Ahoy there, squirts. 'Tis I, the trusty crusty seaman, Quint, here geeking out like you wouldn't believe. I just got the confirmation on a project that Spielberg has been putting together and I'm just about exploding with delight.

The word I've heard is either after the Lincoln project or in the place of the Lincoln project, a certain Steven Spielberg is going to be shooting another WW2 film. Big deal, you say... well... It's not only a WW2 film, but a prequel to my all time favorite movie, Jaws. That's right. Spielberg's going to bring the real life story of USS Indianapolis to the big screen.

From what I've pieced together from various sources (most of which was confirmed by my "The One" source who knows all) the movie will follow a young seaman named Quint as he's serving his country on the doomed vessel. The film is supposed to revolve around the mission to deliver the key componants of the Atom bomb to the Island of Tinian, the drop off, the sinking of the Indianapolis and the aftermath.

Here's what I know about Spielberg's USS Indianapolis with great certainty:

Lucas has been trying to talk Spielberg into casting Ewan McGregor as the young Quint, but Spielberg is gunning for Russell Crowe to be the pre-Shaw Quint. Crowe is damn close to signing, from what I hear and is waiting on the latest draft of the screenplay which is being cowritten by Tom Stoppard (Brazil, Empire of the Sun and the upcoming Enigma), Carl Gottlieb (Jaws, The Jerk) and by Spielberg himself.

One source close to Spielberg (who wished not to be named in fear for losing his/her/it's job) said that Steven wanted USS Indianapolis to live up to Robert Shaw's telling of the story in Jaws, which is widely known to be Spielberg's favorite scene in the film. "Steven wants to capture what caused the sorrow and hate that Shaw had in his eye during that scene," my source said. As a result, Spielberg's going to try and top Jaws in terms of suspense and terror. I can't friggin' wait!!!

Sharks. Lots of them. You have to remember that 900 men went into the water and three days later 316 came out. Almost 2/3s of the men were killed, most of them were taken by sharks. There's gonna be a bunch of different sharks. Hammerheads, whitetips, blues, makos and yes even a great white or two. Spielberg wants to have the most realistic sharks possible and with the least hassel. He hated Bruce, the shark, on Jaws and refuses to go through that again, so he's wanting to go digital, although he doesn't think the effects are good enough yet. From what I hear, he's going to see where the effects stand in a couple years, after Minority Report and maybe Lincoln, and see if they're up to snuff. I'd place my money on a combo of practical and computer effects, a la Jurassic Park.

Steven's been talking to a lot of actors that he's previously worked with about taking on roles in the film, both small and large. The names I keep hearing over and over again are Henry Thomas (ET) and Jude Law (AI) to play Quint's young seaman friends. Also rumored is a double cameo by Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and Roy Scheider (Jaws) as top brass naval bigwigs at the court martial trial towards the end of the movie. That is just a rumor, not confirmed, could be bullshit, but damn if it doesn't give me a huge one! Brody and Hooper back together!!! God I hope that one turns out to be true!!!

The other casting that is pretty much in the bag is another Spielberg vet. The captain of the USS Indianapolis was a man named Charles Butler McVay who survived the sinking and the shark attacks only to be court martialed wrongly afterwards. Who does Spielberg want for this big role? Why, Tom Hanks, of course.

The movie is supposed to end in the present day (2000) where a 12 year old kid who saw Jaws and was interested in the story of USS Indianapolis decides to track down the survivors and interview them for a history project. The kid finds out that the men are trying to get the court martial of McVay overturned, though the man had died many years previous, and the boy ends up getting the court martial overturned in Congress with the help of his congressman and the testimony of the men.

When I heard this, I was like, "Bullshit sap!," but upon doing some research on the topic I found out that this ending is true! McVay was basically the Navy's scapegoat for the disaster. Although he never broke Naval law, he was punished severly. All his men stood up for him and even the Captain of the Japanese sub, Moshitsura Hashimoto, that sunk the Indianapolis testified on his behalf. He was still punished and committed suicide 20 years later. In 2000, a 12 year old kid, inspired by the film Jaws, did indeed track down the surviving... um... survivors and was instrumental in overturning McVay's court martial in Congress.

God, is that Spielberg or what? This is his perfect movie! Who will play the 12 year old? I'd put my money on Haley Joel Osment (AI), but that's just a wild guess from me. I've heard nothing one way or the other on this character.

I am so psyched for this movie! Will we find out if Quint has a first (or last) name? Do any of Quint's buddies survive? Will we see Quint get the USS Indianapolis tattoo (applied and/or removed)? Will Crowe sing the famous "Fair Spanish Maiden" song? How far with Spielberg go to do justice to Robert Shaw's performance? Blood and gore, Private Ryan style? Will John Williams score? Will Joe Alves shoot it? When will Spielberg start this film!?!? After Minority Report and Lincoln is wayyyy too far away!

I am giddy over this news. I'm sorry if I geeked out too much, but Russell Crowe as a young Quint?!?! Jesus! Again, the majority of the above I did confirm with a few trusty sources. The stuff I didn't confirm I noted as such.

Keep yer eyes on the horizon, squirts. The above is the coolest fucking news I've got, but I've still got some Aces up my sleeve for ya' including interviews with a world famous Hooligan, a director known for casting "Beautiful Girls" in his films and maybe even a few indie horror starlets.

Until then, squirties, this is your trusty crusty seaman, Quint, bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.

-Quint

Until you know the feeling of shark intestines against tender undercarriage of your more sensitive nether-regions... Don't knock the situation I'm in...