Clearwater Marine Aquarium to close to begin filming of movie

CLEARWATER - Clearwater Marine Aquarium will be closed starting Friday to begin filming of the movie "Dolphin Tale," which is based on the life of the aquarium's famous resident, Winter.

Filming is expected to take two months. All programs, with the exception of Sea Life Safari and kayaking tours, will be halted. Animal care and the aquarium's response to stranding will not be affected, according to a CMA news release.

The movie will star Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr. and Ashley Judd. Winter the Dolphin plays herself in the movie.

"Dolphin Tale" is a family film about Winter, a young dolphin who loses her tail in a crab trap. The real Winter got entangled in a crab trap rope four years ago.

The accident resulted in the loss of her tail and several vertebrae. Experts didn't think she'd survive. She's famous worldwide for the tale about her tail.

In the movie, an 11-year-old boy meets the rescued dolphin at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a marine rehabilitation center where she lives. He rallies friends and family to save Winter by convincing a doctor to create a unique prosthetic attachment to restore the dolphin's ability to swim.

Angellotti Company, a California-based publicity agency, released the following information on the movie:

Morgan Freeman will play Dr. McCarthy, an eccentric doctor who specializes in creating prosthetics for war veterans at the local VA hospital. He is faced with the greatest challenge of his career when he volunteers to help save Winter by designing a prosthetic tale for her.

Connick Jr. will play the role of Clay Haskett, the dedicated marine biologist who rescues Winter and takes her to the rescue facility he runs, Clearwater Marine Hospital. A single father who works tirelessly at the understaffed aquarium, Haskett learns a lot about himself through the unlikely relationships that form around Winter.

Ashley Judd will play, Lorraine Nelson, a nurse and single mother whose son, Sawyer, befriends Winter. Initially skeptical of her son's relationship with the ailing dolphin, she eventually realizes Winter's importance in his life.

This will mark the third time Freeman and Judd are teamed, which includes "Kiss the Girls" for Paramount Pictures and then "High Crimes" for 20th Century Fox. It is the second time Connick Jr. and Judd will be paired after working together on the feature "Bug" for Lionsgate.

"Dolphin Tale" is a 3-D Alcon Entertainment production for release by Warner Bros.