Exactly 30 years after the release of Forrest GumpTom Hanks and Robin Wright are back together – along with director Robert Zemeckis – for Herea single-shot film that takes place entirely in one room and follows multiple generations of families.
Hanks and Wright play a couple in the project, as their relationship is tracked over the years. At the AFI Fest premiere in Los Angeles on Friday, Hanks said that working together now is the “exact same process” as it was in the '90s.
“We had the same conversation over and over; we met every now and then. I will say that the first day we first sat down with our scripts to start breaking them down, there was kind of, “Can you believe this?” How did this happen?'” Hanks said The Hollywood journalist to reunite with Wright. “But that was then, this is now, and we know better, so we gather with ease, the luxury of knowing each other backwards and forwards and great, great trust and affection.”
The actor added that when he first signed on he didn't know Wright would be his co-star; Zemeckis later started floating the idea, and “I said, 'Well, wouldn't that be great.' So are you available? Can it work? All this other stuff happens,” Hanks continued. “But we have one thing in common when it comes to working together, 'Yes, of course,' is the only thing you say.”
Zemeckis reiterated that he has no grand plan for a Forrest Gump reunion from the start, but she was “very, very lucky” that both stars said yes. To follow the actors throughout the story's decades, the team worked with AI studio Metaphysic on a tool called Metaphysic Live, which created face swaps and aging effects on top of the actors' performances in real time.
“It was critical to tell the story — we couldn't make the movie five years ago, so it was fortunate that this tool came along just when we needed it,” Zemeckis said, explaining that it was basically “digital trickery.” It also allowed the cast to see themselves 20 or 30 years younger while shooting the scene – rather than waiting for visual effects to be added later – as the director added: “They look at it and say, 'Oh, I get it.' to be a little more agile, I have to move a little faster, I have to raise my voice a little.' It was important for them to see it.”
Here will be released in theaters on November 1st.