The Whale London film premiere 2023

1. Following its debut screening at the Venice Film Festival, both the movie and lead actor, Brendan Fraser, were given a six-minute standing ovation; a moment, caught on camera, that brought Fraser to tears. Long time fans and critics alike have called The Whale (2022) a revival of Fraser's career after many years of absence from the screen.
2. Because of his character's severe weight, Brendan Fraser had to don a heavy prosthetic suit for the role that he wore for hours. He told members of the media in attendance at the Venice International Film Festival (via Variety), "I developed muscles I did not know I had. I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice. That [sense of] undulating. It gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being."
3. At the 2022 Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky said that it took him ten years to cast this film. Casting the main role of Charlie was a huge challenge until he saw a trailer for the Brazilian film Journey to the End of the Night (2006) starring Brendan Fraser, where it "clicked" for the director who would later cast Fraser as lead.
4. Darren Aronofsky's first digitally shot film.
5. Based on a theatrical play of the same name.
6. Throughout the film, Charlie (Brendan Fraser) orders food from "Gambino's", which is actually an Italian restaurant in Moscow, Idaho, where the film is set. Screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter grew up in Moscow.
7. The film's writer Samuel D. Hunter, served as a typing double for Brendan Fraser.
8. Charlie is loosely based on the film and play's writer Samuel D. Hunter, who is openly gay, taught expository writing at Rutgers University and battled binge eating disorder.
9. Young Ellie in the flashback scenes is played by Sadie Sink's little sister, Jacey.
10. The news that Charlie watches on television details the results of the 2016 presidential Republican primaries, implying that the film takes place in early 2016. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio are mentioned in these news reports.
11. Charlie's boyfriend's name was Alan Grant, and his daughter's name is Ellie. These are also the names of the main characters in Jurassic Park (1993).
12. Darren Aronofsky's first feature film in five years that he has directed since Mother! (2017).
13. None of the actors and actresses who played Charlie's online students are credited.
14. Darren Aronofsky's first movie that film studio A24 distributed.
15. First film screenplay written by Samuel D. Hunter.
16. Tom Ford was originally attached to direct with James Corden to star.
17. With the exception of the opening scene where Thomas gets off the bus and the flashback scene on the beach, the entire movie takes place at Charlie's apartment.

Genre

Drama

Cast

as Charlie

as Ellie

as Thomas

as Liz

as Mary

as Dan The Pizza Man

as Liam