Better Off Ted

Ted Danson and Vinessa Shaw are joining the true history drama "Everybody Loves Whales," says The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on the non-fiction book and set in 1988, the story follows a small-town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace USA volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who enlist the help of rival superpowers to save a trio of Gray Whales that were found trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle

The subsequent rescue attempt became a global event as scores of journalists converged on the nearby Eskimo town of Barrow, Alaska, and the U.S. and Soviet governments enjoyed a rare moment of collaboration.

Danson plays a win-at-all-costs oilman who has no interest in saving the mammals. Shaw plays a White House staffer who wants the government to help the whales.

Kristen Bell and Tim Blake Nelson also star.

Ken Kwapis calls action here

Jack Amiel and Michael Begler wrote the script

Steve Golin, Michael Sugar, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Liza Chasin will produce when shooting kicks off this month in Alaska.