Tom Hanks: ”Heroism Is Rare”
The long screen life of Tom Hanks seems to have contained several self-sufficient, consistent careers. After the television series "Bosom Buddies" ( Bosom Buddies ), he became a specialist in the lead roles of charming handsome men in light comedies such as "Bachelor Party", "Breakthrough" and "Splash".Then, after going through a period of dramedies like Bolshoi, Zest, Their Own League, he became one of the most successful actors of our time. "Philadelphia", "Apollo 13", "Saving Private Ryan" - the awards poured on him faster than he could catch them. The list of his roles over the past two decades is so eclectic that there is no doubt that Tom can portray anyone. One thing remains unchanged: in his performance even the most ordinary man in the street becomes the embodiment of reliability. And in the new film by Clint Eastwood " Miracle on the Hudson " Hanks played a pilot who in 2009 landed an airliner with 155 passengers on board in the middle of Manhattan after failure of both engines. In a recent interview, the actor spoke about his meeting with the real Sally and who they are - the real heroes.  Was it interesting to delve into the intricacies of the pilot's profession? Wrong word. This is really great, because the smallest thing matters a lot. Call signs, frequencies - when you read about it, it doesn't seem so complicated. We managed to find a way to show how it really happens, at least approximately. From the moment the plane enters the runway, pilots are not allowed to talk about anything other than flying. “Hey, we're making steaks tonight, how are you? The Dodgers are playing, will you watch? "- all this remains in the hangar. Until the board reaches the set height, you can only answer the dispatcher or negotiate technical issues regarding the current flight. Any idle talk is prohibited by the charter. We put one line into the film: "A wonderful day on the Hudson." So, Sally is actually breaking the law by saying these words. Can you tell a really scary story from your life? I'm a weakling! I've never been in mortal danger. On the set of Outcast, I swam in the open ocean for the only time in my life. Also, in high school, I almost crashed my motorcycle into a bus. A person can be a hero, a villain, a coward or an observer, the fifth is not given. I am an observer.  Don't you think the word “hero” is being abused these days? The word is really too hackneyed. I believe the textbook definition is that a hero is someone who takes risks for the benefit of others. But this often happens by chance. A person does the right thing in unexpected circumstances, that's all. There are heroic deeds, and there are right deeds. I don’t think we should expect any awards or accolades for just behaving the right way. Take Sally for example. For each of his work shifts, he delivers 155 passengers from New York to Charlotte four times. That is, voluntarily takes responsibility for their carefree flight high in the sky, faster than birds, and for returning to earth at their destination. Some find it difficult to even imagine such a thing, but he says: "This is my profession." And Sally is, to a certain extent, a hero to me. But that's perfectly normal, and at the end of the day I don't buy him a beer at the bar to thank him. However, if he is able to gather his will into a fist, not to panic and do something like that - absolutely amazing - then he deserves a beer. But frankly, I find it really amazing that that this person does four times a day, confidently and professionally. And who is the bigger hero - Sally or the divers who jumped into the water from helicopters and pulled people out? They also showed an example of heroism that day. But heroism is rare, not everyday.  Meeting with Sally was important to you? Does he have personality traits that you want to imitate? He is a very unusual person. First, we had a nodding acquaintance at the Film Academy party. This was in 2009, just a few weeks after that incident. Someone came up and asked, "Would you like to meet Sullenberger ?" “The guy who landed the plane on the Hudson ?! Yes I want to". I met him and his wife Laurie, we chatted a little ... Something about him was from Elvis, something - from John Wayne. He walks into the room with that white hair of his and everyone freezes. Later we exchanged a couple of letters on organizational issues, and I said: "This is what, for better or for worse, I will play you." Then he drew up a work plan for the day. His copy of the script was all in notes, something underlined, highlighted, torn, pasted. Sally had a lot of comments about the script. These were mostly trifles, but all to the point. And for me the main task was to learn from his experience, his attention to detail. Chesley tried to explain everything in detail and always thought in terms of flight. The takeoff speed, the speed of descent, the speed of rotation of the Earth, the angle of flight, this, like her, is the force of gravity. As they approached the George Washington Bridge, he instinctively knew how far to go. He did not look at the instruments, did not pull out a slide rule or calculator. His body and work experience told him what was at stake. How to show it on the screen and not fake it? I used to joke that, they say, this is what we are masters. But this does not mean at all that actors are looking for easy ways to achieve results. Such roles are always a challenge. And when you accept it, you take on not only a certain amount of work, but also a share of fear, a share of responsibility. It is important to remember about the very foundation, about the foundation, about what you are working for. And believe it.<  Clarify a moment with Jeff [co-pilot; played by Aaron Eckhart] . Sally was not at the helm during takeoff and I asked how it happened. He explained that each pilot must take the plane into the air at least once every 500 flight hours. Sally knew that Jeff was about to go, and gave him that start. Such an order is not discussed, it is carried out without question, and for him it was one of the moments of achieving excellence in the profession. What is the main lesson the audience can learn from the film? I think the motivation is to travel long distances by land. How do you like the roles of ordinary people doing something unusual? It's primarily about the reasons why you go to the movies. I love science fiction the most. When I was little, literally everyone watched Fantastic Voyage in theaters. Now there are no such pictures, the fantasy has become kind of cheesy. In Fantastic Voyage , heroes climb into this cool submarine and magically shrink. Then they are placed in a huge syringe and injected into the patient's body, they enter the bloodstream and must pass through the heart and end up in the brain. They then exit the sub, and onto Raquel Welch's skin-tight diving suit. This was no doubt an added bonus. And then the characters in the movie pretend to be floating, and they have big laser cannons with which they destroy the tumor in the brain. Finally, the team swims to the eye canal and comes out with a tear. It seemed to me that this is the greatest film of all time. So, this is one of the reasons why you go to the movies.  And someone might like a guy on a motorcycle who quits his job and travels around the country. The film can be remembered for no apparent reason, because the magic of cinema - it exists. But, as for me, the real drive begins when the viewer gradually recognizes himself on the screen, when he thinks about how he himself would behave in a similar situation. The viewer looks and thinks: “The same thing happened to me, even though I didn’t fall in the plane, didn’t survive on the island, didn’t ride on horseback, firing from two hands.” In the films that I love, people behave like human beings, it captivates me and justifies the existence of the film. I do not have an impressive image, I look like I look, I speak as I speak, I think like an actor, I am generally not inclined to reincarnation. But it's easy for me to portray those very ordinary people with whom incredible stories happen every day. And if you manage to find a project that can capture with only one form, call any time.  Source: Moviehole The Topic of Article: Tom Hanks: ”Heroism Is Rare”. |
