Tom Hanks, who acted as astronaut James A Lovell in the 1995 film Apollo 13, honoured the legendary astronaut following his death at age 97 on Thursday. Lovell commanded the Apollo 13 lunar mission, which the film dramatised. The mission faced a catastrophic in-flight explosion, making NASA scientists improvise solutions to safely bring its crew back to Earth.
Tom Hanks shared a tribute on social networking websites, writing, "There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the place we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy. His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive — and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages."
He concluded the statement by saying, "On this night of a full Moon, he passes on — to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. God speed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell."
The film's director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer also released statements paying tribute to Lovell.
Apollo 13 earned critical acclaim for its meticulous depiction of the almost fatal incident and the diligent efforts that saved multiple lives. Made on a reported budget of $52 million, the film grossed $355 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing international releases of the year. It received nine Oscar nominations, including a Best Picture nod, and won for Best Sound and Best Film Editing. Hanks’ line from the film—”Houston, we have a problem”—is iconic and ranks 50th on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list.
To celebrate its 30th release anniversary, Universal Pictures is set to release the film again in IMAX screens on September 19.
