Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
The incomparable Tom Hanks has been set up to play Captain Richard Phillips in a new movie being backed by Sony Pictures. Captain Phillips, for those of you that recall, was the captain of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship that was captured by Somali pirates. Phillips heroically offered himself up as a hostage so that none of his crew had to leave the ship. He was then rescued a few days later by a team of Navy SEALs. It’s true that what he went through was horrible and it’s also true that he was very brave in defending his crew, but the guy sold his story almost before he got back to the USA and has been cashing in ever since. He was signed by the talent agency CAA upon arrival and quickly wrote the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea”, which the movie will be based on.
It seems like it has been several years since Tom Hanks has starred in a film that challenged him as an actor and gave him some really juicy parts to dive into. Considering he’s one of the best actors alive today, I’m definitely happy he’s going to be playing a character other than Robert Langdon.
Source: Deadline
