As famously recounted in Quint's dramatic monologue in Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the fate of the USS Indianapolis is one of the most horrific tales of World War II. It's a story of capsize, starvation, dehydration, shark-attacks and death, and while there was ultimately a light at the end of the tunnel, that doesn't make the events any less brutal. Now those events will be getting brought to cinematic life courtesy of producer Robert Downey Jr. and director Tate Taylor - though they will be unfolding through the filter of a young boy looking to find justice for a hero in the whole mess.
The Wrap has the news out of Sundance at that the helmer of the Oscar-winning The Help and last year's Get On Up is now set to direct the USS Indinapolis-centric film, which does not yet have a title. The main story in the movie will be set in 1996 and follow an 11-year-old boy as he works to complete a school assignment about the famous sinking ship. During his research, he winds up discovering some strange inconsistencies, and quickly finds himself both trying to discover the truth about the disaster, and clearing the name of Captain Charles McVay - who was court-martialed after the incident.
For those unfamiliar with the story of the USS Indianapolis, in 1945 the ship was on a mission between Guam and Leyte, planning to deliver crew for training exercises, but was impeded when it was struck by two torpedoes launched by a Japanese submarine. Of the 1,196 people on board, 300 died as the vessel sank - but that was only the beginning of the nightmare. Navy command was unaware of the ship sinking, and as a result the men that had survived were left in the water for three and a half days. In this time, a vast majority of the men died from a laundry list of causes, including salt poisoning (from drinking the sea water), hypothermia, shark attacks, and suicide. Ultimately only 317 members of the Indianapolis crew survived the ordeal.
We actually first heard about this project all the way back in 2011, but it's somewhat surprising that we actually didn't hear more about this film moving forward last year. This is because 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the USS Indianapolis sinking, and this movie sounds like it could actually be a great title to commemorate the events and pay respect to those who lost their lives. If filming started up last year, we could have seen the movie come together in time. At the same time, though, it's entirely possible that the script just hasn't been ready until now, and this is subject matter that definitely shouldn't be rushed.
As of now, we're not entirely sure when we might be seeing this project head towards the big screen. In the meantime, though, Tate Taylor's Get On Up is now available on Blu-ray and DVD, and Robert Downey Jr.'s first effort as an executive producer, The Judge, is currently in the Oscar race thanks to a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Robert Duvall. And, of course, you'll next be able to see Downey Jr. on screen once again playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in Joss Whedon's The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
