John Travolta is spinning a tale that’ll have you clutching your popcorn in both fear and laughter!
Picture this: the 69-year-old actor, looking dapper as ever, spilled the beans on a brush with the great beyond at an exclusive screening of his latest Disney+ masterpiece, The Shepherd, in jolly old London. The story unfolds like a suspenseful blockbuster, but with a pinch of Travolta’s trademark charm.
Now, rewind to 1992. Our fearless hero, then a spry 38, finds himself playing pilot on a corporate jet, family in tow, soaring through the skies from Fort Lauderdale to Rockland, Maine on Thanksgiving Day. Hold onto your seatbelts because here comes the plot twist โ a “total electrical failure.” Cue gasps!
“I had two trusty jet engines, but I was living in an electric nightmare โ no instruments, no lights, nada. I thought, ‘Well, this is it,'” he recalled, the drama building like a Hollywood blockbuster.
But fear not, for this tale takes an unexpected turn, just like a good rom-com. Travolta, our knight in shining aviator shades, experienced what he calls a “miracle.” Down, down they descended, following the rules of aviation etiquette. Our protagonist, now channeling his inner Top Gun, spotted the Washington D.C. monument like a beacon of hope. And voila, there it was โ Washington National Airport, a runway of salvation!
“It was like divine intervention, or maybe just some really good air traffic control vibes,” Travolta mused. “I saw that monument, thought, ‘Hey, that’s DC,’ and expertly landed just like Freddie โ you know, like a boss!”
Travolta’s real-life high-flying escapade not only secured his status as an aviation maverick but also sparked the brilliant idea to adapt Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novel, The Shepherd. Because, as it turns out, life imitates art, and sometimes, the best stories are the ones that come with a side of near-death experience.
“So, when I cracked open Forsyth’s book, it hit me right in the cockpit, so to speak. The resonance was like, ‘I’ve been there, done that โ survived to tell the tale and make a killer movie about it!'” Travolta declared, his infectious laughter echoing through the room.
The man, the myth, the mid-air miracle worker, John Travolta, proving that even when faced with a potential nosedive, he can still stick the landing, both on and off the screen!