On Monday we reported about a Tom Hanks interview where “Greyhound” star Tom Hanks sounded a bit critical of the Apple TV+ service’s release of his new film “Greyhound.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Hanks said he was disappointed in the move to the small screen, saying the change in plans as “an absolute heartbreak.”
“I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality,” said Hanks.
Hanks has since clarified some of his feelings about the Apple TV+ release of his new film.
In a Tuesday morning interview on NBC’s “Today” show, the star said that he’s “actually thrilled that Apple TV+ is making it possible for everyone to see it.”
Hanks called theater closures due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic “heartbreaking,” adding that Apple “saved the day for us” by allowing Apple TV+ subscribers to see the film.
“Barring that, Apple has saved the day for us,” Hanks added. “We had a magnificent movie that was not going to be seen. Apple is a benevolent streaming service in every way.”
“We are going to be able to fill up the screens in the living rooms and the bean-bag chairs of the world all in one fall shot, so we feel as though we were rescued at sea by a convoy with a big Apple logo with a bite taken out of it,” Hanks said.
Hanks’ full Today Show comments can be read below.
I’m actually thrilled that Apple TV+ is making it possible for everybody to see it This is a magnificent gift that’s come to us because of Apple because COVID-19 did something heartbreaking to us all: it closed down the theaters. We don’t have the cinema. There isn’t anybody that doesn’t like going to see a good movie with 800 people and coming out with something in common.
Barring that, Apple has saved the day for us. We had a magnificent movie that was not going to be seen. Apple is a benevolent streaming service in every way. It’s going to look fantastic but it’s going to be available. It is going to be viewable, and otherwise we would’ve languished in a vault for a movie that is 88 minutes of a thematic story that does speak to what we’re all going through right now.
We didn’t know that at the time we made the film, we were just trying to make a lean, new spare version about procedures and behaviors about how difficult it was to stay alive in the North Atlantic in 1942. It’s a magnificent deal and we are going to be able to fill up the screens in the living rooms and the bean-bag chairs of the world all in one fall shot, so we feel as though we were rescued at sea by a convoy with a big Apple logo with a bite taken out of it.
In the film, Hanks stars as a longtime Navy veteran who, as a first-time captain, is tasked with protecting a convoy of 37 ships carrying thousands of soldiers and much-needed supplies across the treacherous waters of the Atlantic during World War II. For five days with no air cover, the captain and his small force of three escort ships must make their way through an area of the ocean known as “the Black Pit,” battling Nazi U-boats while protecting their invaluable ships and soldiers. “Greyhound” is inspired by events during the Battle of the Atlantic, which took place in the earliest months of America’s alliance with Great Britain and the Allied Forces. Stephen Graham, Rob Morgan, and Elisabeth Shue star alongside Hanks. “Greyhound” was written by Tom Hanks, directed by Aaron Schneider and produced by Gary Goetzman.
The film is a Playtone Production from Sony Pictures Entertainment/Stage 6 Films, in association with Bron Creative, Zhengfu Pictures, Sycamore Pictures, and FilmNation Entertainment.
The release of his new film isn’t the first time Hanks’ life has been affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus, as he and his wife, Rita Wilson were both infected with the virus during a trip to Australia in March. The couple was hospitalized for three days.
The film will make its debut on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 10.
(Via AppleInsider)
