Always
Short description
Always is a 1989 American romantic fantasy drama directed by Steven Spielberg. It follows Pete Sandich, a veteran pilot who fights forest fires from the air and takes on dangerous missions with little regard for his own safety. His girlfriend Dorinda and his friend Al both want him to stop taking such risks. When Pete dies saving Al during a fire, he finds himself in the afterlife, where a spiritual guide sends him back to Earth as a presence unseen by the living. His task is to help a young, inexperienced pilot named Ted develop into a capable aviator, even as Ted falls for Dorinda. The situation puts Pete in an uneasy position as he watches over the two of them.
The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Pete, Holly Hunter as Dorinda, John Goodman as Al, Brad Johnson as Ted, and Audrey Hepburn as Hap, with Roberts Blossom as Dave. The screenplay is by Jerry Belson and Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, and the producers are Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. It was released in December 1989, between Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Hook. Made for about 30 million dollars, it earned roughly 74 million worldwide, a modest return for a wide release of its size. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 35,000 votes, on TMDB 6.2 from 687 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 5.9 from 27 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Tom Cruise could have played the role of Ted Becker.
- When Dorinda returns home, she is dressed exactly like the Ripley character in 'Aliens' (1986).
- Audrey Hepburn's (1929-1993) fee for the film was $1 million. She donated the entire amount to UNICEF.
- For filming scenes in the forest after the fire, Audrey Hepburn was carried to the shooting location on a stretcher so that soot and ash wouldn't stain her white outfit, which included items from her own wardrobe.
- The incident where Dorinda makes a mistake and confuses John Wayne (1907-1979) with Henry Fonda (1905-1982) actually happened during filming with Holly Hunter and Brad Johnson. It made director Steven Spielberg laugh so much that he decided to include such a scene in the film.
- Initially, Steven Spielberg wanted Sean Connery (1930-2020) to play the role of Hap, but he was busy with other projects. Spielberg then ordered the role to be rewritten for a woman and cast Audrey Hepburn in it.
- Spielberg wanted to cast Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Robert Redford in the roles of the main characters – one as Pete, the other as Ted – but both actors expressed a desire to play Pete specifically and didn't want to play Ted, and Spielberg was unable to resolve this with them. Ultimately, Richard Dreyfuss played Pete, and Brad Johnson played Ted.
- According to the plot, the training base is located in the state of Colorado, but filming took place in the city of Ephrata in the state of Washington, where a training base for crews of heavy B-17 bombers was located during World War II.
- Approximately 500 people from the city of Libby in the state of Montana were hired for the roles of firefighters.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
