Hanks film about MMA alum to be shown at gala

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Hanks film about MMA alum to be shown at gala
By C. Ryan Barber
rbarber@capecodonline.com
September 20, 2013 - 6:47 PM
BUZZARDS BAY – In the spring of 2009, the news was rife with accounts of pirates seizing cargo ships and hostages off the east coast of Africa. In April, CNN decided to follow the story to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where they planned to film Joseph Murphy teaching a class of merchant marine cadets on anti-piracy techniques.

The story would hit closer to home than anyone expected. By the time the TV crews arrived on Taylor’s Point, they learned Somali pirates had hijacked the Maersk Alabama and taken its captain, Richard Phillips, hostage.

“They said, ‘Do you know this guy?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, he graduated from here. He was class of ’79. I knew him,’” remembered Adm. Richard Gurnon, the academy’s president. “And (his first mate’s) dad is the guy you’re going to interview on classroom techniques on anti-piracy.”

It didn’t take long for about 15 satellite trucks to line Academy Drive and make the campus the headquarters for covering a high-seas standoff that ended in Phillips’ rescue.

Four years later, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy is making the jump to the big screen with the premiere tonight of “Captain Phillips,” a film based on Phillips’ book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea.”

Phillips, who is portrayed in the film by Tom Hanks, offered himself as a hostage when the four teenage pirates boarded the 17,000-ton cargo ship with pistols and AK-47s. The crew escaped harm after Phillips ordered them to lock themselves in secure cabins and allowed himself to be taken at gunpoint into the covered lifeboat, where temperatures topped 100 degrees.

As Navy ships kept a close watch, Phillips was held hostage inside the sweltering lifeboat for five days before U.S. snipers killed three of the pirates in a daring rescue mission.

When the trailer began to appear earlier this summer, Gurnon said the academy’s advancement office came to him with the idea of screening the film at its annual scholarship gala. In June, Gurnon took a “one in a million shot” and wrote Sony Pictures an email, asking if the academy could show the film as “sort of a premiere” at the gala.

About two months later, the studio agreed. All of a sudden, RSVPs began flowing in, bringing attendance to 411 for an event that typically draws a crowd of 300 or less.

The invitation-only screening will begin at 9:30 p.m. in the academy auditorium. At midnight, the academy’s cadets and faculty will have a chance to watch the film before its Oct. 11 official release.

The gala typically raises about $140,000 for scholarships, but with the buzz of a big-screen premiere, this year’s haul is expected to exceed $200,000, Gurnon said.

“I have people flying up from Virginia to see the movie,” Gurnon said. “I have parents of cadets from out of state who are flying in. To them, this is an exciting new aspect. Not too often do colleges have premieres of movies starring Tom Hanks, particularly when your kids are going into the maritime business.”

In what he knew was a “wicked long shot,” Gurnon said he tried to contact Hanks and asked whether the star would be able to tape a message for the gala. He even asked if Hanks would speak at the next commencement ceremony.

But Gurnon has yet to hear from Hanks.

“He hasn’t said yes, but he hasn’t said no,” Gurnon said.

“We’re hoping Tom shows up,” said Holly Knight, the academy’s vice president for advancement.
Gurnon also texted Phillips to ask whether he would be available Sept. 21. Phillips, who was at sea, planned to return last week and drive from his home in Vermont to attend the gala with his wife, Andrea.

But Phillips’ return was delayed because the prospect of a U.S. strike on Syria slowed ships passing through the Red Sea.

“Everyone was worried there would be tomahawk missiles flying,” Gurnon said. “So his ship was delayed a week.”

The academy had hoped Andrea Phillips would attend anyway, but she said she wanted to watch the film with her husband. She could not be reached for an interview Friday.

Shane Murphy, the ship’s first mate, is also out at sea. The 2001 graduate is played by actor Michael Chernus in the film.

“So we don’t have any VIPs,” Gurnon said, “but we do have the movie.”
 
Still waiting for my son's review of the movie for the class of 14 preview. They were going to have a big party and could wear civilian attire:shake:
 
Finally got the review. The movie was great but the party was greater. Still living on the Kennedy far away from everything and standing watches.
 
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