EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon, Blindspotting) and his company Antigravity Academy are developing a feature film and an in-depth documentary project based on The Good Whale, a new podcast from The New York Times and Serial Productions.
The Good Whale chronicles the true story of the celebrity orca Keiko, the star of the ’90s hit film Free Willy.
López Estrada — whose third directorial project, Raya and the Last Dragon received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature — introduced the podcast concept to the New York Times and Serial three years ago, deriving from his longtime fascination with the famous orca he idolized as a child in Mexico City. After becoming a star on Free Willy, Keiko was the subject of an international campaign to release him back into the wild.
López Estrada observed how Keiko’s story captured the complicated intersection of the human and animal worlds through the life of a whale who needed people but became entangled in their agendas, ultimately questioning who truly needed saving.
The expansion of the podcast into a feature film and document arrives as the fifth episode of the podcast was released accompanied by a music video (below) directed by López Estrada and Anna Moskowitz. It features an original song by Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriters Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and puppets by Michelle Zamora.
Carlos López Estrada is represented by UTA, M88, and Ziffren Brittenham.
The New York Times and Serial Productions are represented by CAA.
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