Leonardo DiCaprio to Adrian Grenier: Let's Find That Whale, Bro
LatestThrough his environmental nonprofit, Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $50,000 to Adrian Grenier’s Kickstarter project, 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale.
The documentary film (to be directed by Josh Zeman and executive produced by Grenier) will follow a search for “52 Hertz,” an as-yet-unseen whale, who is known for the extremely rare frequency (52 hertz) of his/her calls; since that pitch is far out of the hearing range of other whales, 52 Hertz has become known as “the loneliest whale in the world.”
DiCaprio’s donation, made in the last 24 hours of the campaign, pushed the total donation amount to their campaign goal of $300,000 (as of this writing, they’re up to $406,042). According to their Kickstarter page, the film will build on the research of the late bio-acoustician Dr. William Watkins, who first discovered the whale in 1989:
Our goal is to be the first expedition ever to acoustically monitor a hybrid whale using non-invasive tags. We will also be collecting data in an effort to help scientists monitor the growing threat of ocean noise pollution that is harming cetaceans across the planet.
There’s some cringeworthy stuff in this Kickstarter, such as the line: “The film will explore how one incredible whale’s experience of profound solitude has made us all more connected to the ocean and to each other,” and a poster that reads: “The loneliest whale needs some friends. Will you be 52’s friend?” One incredible whale. I am intuiting that the Leo-Adrian text exchange went something like this:
Adrian Grenier: YO, LET’S SEE THIS FUCKIN’ WHALE ALREADY, YOU KNOW?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I FEEL THAT, MAN. HERE’S MONEY, LET’S MAKE THE OCEAN OUR BITCH.
But, you know. If Adrian Grenier wants to rally his Entourage bro-kingdom in the name of marine preservation, who am I to poke fun? Let’s find that fuckin’ whale already.
Images via Getty, Disney
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