American Experience
The Center of the World: Interview Outtakes

Philippe Petit:
video | transcript

Rehearsing the Walk 1 -- Rehearsing the Walk2 -- Getting the Cable Across3 -- Setting Foot On the Cable4 -- Being Aerial

Mike Wallace Pete Hamill Carol Willis Guy Tozzoli
Leslie Robertson Camilo José Vergara Niall Ferguson Philippe Petit
William Langewiesche Ed Koch Mario Cuomo Ada Louise Huxtable

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To make sure that the rigging, which was supposed to happen all night (and the walk, early morning), would happen fluidly, I did different kind of rehearsals. Most of them were fiascos. I rehearsed in real size in a meadow in France, the passing of the cable, the attachment to trees, and all the movements, to make sure that I didn't forget one of those lifesaving movement or one bolt or one nut. Basically it was pretty simple. I had to pass the cable invisibly, secretly, silently, and to pull ropes thicker and bigger until the actual steel cable will walk across, secure it on one side, around some column, and then secure it to the other side, to some ratchet, and pull, and [guideline]. That sounds very simple like this, or maybe it doesn't sound simple. But the detail of it, in the middle of the wire -- of -- The detail of it in the middle of the night was such that we were actually crawling in complete darkness. And it should be completely silent...