his inheritance. Eleanor feels her husband is exploiting Ned and leaves. A pregnant reporter, Jane Winslett-Richardson, comes to chronicle the voyage. Both Ned and Zissou are attracted to Jane, and a competition develops between them. Klaus becomes jealous of the attention Zissou pays to Ned. On their mission to find the jaguar shark, the Belafonte steals tracking equipment from a remote station owned by currently more successful oceanographer (and Zissou's nemesis), Alistair Hennessey. They then sail into unprotected waters and are attacked by Filipino pirates, who steal Ned's money and kidnap Bill Ubell, a "bond company stooge" assigned to the project. They are then rescued by Hennessey and towed to Port-au-Patois. Sakowitz, along with all but one of the interns, jumps ship once they reach port. Zissou persuades Eleanor to rejoin the Belafonte, and then leads the crew on a rescue mission. They track Bill to an abandoned hotel on a remote island, saving him along with Hennessey, whom the pirates have also kidnapped. Ned and Zissou then make one last search for the shark in the ship's helicopter, but the aircraft malfunctions and they crash. Ned dies from his injuries and is buried at sea. Prior to Ned's death, Eleanor revealed to Jane that Zissou is sterile; therefore Ned could not have been his son. Zissou finally tracks down the shark in a submersible but he does not to kill it, both because of its beauty and not having any more dynamite. At the premiere of the finished documentary (which is dedicated to Ned who is acknowledged as Zissou's son), Zissou receives a standing ovation while waiting outside the theater for the premiere to finish. The crew returns triumphantly to the ship the next day. Cast Bill Murray as Steve Zissou Owen Wilson as Edward 'Ned' Plimpton / Kingsley Zissou Cate Blanchett as Jane Winslett-Richardson Anjelica Huston as Eleanor Zissou Willem Dafoe as Klaus Daimler Jeff Goldblum as Alistair Hennessey Michael Gambon as Oseary Drakoulias Bud Cort as Bill Ubell, Bond Company Stooge Noah Taylor as Vladimir Wolodarsky Seu Jorge as Pelé dos Santos Robyn Cohen as Anne-Marie Sakowitz Waris Ahluwalia as Vikram Ray Niels Koizumi as Bobby Ogata Pawel Wdowczak as Renzo Pietro Matthew Gray Gubler as Niko, Intern (credited as Intern #1) Antonio Monda as Himself Isabella Blow as Antonia Cook Seymour Cassel as Esteban du Plantier Production notes Literary inspiration Though the characters were inspired by