18/06/2015 - Another film on the same subject, starring Colin Firth, is in production

British filmmaker Simon Rumley (Red White & Blue) has completed principal photography on Crowhurst, based on the true story of sailor Donald Crowhurst. Set in England and Argentina, the film follows Crowhurst (Justin Salinger), a 35-year-old father of four, who set out from England in 1968 as part of an international race to be either the first or the fastest man to circumnavigate the globe.

An untitled film on the same subject by James Marsh (The Theory of Everything [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and starring Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz and David Thewlis is currently in production from BBC Films and Blueprint Pictures.

Rumley said, “Crowhurst’s story is a tale of British derring-do which goes severely wrong and in this respect it represents the flip-side of the British Empire - a tale about adventure and exploration that was never proudly taught in history lessons. This, the bathos and tragedy of his situation, the self-imposed isolation and loneliness and the emotional peaks and troughs of the story all fit in very well with themes that I've explored in my previous films.”

Crowhurst is a Great Point Media presentation of a Splash Page Media production in association with Sterling Pictures, executive produced by Jim Reeve, Robert Halmi Jnr and Nicolas Roeg, produced by Michael Riley and written by Andy Briggs.

Riley said, “Filming in Donald Crowhurst’s actual home has given the film an incredible authenticity and power. I understand a number of efforts have been made to tell Donald’s story over the years, including one from our EP Nic Roeg, so I’m proud we’ve been the first to manage it, despite such a physically and emotionally challenging shoot.”