Tom Hanks uncensored
There’s a chapter in Dan Brown’s novel that refers to Manila as ‘Gateway to Hell.’ Tom ( and director Ron Howard) explain why it’s not included in the movie
SINGAPORE
— During the Sony Summit in this city several weeks ago, Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard represented Inferno, one of the three movies showcased (including Ghostbusters: Answer The Call and The Magnificent Seven, already shown in Manila). Tom reprises his role as symbologist Robert Langdon in the third of Dan Brown’s bestseller trilogy (The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons).
Showing nationwide starting on Wednesday, Oct. 12 (released by Columbia Pictures), Inferno touches on topics that are highly relevant to today’s world (population explosion, etc.). Said Tom, “Hell for Langdon is both a state of mind and a very physical experience because he is wracked with pain in his head and he is tortured by the fact that he is ignorant of the reasons why.”
Joining Tom and Ron during the interview was Indian actor Irrfan Khan who plays Harry Sims, Provost of the Command Risk Consortium that is looking after the interests of Zobrist (played by Ben Foster) who is suspected by the World Health Organization (WHO) as trying to develop a virus that can reduce the world’s population by half.
You’re back as Robert Langdon. This time, your greatest asset, which is his knowledge, is impaired because he suffers from amnesia. Can you tell us more about that?
“Well, amnesia can be a scriptwriter’s, you know, a cloying device that is just like, ‘Well, what do we do here on the third one? I know, let’s give him an evil twin. No, that won’t work.’ And amnesia always works. You want to go with that? But it ties into the intricacy of the conspiracy of the thing. There’s so many different, disparate elements that are trying to gain the secret; there’s like four different circles as opposed to one versus the other, as has been the case with the first two.”
There’s a chapter in the novel which refers to Manila as “Gateway to Hell.” How come it isn’t in the movie? Tom: Are you disappointed? Not really. Just curious. Ron:
We decided to stay with Langdon, what’s inside his mind, what he is going through. The three books are huge, so obviously you can’t tell the whole story because we wanted to keep the movie in the range of two hours. But Inferno, more than the first two movies, is paced very quickly and has a more modern cinematic feel to it. It can be frustrating that within two hours you can’t really, as I was saying, tell the entire story. We have to make some tough choices.
Tom: There was no need for the explanations that lead to the flashbacks.
I suppose you could have hired Filipino actors if the “Gateway to Hell” was included in the movie.
Tom:
We would have loved to work with a Filipino actor if we needed one in the cast. Ron: But I did work with Filipinos in some of my previous movies.
Tom: I grew up in Alameda in Northern California and I’ve gone to school with all sorts of guys from the Philippines but I haven’t worked with any Filipino actor. I don’t really know any Filipino actor but I would love to meet some of them.
What’s been going on in your mind while making the Dan Brown trilogy over the past 15 years as far as belief in God and human relations were concerned?
“Well, the thing about the Da Vinci Code itself was this worldwide phenomenon that got everybody involved in a very, very interesting and yet obtuse theological question, the divinity of Jesus. And everybody could have an opinion of that, but by and large it’s not going to weigh hugely outside of what your own opinion is. And the movie was fun and brought forward some interesting ideas, some of which were rooted very much in fact and others that are rooted totally in theology.
“The second one, Angels & Demons, dealing with the selection of the Pope, is also of a very much theological question, which is interesting in its self-contained
context but doesn’t really have a true purchase outside of the people who are interested in the cause and effect or the dynamics of something as specific as the choosing of the Pope. But there’s no reason to go back necessarily and just do a third version of a self-contained theme or story like those two. “And when Dan Brown came up with Inferno and tied it into something that we can all recognize with our own eyes as the question of overpopulation, I think the themes of the movies have moved from the supernatural and theological, to the practical and to the shared amongst all cultures. You know, on Da Vinci
Code we learned all about the Council of Nicaea in the year 900. Not exactly on everybody’s lips right now.
“In Angels & Demons, we learned about the selection of the Pope that goes back to everything that’s happened since the Catholic Church broke off from the Orthodox. Inferno is actually about our present as in tomorrow, in the future. What is the status of the world going to become? And what are we going to do with the reality of what can in some languages be called ‘triage’ and in other languages is called just overpopulation.”
Irrfan, what is your take on that?
Irrfan: For me, it’s a very interesting thing — I call this ‘the film by Tom Rondan.’ It’s Tom and Ron and Dan has created the film. So it’s a film by Tom Rondan. For me, you know, the way Dante’s conception of Hell and the way it keeps appearing in Langdon’s visions, the way it is tied to the present inevitable problem of population… and, by the way, Ron is not asking me because I’m from India, he’s asking because I was concerned by this problem. It’s so compelling in the book, in the script, that it’s difficult to really refute that the compulsion, the way Zobrist put it, it’s so volatile that it’s difficult to deal with it. And it’s difficult to really counter it and that I’ve been always, you know, discussing how Langdon is going to, as a hero of the film, as a protagonist of the film – how he is going to counter this argument. And still I don’t have any answer. I hope you will have some answers when you watch the film.”
(To Tom and Irrfan) You are both big stars in Hollywood and Asia. What do you like or hate about working with each other. Southeast Asia has very exotic landscape and a friendly environment of filmmaking. Can you see coming to Southeast Asia to make films? Tom: Here’s what I hate about Irrfan.
(Laughter) I always think I’m the coolest guy in the room, and everybody’s hanging on every word I say and everybody’s a little bit intimidated to be in my presence. And then Irrfan Khan walks into the room, and he’s the coolest guy in the room, and everybody’s intimidated to be in his presence and everybody’s hanging on his every word.
The worst thing about Inferno is that I am only in a couple of scenes with Irrfan. It was heartbreaking because I will tell you this. We saw the movie yesterday. He had already seen it. He was all tight-lipped about it. And as soon as I walked up to him, I said, “Irrfan Khan, I’m going to steal from you everything I possibly can. I’m going to start speaking very quietly in films. I’m going to wear very nice suits. And I will draw out the last sound of
every sentence that I say.” And by doing that I will be doing a very pale imitation of the coolest guy in the room.
Irrfan: The only problem is the film will be much lengthier than what it is now. For me, I am very fortunate that we are at this time where Hollywood is opening up. And they are looking for talent…they have been looking for talent all over the world. But now it’s India’s turn. Our talent has been coveted in Hollywood. It’s a dichotomy, you know. The way Hollywood films are getting popular in India, it’s kind of – the Indian film industry is really getting a kind of threat – and every week it’s difficult for an Indian film to compete with Hollywood.
But the other thing is our new generation, which has grown up on Hollywood, they are bringing a new element into Indian cinema. And they are making the new cinema which is coming now from India, is relevant for today’s audience. So it’s working both ways that we are taking something and we are getting threatened and, you know, and that should happen.
And that’s why this is a very interesting period in Indian cinema which is seeing a new way to connect with the audience. This new cinema in India is bringing a new audience. What I hate about it? To travel so long. When I have to go out for two, three months…going to the airport, that’s the only part that makes me really, really curse myself. I’m angry, I’m irritated. But once I’m on the plane, once I’m on the set, I’m okay.
(To Tom and Ron) You are a successful tandem. Do you always agree on what movies to do and how they should be done?
Ron: The movie that we decide to do? Yes, we always agree on that. Sometimes we talk to each other about idea and one of us would say, “I don’t think that’s the kind of movie that I would fit in.” You’ve seen the movies that we do together and the result is satisfactory to us.
Tom: In the course of making these movies, we always help each other in solving problems and seeking solutions. I’ve never said to Ron, “No, I’m not gonna do that! What if we did something like this.” We always try together to seek a way that is going to have as quick and as visual as the story-telling plot that he needs, that will always stay true to the characters.
So what do you enjoy most about working with Ron? Tom:
I like the work ethic. We don’t mess around. There’s no waste of time with Ron. We are on the same level. We are going at the same pace and we are going at the same thing. We are well-prepared because we do the work privately. (E-mail reactions at entphilstar@ You may also send your questions to askrickylo@ For more updates, photos and videos visit www. philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)