Photograph courtesy of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida.
Winter, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin who gained a prosthetic tail fluke after losing her own to entanglement in a crab trap’s ropes, has inspired Warner Brothers-based Alcon Entertainment to plan a feature film about her. At the release of this article, Alcon’s latest release, The Blind Side, was the top-grossing movie in the United States and had made more than $130 million since its November opening.
According to Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), where Winter has lived and received rehabilitation since her 2005 rescue, the film A Dolphin’s Tale will be about a boy who befriends Winter after her rescue. The boy motivates everyone around him to help save Winter by creating a prosthesis to replace the lost fluke. As in real life, the cetacean’s strong survival instincts in the face of disability become an inspiration to people with life challenges throughout the world.
Alcon has hired Charles Martin Smith to write and direct the film. Smith has experience directing animals and children, having directed 1997’s Air Bud, movie in 1997. The longtime actor and director, best known for his acting role in American Graffiti, most recently directed The Stone of Destiny. He commented, “Winter has been so inspirational to so many people, it’s an honor to be able to bring her story to the screen. I have enormous respect for Alcon Entertainment and the excellent films they make, and the people at CMA have been so helpful and supportive. It’s a pleasure to be involved.”
“We are excited to see Winter’s inspiring story reach the big screen,” said CMA CEO David Yates. “Alcon Entertainment and Warner Brothers are the perfect partner for this story, and we look forward to continuing to inspire millions of people around the world. Having someone with the experience and talents of Charles Martin Smith completes the team.”
Alcon’s co-founders and co-CEO’s, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, said “We are very excited to bring this inspiring true story to the big screen-like The Blind Side, it fits squarely into the type of movie Alcon enjoys making.”
For more information about Winter, visit www.oandp.com/articles/news_2008-06-16_01.asp
