"Captain Phillips" will open the New York Film Festival.
The festival coordinators announced that Paul Greengrass's new movie will be presented at the opening night gala.
The new film, starring Tom Hanks, tells the story of the 2009 hijacking of a U.S. ship by Somali pirates. The film was produced by Scott Rudin, Dan Brunetti, and Michael De Luca and also stars Catherine Keener and Michael Chernus.
The news comes after Venice and Toronto Film festivals announced their schedules. The New York Film Festival always chooses films festival favorites and high profile movies that are attempting to boost their awards buzz and skip the other crowded events to get more attention. Recent festival openers include "Carnage," "Life of Pi, "The Social Network," "The Queen," "Good Night And Good Luck," and "Mystic River."
Greengrass is known for his work on "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bourne Supremacy." He also directed "United 93" which received two Academy Award nominations including a Best Director mention. "Captain Phillips" marks Greengrass's return to the New York Film Festival. His breakout film "Bloody Sunday" premiered at the festival in 2002.
Best known for his Oscar-winning roles in "Philadelphia" and "Forest Gump," Hanks was most recently featured in "Cloud Atlas." He was also in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Green Mile," and the "Toy Story" trilogy. The thespian will next be seen in "Saving Mr. Banks," and "In the Garden of Beasts."
The NYFF's full main slate will be announced in the coming weeks and should include around 25 or 30 titles. The festival will run between Sept. 27 and Oct. 13.
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