The Production Behind ‘Whalefall’ and Its Sperm Whale Survival Story

‘Whalefall’ centers on Jay Gardiner, who dives off the coast of Central California to find the remains of his late father and ends up swallowed whole by a sperm whale. Brian Duffield directs and co-produces the film, and also shares screenwriting duties. The premise sounds like a creature feature, but the production has been framed as something more emotional and more physical.

The story of ‘Whalefall’ filming is split between real California coastline and a purpose-built whale on a sound stage. The film opens in the United States on October 16 through 20th Century Studios. Its global theatrical rollout begins on October 14. Here is how the production came together.

Whalefall Filming Locations Across California

According to the Monterey County Film Commission, production took place for a full week in the area. The locations included Monastery Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey High School and Jacks Peak County Park.

Monastery Beach carries real weight in the story. It is the spot where the main character dives in search of his late father’s remains. Shooting there gave the opening act a grounded setting before the film moves into far stranger territory.

Industry database listings also record California as the state where the film was shot. That fits with the coastal material, but most of the story takes place inside the animal. For that portion, the crew went indoors.

Inside the Whale Set Built for the Production

Duffield said the cast and crew spent an entire summer inside a whale built on a sound stage in Studio City, California. That description captures how much of the film depended on a constructed environment rather than open water.

Duffield told Empire that half of the whale’s head, including the bottom jaw and mouth, was a large animatronic placed in a tank. He added that a tongue puppet was also built, though it was not truly puppeteered because there is so little space inside.

The filmmakers built large whale interiors and exteriors, and used computer generated imagery mainly to enhance those environments. The design also accounts for anatomy, with the whale’s heart sitting beside the stomach, so the beating is felt throughout the movie as the stomach reacts to it.

The physical demands fell heavily on the lead actor. Duffield said almost all of the stunts were performed by Austin Abrams himself. The director described the production as among the most challenging of his career, noting that Abrams faced real risks while filming inside the whale set.

What ‘Whalefall’ Is Based On and How It Reached the Screen

The film is based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel of the same name. Kraus also wrote the script together with Duffield. That shared credit suggests the adaptation stayed close to the author’s intentions.

Kraus has said the idea came from a viral video showing kayakers who accidentally ended up inside a whale’s mouth. After consulting experts, he learned that under certain circumstances a person could actually be swallowed by a sperm whale. That grounding in plausibility shapes the tone of the whole project.

Imagine Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights before the novel even reached stores. 20th Century Studios later secured theatrical distribution after beating out multiple bidders. The speed of that deal shows how quickly the concept caught the attention of the industry.

Like the book, the film follows Jay’s journey from the last days of his father’s life through his death and into the harrowing situation he faces while trying to recover the body. The survival element sits alongside a family story.

Cast and Crew Behind the Survival Thriller

Austin Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, while Josh Brolin plays his father, Mitt. The supporting cast includes Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy and Emily Rudd.

Brolin has said the themes of grief and a complicated father and son relationship drew him to the project. He was also moved by the source book, saying he sobbed at the end of it. Those comments point to a film that wants to be more than a spectacle.

Duffield produced the film alongside Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody and Allan Mandelbaum. He had previously worked with 20th Century Studios on the sci-fi thrillers ‘No One Will Save You’ and ‘Underwater’.

Duffield describes ‘Whalefall’ as the opposite of ‘Jaws’, with the sperm whale portrayed as more hero than monster, and says whale experts have welcomed the film. That approach separates it from decades of shark driven ocean thrillers, so does a whale that never even notices its passenger make ‘Whalefall’ feel scarier or more sympathetic to you once you know how much of it was built by hand?