Tom Hanks "doesn't know at all" when he returns to work - France 24

Los Angeles (AFP)

American actor Tom Hanks said on Tuesday that Hollywood had "no idea" when filming could resume due to the pandemic he suffered several months ago.

The Oscar-winning actor for "Forrest Gump" and "Philadelphia" had become the first movie star to publicly announce that he had contracted Covid-19 in March while in Australia with his wife Rita Wilson, also infected, to start a movie about Elvis Presley.

"Since we wiped the plasters from the Covid-19, we are fine. We suffered for ten days from very bothersome symptoms, but fortunately not dangerous," said Tom Hanks at a virtual press conference.

California, one of the main sources of coronavirus in the United States, recently gave the green light to the studios to resume filming provided they comply with strict sanitary rules. But most productions are still on hold and Tom Hanks cannot imagine a recovery anytime soon.

"I have no idea when I'm going to be able to go back to work," he said, "no one has a clue."

"It will happen but we do not know when. Many things must be taken into account, the financial aspect, the legal aspect, the insurance", explains the actor, without speaking about the constraints related to the physical distancing that he says he practices himself in his daily life.

"USS Greyhound - The Battle of the Atlantic", a thriller against the background of World War II in which Tom Hanks plays the main role, was due to be released this summer. But most cinemas being closed or reduced capacity in the United States because of the pandemic, Sony has agreed to sell it to Apple TV + for direct broadcast on this streaming platform.

For Tom Hanks, who also wrote the screenplay, the fact that the film is not screened in cinemas is a "heartbreaker". But he still welcomes the possibility of distributing it worldwide from July 10 via the internet.

Filming has resumed recently in some countries, such as Iceland, South Korea and New Zealand, but the star says he does not yet have a schedule for the resumption of "Elvis" by Baz Luhrmann in Australia.

© 2020 AFP