Directed by Petersen (Das Boot, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One) from a script by Bill Wittliff (Lonesome Dove), the film is produced by Paula Weinstein, Petersen and Gail Katz, with executive producers Barry Levinson and Duncan Henderson. Clooney stars in the upcoming Three Kings opposite Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube, and has just completed production on the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? Wahlberg won critical attention as the star of Boogie Nights and stars with Clooney in Three Kings. Lane most recently starred in one of this year's most widely praised independent films, A Walk on the Moon. Additional cast members in The Perfect Storm include John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights), Dash Mihok (The Thin Red Line) and Josh Hopkins (G.I. Jane).

Filming will move in September to Gloucester, Mass., where the events described in Junger's book actually took place, and will return to Los Angeles later in the fall. Visual-effects house ILM will provide computer graphics under the supervision of Helen Elswit and practical effects will be supervised by John Frazier (The Haunting, Armageddon). The cinematographer is Academy Award winner John Seale (The English Patient) and the editor is Richard Francis-Bruce (Air Force One). Warner Bros. will distribute The Perfect Storm worldwide.

Mastrantonio will play Linda Greenlaw, the world's only female swordfish boat captain, whose vessel, the Hannah Boden, was the sister ship to the Andrea Gail. Beyond her role in Junger's book, Greenlaw later penned The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey, a memoir about her dangerous and male- dominated profession.

Mastrantonio's other credits include Scarface, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Color of Money and The Abyss.

According to Variety, Clooney will portray the captain of the Andrea Gail, a doomed fishing boat that succumbed to one of the century's worst storms. Ben Affleck is being courted by Warner Bros. to play one of the fishermen. Storm will be directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who worked with Sexiest Man Alive 1998, Harrison Ford, on Air Force One. The first Sexiest Man Alive, Mel Gibson (1985), was attached to Storm, as was Nic Cage (not a Sexiest Man Alive, surprise), but Variety reports that both leading men had to be let go in order to keep the budget in check. Specifically, Warner Bros. would only offer Gibson half of his usual $20 million fee, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The Reporter says Clooney should begin work on Storm Labor Day weekend, after wrapping up the Coen brothers' latest, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The drama, adapted by William B. Wittliff, tells the true story of the ship that got caught in one of the century's worst storms. Even though the crew perished in waves that reached 100 feet high, Junger wove together a breath- taking tale involving the fishermen, their families and the valiant attempts to rescue the seafarers.

With Clooney aboard to play the ship's captain, the studio is also in talks for Ben Affleck to play the other big role of a fisherman on the boat. Like the storm in the story, Clooney materialized very suddenly. Wittliff's adaptation of a difficult-to-adapt book helped WB land the perfect director in Petersen, whose logistically challenged action hits include Das Boot, Air Force One, Outbreak and In the Line of Fire. Since then, the project has been considered a magnet for macho leading men, with both Nicolas Cage and Mel Gibson attached at one point. But studio determination to keep what's already a costly picture from going overboard led to a couple of big fish getting off the hook. Enter Clooney, who, after starring in the critically acclaimed Out of Sight, exited his role in ER to star in the David O. Russell-directed WB pic Three Kings, along with Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube in a film that opens in the fall.

Subject to a deal being struck, Clooney will begin work in early summer, just about a week after wrapping his role as a chain gang escapee in the Coen Bros.-directed film Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou.

The Perfect Storm will be adapted from the book of the same name by Sebastian Junger, which has spent 35 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. The nonfiction book tells the story of a momentous nor'easter, a 1991 storm that had a devastating effect on a crew of Gloucester, Mass., fishermen. A writer has not yet been selected to adapt the material for the screen.

Petersen most recently directed and produced, with Katz, the summer smash hit Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Gary Oldman, and the medical thriller Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Rene Russo.

Weinstein and Levinson have recently partnered, with The Perfect Storm marking one of their first joint projects. Levinson was awarded the 1988 Best Director Oscar for Rain Man, starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Notes:

• Both Nicolas Cage and Mel Gibson were offered the part of Captain Tyne, but with all of the special effects the film will require, there wasn't enough budget to pay either of their huge salaries.
• Mark Wahlberg's role (Bobby Shatford) was originally offered to Ben Affleck
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio will play the part of Captain Linda Greenlaw, the world's only female swordfish boat captain. Greenlaw's boat, the Hannah Boden, was the sister vessel to the ill-fated Andrea Gail.
  Boston Globe, 8/19/99
• George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg spent a night on a commercial fishing vessel off the coast of New Jersey in an effort to get "in character" for their roles in the movie.
• In addition to being in Junger's book, Linda Greenlaw has since written her own memoir of being a woman in a male-dominated profession, The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey.
• Production of the film began July 26, 1999, in Los Angeles. Filming started August 15, will move in September to Gloucester, and will return to Los Angeles later in the fall. Filming may take as long as four months -- until the middle of December [quite on schedule, filming wrapped December 17th].
  WB Press Release, 8/06/99
• Boston-based Kevin Fennessy Casting will hold an open casting call for paid extras for The Perfect Storm Saturday in Gloucester. Warner Bros. is also seeking resumes for crew members.
  Boston Globe, 8/19/99
• More than 1,300 movie-extra hopefuls turned out during the open call Saturday in Gloucester for spots in Warner Bros.' "The Perfect Storm." Casting director Kevin Fennessy and his Boston-based crew found 600 extras for the largest crowd scene - a funeral at St. Ann's Church in Gloucester - including several people who had attended the actual services for the ill-fated crew of the Andrea Gail.
  Boston Globe, 8/24/99
• Filming on the North Shore for the film adaptation of Sebastian Junger's book is scheduled to begin just after Labor Day, with construction still taking place on the [sets for the] crew's local hangout, the Crow's Nest.
  Boston Globe, 8/24/99
• The film . . . [is] to start shooting today in Gloucester for three weeks.
  Associated Press, 9/8/99
• Visual-effects house ILM will provide computer graphics under the supervision of Helen Elswit and practical effects will be supervised by John Frazier (The Haunting, Armageddon).
  WB Press Release, 8/06/99
• Filming on special-effects shots for The Perfect Storm and water scenes is already underway on the sound stage at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif.
  Boston Globe, 8/24/99
• The Lady Grace, a 72 foot longliner formerly working out of Ocean City, Maryland, was purchased by Warner Bros. for the movie. It sailed to the West coast in May for modifications and filming, but has recently returned to the East coast. More filming of fishing scenes is planned for September off the coast of New England.
  Coming Attractions by Corona