Location Scouting

The trip went better than expected. The USS Stewart is in poor repair and virtually unusable. The best of locations needed extensive restoration and the worst were locked up. However we liked what we saw in the Gato class submarine next to it. This is the same class as the Darter and Dace who first sighted the Japanese Center Force. A detour in our plans brought us to the USS Texas. It's a WW I era ship launched in 1912, the same day as the IJN Kongo. The similarities to some of the Japanese battleships are striking and I think we can use it for some shots I would have considered impossible before. The best part of the trip was a jewel known as the USS Kidd. Not only is the ship in amazing condition, some of its 5 inch guns still operate. Every interior location we need is present and in top form. Once inside, the differences between the Kidd and the Samuel B. Roberts are minor. The details are numerous. The Kidd would work as a shooting location almost without alteration. We met an enthusiastic tour guide, obviously very proud of his ship and with good reason, who kindly showed us everything we needed to see. I still want to see the USS Slater in Albany, but by virtue of its 5 inch gun mounts and the fact that we could shoot it for DEs and DDs the Kidd appears to have the complete package. What a find!

Research

The research began in May of 2010. I've never read so much in my life. I certainly never worked this hard in school. We settled on Bob Copeland as our protagonist. The captain of the USS Samuel B. Roberts. I found a ship called the USS Stewart that could stand in for the Roberts. The screenplay screams like a blind roller coaster, but I have to see this ship in person before I can finish.

How it started

My name is Rick and I spent the last few years building motion graphics on a handful of cruise ships. Last summer I was on a ship in the Med and my parents came to sail with me. While walking around Malta looking for a place to eat my father told me about a book he read. Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. It sounded unbelievable. I stopped him and asked, "This actually happened? You're not making any of this up?"