It was a day of fishing that turned into tragedy. Now, it’s being made into two movies.
Producer Rick French with Prix Productions has worked closely with the only survivor, Nick Schuyler, since just days after the rescue.
“Our goal and our plan from day one was simply to honor the memories of the guys and his friends that he lost out there that day,” French said.
In 2009, Schuyler, a former USF football player, was found by the Coast Guard on top of a capsized boat after more than 40 hours in the Gulf.
His best friend, Will Bleakley, and NFL veterans Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith all died one by one trying to survive in the cold, rough waters.
WATCH: First of two films on football players' deadly boating accident to premiere in St. Petersburg
“Hypothermia, sharks. All of the elements they faced out there. The issues those guys encountered is something that I don’t know how any human being could have lived through the pounding they took,” said French.
According to Schuyler’s account in his book Not Without Hope, Cooper’s boat capsized after he gunned the engine trying to pull up the anchor that was stuck.
Steven Cantor is the director of the new documentary, "Four Down," about the ordeal.
“One little mistake. The anchor got stuck, and all they had to do was cut the anchor. It would have cost $500, and everything would have been fine,” Canton said.
Creators shot reenactments in a huge water tank in the Dominican Republic.
“I was kind of Michael Bay saying smoke on the horizon. Go! Underwater divers, dump tanks. Make waves. Flip the boat over. We had an underwater cinematographer. It was intense,” said Cantor.
They also used 250 actual Coast Members to recreate the rescue.
“I don’t know if that’s really ever been done before,” French said.
French said the real heroes of the documentary are those Coast Guard members from Sector St. Pete who risked their lives.
“You hear from them about what they were encountering and the pressure they were feeling in the widest search pattern possible out there in the Gulf, they kept going,” said French.
The families of Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith did not participate in the documentary.
French said Schulyer has lost touch with them.
“Not through a lack of trying. You know it’s very hard when he was able to make it out of this, and their loved ones weren’t,” French said.
Later this year, a feature film is coming out about the accident starring Zachary Levi as Schuyler, along with Josh Duhamel and JoBeth Williams.
Like Schuyler’s book, it’s called Not Without Hope.
Schulyer is married with kids and has run his own gym in Lutz for the last decade.
“I saw how difficult for him to try and recover from the PTSD that he experienced through this unfortunate incident, and so it’s good to see him healthy and happy and working with others,” French said.
“Four Down” will premiere at the Sunscreen Film Festival at AMC Sundial Theater on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m.
The documentary will screen again on Sunday, April 27 at 5 p.m.
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