DeGruy coming home with 'Shipwrecks, Volcanoes and Creatures of the Deep'
"Shipwrecks, Volcanoes and Creatures of the Deep: The Undersea Adventures of Mike DeGruy" is coming to Mobile.
The Mobile native and Emmy award-winning underwater cinematographer will make a special appearance at the Saenger Theater here Tuesday, March 6 at 7
p.m.
For 20 years, DeGruy has filmed
around the globe for BBC, PBS,
National Geographic, Discovery
Channel as well as his own company,
The Film Crew, Inc.
"In the last twenty years I have traveled
all the continents and dived in most of
the world's seas making wildlife films
about the great, small, mighty and the
weak creatures crawling, hopping,
slithering, but mostly swimming,
in our world."
DeGruy's presentation will include footage
from some of the world's most remote and
spectacular locations, including:
Antarctica -- For the BBC series "Life In The Freezer," DeGruy traveled to New Zealand, lined up an eight-foot chain saw, headed to the Southern Alps to a frozen Alpine lake and cut a hole in the ice. A team of four trained for a month of camping and diving under the ice. From there DeGruy and his team flew to the Ross Sea, Antarctica and began a series of extraordinary dives under the ice shelves at the southern tip of the planet. Plenty of natural beauty, clear water and, of course, constant danger.
Titanic -- In the summer of 2005, DeGruy joined James Cameron and his crew on an expedition to the doomed wreck Titanic. Aboard the Russian submersible, MIR2, DeGruy did eight dives at 12,500 feet.
"I had more meals on the Titanic than the passengers did," said DeGruy.
Patagonia -- Some may think that Patagonia is simply a line of outdoor clothing, but DeGruy knows better. For the BBC series, "The Trails of Life," DeGruy traveled with fellow Mobilian Paul Atkins to the peninsula Valdez in Argentina, where for seven weeks he and Atkins witnessed full-grown killer whales taking baby sea lions off the beach.
The Deep -- For the past six years, DeGruy has spent the equivalent of several weeks in submersibles, filming the extraordinary undersea volcanoes at the hydrothermal vents, recording the surprising and bizarre communities of animals that thrive miles beneath the waves.
DeGruy's presentation is sponsored by the Alabama Coastal Foundation and funded in part through a grant from Shell Exploration, a supporting partner with the Foundation on Habitat Restoration in the Mobile Bay area.
Tickets are available by phone at the Saenger Theater (251-208-5600) or any Ticketmaster location. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children.
Tickets to the pre-show reception with DeGruy and special seating are available for $25 per person through the Alabama Coastal Foundation office (251-990-6002). Corporate sponsorships are also available.
