The Weinstein Company will bring to the big screen the true search and rescue story A Speck in the Sea
Weinstein Books announced today that they have acquired publishing rights for John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski’s upcoming nonfiction book A Speck in the Sea. Plans to publish are being developed in collaboration with The Weinstein Company, which has plans to develop A Speck in the Sea for the big screen.
A Speck in the Sea will recount the harrowing 2013 search-and-rescue mission for lost Montauk fisherman John Aldridge, who fell into the ocean in the middle of the night, forty miles off Montauk with no life vest or hope of survival. When his childhood best friend and fishing partner Anthony Sosinski awoke and realized John was gone, an unprecedented multi-state rescue operation was launched.
The story made headlines nationwide, most notably with Paul Tough’s New York Times Magazine front cover story “A Speck in the Sea,” (read it right here) which The Weinstein Company optioned. The feature film aims to tell a story of adventure, hard-headed survival, and community effort. Aldridge and Sosinski will tell their terrifying experience hour by hour, minute by minute, blending first-person account with details of the heroic rescue.
A Speck in the Sea movie will be produced by Rachael Horovitz (Academy Award-nominated for Moneyball and Emmy and Golden Globe Winner for Grey Gardens) along with Jason Blum and Harvey Weinstein. Bob Weinstein will executive produce the project and Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Jeff Pope will write the script.
“This is a wild story of endurance and resilience that is destined for the book page and the big screen,” says Harvey Weinstein. “John and Anthony are awesome examples of what it takes to survive against all odds and that is a great message to share.”
“John and Anthony’s story is a reminder of the meaning of and importance of community,” adds David Steinberger, President of The Perseus Books Group. “These are men who risk their lives for each other, for their neighbors and friends. It is an honor to publish their story.”
World rights for Weinstein Books were acquired by Editorial Director Amanda Murray at Weinstein Books from Geoffrey Menin of Levine, Plotkin and Menin. Publication for A Speck in the Sea planned for Spring 2017.
