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Tag: sully

  • ‘Chief of Station’ Exclusive Interview: Aaron Eckhart

    Aaron Eckhart in 'Chief of Station'.
    Aaron Eckhart in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    Opening in theaters on May 3rd is the new spy thriller ‘Chief of Station,’ which stars Aaron Eckhart (‘The Dark Knight’), Olga Kurylenko (‘Black Widow’) and Alex Pettyfer (’The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Aaron Eckhart about his work on ‘Chief of Station,’ his first reaction to the screenplay, his love for the genre, his character, the fight sequences, and working with Olga Kurylenko and Alex Pettyfer, as well as looking back at the making of ‘Sully’ and working with Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood.

    Related Article: ‘Silicon Valley’s Chris Diamantopoulos Talks Action Comedy ‘High Heat’

    Olga Kurylenko and Aaron Eckhart in 'Chief of Station'.
    (L to R) Olga Kurylenko and Aaron Eckhart in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay, and in general, when you are reading scripts and choosing projects, what are you looking for?

    Aaron Eckhart: Well, it’s interesting. I like the cold war era spy movie. I grew up watching it and it’s always intrigued me. Of course, being in Europe, we filmed this in Hungary, and we used the streets, and we used the architecture and that feeling. I really liked those movies. I like the idea of coordinated events of people moving as one to accomplish a goal and that’s what really the spy game is, isn’t it? It’s sleight of hand and coordination and it’s a house full of mirrors, and I really liked that. I’ve always liked it. I grew up on it, and it’s fun to participate in it.

    MF: What are some of your favorite films in the spy thriller genre?

    AE: Well, of course there’s ‘Three Days of the Condor,’ which is the iconic film where the powerful guy behind the curtain is on the other end of the phone giving instructions or telling you in the middle of this city of millions of people on a pay phone that he’s got eyes on you. There’s just something that’s so intriguing about that, and especially with today’s technology. Every spy film I can think of is about how they can implant something, how they can monitor you in some way, and what’s more topical than that right now in terms of cameras, drones, the internet, lasers and radar. All this stuff where they can literally see into your mind and even implant things now. So, the idea of this surveillance state and the idea that they know what you’re thinking always is fascinating, especially as they implant chips and that. So, I’ve always been fascinated by that, the idea of it, what’s true and what’s not true, what is the future? What does it look like? I think it’s good fertile ground for filmmaking.

    Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko in 'Chief of Station'.
    (L to R) Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    MF: In the movie, your character suffers a great loss. Can you talk about who he was before that event, and who he becomes after?

    AE: He loses his wife to a bomb and it’s his fault. It’s the fault of his occupation and her involvement in it. Of course, she’s in it as well but I become the casualty. Before, you’re talking about a man who’s living his life, his occupation, everything, and then you’re talking about deep loss. I mean, there’s not really anything I can say more than that. It’s just, you’re a hollow man. You’re now winding down the days and nothing really feels or tastes the same and that’s where he is at right now. He’s avenging his loss as well and having to deal with the real world as well as the inner world of this darkness that he has.

    MF: Can you talk about that guilt and how it affects his relationship with his son?

    AE: I mean, his son, it’s interesting being a father. I’m not a father, so I couldn’t say, but I could only imagine the idea of a boy losing his mother to a tragic and terrible event, and then having to find his way through life, especially when you have a dad who is away and is not really in touch with his own feelings. His boy drifts off and gets into places maybe where he shouldn’t be, and he goes through his own dark times. They must reconnect and reform a relationship on a different level now. They’ve gone from father-son to more friends and contemporaries, and they must exist on this level now. It’s an interesting dynamic because in a lot of ways, the father feels like a fraud. He let his son down. He’s responsible for his mother’s death in a way, and he’s got a lot of guilt associated with that.

    Aaron Eckhart and Alex Pettyfer in 'Chief of Station'.
    (L to R) Aaron Eckhart and Alex Pettyfer in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    MF: There is a great scene in the movie where you fight one of the bad guys on a boat. Can you talk about shooting that sequence?

    AE: First, filming in Hungary and Budapest was just amazing and we were on the river there and we were on a riverboat. It is in the middle of the river, and it’s going up and down. It was just fantastic with this beautiful architecture, European history, and we had a great fight coordinator. (I was fighting) the fight coordinator (in that scene) and he was just a great guy. Basically, we worked out that fight that morning. We got to work and he’s like, “Okay, this is what’s going to happen.” We just rehearsed the fight and worked on it throughout the day because we did have a couple other scenes before that. It’s amazing when you have somebody who’s a fighter that you’re working with because you have total trust that he’s going to do the right thing and that you’re going to do the right thing. We just worked out this fight and he beats the crap out of me and I beat the crap out of him, and it was a great day.

    MF: What was it like working with Olga Kurylenko and Alex Pettyfer?

    AE: Well, Alex is great. I love him. He’s a great actor and a great guy. I had a lot of fun with him. I did not know him before, but I just really warmed up to him and we had a good time together. I really appreciate him as a person and as an actor. Very impressive. Olga, of course, was awesome. I worked with her before (‘Erased’). Again, she’s very humble and very giving. She’s willing to do anything for the director and for the scene, which I really appreciated, and is a total professional as well and makes it look good all the time. So really between just those two, it made the days easy and fun. Alex and I had our own fight scene that was punishing. Again, he’s a fighter and can throw a punch and knows how to take a punch, and he’s very giving. You never know how those things are going to turn out because you might go home with some bruises. But we had a good time.

    Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart in director Clint Eastwood's 'Sully'.
    (L to R) Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart in director Clint Eastwood’s ‘Sully’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.

    MF: Finally, I love ‘Sully’ and think it’s one of Clint Eastwood’s best movies. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Tom Hanks’ character pulls you into a hallway during the trial sequence and tells your character how proud he is of what you’ve both accomplished and that “We did our job.” Can you talk about shooting that scene with Tom and Clint?

    AE: I’m happy to hear that because it’s a small scene and it’s not a very monumental scene, but it’s leading into the auditorium, which is the big monologue. A couple of things. I loved making that movie. I love Clint. I love Tom. I loved working with them. I love how subtle Tom is and how much trust Clint gives the actors. In fact, I remember one time when we were sitting around that big table having a discussion, I can’t remember which scene it was, but Tom was in it, I was in it, and some other people. Between a take or something, I can’t remember, I said something to Clint about doing it the first time or something like that. Clint goes, “That’s why I cast good actors.” The trust level was off the charts. He just let us do whatever we wanted. He never questioned us, never. It was just amazing. Then Tom was the leader. He took charge and coordinated everything either verbally or non-verbally and we all followed. That scene is a perfect example of that, it epitomizes that, where you have the senior guy coming out, taking charge, and going into the auditorium. A little bit of humor in that scene as well, but “a job well done and we’re going to be okay” and that’s what a leader does.

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    What is the plot of ‘Chief of Station’?

    After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA officer and Station Chief (Aaron Eckhart) is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary (Olga Kurylenko) to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Chief of Station’?

    Olga Kurylenko in 'Chief of Station'.
    Olga Kurylenko in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    Movies Similar to ‘Chief of Station’:

    Buy Aaron Eckhart Movies on Amazon

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  • Best Tom Hanks Movies

    by Gary Susman

    Best Tom Hanks movies
    Paramount/Pixar/DreamWorks

    There’s something reassuring about the quiet heroism of Tom Hanks‘ characters. For an actor in his 60s, he’s still modestly saving the world (and the box office) with his big-screen output.

    ‘Big’ (1988)

    Tom Hanks in movie Big 1988
    Fox

    Here’s where Hanks — playing a 12-year-old trapped in a grown-up’s body — began his transition from goofy comic lead (in movies like “Splash“) to soulful Everyman. There’s plenty of fun, silly antics (the giant piano dance is always a delight), but most of the film’s action — the bewildering joys and heartaches of maturity — simply plays across the actor’s face.

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    ‘Forrest Gump’ (1994)

    Tom Hanks in movie Forrest Gump 1994
    Paramount

    Hanks won his first Oscar for playing a gay attorney dying of AIDS in 1993’s “Philadelphia.” He won his second for doing a complete 180 after that film, playing a slow-witted Southerner on a historic journey through the 20th century. The character could easily have become an offensive cartoon, but Hanks transformed him into another heroic Everyman. For Gump, Hanks is one of a handful of stars to win twice in a row.

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    ‘Apollo 13’ (1995)

    Tom Hanks in movie Apollo 13 1995
    Universal

    It’s a miracle that this movie was such a nail-biting masterpiece of action and suspense. Not only is it based on a well-known historical incident, but its center is another reassuring Hanks performance. Credit Ron Howard‘s all-rockets-firing direction and Hanks’ calm, intelligent turn as resourceful astronaut Jim Lovell.

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    ‘Toy Story’ (1995)

    Tom Hanks in movie Toy Story 1995
    Pixar

    All three of the “Toy Story” movies have been terrific, but this is the one where Hanks’ Woody learns and grows the most. Like a number of Hanks heroes, the toy cowboy starts as a smug jerk who discovers his humanity when he’s forced to put someone else’s needs ahead of his own.

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    ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)

    Tom Hanks in movie Saving Private Ryan 1998
    Paramount/DreamWorks

    Steven Spielberg‘s filmmaking pyrotechnics have, understandably, earned the most praise for making this the most mercilessly realistic war movie ever made. But the soul of the film is still Hanks’ heartbreaking turn as Captain Miller.

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    ‘Cast Away’ (2000)

    Tom Hanks in movie Cast Away 2000
    Fox

    Hanks is the whole show here, since much of the film consists of watching him alone on a desert island, trying for long, wordless stretches of the movie’s running time to survive and ultimately escape.

    The actor famously pulled a De Niro, gaining 50 pounds to play the pre-crash Chuck Noland, then taking a year off in mid-shoot to get gaunt again to play the long-stranded Chuck, but the effectiveness of his turn doesn’t come from Method acting. Really, who else but Hanks could make you cry over a lost volleyball?

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    ‘Captain Phillips’ (2013)

    Tom Hanks in movie Captain Phillips 2013
    Sony

    Hanks shines as another captain, this one drawn from a real-life pirate tale. Like his “Private Ryan” Captain Miller, Phillips is calm, resourceful, willing to do anything for his men, and capable of seeing the humanity in his enemies. The performance is another sign that, even as Hanks’ acting becomes more minimalist, it’s deepening with age. The film’s heartbreaking final minutes, where Phillips succumbs to both shock and relief, is an all-timer for Hanks — and for filmmaking.

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    Tom Hank’s new movie ‘Finch’ is coming to Apple TV+ on November 5, 2021. A powerful journey to find a new home in a dangerous and ravaged world.

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  • Oscars 2017: Amy Adams & Tom Hanks Mistakenly Nominated on Official Site

    Oops! Some #alternativefacts made their way onto the official Oscars website this morning, accidentally giving Academy Award nominations to Amy Adams and Tom Hanks.

    Visitors to the Oscars site shared screen grabs of the gaffes, showing Amy Adams in the Actress in a Leading Role category for “Arrival,” and Tom Hanks as a sixth (!) nominee in the Actor in a Leading Role category for “Sully”:

    Sadly for Amy Adams, but happily for Ruth Negga, the “Loving” star was the correct fifth nominee. Not sure why Adams was placed in there, or how Hanks got shoved in as the sixth name in a five-person category, but it’s all good now. That is, it’s good for everyone but the fans who feel like Adams and Hanks were snubbed.

    Later Tuesday morning, ABC released a statement on the error:

    “This morning, in an attempt to release breaking news as announced, ABC Digital briefly posted inaccurate nomination information on the Oscar.com website. The nominees announced by the Academy on Twitter were accurate. ABC quickly identified and corrected the errors. We apologize to the Academy, press and fans for any confusion.”

    Hey, it happens to the best and worst of us alike. Here’s the full list of actual nominees. The Oscars will be handed out in a live ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 26 on ABC.

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  • 2017 Golden Globe Nominations: The 5 Biggest Snubs and Surprises

    That sound you heard after Don Cheadle, Laura Dern, and Anna Kendrick read out the names of this year’s Golden Globes nominees this morning? That was the inevitable head-scratching over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s sometimes on-point — but usually baffling — picks for the year’s best in film and TV.

    Here are five of their choices that knocked us out of our chairs.

    1. A Deafening “Silence”
    Two films that almost everyone was sure were going to be nominated for Best Drama were awards-season favorite Martin Scorsese‘s epic “Silence” and “Fences,” the latter directed by Denzel Washington. He and VIola Davis did get nominated for acting in “Fences,” but that was it for the prestigious Broadway-bred drama.

    Still, that’s more than the silent treatment the Globe voters gave to “Silence.” In their places: World War II drama “Hacksaw Ridge” — which also earned nods for star Andrew Garfield and director Mel Gibson, to whom the foreign reporters of the HFPA have always been kinder than their American counterparts — and rural new-noir “Hell or High Water.” Both are acclaimed movies but were considered long-shots in this race. By the way, Garfield also stars in “Silence,” so for Scorsese, the actor’s nomination for Gibson’s film over his probably adds insult to injury.

    2. “Deadpool“
    It was a pleasant surprise to see the satirical superhero movie nominated in the comedy categories for Best Film and Best Actor (Ryan Reynolds), both because it came out way back in February and because, well, it’s a superhero movie.

    The genre tends to get no love at awards time, but then again, the movie itself blew a raspberry at the genre, so maybe the filmmakers and the Globe voters were on the same page. Also, a worldwide gross of $783 million is hard to ignore; clearly, “Deadpool” was a favorite in many countries whose reporters are HFPA members.

    3. Jon Snow, Killed Again
    Yes, we live in a golden age of television where there’s a glut of great shows on broadcast, cable, and now streaming, but that also means there were too many snubs in the TV categories to count. No Stranger Things?” No Westworld”? Nothing, not even a cup of coffee, for the “Gilmore Girls” revival?

    Still, the one that hurts the most is Game of Thrones” actor flippin’ RETURNED FROM THE DEAD for your entertainment, then delivered his most dramatic season ever, culminating in the epic “Battle of the Bastards.” Plus, he spent more than a year off-screen fooling the world into thinking he wasn’t coming back. If that’s not award-worthy acting, what is?

    4. Issa Rae
    The Globe voters pride themselves on being ahead of the pack when it comes to discovering new TV talent, since the calendar gives them an eight-month head start over the Emmys. They especially like anointing new comedy ingenues. After crowning Jane the Virgin”) two years ago and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) last year, it’s now Rae’s turn for her delightful turn as a muddling single gal on HBO’s “Insecure.”

    5. “Finding Dory” Denied
    Granted, the Best Animated Feature category already has two deserving Disney movies in it, “Zootopia” and “Moana.” Still, the slot everyone expected would go to the fish-tale favorite went instead to something called “My Life as a Zucchini.”

    For the record, it’s a stop-motion film about an orphaned boy, submitted by Switzerland this year as the country’s entry into the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film pool. It wowed ‘me last May at Cannes. Still, fans of what is (so far) the biggest hit of 2016 have to wonder if there isn’t something fishy about this selection.

  • Box Office: ‘Blair Witch’ and ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ No Match for ‘Sully’

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Sept 18 (Variety.com) – Some things aren’t worth the wait.

    “Blair Witch” and “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” sequels to films that first hit theaters a generation ago, both stumbled in their debuts this weekend, earning a meager $9.7 million and $8.2 million, respectively. They were easily overpowered by “Sully,” the Clint Eastwood drama about the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency plane landing that features Tom Hanks as Capt. Chesley Sullenberger. The Warner Bros. release topped the domestic box office for a second consecutive weekend, earning $22 million and pushing its stateside total to $70.5 million.

    “It’s just a well-made story,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution executive vice president. “The word-of-mouth is sensational.”

    The weekend’s other wide-release launch, Oliver Stone‘s “Snowden,” was also over-shadowed by the aeronautical heroics, picking up $8 million from 2,443 locations for a fourth-place finish. The look at Edward Snowden stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and got a warm reception at the Toronto International Film Festival, with some calling it a return to form for Stone, a director whose recent work such as “The Savages” has failed to capture the renown of earlier efforts like “Platoon” and “JFK.”

    However, the NSA leaker remains a controversial figure in American politics, a whistle blower to some and a traitor to others, which might have limited the picture’s appeal. Open Road is distributing the film domestically, and if it continues to attract some awards heat, it’s possible it could chug along to a respectable gross. “Snowden” cost a reported $50 million to produce.

    It’s a disappointing result for “Blair Witch,” which fell short of tracking. Heading into the weekend, some rival studios expected the film to earn $20 million, potentially toppling “Sully” from its throne. A lot went wrong, starting with some bad reviews and a D CinemaScore. Moreover, younger moviegoers may not have been familiar with the horror franchise. The first film in the series revolutionized theatrical distribution and kicked off the trend of “found footage” stories when it hit theaters in 1999. Made for a mere $60,000, it rode some eerie marketing to a $248.6 million global gross. A poorly received follow-up hit theaters in 2000, when it was pulverized by critics and made a fraction of the first film’s massive haul.

    Lionsgate produced the latest sequel for an economical $5 million and pushed it out over 3,121 locations. It debuted the film at Comic-Con to generate buzz, screening it under its working title “The Woods” and surprising fans who had no idea they were watching a new “Blair Witch.” But there are a lot of horror films in theaters, with “Don’t Breathe” and “When the Bough Breaks” already scratching the itch to be scared and leaving little room for “Blair Witch” to break through.

    At a corporate level, Lionsgate is undergoing a transition and could use some new film franchises. The studio has wrapped up its “Hunger Games” films and is moving the “Divergent” series to television. It also announced Friday that Rob Friedman, the motion picture group co-chair and one of the guiding forces behind the “Twilight” saga, is stepping down. The studio is earning strong buzz on “La La Land,” a musical that is expected to be an Oscar player, “Hacksaw Ridge,” a World War II drama from Mel Gibson, and “Deepwater Horizon,” a true-life action tale with Mark Wahlberg.

    “Bridget Jones’s Baby” is another exercise in diminishing returns. It has been 15 years since Jones (Renee Zellweger) first captured audiences’ attention in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” with her romantic travails and 12 years since “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” caught moviegoers up with her on-again, off-again relationship with dashing Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth). The romantic comedy is backed by Universal, Miramax, StudioCanal and Working Title, and cost $35 million to produce. It’s faring better overseas, where it opened in first place in 24 territories and racked up $29.9 million, but moviegoers probably shouldn’t expect a part four.

    Universal’s domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou said he thinks the film will fare well in the coming weeks as counter-programming. He noted that future films such as “The Magnificent Seven” and “Storks,” don’t cater to the female consumers who support “Bridget Jones’s Baby.”

    “We love these characters, we love the actors playing them, and we’re confident in how it will play out,” said Carpou.

    Sony’s “Don’t Breathe” rounded out the top five, nabbing $5.6 million to bring its domestic total to an impressive $75.3 million after three weeks.

    Among newcomers, Pure Flix courted the faith-based set with “Hillsong: Let Hope Rise,” a documentary about the Australian Christian group that made $1.3 million from 816 locations.

    “The Disappointments Room,” Relativity Media’s first release since the studio emerged from bankruptcy protection in April, continued to flounder. After debuting last weekend to an anemic $1.4 million, it plunged 71%, eking out $400,000 and pushing its gross to $2.2 million. The horror film about a house’s haunted past stars Kate Beckinsale and cost roughly $15 million to produce. Its release was frequently delayed as Relativity’s financial problems worsened. At one point, in Chapter 11 filings, the studio estimated that “The Disappointments Room” would earn $72.6 million over its lifetime, a figure that factors in estimated home entertainment revenue along with theatrical grosses.

    It’s failure is unwelcome news for Relativity, which still faces questions about its longterm viability. The studio has been trying to come up with a plan to service its debts and raise more working capital. It has announced plans to remake “High Noon” and will back “Hunter Killer,” an action film with Gerard Butler. Relativity has other films hitting theaters this year, including the comedy “Materminds” and the thriller “Kidnapped.”

    In milestones, Illumination Entertainment and Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets” crossed $800 million globally. It’s a huge hit; one that has already spurred a sequel. Illumination, the animation label behind the film and the “Despicable Me” series, also debuted “Sing,” its upcoming Christmas release about an “American Idol”-style talent competition, to strong reviews at Toronto.

    Overall ticket sales couldn’t compete with a year-ago period that saw the debuts of the Johnny Depp gangster film “Black Mass” and a sequel to “Maze Runner.” Revenues dropped 21% to just under $90 million.

    “This is what we typically see in September,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with ComScore. “The summer movies have ended and this is the after-party.”

  • 7 Reasons Why ‘Sully’ Shattered Expectations at the Box Office

    Talk about sticking the landing.

    Going into this weekend, box office experts expected “Sully” and “When the Bough Breaks” to premiere with a combined $50 million and split it about evenly.

    “Sully,” after all, recalled Tom Hanks‘s other recent tale of real-life heroics, “Captain Phillips,” which opened with $25.7 million. And Screen Gems’ “Bough,” starring Morris Chestnut, looked a lot like other African-American-lead thrillers released by Screen Gems that have done well in recent Septembers, including last year’s “The Perfect Guy” (also starring Chestnut, and opening at $25.9 million). Analysts gave “Sully” a slight edge, due to name recognition for Hanks and director Clint Eastwood, but it was supposed to be a tight race.

    As it turned out, the two new movies did split about $50 million. Yet “Sully” touched down easily with an estimated $35.5 million, while “Bough” earned just an estimated $15.0 million. So predictions of a photo finish were off by, oh, just $20 million.

    Here’s how “Sully” soared so high above expectations:

    1. It Hit All the Theaters
    3,525 theaters is the ninth-widest September release ever. Kudos to Warner Bros. for being able to book that many screens, especially with three other wide releases opening (including kiddie cartoon “The Wild Life” and horror film “The Disappointments Room“).

    2. Because Hanks
    Hanks isn’t the box office draw he once was; this spring’s “A Hologram for the King” barely made a blip on the box office radar (it made just $4.2 million over its entire run), and even last year’s modest hit “Bridge of Spies” opened with just $15.4 million on its way to a total of $72.3 million. Nonetheless, in the right role, the 60-year-old is still magic.

    Everyman heroes like Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger or Captain RIchard Phillips are his wheelhouse, and fans know it. Audience polling service PostTrak reported that a full 39 percent of “Sully” viewers chose to see it because of Hanks. No wonder that, aside from the “Toy Story” and Robert Langdon franchises, “Sully” marks the biggest opening of Tom Hanks’s career.

    3. The Eastwood Factor
    Thanks to his long and celebrated career in front of the camera, Eastwood is one of the few household names behind the camera as well. As a director, he has a reputation for quality and awards-season mojo, though his movies have been hit or miss at the box office in recent years. His last movie, however, was an unqualified hit; in fact, “American Sniper” was the biggest smash of Eastwood’s career, on either side of the camera, earning $350.1 million in North America.

    “Sully” plays on similar heroic themes, but with much less potential for political controversy. It also comes out nearly two years after “Sniper,” so fans of the usually prolific director have had time to work up an appetite. And “Sully” marks his first-ever collaboration with Hanks, so anticipation was high. No surprise that, according to PostTrak, a healthy 20 percent of “Sully” viewers said Eastwood was the reason they bought tickets.

    4. Age Appeal
    Even if Eastwood and Hanks don’t have reliable pull among younger viewers, they make up for it among mature audiences. Still, older viewers do pay more attention to reviews. Fortunately, “Sully” is doing well among critics, with an 83 percent “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences agree, giving “Sully” an A CinemaScore. So it’s no surprise that 80 percent of those who went to see the drama were over the age of 35.

    5. IMAX
    While critics admire Eastwood’s movies, it’s usually more for their acting than their visuals. This time, though, the story of Capt. Sullenberger’s daring water landing made for eye-grabbing spectacle. In fact, it’s the first mainstream Hollywood feature to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras. As a result, the movie sold especially well at IMAX theaters, taking in $4 million on the giant screens and claiming the IMAX record for a September wide release.

    6. Female Appeal
    Hanks remains one of the few leading men who is as admired as much by women as he is by men. Maybe even more so. It helps that the film’s heroics are characterized by bravery and grace under pressure, but not machismo or gunplay. So Warner Bros. reports that the film drew an audience that was 56 percent female.

    7. The Buzz
    Eastwood likes to slip into the Oscar race with as little fanfare as possible, often sneaking his movies into release at the last possible moment of eligibility in December, without critics and Oscar pundits pre-digesting them to death. The element of surprise has worked wonderfully for him with movies like “Million Dollar Baby” and “American Sniper,” both at the ticket counter and at the awards podium.

    Nonetheless, with “Sully,” Eastwood and Warner Bros. let the film play at the early fall festivals and generate buzz the same way all the other fall Oscar hopefuls do, and then released it early in September. Maybe they did it because they had a $60 million budget to recoup and needed to make a big marketing splash, or maybe they recognized (especially from the example of “Hologram”) that you can’t keep a low profile with a Tom Hanks movie, or maybe they wanted to avoid the holiday season traffic pile-up.

    In any case, the strategy worked at the box office. If the movie’s Oscar buzz doesn’t peak too early, it could work at awards time as well.
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  • Box Office: ‘Sully’ Lands at the Top Spot With $35 Million

    By Dave McNary

    LOS ANGELES, Sept 11 (Variety.com) – Tom Hanks‘ “Sully” has taken off with a stellar $35.5 million at 3,525 North American locations, marking a solid start to the fall box office season.

    Directed by Clint Eastwood, “Sully” handily outperformed recent expectations, which had been in the $25 million range. The action-adventure, which recreates 2009’s “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency landing, generated an A CinemaScore in a strong signal that “Sully” should continue to draw well in coming weeks.

    Sony-Screen Gems drama “When the Bough Breaks” opened respectably in second with $15 million at 2,246 sites. Lionsgate’s launch of European animated comedy “The Wild Life” generated only modest interest in fifth place with $3.4 million at 2,493 locations while Relativity’s horror film “The Disappointments Room” was nearly invisible with $1.4 million at 1,554 screens for a dismal $901 per-screen average. “Sully” stars Hanks as Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the career pilot who successfully landed a damaged U.S. Airways jet in the Hudson River after it hit a flock of geese following takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. Eastwood directed from a script by Todd Komarnicki, based on the autobiography “Highest Duty” by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow.

    “Sully” generated the top gross for a post-Labor Day weekend and the fifth-best September opening ever after “Hotel Transylvania 2,” “Hotel Transylvania,” “Insidious: Chapter 2” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on Sept. 2 and has received largely laudatory reviews with a current 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Audiences were 80% over 35 and 56% female. Warner distribution exec Jeffrey Goldstein said strong support among older moviegoers means “Sully” will hold well in the coming weeks.

    “Older audiences tend to support movies like this more over the long haul,” he added.

    Goldstein noted that “Sully” easily outperformed the opening of Hanks’ 2012 hostage drama “Captain Phillips,” which opened with $25.7 million on its way to a domestic total of $107 million. Hanks’ most recent film, “Bridge of Spies,” debuted in mid-October with a $15.4 million opening weekend at 2,811 sites and also had a strong hold as it wound up with a $72 million domestic total.

    Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, noted that PostTrak audience survey stats showed that 82% of the audience for “Sully” was over 25 years of age with 39% listing Hanks as the reason for attending the movie and another 20% giving Eastwood being the director.

    “Both statistics are uncommonly strong,” Dergarabedian said. “It’s a perfect kick off movie for the Fall movie season of 2016. ‘Sully’ brings one of the world’s most beloved stars and one of its great directors together in a true life drama that delivers the kind of gravitas and depth that defines the so-called ‘Oscar season’ that usually takes some time to ramp up, but this year gets right to work.”

    “Sully” generated $4 million from 375 Imax locations for a $10,666 average in what’s touted as the first Hollywood film ever shot entirely on Imax cameras. Eastwood had announced in April that he was shooting the film using the digital Imax Alexa 65 cameras.

    Aaron Eckhart stars as First Officer Jeffrey Skiles and Laura Linney plays Sullenberger’s spouse Lorraine.

    “Sully” has a production budget of about $60 million, so it will need to show holdover strength in the following weekends to make it into profitable territory. Village Roadshow Pictures is a co-producer and co-financer with Warner Bros.

    “Sully” took in $9.5 million at 3,600 screens in 39 international markets, led by $2.3 million in Australia. It generated the top opening for an Eastwood film in Russia with $925,000 on 882 screens.

    “When the Bough Breaks,” which has modest $10 million production budget, stars Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall as a couple who desperately wants a baby. They hire a surrogate, played by Jaz Sinclair, who develops a psychotic fixation on the husband as the pregnancy progresses.

    Sony’s third weekend of horror-thriller “Don’t Breathe” finished third with $8.2 million at 3,384 locations to bring its 17-day total to $66.8 million. Warner’s sixth weekend of “Suicide Squad” followed with $5.7 million at 3,103 sites for a domestic total of $307.4 million.

  • Tom Hanks Is Not Treated Like a Hero in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Sully’ Trailer

    “I’ve got 40 years in the air, but in the end I’m going to be judged on 208 seconds.”

    We get so used to seeing Captain “Sully” Sullenberger called a “hero” for his January 15, 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson” water landing, but ‘s movie “Sully” is far from a big pat on the back. It reveals the other side the public didn’t see, with Sully investigated and questioned for his actions that day. “When was your last drink, Captain Sullenberger? Have you had any troubles at home?” Instead of a gushing biopic, it plays more like a taut thriller.

    The heart-pounding first trailer just dropped — teasing one helluva plane landing sequence — starring as Sully, with as his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles; and as Sully’s wife, Lorraine. It’s Lorraine who says, tearfully, “There were 155 people on that plane, and you were one of them.” He’s not a superhero, he’s a person who was scared and almost lost his life, doing more than enough in the short time that he had to make a call. But as Sully worries, “What if I did get this wrong? What if I endangered the lives of all those passengers?”

    Watch the trailer:'Sully' (2016) Trailer

    Here’s the synopsis from Warner Bros.:

    From Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood (“American Sniper,” “Million Dollar Baby”) comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “Sully,” starring Oscar winner Tom Hanks (“Bridge of Spies,” “Forrest Gump”) as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

    On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed the “Miracle on the Hudson” when Captain “Sully” Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and his career.

    “Sully” is scheduled for release September 9.

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