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Auburn Annie · 11-12-2004, 07:21 AM

Plans afloat for Edmund Fitzgerald film

BY CHRIS HEWITT

ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS

When you hear "wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," you probably think "disaster" and then "Gordon Lightfoot," in that order. Soon, you may be able to add "Hollywood" to the list.

Michigan native Christian Chabot is the screenwriter for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a project that is shopping for investors at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. Chabot was a high school student in White Pine, Mich., in November 1975, when the freighter sank during a Lake Superior storm, killing everyone on board.

"I've been following the story ever since," says Chabot, who completed his screenplay, which recreates that fateful night, in 1994. Since then, the script has made the rounds in Hollywood. Once, when Chabot introduced himself to "Titanic" writer/director James Cameron at an awards dinner, Cameron said, "Yeah. 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' script, right? I want to see some footage." That will have to wait, though, until there is some footage. Chabot is working with a company called Movie Ventures, which would like to have the movie in production by next year's 30th anniversary of the tragedy.

"They have some Canadian money, but there has been no interest from American companies. It's a story about 29 men on a ship, there's no rescue at the end, and it's a story where everyone already knows the ending. So we'll probably shoot it in Canada," says Chabot.

11-12-2004, 07:21 AM	#1
Auburn Annie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,101	Plans afloat for Edmund Fitzgerald film BY CHRIS HEWITT ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS When you hear "wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," you probably think "disaster" and then "Gordon Lightfoot," in that order. Soon, you may be able to add "Hollywood" to the list. Michigan native Christian Chabot is the screenwriter for "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a project that is shopping for investors at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. Chabot was a high school student in White Pine, Mich., in November 1975, when the freighter sank during a Lake Superior storm, killing everyone on board. "I've been following the story ever since," says Chabot, who completed his screenplay, which recreates that fateful night, in 1994. Since then, the script has made the rounds in Hollywood. Once, when Chabot introduced himself to "Titanic" writer/director James Cameron at an awards dinner, Cameron said, "Yeah. 'Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' script, right? I want to see some footage." That will have to wait, though, until there is some footage. Chabot is working with a company called Movie Ventures, which would like to have the movie in production by next year's 30th anniversary of the tragedy. "They have some Canadian money, but there has been no interest from American companies. It's a story about 29 men on a ship, there's no rescue at the end, and it's a story where everyone already knows the ending. So we'll probably shoot it in Canada," says Chabot.