A look at some of the biggest hits in film and TV product placement". The Hollywood Reporter. April 28, 2005. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006 . Retrieved November 25, 2007. After receiving the photo, the team didn’t hear from Fox Studios again until the film was set to begin industry screenings in LA. And assoon as the screenings began, calls started rolling in. In today’s world, production companies will sell that brand spot. But one of the purities of Tom Hanks is that, for him, it wasn’t about making money for making the movie, it was about making money because it’s a good movie,” Kuehne explains.

As he adapts to life alone in the uninhabited spot, he uses what he has around him to stay alive for the next four years. a b c "Cast Away". Chicago. August 2007. Archived from the original on October 29, 2012 . Retrieved December 27, 2008. Wolf, Matt (February 26, 2001). " 'Gladiator' Gets 5 British Awards". Topeka Capital-Journal. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017 . Retrieved October 9, 2013. Nowadays, production companies want big money for product placement. But at the time, that wasn’t really the case,” explains Director of Basketball, Volleyball, and Soccer, Mike Kuehne. “But they just wanted the balls.”Now here’s where it gets weird: Apparently, a soccer ball washed up on the island where the screenwriter and survivalist were staying. So they threw a hat on it and started talking to it. The marooned ball just so happened to be a Wilson soccer ball, which purportedly inspired the character of Wilson. Accounts of Selkirk’s experiences were later published in newspaper articles of the times and in books by his former shipmate Edward Cooke and the leader of the expedition on the ship that had rescued him, Woodes Rogers. What other real life castaways were there? At this point, all Wallace, Davenport, and Kuehne knew was that a one-sided Wilson Volleyball was going to be in a Tom Hanks movie. And that’s all the information they would have for the better part of a year.

It was during this time, that he also came up with the idea for Wilson the volleyball companion, as a ball washed up on the beach he was staying on and he began to talk to it. The name was Wilson was simply the brand of the ball. Is is based on a true story? I said ‘OK, you have to tell me something; I have no idea what to say to the media and I keep getting calls.’” Cast Away' sails to top of box office". Daily Press. December 25, 2000. p.2. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022 . Retrieved August 31, 2022– via Newspapers.com. From a sheer exposure standpoint, this goes much deeper than simple product placement,” said then-General Manager of Wilson Team Sports, Chris Considine. “This bumps us out of the gym and into the arena of pop culture.”

Wilson The Volleyball Death

It just so happened that, later that same week, Fox was holding a critics’ screening of "Cast Away" at the Siskel and Ebert Theatre in downtown Chicago. Rather than explaining the plot over the phone, Fox invited Wallace, Davenport, and Kuehne to attend the screening. I keep saying it, but this is unbelievable,” said Considine, accepting the award. “All the attention we are receiving is incredible – so many phone calls from retailers, consumers, family and friends who have seen the movie and want to show their support. We appreciate the opportunity 20th Century Fox has given us and we’re honored to be receiving the first award for Best Inanimate Object.” At first, Fox was reluctant to let Wilson produce "Cast Away" replica balls. At the time, the film had no other commercial merchandise. But the Wilson team flew out to L.A. to meet with the film’s producers, and eventually got the go-ahead to produce replica Wilson the Volleyballs. Cast Away". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021 . Retrieved March 26, 2021. VanHooker, Brian (April 17, 2020). "What Would Have Happened to Wilson After". Archived from the original on May 1, 2021 . Retrieved April 29, 2021.