If there's one thing that Ron Howard is better at than almost anyone else, it's small scale, personal tragedies. Three men trapped in a spaceship orbiting the moon, desperately hoping that NASA can get them home, that sort of thing. So when it came time for Hollywood to make a film adaptation of In the Heart of the Sea, there was no one we'd rather have behind the camera. It's the true story of a whaling ship that was sunk by a sperm whale in the 1820s, and the four survivors who were left to float in a life raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for months. When you're making a movie like that, the success of your film lives and dies with the actors you put in that boat. After all, they're the ones who are going to be carrying the bulk of the screen time. The biggest reason why we're excited about In the Heart of the Sea is the men that they cast: Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins), Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Tom Holland (The Impossible).
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
