age: 64
male
Ted Elliott (born 1961) is an American screenwriter. Along with his writing partner Terry Rossio, Elliott has written some of the most successful American films of the past 15 years, including Aladdin, Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean. In 2004, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America; his term on the board ended in 2006. Along with fellow former board member Craig Mazin, Elliott runs The Artful Writer, a website aimed at professional screenwriters. He is also a co-founder with Terry Rossio of Wordplay a.k.a. Wordplayer.com, one of the premier screenwriting sites on the Internet. In 2005, Elliott ran for president of the Writers Guild of America, west, but lost to animation writer and historical figurine maker Patric Verrone. Verrone received 1301 votes; Elliott received 591.
During the year 1866, ships of various nationalities sight a mysterious sea monster, which, it is later suggested, might be a gigantic narwhal. The U.S. government assembles an expedition in New York City to find and destroy the monster. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist and the story's narrator, is in town at the time and receives a last-minute invitation to join the expedition; he accepts. Canadian whaler and master harpooner Ned Land and Aronnax's faithful manservant Conseil are also among the participants. The expedition leaves Manhattan's 34th Street Pier aboard the United States Navy frigate Abraham Lincoln, then travels south around Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean. After a five-month search ending off Japan, the frigate locates and attacks the monster, which damages the ship's rudder. The three protagonists are hurled into the sea and ultimately climb onto the monster, which, they are startled to find, is a futuristic submarine. They wait on the deck of the vessel until morning, when they are captured, hauled inside, and introduced to the submarine's mysterious constructor and commander, Captain Nemo.
