CLEARWATER, Fla. — In 2009, four friends became lost at sea after their boat capsized off the coast of Clearwater.
A movie will now be made about the 43-hour ordeal in the Gulf of Mexico.
Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, was the only person to survive. The U.S. Coast Guard found him clinging to the engine mount of the capsized boat.
Will Bleakley, along with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, died during the ordeal.
Schuyler wrote a book called "Not Without Hope." The non-fiction book is now being turned into a movie with the same title.
"We can’t bring them back to life, but what we can do is try to tell a story that lets people know how they lived, not just how they died, and that’s what we’re setting out to do," said Rick French, the film's producer.
Rick French, producer with Prix Productions, said filming is taking place in the island state of Malta.
"It follows Nick and his three friends as they embark from Clearwater on a fishing trip, 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, and unfortunately, the boat capsizes after the anchor gets stuck," said film producer Rick French.
Crews are using huge water tanks, which were also used in films like "Captain Phillips." French said Florida is not ideal for film production, saying the state lacks film tax incentives and huge water tanks.
"We are likely to come to Clearwater to do some exterior shots to help establish where the film is set for authenticity, but it probably will not include any of the lead actors because we’ve already shot those roles, and honestly, that’s a byproduct of the lack of state incentives for film and the fact that Florida doesn’t have the kind of open water facility that we need to shoot a major motion picture like this and do it safely," said French.
The movie features Zachary Levi, who will play Nick Schuyler, and Josh Duhamel, who plays the U.S. Coast Guard Captain at the time.
"Everyone worked together as teammates, as you would expect, guys who played football and were used to working together to execute a play. In this case, they worked together to try to save each other. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to beat Mother Nature and the elements."
The film is expected to be released in the fall of 2024.
