Open Water director Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau have been reunited by Warner Bros. for Indianapolis. The film will be an adaptation of Douglas Stanton’s book In Harm’s Way.
The story focuses on the World War 2 crusier, the U.S.S. Indianapolis. The crusier was sunk by the Japanese after a top secret mission to deliver materials that helped construct the atomic bomb that would later be dropped on Hiroshima. The men on board the crusier floated in the shark-infested Philippine Sea for about five days before they were rescued. Even then, only about 317 of the 900 men who were on the crusier were saved.
The film will also have a bit more of a backstory to it. It will tell why the crusier‘s distress signal was ignored for awhile, how the survivors were spotted accidently, and how the government eventually made a scape goat out of Captain Charles McVay.
I’m a WWII buff, so this looks like it would definitely be something I’d go see. It really was a tragedy what happened, and it was a shame that the government placed the blame on someone who wasn’t at fault. McVay eventually killed himself over the accusations placed upon him. It should be a very interesting film. However, I’m a bit mixed about Kentis directing. I wasn’t a fan of Open Water at all, and he hasn’t dont anything since then. It just seems like a very big project for someone who hasn’t really proved himself.
Then again, Variety reported that Kentis has been obsessed over the U.S.S. Indianapolis tragedy for years. He even used it as a sort of basis for Open Water. He apparently even made Open Water just to prove that he could handle the story of the Indianapolis. I got to give the guy credit…he’s passionate about the project. Hopefully this passion will translate into a well-written story on the screen.