JOHN STEINBECK'S
THE LOG FROM THE SEA OF CORTEZ
A Feature Documentary Co-Production with ELITE STUDIOS MPC
SARDINE BOAT PICTURES LLC is proud to have the exclusive world-wide rights to recreate the sea voyage described in John Steinbeck's masterpiece, The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Our film will revisit the land and waters where Steinbeck and friends took specimens from the relatively untouched littoral. This time, we will take only images, leave awe and respect in our wake. We seek to examine what changes have been wrought to the environment, what tales the coast, the sea, and the people inhabiting them, have to tell.
The Log from The Sea of Cortez chronicles the amazing true story of his journey through the Sea of Cortez. Science. Philosophy. Literature. Natural History. Marine biology. Autobiography. Adventure. Wanderlust. Psychology. Humor. The Log from the Sea of Cortez chronicles in breathtaking prose and scientific detail the six-week journey Steinbeck made with his friend Ed Ricketts, an eminent marine biologist, over seventy years ago in the 76-foot purse seiner, Western Flyer.
The Sea of Cortez, Mexico: Picture some of the most unspoiled breathtaking natural beauty on Earth. Dive through crystal blue waters that Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s aquarium”. Relive the voyage made over 70 years ago by a small crew of California sardine fisherman with an eminent marine biologist and one of America’s greatest writers. Explore a quadrant of Mexico untouched by vicious drug wars and their attendant violence. Bear witness to the changes in the people and environment that have taken place over the last seven decades.
Some of the more than 17 film adaptations of John Steinbeck’s work include The Grapes of Wrath, Lifeboat, Tortilla Flat, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men by such distinguished artists as John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Victor Fleming, Elia Kazan and Gary Sinise. The Log from the Sea of Cortez will be the 18th.
The Writer — John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck is, simply, one of America’s greatest writers. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, he authored twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non- fiction books and five collections of short stories. His works include an astounding number of classics, among them: The Grapes of Wrath [1939 Pulitzer Prize], East of Eden, Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, Tortilla Flat, and Travels with Charley. His work has been adapted for the screen 17 times to date, by such masters as John Ford, Elia Kazan, Victor Fleming, Alfred Hitchcock and Gary Sinise. For the first time in over two decades, rights have been granted for the production of an 18th film – to us.
The Producer — Robert Kanter
Robert Kanter is an EMMY Award-winning producer, having been honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the documentary Voices of the Children. Last year, the film he coproduced, Citizen Havel, had its U.S. premiere at Lincoln Center and features, among others, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and The Rolling Stones. He also produced the film Havel’s Audience with History with Václav Havel and Paul Newman, directed by Academy Award-winning director Jiri Menzel; Where Dreams Debut with Gregory Peck; Making Dance American with Tommy Tune and Agnes DeMille; and a television special at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival with Aaron Copland, among others. He has worked extensively in Mexico, including the production of more than 10 documentaries and a 6-part telenovela.
"This is at once the record of a serious biological expedition and of the impact of a biologist and novelist upon each other's minds... The best of Steinbeck is in it." - Lewis Gannett, New York Herald Tribune