Ron Howard's film IN THE HEART OF THE SEA opens this December.
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“In the Heart of the Sea” Contest Winners to Be Notified This Week

The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA), in collaboration with the Dreamland Theater and Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, is thrilled to announce that a free, one-time advanced community screening of Academy Award- winning director Ron Howard’s film In the Heart of the Sea, an adaptation of Nantucket author Nathaniel Philbrick’s best-selling book, will be held on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 7 P.M. at the Dreamland Theater (doors will open at 6 P.M.).

The NHA has been working with Warner Bros. throughout the filming process, which included a research visit with Ron Howard in April 2013, as well as hosting the In the Heart of the Sea cast at the Whaling Museum for a press event in October 2014. As a thank you, Warner Bros. is generously offering this advanced screening to the Nantucket community prior to the film’s nationwide release on Friday, December 11, 2015. This free community screening was originally scheduled for March 12, 2015, but was cancelled when the film’s release date was changed from March to December. All previous entries received for this contest will be entered in the new drawing

“It is an honor to co-sponsor this advanced screening for the Nantucket community,” says NHA Director of Visitor Experience Marjan Shirzad. “The NHA always seeks to share the stories of Nantucket’s past with visitors young and old, and this newest film adaptation of the Essex tragedy will help bring this island’s history to life to a global audience.”

Ron Howard's film IN THE HEART OF THE SEA opens this December.
Ron Howard’s film IN THE HEART OF THE SEA opens this December.

A free contest will be held beginning Thursday, October 15, until Sunday, November 15, 2015, for a chance to gain access to this special advanced screening on December 9, 2015. Tickets will NOT BE SOLD and the audience members will be comprised of contest winners.

Winners will be chosen at random and each winner will receive 2 tickets to the advanced screening of the film. Winners will be notified the week of November 16, 2015.

Each selected winner will receive notification in advance that they have won two tickets to the screening. Winners must be able to make this screening, as tickets are non- transferable. All winners MUST present their valid photo ID when checking is at the Dreamland Theater the evening of the screening on December 9. The ID must match the name of the winner.

Multiple contest entries by the same person are permitted, but those selected are not eligible to win more than once (i.e. no more than two tickets per winner).

Entry ballots for the contest will be available at the following locations beginning Thursday, October 15:

  • NHA office, 15 Broad Street (open Monday – Friday, 9 A.M. – 5 P.M.)
  • NHA Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street (open daily 10 A.M. – 5 P.M. through Friday, October 30; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 A.M. – 4 P.M, from October 31–November 15)
  • Dreamland Theater lobby, 17 South Water Street (open daily starting at 2 P.M.)
  • Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce office, 0 Main Street (Monday – Friday, 9 A.M. – 5 P.M.)“The Dreamland is thrilled to join the Chamber and the NHA for a community screening of the In the Heart of the Sea,” says Melissa Murphy, Executive Director of the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation. “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the success of Nantucket’s reach on the big screen.” In the Heart of the Sea film The story of Ron Howard’s film In the Heart of the Sea recounts the tale of the ill-fated Nantucket whaleship Essex which was stove by a whale in the Pacific Ocean in 1820, and later inspired Herman Melville’s classic Moby-Dick. It stars Chris Hemsworth (Marvel’s The Avengers, Rush) as the Essex’s first mate Owen Chase, Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) as Captain George Pollard, Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Rises) as second mate Matthew Joy, and Ben Wishaw (Skyfall) as novelist Herman Melville. Tom Holland (The Impossible) also stars as the young cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, and Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I) as the same man, thirty years later.

    In the Heart of the Sea will open to the public on Friday, December 11, 2015.

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