New York Film Fest: 'Captain Phillips' Writer, Producer Talk About Gripping True Story, Movie's Gotham Debut

New York Film Fest: 'Captain Phillips' Writer, Producer Talk About Gripping True Story, Movie's Gotham Debut - The Hollywood Reporter

The New York Film Festival kicked off Friday night with a standing ovation for the premiere of Sony's Captain Phillips, the audience clearly impressed by the suspenseful Tom Hanks-starrer, based on the true story of Captain Richard Phillips' struggle with Somali pirates in 2009.

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Before the movie, screenwriter Billy Ray told The Hollywood Reporter that the gripping nature of the real events made it easy for him to turn them into a film.

"As true stories go, this one laid out like a movie," he said. "I mean, it had drama and tension and huge politics to it. It had action built into it.