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A Chat with Author Nathaniel Philbrick ... Life 2/26/2018 A chat with author Nathaniel Philbrick - Entertainment & Life - The Cape Codder - Brewster, MA Entertainment & Life A chat with author Nathaniel Philbrick By Douglas Karlson Posted Nov 27, 2015 at 2:01 AM In the summer of 2014, Nantucket author and historian Nathaniel Philbrick found himself on the deck of Mystic Seaport Museum’s newly restored whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, as she sailed through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Provincetown. As he saw whales spouting all around him, Philbrick must have imagined himself a crewmember aboard the ill-fated Essex, the subject of his best-selling book and winner of the 2000 American National Book Award, “In the Heart of the Sea.” The Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship, was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in the South Pacific in 1819. Crewmembers survived for more than 90 days aboard the ship’s tiny whaleboats, and their tale inspired Herman Melville to write “Moby Dick.” But fans of Philbrick’s book won’t have to sail into Cape Cod Bay aboard a 19th century bark to conjure up images of this epic story of survival at sea, as Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard will bring it to them on big screens across the country on Dec. 11. In advance of that, on Wednesday, December 2, Philbrick will give a talk and sign books at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. (Tickets are sold out.) Philbrick promised to provide the audience with a “glimpse behind the curtain,” at the making of the movie, for which he also served as a consultant. “I’ll also be talking about the process, how I came to write [the book], and use that to dovetail into the how it became a beautiful movie,” he said. Philbrick has seen the finished film, and is happy with the adaptation. “It’s really exciting,” he said, “I was very pleased with it.” He added that he considers himself “very lucky to have a director of the stature of Ron Howard to work on it.” The book’s film rights were optioned soon after its publication 15 years ago. But Philbrick noted that most books that are optioned never actually get made into movies. “That’s the fate of most books. After ten years I said, ‘I guess it’s not going to happen.’” His luck changed in 2013 when Australian actor Chris Hemsworth became interested in the story, and, as they say in Hollywood, “attached” himself to the project. Howard, who had worked with Hemsworth on the 2013 movie “Rush,” soon followed. To prepare for the film, Howard met with Philbrick, and exchanged numerous phone calls. To research the story, Howard read Philbrick’s history of Nantucket, as well as another of Philbrick’s books, “Why Read Moby Dick,” which the director found very useful. The author said that Howard was also very interested in echo communication between whales, which he represents visually in the film, though Philbrick said we’ll have to see the movie to understand. The director also drew on scenes from the novel “Moby Dick,” which Philbrick said gives the film “visual richness.” http://brewster.wickedlocal.com/article/20151127/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/151127507 1/2 2/26/2018 A chat with author Nathaniel Philbrick - Entertainment & Life - The Cape Codder - Brewster, MA Philbrick’s own interest in the story of the Essex began after he moved to Nantucket in 2013. He explored the history of the island and in 1993 published “Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and its People, 1602-1890.” One chapter of that book is dedicated to the tragedy of the Essex. Something about the story nagged at Philbrick. He recalled that it took a few years for him to realize that the tale of the Essex was more than just about local history, it was a story of survival at sea. A story that had universal appeal. What resulted was his sensational bestseller. It’s interesting to note that this will be the second maritime film this holiday season, both with a Cape and Islands connection. “The Finest Hours,” about the famous Chatham Coast Guard rescue of the Pendleton and co-written by Philbrick’s friend, Michael Tougias, will be released Jan. 29. “It’s great to have both stories come to the screen the same season,” Philbrick said. It’s subject matter for which readers and audiences, whether in 1819 or 2015, seem to have an enduring and unchanging appetite: survival at sea. But some things have changed. Remembering back to that day off Provincetown aboard the Charles W. Morgan, surrounded by whales, Philbrick noted that when the Morgan sailed, “whales were the prey.” “It’s completely transformed. Now here is a ship that hunted whales surrounded by them, flourishing. People are passionately interested in whales and their survival on the planet.” The irony is not lost on Philbrick, nor unappreciated. SIGN UP FOR DAILY E-MAIL Wake up to the day’s top news, delivered to your inbox http://brewster.wickedlocal.com/article/20151127/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/151127507 2/2.
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