A production company is currently auditioning extras in Alaska for an upcoming film set in the state. Based on the events of the 1988 rescue of three California gray whales trapped under ice in the Arctic Circle, “Everybody Loves Whales” stars Drew Barrymore as a Greenpeace worker who partners with a small town reporter played by John Krasinski of NBC’s “The Office.”

According to the Anchorage Daily News, executive producer Stuart Besser needs at least 1,000 extras in addition to 30-40 people for speaking roles.

Besser explained that while the story is based on real events, it is not a documentary and the writers will take “literary license.”

The $30 million Universal Pictures movie, which is due for release in 2012, will begin shooting this September.