Tom Hanks thinks having his new movie debut on Apple TV+ is an ‘absolute heartbreak’

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Tom Hanks in Greyhound
Hanks talks about his "Apple overlords" in new interview.
Photo: Apple TV+

Tom Hanks made a few not-so-flattering comments about the “Apple overlords” in an interview about his new World War II movie Greyhound. The film, which was originally supposed to launch in theaters, was pulled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it will premiere on Apple TV+ this Friday.

In an interview with The Guardian, Hanks describes the shift to Apple TV+ as “an absolute heartbreak.” He also spills the beans on one of Apple’s slightly unusual requests for his press interviews.

To be clear, Hanks isn’t being anti-Apple. But he is clear about the fact that Greyhound, which he acted in, produced and wrote the screenplay for, should have been seen on the big screen. “I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality,” Hanks said.

(Update: Read our just-published review of the film: Greyhound is a totally Tom Hanks war movie.)

Tom Hanks on ‘cruel whipmasters’ at Apple TV+

As for Apple’s quirky press request, the article notes that:

“Apple TV+ is having a similarly negative impact on Hanks’ appearance in this interview. Even though he is in his office, ‘the cruel whipmasters at Apple’ decided the background needed to be a blank wall, presumably so nosy journalists like me wouldn’t spend the whole encounter snooping at Hanks’ bookcases. Against the eerily empty backdrop, he looks, Hanks rightly says, as if he’s in ‘a witness protection programme. But here I am, bowing to the needs of Apple TV.'”

The idea of Apple insisting on stark minimalism for its video interviews is amusingly, well, Apple. It would be fascinating to know the reason for that particular decision.

Apple bought the distribution rights for the movie for $70 million back in May. Greyhound will debut on Apple TV+ on July 10, making it the second original movie to hit the platform after The Banker in March.

Hanks (and characters) and Apple

This isn’t the first time Hanks has had dealings with Apple. Back in 2014, Hanks launched free iPad writing app Hanx Writer. It re-creates the retro experience of typing on a manual typewriter on an iPad.

His movie characters have crossed over into Apple territory a couple of times, too. His 2017 movie The Circle depicted a high-tech company in an Apple Park-shaped circular HQ, which turns out to be evil. More notably, Forrest Gump’s investment in Apple nets the character a life-altering fortune. Today, that character’s stake would reportedly be worth upward of $28 billion.

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