A little under a year ago, the St. Petersburg Times wrote an article about the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and their famous dolphin, Winter. In the article, David Yates, CEO of the non-profit aquarium, announced that a deal had been made with “Alcon Entertainment to produce a major motion picture based on Winter’s story.” Now, nearly nine months later, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium has gotten the definitive green light.

Winter’s heroic story began at the age of three months old, when she found herself entangled in a tightly wound buoy line. She was unable to escape on her own, but, fortunately for Winter, a fisherman by the name of Jim Savage came to her rescue. Savage found her during one of his morning fishing outings and worked diligently throughout the day to help save her life.

Winter was rescued from Mosquito Lagoon and transported to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to begin immediate long-term rehabilitation. Tragically, Winter lost her entire tail and two vertebrae as a result of the serious injuries she sustained. But, Winter’s resiliency shone through. (Living through the tangles of a buoy line is rare for most dolphins, and a dolphin living without its tail is extraordinary.)

According to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium website, “Winter’s energy and ability to adapt to her new physical form has surpassed the expectations of many experts. Winter has done amazingly well in the short time since her stranding. She has completely healed, adapted to a new swim pattern, and learned to eat fish on her own.”

Certainly movie material, Winter’s story is based on her real life experience – with a few added tweaks for dramatic effect. The working title is Dolphin Tale, and it is scheduled to be directed by Charles Martin Smith (Air Bud and The Snow Walker), from the script of Karen Janszen (A Walk to Remember).

As of now, things are moving along “swimmingly.” The Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce has reported that Winter is getting “used to lights and reflectors and desensitizing her with fake cameras in preparation for filming.” Alcon Entertainment has also “signed a lease with the City to take over Harborview Center as a place to construct props and movie sets,” adds the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce.

But- you don’t have to wait for the movie to hit theaters; you can go see Winter right now at Clearwater’s Marine Aquarium and learn how you can help with “Winter’s Dream Adoption Campaign.”

Are you ready to undergo your own life changing experience? If so, than come on down to Clearwater Beach Florida and let iTrip.net transform your ordinary vacation into the Clearwater vacation of your dreams with one of our fabulous Clearwater vacation rentals.