Talk:Cast Away

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I thought I heard that Cast Away was based on a true story. Any info on this? ike9898 14:32, Nov 18, 2004 (UTC)

Not really. I guess it's loosely based on what Bill Broyles' learned when he was doing research for the story.  :-)
I too believe Cast Away was based on the survival story of a FedEx employee who was stranded after a crash, but not for four years, something like weeks or months. Enough time to transition from crash survivor to island inhabitant, anyway. The film's idiocycracies such as dentistry with ice skates and sails made from porta-john flotsam reinforce this perception. How would a port-john get to an island in the South Pacific? No one would include that in a fictional story. In fact, only the product placement distraction makes the film seem like fiction.

Contents

[edit] FedEx Logo and Angelic Sculpture

You know? I searched for this images in google and found neither!!! Herle King 22:38, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Try [1] 64.119.91.72 01:05, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fijian Beverages

The article says he survived by drinking "coconut milk". Yet the page for coconut milk says it's the "sweet, milky cooking base made from pressing and diluting the meat of a mature coconut (not the watery liquid found inside the nut)". I don't think it's ever implied that he processed grated coconut with hot water to make coconut milk (see Coconut). Seems to me it should be "coconut water" -- just a typo?

I think you are correct. Many people don't know the difference between coconut milk and coconut water. I'll change it. ike9898 14:33, Dec 2, 2004 (UTC)
However, he calls it coconut milk in the film (yeah, just watched it) algumacoisaqq 03:15, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Happy ending

I think the film ended on a completely sad note. Most people I know, who have seen the movie, would describe the ending as more depressing than happy. Anyway, saying that it had a "happy ending" is not only very subjective (not NPOV) but does not belong in a section about product placement. How does the so-called happy ending affect the average consumer's opinion of FEDEX? 69.136.234.155

[copied from User:Talk page]
"The film did not have a happy ending." Oh, I dunno. It wasn't, "... and they all lived happily ever after", but it seemed reasonably upbeat to me. No longer condemned to a "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" life on the island, Chuck was last seen considering the wide-open possibilities of his future, geographic, romantic, etc.
—wwoods 01:05, 12 May 2005 (UTC)
A really depressing ending would have been, 'After a couple of years, Chuck couldn't take it anymore, so he hanged himself. Meanwhile, back in Memphis, his girlfriend and everyone else soon forgot about him, and lived happily ever after.' The presentation of FedEx as a family that cared about its prodigal son, as well as getting its job done, made the company look pretty good.
—wwoods 21:23, 15 May 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Fedex -- In Product Placement

Wasn't it called "Federal Express"? Not FedEx, or FDX? --Kvuo 04:42, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

This wasn't product placement as much as it was Robert Zemeckis trying to make the film more realistic. He has stated in interviews and on the DVD commentary that using the FedEx brand made the story more real and believable as opposed to some made-up "Acme Shipping" brand.

[edit] Wilson "phenomenon"

The painted voleyball has become a sort of icon. It has appeared as a gag on countless shows and movies and it's easily recognizable. I even yelled "WIIIIILSOOOON" with a small pumpkin in my hand at a party recently and EVERYBODY got the joke. It should be mentioned that it has become part of popular culture.

its weird, but i cried when i saw wilson get lost. --69.67.230.137 02:18, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
I wept as well, Tom Hanks did a great job of making him a likeable character even though he never does anything. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 16:43, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Unopened Package?

What's the significance of the unopened package? Why didn't Chunk open it? How did it save his life? --Kvasir 07:13, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

There's a partial answer at the IMDb trivia page.--Mathew5000 10:53, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
It might have been that the angelic symbols on the package, which possibly reaffirmed his belief in God, helped him survive. Without faith, he would have committed suicide - I believe he mentions that in the movie, although he doesn't say if his faith is connected to the symbols on the package in any way. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.153.156.85 (talk • contribs)
Well, that's just speculation. Besides, it is clearly demonstrated in the film that the reason he didn't commit suicide is that the tree branch he intended to use broke when he tested it with a dummy. I think it's pretty clear that his determination to deliver the package was how it saved his life. — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:15, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wilson as a cast member

I don't think an inanimate object should be credited in the cast member listing, even though it was a character of sorts in the movie. But Wilson was more of an extension of Hanks, rather than a character of its own. Weemies 23:26, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Seat Belts

Towards the end of the movie, Tom Hanks was not shown wearing the seat belt before driving the car Suresh.k.ayodhya 15:16, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

You may have noticed that when the plane was going down Hanks' character lost the timepiece his girlfriend gave him-- it was jolted out of his hand and went sliding across the floor of the aircraft. To retrieve it, he undid his seatbelt. At that moment the force of the crash became overwhelming. The plane hit the sea, broke apart and sank. Had he been seatbelted in, he would have drowned... I could see developing a habit of not wearing one's car seatbelt after that. JDG 03:29, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What was that?

I just saw this film (again), and what really bothers me is that I don't know what is the significance of part of the scene of the plane going down. In the scene after the plane crashes in the ocean, Hanks is still trapped in the plane. As his raft inflates and he is pulled toward the surface, a red poach, attached to the raft by a cord, gets snagged in the twisted, sinking wreckage. It eventually breaks off and sinks with the plane. What was in that bag? Food? A satellite phone? An inflatable bed? A two-way radio? Survival gear? A deck of cards and magazines? Does anyone know? — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:57, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

- I've just watched the crash scene and it's clearly written on the pouch "EQUIPMENT". So one could suppose it contained a basic lifeboat kit. I'm not an expert on survival kit but I'll use the book Life of Pi as a reference; they say the lifeboat survival kit contains valuable things such has: Carton of emergency ration (food and water), wool blanket, fishing kits with hooks, rain catcher, hand flares, etc. Things that would have made his trip way more easier. But of course FedEx "secret survival box" wouldn't have been that usefull if he had the basic right at the beginning and the movie wouldn't have been such entertaining. 69.51.253.240 08:03, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[User: call me Korben]

[edit] Wilson

I added wilson the volleyball to the cast list. I gave him third billing.

I think the Wilson section reads as an essay/film analysis rather than an objective presentation of the story. Particularly the sentence about the "alternate genesis" of Wilson. Perhaps the author could cite a source for this analysis or this section should be cleaned up.


- Did Wilson's film career die with this movie? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.255.113.162 (talk) 11:58, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "The plot is very loosely based on the novel Robinson Crusoe."

In what ways is it related, other than that he is a castaway? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.43.98.2 (talk • contribs)

That's "very loosely" for you. ;-) Seriously
  1. He is a castaway (so is Crusoe)
  2. He has a friend, "Wilson" (Crusoe has "Friday")
  3. All Hanks' crewmembers die in the crash (all Crusoe's shipmates die in their wreck)
That's all I can see. That statement should be referenced for accuracy. It should be demonstrated that the screenplay author intentionally based his story on Robinson Crusoe. — Frecklefoot | Talk 22:51, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

--- I vote for removing the Robinson Caruso reference. There material on the DVD explictly states where Hanks got the idea. This ends the matter as far as I am concerned.

I second that vote. Dce7 01:49, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jurisdiction of Island

Wouldn't by international law he have become sovereign of that island after remaining on it for five years without anyone else ever having came to visit it? He could go back and start a nice tax haven. --72.38.225.72 18:22, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually no piece of land on earth is left unclaimed (except for antarctica which everybody decided not recognise someone else's claim on it). Some country already has jurisdiction over the island. But yes, a century or so ago that might have been the case. --Kvasir 08:16, 9 April 2007 (UTC)


I am wondering if anyone knows...IMDB states one of the filming locations as the Philippines....which part? 65.24.184.226 (talk) 23:25, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wilson Rescued Video?

I remember once seeing on an entertainment program a clip of a mockumentary video of a parade for Wilson once he was rescued. I mistakenly believed it was an extra on the Cast Away DVD, but it's not there. What was this video? I suspect it was a promotion for the DVD release, but can't find any info about it anywhere on-line. I know I'm not imagining seeing this, so what was it made for and where can I find that video? YouTube had some Wilson videos, but I don't think any of them were what I saw. --• The Giant Puffin • 19:23, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plot synopsis way too long

The plot synopsis should be a brief description of the basic premise of the movie and the caracters in it. As per Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/Style guidelines it should be "between 400 and 700 words (about 600 words), but should not exceed 900 words". This plot synopsis contains 1,730 words, almost double the maximum suggested number of words and about three times the recomended average. This needs to be shortened. I see no reason for this kind of detailed in-depth blow-by-blow account of the entire movie. SWik78 18:51, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

The information is descriptive and that is only a guideline. I don't see a problem with it. This is an encyclopedia and I see no reason to cull a document that is not overly descriptive(it's not a strict scene by scene nor is it a script). There is no physical page limit or kilobyte limit here and the article is written well enough and is informative enough to keep. Bhcompy 05:33, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
You're right about there not being a physical limit to the size of a document but that's not my point. If you read Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/Style guidelines, the link to which I already provided above, it does actually set guidelines to limit the length of a plot description. And sentences such as: The audience sees the package delivered all the way to a residence in Moscow, Russia, to a man in a cowboy hat and robe. A Russian woman who is with the man, apparently on intimate terms, asks, "Who is it from?" He replies, "My wife." do qualify as overly detailed and "strict scene by scene" descriptions. The article is fine, but the plot can be more concise. SWik78 17:17, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Cast Away" - An intended self-reference to having almost no cast the majority of the film?

Just wondering if the creators of the movie realized the cute self-referential nature of the title, "Cast Away". For most of the movie, the only "cast" is Tom Hanks himself (and Wilson, if one can include a volleyball). 64.255.113.162 12:03, 8 November 2007 (UTC) Douglas J. Bender (Elkhart, IN) [November 8, 2007]

[edit] Time on the Island (parallel discussion to main page topic).

Note that if the family dinner depicted in the movie occurred on Christmas Day, and if Chuck boarded the plane around 12:00 a.m. on December 26, 1995, then he left the island late in the afternoon on February 2, 2000 (the 1500th day he was on the island [just before he left the island, Chuck wrote on a rock that he had been on the island 1500 days]). These times are indicated by the following facts: just before the plane crash, Chuck's gift-watch is seen to read either 11:40 or 12:40, "Kelly (Memphis) time" (it was an analog, not digital, watch); and, after the crash, while on the island, Chuck, in trying to determine the search area, says that the expected en route time from Memphis to the planned destination was 11.5 hours, but the plane was detoured around the storm about 400 miles from its planned destination (as indicated by the radius of the search area he drew being 400 miles), and traveled in detour for about 1 hour, traveling at 475 miles per hour. Thus, the plane traveled for about 11.75 hours before crashing (10.75 hours before the detour [the 0.75 hour difference between 11.5 hours and 10.75 hours being how long the plane would have taken to travel roughly 400 miles]), and if the crash occurred with the gift-watch reading 11:45 (Memphis time, which would have been 11:45 a.m. at the time of the crash), then Chuck boarded the plane right around 12:00 a.m. the morning of December 26, 1995 (again assuming the family dinner was on Christmas Day).

Also, given that Chuck floated in the water after the crash for between 2-3 hours (as mentioned in one of the special features on the DVD), he would have arrived at the island roughly around 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. (Memphis time). But, since the plane was traveling almost due west (as indicated by Chuck's drawing in the cave) for about 10.75 hours at 475 miles per hour, then southwest for about 1 hour at 475 miles per hour, Chuck would have crossed several time zones. As near as I can tell, he would have crossed, before the plane crashed, 5-6 time zones. Therefore, assuming he crossed 6 time zones, if he arrived at the island at, say, 1:45 p.m. Memphis time, it would have been about 7:45 a.m. "island time" (in late December). The movie depicts his raft being punctured by one of the reefs surrounding the island, and it still being quite dark at the time (the storm was still active). I'm not sure about sunrises in the area in which he was stranded, but it might still have been dark at 7:45 a.m. in late December, especially with a severe storm clouding the skies. If not, then the people involved in determining movie "consistency" made a slight error of timing, somewhere.

Actually, according to "http://stardate.org/nightsky/riseset/", the sunrise for December 26, 1995 in the Hawaiian Islands area (very, very roughly in the general area where Chuck's island was supposedly located [roughly 5000 miles west and somewhat south of Memphis, anyway]), was around 7:30 a.m.. So, my calculations probably aren't far off, and the movie "consistency" is seemingly fairly "consistent", at least in regard to the time-frames involved.

64.255.113.162 19:36, 15 November 2007 (UTC) Douglas J. Bender, 3:35 p.m. [Elkhart, IN time], 11/15/2007.)

This seems like original research, but did anyone recall the area Chuck was found? I remember they pointed it out on a map at the end of the movie. I'll have to borrow the DVD from the library to check. --Kvasir (talk) 21:23, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
I have checked with the DVD. Kelly did explain to Chuck with a map where he was found. Her explanation puts Chuck's island somewhere IN between the northern and southern Cook Islands or south of the entire Cook Islands group. There is no land south of the Cook Islands until you hit Antarctica. Kelly explanation is ambiguous enough to avoid goof out on real geography. I have added this to the article. --Kvasir (talk) 20:58, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cast

"Cast" needs to be fixed. It either needs to attribute the role of the actor or not. Before my change, it gave the role for Lari White, but none of the other actors. Until someone can fill in all the blanks, it must be uniform. Jophus00 (talk) 05:18, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New plot

I reworded the mega-long plot description to fit the length criteria set out in WP:FilmPlot. The plot is now down to about 840 words from the previous version of 2200. Everyone, feel free to fix it up any way you see fit but please don't expand it any further since even the new version is close to the upper limit of WP:FilmPlot recomendation of the 900 word limit.
Thanks. SWik78 (talk) 14:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)