Tate Taylor Sails To USS Indianapolis Project

He'll swim with sharks for producer Robert Downey Jr.

Tate Taylor Sails To USS Indianapolis Project

by James White |
Published on

Tate-Taylor-USS-Indianapolis-Project

After trying for several years to float a film based on the real-life seaborne tragedy of the USS Indianapolis, Warner Bros. finally made waves in 2011 when Robert Downey Jr. and his producing partner/wife Susan Downey hopped aboard to steer the cinematic ship. They’ve now landed The Help’s Tate Taylor to direct the film.

As most famously chronicled by Robert Shaw’s Quint in Steven Spielberg's **Jaws{ =nofollow}, Japanese torpedoes sank the Indianapolis in July 1945. Approximately 300 of the 1196 crew went down with the ship and the remaining 880 faced dehydration, exposure and shark attacks while awaiting rescue. Only 321 were ultimately plucked from the water, and of those just 316 survived.

Warner Bros. has the life rights to Hunter Scott, the 11-year-old lad who in 1996 was inspired by Spielberg's shark pic to write a report about the vessel and her ill-fated crew for a History Day competition. His research ended up vindicating captain Charles McVay, who had been court-martialled over the incident and committed suicide in 1968. Scott testified before Congress in 2000 and in 2001, the US Navy amended McVay’s record.

Though there have been several drafts of the script through the years as directors and producers came and went, Mike Jones – who wrote spec In The Event Of A Moon Disaster, to which Taylor is also attached – has been brought in to start from scratch. “We are excited about Tate’s unique visual and narrative approach in telling this complex story which features multiple time periods and many perspectives,” Susan Downey tells Deadline. “Mike is a skilled partner who will help shepherd Tate’s creative vision and we are thrilled to have both as part of our team.”

Taylor, who most recently directed Get On Up, has several projects in development in addition to Moon Disaster, with Versailles ’73 and Joyland bubbling away in contention.

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