Production of a movie undergoes several stages, including intense research for a suitable and beautiful title filling the essence of the film. After all, the title is the defining factor and briefly hints at the gravity of the narrative.
Tom Hanks’ one of the acclaimed and highly celebrated movies Cast Away also had different titles. Thankfully, the original title did not stick for long, as it would kill the very vibe of the film with the cliché titles that the makers had originally thought.
Tom Hanks’ Cast Away Had A Different Title
Tom Hanks starrer survival drama Cast Away definitely owes a bit to the title of the movie itself as the title invites the attention with a bit of suspense. Released in 2000, the Robert Zemeckis movie has claimed several accolades but if the makers of the movie were to stick to the original title, things might have been quite different. Reportedly, in its early development, the movie was originally called Chuck of the Jungle. Speaking with Austin American-Statesman, Hanks revealed:
“Originally I thought of it as being called ‘Chuck of the Jungle’. The idea was you took a guy whose whole life was talking and communicating and you took it all away from him. What would that do to him?”
The idea of calling the movie Chuck of the Jungle was cliché, indeed following the obvious title of typical narratives set in the wild. Later when Zemeckis was onboard, he found the lost piece of the puzzle- the title of the movie and changed it to Cast Away to attain the glory it had following its release. But there is more than one instance involving Hanks in the film. He was almost killed while filming the movie.
Cast Away Almost Killed Tom Hanks
Hanks played Chuck Noland in the survival drama and dedicated himself to his role at best dropping over 50 pounds to walk the line with the character. Certainly, it was not easy to be a lone survivor even in movies. The legendary actor has, reportedly, been seen near death while filming the movie.
“[Cast Away] put me in the hospital. I was there for three days with something that, believe it or not, almost killed me. I got an infection from a cut and it was eating its way through my leg. I didn’t know it, I just thought I had a sore,” Hanks told BBC One.
Reports from the time revealed that the Forest Gump actor had a staph infection- it could be fatal if it invades the human bloodstream. But Hanks admitted that it was certainly a close call.
“I went to the doctor who took one look and said, ‘I have to put you in the hospital because we have to get this infection out of you before it poisons your blood and you die,'” he told the outlet.
Thankfully, Hanks recovered and continued the movie which turned out to be classic in the genre of survival movies. Also, his hard work earned the actor several accolades including a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Made with $90 million, the movie grossed over $429 million worldwide at the box office.
Source: Austin American-Statesman, BBC One.
