The intense drama Captain Phillips tells the story of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. During the ordeal, commanding officer Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) managed to keep his crew safe, but was taken hostage by Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), and forced into the middle of a stand-off with the U.S. Navy.
At the film’s press day, Collider got the opportunity to do a video interview with accomplished director Paul Greengrass and actor Barkhad Abdi, who gives a very impressive performance in his first feature film role. They talked about why they each wanted to be a part of telling this story, and what they hope audiences take away from the film. Greengrass also talked about why it’s one of the great Tom Hanks performances, and how long the assembly cut was. Hit the jump to watch. And click here if you missed our interview with Tom Hanks.
Paul Greengrass and Barkhad Abdi:
- What was it about this story that appealed to each of them?
- How long is the assembly cut, and how many deleted scenes are there?
- What do you hope audiences take away from seeing this film?
