Tom Hanks: Greyhound's Debut on Apple TV+ Instead of in Theaters is an 'Absolute Heartbreak'

Actor and filmmaker Tom Hanks is devastated that his new film 'Greyhound' will debut on Apple TV+ instead of in theaters.

Hanks voiced his displeasure with the development in a Guardian interview.


Hanks doesn’t just star in Greyhound, he also produced it and wrote the screenplay, adapting it from C S Forester’s novel The Good Shepherd. “My ego has run rampant, Hadley, and it’s all over the picture!” he hoots. Hanks has written films before – the 1996 paean to 60s bands, That Thing You Do!, and 2011’s Larry Crowne. But Greyhound has been an especial labour of love for him, one he sweated over for almost a decade, and it is one of those sweeping war movies that really should be seen on the big screen. So the change in plans has been, he says, “an absolute heartbreak. I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality.”

Sony Pictures had acquired the world rights to the film and scheduled it for release on May 8. That was then moved to June 19; however, the coronavirus pandemic also put an end to those plans. A decision was made to alter course and the film was stealthily shopped around. A bidding battle ensued between the big streamers and Apple won in a deal worth around $70 million.

Notably, Hanks also appears unhappy about how Apple is controlling his interactions with the media.

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.”


Greyhound will premiere July 10 exclusively on Apple TV+. You can watch the trailer below and hit the link for more details from the interview with Hanks.

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