John Travolta has revealed that his new film, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, is dedicated to his late wife Kelly Preston and his late son Jett, as well as other family members. The 72-year-old actor spoke to Italian newspaper La Repubblica about the emotional tribute, saying, 'I dedicated the film to Kelly, to my son Jett, to my brothers and sisters, to my mother and my father, because they are the model from which this film was born.'
Jett Travolta died in 2009 at the age of 16 after suffering a seizure. Kelly Preston passed away in 2020 at 57, two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Reflecting on his ability to remain optimistic despite these losses, Travolta said, 'Life has certainly tested me, but it's my nature to look for the positive, even in the face of the worst. I'm not made to remain absorbed in the darkness. I can look at the darkness, but I don't choose to die in that darkness.'
The film, inspired by Travolta's 1997 semi-autobiographical book of the same name, follows an eight-year-old protagonist named Jeff on his first flight in 1962. 'I wanted this sincerity,' Travolta explained. 'A child's hope and resilience are unique; we adults have forgotten what that means. As a child, I always looked at the glass half full; I thought life could be better.'
Travolta noted that viewers will 'rediscover that gaze of hope' through the film, adding that in 1962, 'we weren't so overwhelmed by the obligation to always look at the dark side of life.' The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where Travolta was honoured with the Palme d'Or. His daughter, Ella Bleu Travolta, stars as a flight attendant named Doris.
Travolta also recalled his first Cannes appearance in 1994 for Pulp Fiction, sharing a memory of watching the film with his wife. 'I was sitting there with my wife at the screening at the Palais. The scene from Jack Rabbit Slims arrives... My wife grabs me and says, 'Honey, do you realize what this film is about?' I discovered it along with the world. It's my strongest memory.'
