'There were hundreds of fins': USS Indianapolis survivors relive horror of seeing crew-mates eaten alive while stranded in shark-infested water for FIVE days, as two movies are set to be released

More on Nic's meeting with the U.S.S. Indianapolis survivor; our Nic is a great guy, but we already knew that, didn't we? lots of pics of the event at the link, too.

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2015/07/nicolas_cage.html

On Tuesday, a movie star and a war hero met on a Bienville Square bench. 

After filming a scene for the WWII disaster movie "USS Indianapolis:Men of Courage," Nicolas Cage sat down to chat with one of the actual men of courage: Navy veteran and Alabama native Richard Stephens, 88. 

Stephens is a survivor of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the cruiser that delivered the atomic bomb to the South Pacific island of Tinian where it was retrieved by the plane that dropped it on Hiroshima. 

After the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, Stephens, who was 19 at the time, spent five days fighting for his life in the South Pacific.

He witnessed many of his fellow servicemen die from shark attacks, exposure, saltwater poisoning and dehydration before he and the remaining few were spotted by a plane and rescued. 

Out the 1,196 USS Indianapolis crewmen, only 317 survived.

Cage, who plays USS Indianapolis Capt. Charles Butler McVay in the film, was eager to learn more about Stephens' harrowing experience

"You were out there in the water a long time...What were the sharks like?" Cage asked. 

"They were terrible," Stephens recalled. "They're aggressive."

During the chat, Cage leaned in to catch Stephens' every word, and looked solemn and deferential as he spoke to the survivor. 

The Oscar-winning actor also asked Stephens about what kept him going during those awful five days, and if he ever doubted that he'd get through the ordeal alive. 

"I didn't know if I was going to make it, but I did," said Stephens, who currently lives near Birmingham. 

After a few minutes of talking, Stephens put in a plug for his family, which was sitting nearby.

"My family is crazy about you," Stephens said.

Cage asked if any of Stephens' relatives were there in Bienville Square, and when Stephens said yes, Cage asked if he could meet them.

Stephens attempted to stand up, and Cage the gentleman quickly offered him his arm.

Stephens hooked arms with Cage and led the actor to his granddaughter Johanna Auterson, her husband John, and their two daughters Hannah, 8, and Miriam, 5. 

"Your grandpa says you watch my movies," Cage told the starstruck Auterson clan as he posed for pictures with them. 

After the Cage encounter, Stephens shared more of his story.

He said he doesn't enjoy talking about the experience.

"I haven't thought about it in a good while. I tried to get it out of my mind," Stephens said. "Death is not a pretty thing and I saw too much of it."

He decided to relive it and check out the shoot because the filmmakers said they were dedicated to making the movie as authentic as possible. He also pointed out that the reality was so horrific that it doesn't really need any exaggeration.

Stephens provided some painful details. He said the five days bobbing in the ocean left his body covered in deep, silver-dollar sized sores. He added that he was lucky to heal fairly quickly. 

Stephens, who was so generous and patient during his time on set, said he was encouraged by one thing in particular that Cage told him about the movie. 

"He said he didn't want to glorify what happened too much," Stephens said. "Death isn't a thing to be glorified."

"USS Indianapolis," which also stars Tom Sizemore, Matt Lanter and Thomas Jane, and is directed by Mario Van Peebles, has been filming in the Mobile area since June 18. 

So far, scenes have been shot in Orange Beach, on the USS Alabama, and in downtown Mobile.

After Tuesday's Bienville Square scene was completed, the cast and crew relocated to the Battle House Hotel to resume filming. 

The filmmakers reached out to the 32 remaining living survivors of the disaster and families of deceased survivors and invited them to share their stories and visit the set. 

Producer Richard Rionda Del Castrosaid having folks like Stephens participate in the process "is very gratifying."

Del Castro is determined to make "USS Indianapolis" a stunning and meaningful movie. 

"I love history and I am at the point in my career as a film producer where I wanted to make a statement," he said. "I wanted to pay homage to these men. I felt they were never really acknowledged properly."