This three-part limited series traces the rise and fall of maverick scientist and explorer Tommy Thompson — from his discovery of the wreck of the S.S. Central America to the turmoil that led to his prison sentence.
In 1989, Tommy Thompson recovered three tons of gold and historically priceless artefacts. Despite this achievement, he would be faced with litigation, deception and personal turmoil for the next three decades as he tried to hold onto his find. Facing serious allegations, accused of defrauding his 161 investors, he went from ship deck to courtroom to prison cell. How — and why — did Tommy’s extraordinary success unravel?
Lost Gold sifts through 600 hours of archive footage and thousands of slides, prints, photos and newspaper clippings on the original exploration mission — the majority of which have never been seen before. In addition, Nat Geo and BBC Studios have access to original footage and images, including archives from the court-ordered mission to recover the remaining gold from the site.
Halo provided full Picture and Sound Post Production.
Exec Producer, Alex Leith says, “From my perspective (coming into the edits for viewings, reviewing playouts and overseeing final post), you guys did a great job. Your post team are lovely, excellent and incredibly patient with a variety of last minute editorial changes that meant the projects extended and bounced between grade, on-line and dub. As you know, we were really up to the wire with final delivery, and Alice et al managed to move things around to prioritise us and get things done – and you seem to have dealt with the endless QC bounce-backs and arcane deliverables with zen-like patience.”
Exec Producer: Alex Leith
Director: Sam Benstead
Colourist: Karl Barnes-Dallas
Online /Flame Team: Connor Gaffney, Eduard Fadgyas, Caoimhe McCarthy & Tom Young
Sound team: Tom Foster Jay Price, Adam Johnson, & Sam Castleton
Post Producer: Alice Boreham
Halo Sales Exec: Will Garbutt
‘Cursed Gold: A Shipwreck Scandal’ is available now on NAT GEO & Disney +