For those of you (we assume it’s all of you) who have seen the iconic 1975 film Jaws, know that one of the more important scenes feature Brody (Roy Scheider), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Quint (Robert Shaw) having a drink in the boat’s galley and comparing scars. Quint has a scar where a tattoo once was. When Hooper asks him about it, Quint explains it was a tattoo from when he was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis and Hooper falls back in seat in shock. Quint explains to Brody that “Eleven-hundred men went into the water. Three-hundred and sixteen men came out – sharks took the rest.” Quints tale was based on a true story.
Soon we will be getting a film that reveals more of Quint’s back story. It follows the story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the men who both lived and died when the ship was hit and sank while on a secret mission in the Philippine Sea in 1945. Over 300 men went down with the ship, the rest faced five days in the water, suffering from the elements, illness and shark attacks. Because of the ship’s secret mission, it was four days before they were even reported missing. By then many of the men were dead.
The film, titled USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, directed by Mario Van Peebles (Ali, New Jack City, Roots, Once Upon a Time), stars Nicolas Cage as Captain Charles Butler McVay. McVay was very real. He was court-martialed because of the accident, then exonerated over half a century later. Tom Sizemore, Thomas Jane, Matt Lanter, Cody Walker, Brian Presley, Weronika Rosati, Emily Tennant, and Callard Harris, are just a few of those who will co-star along side Cage.
Variety claimed the exclusive on the USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage trailer (below).
