LOS ANGELES -- If classic literature has taught us anything, it's that giant whales don't like having harpoons thrown at them.
Now it's the movies' turn to emphasize this timeless theme.
Behold, the first trailer for Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea, based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s true story tale The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The New England whaler was assaulted by a giant beast in the winter of 1820 -- though that's only the beginning of the grim tale of survival that followed.
It's the second pairing of director Ron Howard and star Chris Hemsworth, who worked together on the Formula One film Rush, which was also a sort of epic battle of wills. In the Heart of the Sea also stars Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) as the captain and Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) as Melville, who became fascinated with the whale tale some 30 years later.
Warner Bros. opens In the Heart of the Sea on March 13.