In The Heart Of The Sea 2015 Magazine

AWHALE TALE OF A

A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF

in theaters December 11, 2015

WATCH THE TRAILER Page 1

COME ABOARD THE ESSEX Page 6

MEET THE CAST AND CREW Pages 4 and 5

SCHOLASTIC AND ASSOCIATED LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS AND/OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF SCHOLASTIC INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A W H A L E O F A TA L E © 2015 WARNER BROS . ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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in theaters December 11, 2015

A Whale of a Tale The famous author Herman Melville, searching for his next story, heard the first-person account of the tale and this real-life maritime disaster would inspire Melville’s Moby-Dick, the fictional story of a monstrous whale.

WATCH THE TRAILER! SAVE THE DATE

Don’t forget to catch the movie out in theaters December 11, 2015

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PHOTOS: © 2014 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

IN THE WINTER OF 1820, the New England whaleship Essex was attacked by something in the South Pacific. An enormous whale destroyed the Essex, leaving its survivors adrift in the middle of the world’s largest ocean.

EXPLORE THE BOOK

A CHAT WITH

Nathaniel Philbrick

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF IN THE HEART OF THE SEA IN AN INTERVIEW ON THE SET OF THE FILM! DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU HEARD THAT YOUR BOOK WAS GOING TO BE TURNED INTO A FILM? NP: Well, it’s been a while in development, but it was really last winter when Ron Howard got involved that I went, wow, this could actually happen. And so it’s been a fascinating process to watch.

AS AN AUTHOR, IS IT HARD TO LET YOUR BOOK GO AND BECOME A MOVIE? WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT MADE YOU NERVOUS? NP: It’s a totally different medium, and it’s very collaborative. I know from working on books that you need to have your own artistic vision and I know Ron Howard (the director) needs to have his.

The exciting new film In the Heart of the Sea is based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s fantastic book.

Published in 2000, this thrilling nonfiction tale tells the story of the Nantucket whaling ship that sailed into the Pacific and never came back.

Nathaniel Philbrick grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but fell in love with sailing at an early age. Once he became a professional writer, sailing was a natural subject for him. Moving to the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, further enabled him to explore his interest in sailing and the high seas.

HAVE YOU MET ANY OF THE STARS HERE? NP: I met Chris Hemsworth, who could not be more polite and congenial.

And, you know, hey, Thor, man. You know, so that was very exciting!

WHAT DO YOU THINK MELVILLE WOULD SAY IF HE WALKED ON TO THIS SET? NP: He published Moby-Dick, which did not sell. It was the end of his career as a popular novelist, and I think, for him, it would be amazing.

A W H A L E O F A TA L E

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in theaters December 11, 2015

JODY JOHNSON

VFX (VISUAL EFFECTS) SUPERVISOR, DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Q: What were some challenges you faced when working on In the Heart of the Sea? A: Our biggest challenge was the fact that 80 percent of the film took place at sea! Some of the footage was shot at sea and some in a studio with a green screen in place for us to replace with skies and oceans. The success of a film is all about the characters,

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so our design of the whale was crucial. We had to give him history, gravitas, and raw animal aggression. The audience needed to like him (we were under strict instructions not to create a monster!). Getting this balance right was really tough.

Q: What advice would you give a young person interested in working on visual effects for film?

A: At Double Negative we have artists, scientists, and computer programmers all

working together to create something magical. The one thing they all have in common is a passion for film and a constant desire to learn and improve what they do. Remember, you’re never too young to get involved. Make films with your friends, check online to find free beginners’ animation courses (you’d be amazed by how many free courses are available), and find out as much as you can about the industry to understand all your options.

PHOTOS: © 2015 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Q&A With the Crew

MEET THE CAST & CREW

CHRIS HEMSWORTH First Mate Owen Chase

“In the Heart of the Sea is an origin story. It’s the factual events that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. It’s a story of man versus nature, man versus himself, man versus man.”

“As the actor playing Herman Melville…I came to understand what I could use to make Moby-Dick the great novel it turned out to be and the story we all remember.”

BENJAMIN WALKER

RON HOWARD

“That is extremely rare to have such a great group of people… It’s an ensemble of actors that probably comes along once, twice in a lifetime, in a career.”

“More than ever I’m compelled to try to find stories that won’t look, feel, or sound exactly like everything else that’s out there.”

Captain George Pollard Jr.

Behind the scenes on the set of Warner Bros.

Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ action adventure In the Heart of the Sea, distributed worldwide by Warner Bros.

Pictures and in select territories

by Village Roadshow Pictures.

CILLIAN MURPHY

Second Mate Matthew Joy

“We would go out for a day when we were shooting at the Canaries, and come back completely beat and completely wrecked.”

ANTHONY DOD MANTLE

cinematography available and necessary to achieve the task.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Q: What did you do to help tell the film’s story?

A: My personal opinion is that between the lines of every written script there lies an infinite ocean of poetic artistic possibility— that is what it is all about.

DPs have to maintain the quality of every shot as best we can by pushing not only ourselves but everyone on set to the utmost to achieve the best for the film.

Q: What are some of the responsibilities of the DP? A: The director of photography or DP’s responsibility is to reproduce the combined work of all respective departments on the set and channel this through our own trained eye... and through the lens. All while utilizing an understanding of artistic composition, respecting narrative storytelling, and incorporating all tools of

BEN WHISHAW

Novelist Herman Melville

Director

TOM HOLLAND

Cabin Boy Thomas Nickerson

“I play Tom Nickerson, who is 14 years old.

It’s the first time he’s ever been out on a voyage and he’s the cabin boy aboard the Essex. Tom Nickerson is probably one of the hardest kids I’ve ever come across.”

Q: What advice would you give a young person interested in becoming a Director of Photography?

A: I spent the first half of my 20s looking outward at the world. I was restless, confused, and sometimes alienated but always faithful that I would find a door open for me one day.

This took time, but I never wasted my time, and that is the only advice I can give to my own kids and all the younger ones I meet and love to encourage.

A W H A L E O F A TA L E

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in theaters December 11, 2015

MEET THE CREW OF

THE ESSEX

GEORGE POLLARD, JR., CAPTAIN Pollard was young and inexperienced as a captain. His decisions were questioned when the trouble started.

The Essex

The 83-foot-long Essex was a whaleship, a working boat that hunted whales and turned their blubber into valuable oil.

In 1819 the boat left Nantucket, Massachusetts, headed for the Pacific Ocean. It never returned.

The crew was a mix of seasoned sailors and young recruits. The young ones—some still teenagers—saw the trip as an adventure and a great chance to earn money. The ship had a reputation as being lucky, and

the entire crew departed in presumably good spirits.

The voyage of the Essex took it south around the tip of South America and into the Pacific Ocean. There, it would hunt whales.

Whaleships turned whale blubber into oil, stored it, and carried that oil back to their home ports. Normally, the Essex returned to Nantucket every two years with enough oil to make its owners wealthy. However, on this fateful trip, a giant whale would sink the Essex.

STAR POWER

COMING SOON!

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Check out this interview with In the Heart of the Sea star Chris Hemsworth!

MATTHEW JOY, SECOND MATE Joy had control of his own whaling boat. After the disaster, it became a lifeboat. Joy led one of the boats of survivors.

THOMAS NICKERSON, CABIN BOY Thrilled to join the crew of the Essex, 14-yearold Nickerson had grown up around the whaling ships docked in Nantucket’s harbor.

PHOTOS: © 2015 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COME ABOARD

OWEN CHASE, FIRST MATE Chase had a lot of experience, although he was only in his early 20s. His job was to see that the captain’s orders were carried out.