'Wilson!' Group gathers at Detroit River to recreate famous Tom Hanks scene
Willllsoooon!
With an unceremonious boot Wilson — a white volleyball with a red face — went sailing into the water as the cries rang out across the Detroit River.
About a dozen participants showed up on the Canadian side of the waterway for the event, titled simply Scream "Wilson!" At Detroit River, while a couple watched through the rain from the Detroit side Saturday evening.
The recreation of the iconic scene from Oscar-nominated survival drama Cast Away was the brainchild of Devon Muzzatti.
The 18-year-old admits he was just a baby when the film came out in 2000, but his dad was a fan and passed love for the Tom Hanks movie and its special relationship between a man and a piece of sports equipment along to him.
The event actually started as a gag on Facebook, but then 198 people said they were planning to attend and more than 1,600 people said they were interested.
"It was just kind of a joke at first, but then people actually started expressing interest," explained Muzzatti. "I saw the numbers coming in and I thought 'I think I'm going to have to do it."
Wilson could be cast away again
After booting 'Wilson' into the water, the crowd screamed his name along with a chorus of commenters online, but unlike Hanks's character who had to watch as his only friend floated away, the teenager reeled him back in using a piece of rope.
The event was, after all, BYOB — bring your own ball.
Although slightly ridiculous, Muzzatti said making fun, simple plans like meeting friends to yell at a volleyball can be important. He also hinted this might not be the last time Wilson is cast away.
"Little events like this are really fun to just check out," he said. "Even if you don't actually attend it would still give you a laugh throughout the day. I think it would be fun to see it happen again."
