Tom Hanks Discusses 'Heartbreaking' Shift of WWII Film Greyhound From Theatrical Blockbuster to Apple TV+ Exclusive

[gbc204]

Kinda surprised Tom is so not appreciative. He always seemed less a hollywood ego type, guess that was all PR

Hanks had Covid and was evacuated out of Australia -- yet he still whines about having to stream and make many millions of dollars while likely getting even more people to see his film.

I haven't seen the videos, but if there's one person I'd be inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, it'd be Hanks. I can imagine some of this was said tongue-in-cheek. I'm sure he's disappointed the film isn't in theaters, but it'd be really weird if this were the hill he wanted to die on against streaming services. He's generally shown a pretty dry sense of humor in these kinds of interviews, so maybe that didn't come through.

Either that, or he just figures F it, he's rich, doesn't want to ever release anything on Apple TV+ again, and just felt OK burning that bridge.

 

[BruceEBonus]

In my day the expression was “Straight To Video”. Now it’s “Straight To Apple”. You can see why he’s miffed then.

 

[DavidLeblond]

It doesn't seem to me that he was "bitching." I mean he worked on a epic war film that would be great to see in a theater and no one is going to get to. Obviously, as some have stated, he could have waited for theaters to open, he chose not to. Some theaters here ARE open even.

Think of it like my daughter who had her 13th birthday yesterday. Was she heartbroken that she couldn't have her friends over? Absolutely. But was she understanding and knew that was the right choice? Also yes. Should I yell at her for "bitching" because she was "heartbroken?" No.

 

[Glideslope]

I feel bad for Tom, but what could you do? Not much. I’m still looking forward to July 10th though. This will still be right up there with the best of his performances. Anyone with a passion for Naval History will be watching this several times. It’s a great story and he is perfect in the role.

 

[temptee]

sucks

 

[btrach144]

I mean he's not wrong. A majority of Apple TV+ users likely have a 1080p TV and are using TV speakers.

I personally have a 65" OLED with 7.2.2 surround sound but nobody else I know has gone as crazy as me. I would prefer them to release the movie on 4K bluray so we could get better video and audio but oh well.

 

[WaruiKoohii]

“I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality.”

Not at my house Tom. 4K HDR with 5.2.2 surround sound. I’ll take my setup over a movie theater with sticky floors and overpriced snacks any day.

Unless you live in a movie theater I really very much doubt that your consumer grade TV and sound system are competitive with the pro stuff you'll find in a decent movie theater. Good effort though.

 

[blacktape242]

because an 85” tv is commonplace in most households

dont be hatin...

 

[failsafe1]

I can understand being genuinely bummed by your movie bypassing theaters. I don't think I would use words like overlords and whip masters to show my disappointment. Hanks did make the deal and a smaller deal must have been better than no deal at all.

 

[RickInHouston]

Personally, I find it possible to care very much about all manner of things. Some I care about deeply but are certainly not a matter of life or death. When I’ve put many years of my life into doing something of course I’d be heavily invested emotionally in it.

It’s a pretty rubbish thing to belittle someone else’s unhappiness. Next time, if you’ve not got something positive to say, perhaps just keep it to yourself.

You think Tom Hanks feels bad. I bet Tom Cruise feels HORRIBLE. His film is much, much bigger. Tom is just sad he's on the downside of his career.

How's that?

 

[mozumder]

m a home theater buff, but even I don’t have acoustic panels hanging up. Someone can do so if they’re so inclined though. And any decent receiver will have built-in room and speaker correction software anyway.

The benefit of the quiet of the theater is rather diminished when you have people adding their own soundtrack to the theoretically quiet room: sneezes, coughs, getting up for the bathroom, whispers, etc. I’m not even talking about people intentionally being jerks, humans simply existing just aren’t silent by nature, certainly not with 100 of them in a single room. At home I only have to put up with my own and my SO’s noises, or anyone I happen to have over.

A real theatre is a completely different, immersive environment. And that's without even turning the sound or projector on.

It's why I said you notice that the moment you walk in. The ambient noise in your house is so much higher, perhaps 50db higher than a theatre.

You pay money for the immersion. You don't pay money for the 4k screen. Hell, most movies aren't even 4k. All CGI, including for the big blockbusters, is done in 2k.

It's why I always tell people to build a room before even upgrading their TV to 4k. 4k, as well as Dolby Atmos, aren't worth it at all.

I find it LOL when I see a person talk about their 4k TV with surround sound, but their walls are painted a white.

 

[vipergts2207]

Unless you live in a movie theater I really very much doubt that your consumer grade TV and sound system are competitive with the pro stuff you'll find in a decent movie theater. Good effort though.

“Globally the number of installed 4K projectors is 27,500, comprising just 17% of total screens worldwide.”

“Despite this, HDR is in a fraction of venues. Market leader Dolby has installed fewer than 100 HDR-enabled Dolby Cinema screens worldwide — whereas HDR is becoming as de facto in TV displays as 4K.”

The resolution war: is cinema falling behind home entertainment on innovation?

"4K has not become the dominant format as many in the industry hoped."

www.screendaily.com

It would seem that you’re full of it.

The “pro stuff” in theaters is generally pro level because of the required scale, not because of quality. It takes pro gear to get audio SPL levels in such a large room or sufficient brightness across such a large screen, stuff you’d never have to worry about in a home. It’s not “pro” because of the quality, it’s pro because of the commercial scale.

An enthusiast could spend tens of thousands of dollars on a Sony 4K HDR projector, McIntosh electronics, and Martin Logan speakers, all consumer level equipment, and it would obliterate any publicly-open theater you come across. Of course you don’t have to spend tens of thousands to get a theater-quality experience anyway.

It seems to me that some people’s idea of a “home theater” is a cheap TV from Walmart that was purchased with a sound bar lol. Yeah, an actual theater would have no problem competing with that. Go check out some of the theaters on AVS forum if you want to get an idea of what a home theater actually means.

 

[hawkeye_a]

.
.
“the cruel whipmasters at Apple” decided the background needed to be a blank wall
.
.

I never imagined, perhaps naively, Apple would behave like this. IBM, sure. Microsoft, sure. But Apple?

 

[CJM]

Theatres are overpriced, there's 40 mins of ads and you have to put up with everyone else. Literally the only thing they had going for them was exclusivity to new releases.

Now that's out of the way, finally the logical solution is here.

I currently do not have a big 4K TV, but I can see myself getting one, or a projector.

 

[vipergts2207]

A real theatre is a completely different, immersive environment. And that's without even turning the sound or projector on.

It's why I said you notice that the moment you walk in. The ambient noise in your house is so much higher, perhaps 50db higher than a theatre.

You pay money for the immersion. You don't pay money for the 4k screen. Hell, most movies aren't even 4k. All CGI, including for the big blockbusters, is done in 2k.

It's why I always tell people to build a room before even upgrading their TV to 4k. 4k, as well as Dolby Atmos, aren't worth it at all.

I find it LOL when I see a person talk about their 4k TV with surround sound, but their walls are painted a white.

Yes, because building a dedicated theater room is no issue at all, compared to simply buying a new TV lmao.

Like I said, don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. I don’t find sticky floors and the inability to pause the movie to take a trip to the bathroom to be all that enjoyably immersive lol. I’ll take my home theater, sans wall treatments, over that “experience” any day. So much extra utility too. TV shows, video games, music, all being routed through a fantastic A/V setup. Can’t do that at the movie theater.

 

[fokmik]

Going to theatres means more than a big screen, means socialising with others, not standing in a house between 4 walls with few people...means traveling, socialising, if people will start do everything from home, then we would all get fat without the ability to walk again.
I hope, theatre, cinemas, opera, sports, will come back again..and stay for at least 20 years, after that, i will be dead, or too old woman to care about it

 

[Rogifan]

The story here is that Hanks was willing to take a few pot shots at Apple. Maybe it was tongue in check maybe not. Putting restrictions on room settings for interviews is pretty lame.

 

[Mark Booth]

I think I'm going to set up our Garage Theater (for just the two of us) and watch 'Greyhound' out there this weekend. 110-inch 1080p front projection screen and a pretty awesome sound system.

I'll even fire up the popcorn machine.

It will feel like going to the movies and we won't have to wear a mask.

Mark

 

[Kabeyun]

“I don’t mean to make angry my Apple overlords, but there is a difference in picture and sound quality.”

Not at my house Tom. 4K HDR with 5.2.2 surround sound. I’ll take my setup over a movie theater with sticky floors and overpriced snacks any day.

5.2.2? Quaint. An ETX theater has 50,000 watts across 12 audio channels including discrete front channels firing through a screen the size of a house. It’s utterly immersive, and I’ll take that for a special day out, sticky floors notwithstanding. I like my home theater as well, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just not the same sensory experience. And if we all decide to stay home for everything, suddenly we’ll realize that all those experiences are gone.

 

[tranceporter2020]

Kinda surprised Tom is so not appreciative. He always seemed less a hollywood ego type, guess that was all PR

Hanks had Covid and was evacuated out of Australia -- yet he still whines about having to stream and make many millions of dollars while likely getting even more people to see his film.

I think the issue is that Tom Hanks has been an advocate of WWII veterans since Saving Private Ryan or at least around that time. Movies like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan IMHO are more than just entertainment. They're epics that helps us learn from the past hopefully. Just like when albums drop on streaming services tend to have less fanfare, I'm sure he's worried the impact of this film will be less because it will be streamed. But it's necessary with the current state of affairs

 

[57004]

I’m not being funny but the visual and audio quality of most mainstream cinemas leaves a lot to be desired. My 65” OLED and custom sound solution is far better.

I know, I think it's more the Hollywood dogma of theatrical releases and 'straight to TV' quality that is causing this sentiment. Hollywood is a very traditional community (consider the 24Hz discussion too). Theatrical releases and box office revenue are important to them, not necessarily the viewing public.

This will change over time and it was already happening with major streaming networks commissioning major movies. COVID has just accelerated this somewhat.

 

[rwxx]

People arguing over whether their fancy home setup beats a theater are completing missing the point. They clearly just don't understand (or care for) the movie theater experience. I don't care how fancy your home theater setup is, it's simply not the same as viewing a film in a theater. You may have a 96" 8K TV at home, and it may be tack sharp, blowing away the overall "quality" of a movie theater screen. But the viewing experience is still a compromise.

If you're a movie lover, you get it. Home theaters can't replicate the psychological experience of theater viewing, and this has nothing to do with technology. Theaters are very much a blank canvas, a neutral space, the complete opposite of a room in your home. When you step into the theater, you step out of your reality and share a new one with a group of strangers. This is the real power of theater viewing.

The bigger the screen the better when it comes to creating this immersive, shared environment. Very few people have home theaters that come close to even a small movie theater screen. I can understand why Hanks is disappointed. Personally I have no interest in this movie, but it's clearly one of those films that deserves a big screen and immersive, communal experience. Hopefully it will get a proper theatrical release one day.

 

[57004]

5.2.2? Quaint. An ETX theater has 50,000 watts across 12 audio channels including discrete front channels firing through a screen the size of a house. It’s utterly immersive, and I’ll take that for a special day out, sticky floors notwithstanding. I like my home theater as well, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just not the same sensory experience. And if we all decide to stay home for everything, suddenly we’ll realize that all those experiences are gone.

Soon VR will offer all that and a lot more though! Film is going to change one way or another, the same way that black & white silent movies are just a historical thing now. I've been using it a lot and the immersion and experience is so enhanced.

Personally I think the 'communal' thing is a big detractor for watching movies in a theatre. Listening to people rummaging in bags of chips, people in front that can't sit still or stop messing with their phone... Also, I tend to have to wear musicians' earplugs in theatres as the volume is above comfort level the last few years.

And really a home theatre at the typical viewing distance has the same screen angle.

It'll take a few decades, for sure! But it will happen.

 

[Bob Br]

Awesome! IT WORKS FOR YOU!!! LETS CATER TO THE .001% WHO HAS YOUR SETUP.

It’s not expensive nor hard to set up such a system. He's right, he will probably get just as good if not better image quality at home. We are not in the standard definition era anymore. Even 1080 Blu-Ray looks significantly better than every movie I remember seeing in the theater. Hanks needs to stick to the acting because he obviously doesn’t know much about the technical side, at least when it comes to image and sound quality.
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I mean he's not wrong. A majority of Apple TV+ users likely have a 1080p TV and are using TV speakers.

I personally have a 65" OLED with 7.2.2 surround sound but nobody else I know has gone as crazy as me. I would prefer them to release the movie on 4K bluray so we could get better video and audio but oh well.

You don’t need a 65” display nor OLED.
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People arguing over whether their fancy home setup beats a theater are completing missing the point. They clearly just don't understand (or care for) the movie theater experience. I don't care how fancy your home theater setup is, it's simply not the same as viewing a film in a theater. You may have a 96" 8K TV at home, and it may be tack sharp, blowing away the overall "quality" of a movie theater screen. But the viewing experience is still a compromise.

If you're a movie lover, you get it. Home theaters can't replicate the psychological experience of theater viewing, and this has nothing to do with technology. Theaters are very much a blank canvas, a neutral space, the complete opposite of a room in your home. When you step into the theater, you step out of your reality and share a new one with a group of strangers. This is the real power of theater viewing.

The bigger the screen the better when it comes to creating this immersive, shared environment. Very few people have home theaters that come close to even a small movie theater screen. I can understand why Hanks is disappointed. Personally I have no interest in this movie, but it's clearly one of those films that deserves a big screen and immersive, communal experience. Hopefully it will get a proper theatrical release one day.

Except Hanks was talking about image and sound quality. In this case he doesn’t know what he is talking about.
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I think I'm going to set up our Garage Theater (for just the two of us) and watch 'Greyhound' out there this weekend. 110-inch 1080p front projection screen and a pretty awesome sound system.

I'll even fire up the popcorn machine.

It will feel like going to the movies and we won't have to wear a mask.

Mark

Nice but the screen is rather small for projection, and especially for sitting so far away. I like the eating area much more than the home theater itself. Sorry.

 

[farmboy]

At least make it so the most people can see it them by selling it to Netflix instead of Apple.

It was an auction; Apple won.