DisruptiveLA announced today that it has acquired the US Distribution Rights to the feature documentary James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D, directed by John Bruno, Andrew Wight and Ray Quint.
Described as being a film about determination, danger and the oceans greatest depths, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D tells the story of Camerons journey to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming an explorer. The movie offers a unique insight into Cameron’s world as he makes that dream reality and makes history by becoming the first person to travel solo to the deepest point on the planet.
Opening August 8 in theaters across the US, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D chronicles the highs, and literal lows, of “Deepsea Challenge,” the first extensive scientific expedition in a manned submersible to the Challenger Deep, Earths deepest place. It was inspired, in part, by the fact that we know less about the deep oceans than we do about the surface of Mars. “Deepsea Challenge” was led by Cameron, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker known for blockbusters such as Avatar and Titanic and a veteran of eight deep ocean expeditions. It was executed in partnership with National Geographic and Rolex and with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. During it, Cameron deployed his unconventional Deepsea Challenger submersible on 13 dives, collecting numerous samples and identifying 68 new species. On March 26, 2012, the Expedition culminated in Camerons historic, solo dive to the Challenger Deep, a staggering 35,787 feet (almost seven miles) beneath the ocean’s surface.
Risk and danger are ever-present in the film as Cameron dives progressively deeper in the New Britain Trench off Papua New Guinea and in the Mariana Trench, 200 miles southwest of Guam. Confronting the enormity of the dive to the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, Cameron recalled thinking, Ive had years to contemplate this moment, and I wont say there hasnt been dread.
Among his concerns was the risk the sub would implode under the crushing pressure (1,000 times that at sea level) at the oceans deepest points. In the movie, Cameron describes an ominous scenario: As you approach the bottom, with barely a warning sign, the sphere buckles suddenly. Faster than you can scream, youre smashed into jam.
Cameron survived to capture the haunting, lunar-like landscape of the Mariana Trench in stunning 3D, and to document the sea creatures he observed in the depths. In a tense 90 minutes, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D builds on these images to create a visual sensation that evokes a spirit of extraordinary human aspiration.
Industry veterans Chris Miller and James Burke are DisruptiveLAs co-founders. Says Burke: James Cameron and his teams courage and tenacity in seeing this project through, with findings that scientists are still poring over, is an inspiration to everyone.
’James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D” is everything wed dreamed it could be and more, says Lisa Truitt, president of National Geographic Cinema Ventures and an executive producer of the film. Its a heart-racing film experience and an inspiring reminder that our beautiful planet still has much to explore.”
“We are proud to have accompanied James Cameron, a Rolex Testimonee, on this inspirational journey to the deepest reaches of the world’s oceans, encouraging further exploration of the planet’s last unknown frontiers and sparking the interest of new generations in scientific research,” says Rolex Director of Communication & Image Arnaud Boetsch.
