Gold Angel Winner

Tom Hanks has starred in three movies that have won Gold Angel Awards. First was FOREST GUMP, then THAT THING YOU DO, and more recently CAST AWAY. Filmed partly in Moscow (where Red Square was closed for the production) and the tiny Fiji Island of Monu-riki, CAST AWAY unites the talents of two-time Academy Award winner TOM HANKS, HELEN HUNT, and Academy Award winning director ROBERT ZEMECKIS.

The Story is partly of exciting physical adventure but mostly about the emotional challenges of a FedEx systems engineer, played by Hanks, who is stranded on an uninhabited remote island for four years after his plane crashed and must find a mental and emotional outlet for being alone for so long with only the memory of a girlfriend who had been a great influence on his life.

Zemeckis sums up the story: "It is not so much about the survival of a human being but rather the survival of the human spirit and an illustration of the idea that surviving is easy. It is living that is difficult."

Living was not easy. The 99-acre island was owned by a family that leased it to the filmmakers in a typical Fiji ceremony.

CAST AWAY is an ImageMovers/Playtone production. The producers are Steve Starkey, Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. The screenplay was written by William Boyles,Jr. and Joan Bradshaw is the executive producer.

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