20 Biggest Movies Of 2015: What Do We Already Know?
15. In The Heart Of The Sea
Who's involved? After the success of Rush, Howard's best film in years, the director has kept faith in star Chris Hemsworth and writer Peter Morgan, the latest of many scripters to take a pass at Nathaniel Philbrick's true-life Moby Dick book. The rest of the cast includes Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's Benjamin Walker along with Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland and Brendan Gleeson. Ben Whishaw takes on a small role as Herman Melville, taking inspiration from the real story for his great white whale novel. What's the story? All true and slightly surprisingly not already the subject of a major film drama, In the Heart of the Sea is the story of the Whaleship Essex, struck and sunk by an aggressive bull sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific. The crew, led by Captain George Pollard Jr. (Walker), suffered 90 days of starvation and dehydration, eventually resorting to cannibalism before they were rescued. Philbrick's book is based on the memoirs of First Mate Owen Chase (Hemsworth) and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson's (The Impossible's Holland). With the potential to combine the 19th century nautical hardships of Master and Commander, the shipwreck struggles of Life of Pi and the cannibalistic survival traits of Alive, In the Heart of the Sea could prove a film that mixes critical and commercial appeal.
14. Mad Max: Fury Road
Who's involved? Writer-director George Miller created the character of Mad Max and wrote and directed the post-apocalyptic Aussie road warrior's previous three film appearances. This fourth installment has been decades in development, during which time most of Miller's films have been cute talking animal pictures, two Babes and two Happy Feets, so this is very much a return to his grim and gritty roots. Original Max Mel Gibson is both too old for the part now and something of a persona non grata in Hollywood, so erstwhile Bane Tom Hardy has taken over. Charlize Theron has followed up a run of interesting projects by joining the cast along with X-Men: First Class' Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravitz, while Hugh Keays-Byrne, the villainous Toecutter from the original film, returns in a, presumably, different role. What's the story? It's unclear at what point this story happens within or after the continuity of the original trio of Miller's Mad Max films, but what we know about the plot seems pretty familiar. Max joins up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by the brilliantly preposterously named Imperator Furiosa (Theron) and inevitably gets involved with another road war. The classic dirt, leather and spikes post-apocalyptic aesthetic of Miller's early films is present and correct, but fans are likely to express scepticism at a bigger budget and R-rating.
