this is "nightline." >> tonight, deadly train disaster. an amtrak train near seattle derailing on its inaugural run. >> oh my god, that train is derailed over the freeway. >> plunging into the interstate below, pinning cars and passengers. >> bodies on the freeway -- >> at least three dead and 100 hospitalized, what could have caused the accident and were there warning signs? plus, the greatest show man. ♪ ladies and gents this is the moment ♪ >> hugh zook man is p.d. barnum, his role as the controversial father of showbiz. >> he's definitely a flawed character. i think that's why i was drawn to him. >> already creating award show buzz. jackman singing and dancing from the big top to the big screen. >> this is what i would do just

over, over, over -- >> and -- >> i've seen things that i cannot deny. >> it's the real-life x files. the secret program run from the pentagon investigating unidentified flying objects. but is there life out there? but first the "nightline 5." when you have a cold, pain from a headache can make this feel like this. all in one cold symptom relief from tylenol, the number one doctor-recommended pain relief brand. tylenol. >> what's your holiday budget? take the jcpenney holiday challenge. >> sweet. >> this would look great on you. >> your total is $297. >> pretty good. >> yeah, good. >> a week left to save. jcpenney. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. at the height of the holiday travel season, a deadly train derailment near seattle. an amtrak tran careens off the tracks on a new route designed to save time. tonight questions about why it went off the rails. abc's clayton sandell is on the scene. >> oh my god! >> reporter: it's every commuter's worst nightmare. >> amtrak 501 north, over. amtrak 501, emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. we are the bridge on i-5, derailment -- >> reporter: a train traveling seattle to portland, derailing while crossing an overpass. >> they're requesting all possible units responding on the freeway. >> reporter: at least three people dead, on board approximately 84 passengers and crew members, 13 of 14 train cars jumped the tracks. some spilling over onto busy interstate 5 below. >> oh my god that train is

derailed over the freeway. >> reporter: some train cars suspended in the air. others crushing vehicles below. within minutes interstate 5 awash with red and blue lights. >> that is crazy. >> people were in shock. and a lot of them, they just went and they sat down with their faces in the palm of their hands like, what's happening? >> reporter: daniel and his girlfriend alicia were driving by and stopped to help. >> i went down underneath the freeway and started working my way through those trains. one of the trains had tipped upside down and spill the passengers out. then the train came down on top of them. one of the gentlemen had been thrown from the train. he was one of the fatalities. >> reporter: 100 people, including passengers, crew, and motorists below, rushed to nearby hospitals. there are at least three fatalities. amtrak's cascades train number 501 was on its inaugural passenger run, traveling down a rail bypass formerly used for freight but was modified to carry passenger trains. the train departed seattle at

6:00 a.m., scheduled to reach portland at 9:20. 7:30 a.m., passenger chris carnes, chair of the pierce county transit advisory board," wow this train is fast, we are passing up traffic on i-5." moments later around 7:34 a.m., a locomotive and 12 cars careening off both sides of that very overpass. >> we were going between 70 and 80 miles an hour. and we heard a creaking. a little bit of a creaking sound. then the train started to wobble. >> reporter: just below that busy southbound traffic. >> and then we were catapulted at the seats in front of us. the next thing we knew, our car had crumpled, and we were down an embankment. >> i looked around, there was windows and glass and a particular smell that i can't really describe. >> reporter: the conductor radioing for help. >> hey, guys, what happened? >> coming around the corner to take the bridge over i-5 there, right north into squally, we

went on the ground. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still figuring that out, we got cars everywhere and down onto the highway. as soon as i know about exactly where all my train, i'll let you know. >> the first car was on the ground, the second car was the passenger, was down. the third was dangling. the fourth and fifth were up on the track. about 20 ems started flooding toward the area. a lot of people in the northbound lane was going over to help as well. >> reporter: the cause of the derailment is still being investigated. >> everyone's familiar with black boxes on airplanes. but trains also have similar recorders. they're capturing parameters such as speed, throttle position, braking, and even whether or not they're blowing the whistle or the horn on the train. so these devices can be really helpful to investigators to really corroborate with what they're hearing from witnesses. >> reporter: but the owner of the track where the train derailed confirmed to abc news that the speed limit on that portion of the track is 30 miles per hour. officials have not yet confirmed

how fast this train was traveling. earlier this month, the mayor of lakewood, washington, expressed concerns about safety. >> come back when there is an accident and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements. or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it. because this budget project was never needed. >> when we got to the scene it was obvious there were fatalities and injuries. multiple cars and trucks were struck by train cars that left the tracks and went down onto the road. the people in all the vehicles, even though when you see the pictures, it's rate horrific, at this point nobody in any of the vehicles is a fatal. the fatales are all contained to the train. >> reporter: a medical tent was set up nearby to help triage the numerous victims. nearby hospitals asking for blood donations. >> we also have crew members who have survived. and so interviewing them to

understand what was going on immediately prior to the derailment is going to be very important for the investigators and they'll want to do that as soon as possible. >> reporter: today's denmarks the second derailment this year in the same county. the first back in july when a passenger train carrying 267 people skidded off the tracks. >> they slam on the brakes and we're all of a sudden tilted. >> reporter: no casualties, only a handful of minor injuries. however, an investigation later showed the train's engineer was driving too fast, triggering a derailment switch on the tracks prior to reaching a draw bridge. >> notify amtrak to shut down the entire northeast corridor. we have a major event here. >> reporter: speed also a factor in 2015 when an amtrak passenger train traveling twice the speed limit sped off the tracks outside of philadelphia. >> crawl forward, sir! >> reporter: this is all tafs le that was left of the train, carrying 238.

the derailment killing eight, hundreds injured. a report would later note a culture of safety lapses at amtrak was responsible for the collision, adding the accident could have been prevented if the tracks had been equipped with a system that enforces speed restrictions, known as positive train control, ptc. >> positive train control was mandated by law, but amtrak has been very slow to implement it. what the u.s. is putting in right now is a rudimentary auto pilot that in aviation we would find in the 1940s. >> reporter: sound transit, the owner of the track, says ptc was installed here but in a phone conference amtrak's ceo richard anderson told reporters ptc was not activated. he did not want to speculate on the speed of the train or scenarios that could have caused the derailment. >> there's still too much room for human error. there's still too much old technology. there's old track, old trains. we're dealing with a train system that's decades behind the

rest of the world. >> this is a tragic event. on behalf of everyone at amtrak i want to express that we're deeply saddened by what happened here today. >> reporter: back in washington, debris and twisted wreckage still block two major transportation veins. >> there's a thorough investigation under way to determine what happened. >> reporter: tonight investigators trying to answer that lingering question. what caused the train to derail and claim one too many lives? i'm clayton sandell for "nightline" in dupont, washington. >> our thanes to clayton. next, no more mutants, wolverine is ringmaster. hugh jackman trading in claws for a cane and top hat in "the greatest show man." ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots

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he is best known for his role as wolverine in x-men. hugh jackman is a jack of all trades, now starring as a legendary ring master p.t. barnum in the musical "greatest show man," a show creating awards show buzz. my "nightline" coanchor juju chang takes her turn in the ring. >> reporter: wolverine is trading in x-men claws -- ♪ tell me do you want to go >> reporter: for tophat and cane. the ever-versatile leading man hugh jackman depicting a decidedly more human hero. p.t. barnum. >> no one ever made a difference by being like everyone else. >> reporter: in "the greatest show man." >> as a ring master you have a cane, a hat. nice flair. i like the panache. put the hat on the head. >> oh, come on. >> reporter: with those tricks nobody's better than jackman for

the role. >> i had to do it with my eyes closed. >> that's incredible. >> there you go. i'm showing off now. so we had ten weeks of rehearsal that i was vocally preparing for two years before. and i literally came straight from shooting "logan" to shooting this. i had a weekend off, then i came to it. i can tell you, this was tougher physically. >> what do wolverine and p.t. barnum, if anything, have in common? >> they have some things in common. on the surface, very different people. but they both have fight. push them up against a wall, back them into a corner, look out. and i've got a little bit of that. >> reporter: the movie an over-the-top homage to the father of show biz. a musical take on the real life of pt barnum. the risk-take history founded the barnum & bailey circus in the 19th century. seven years in development? >> and a half. >> and a half? not that anyone's counting. what's it like after all those years to see it come to life? >> it's a great thrill.

it's nerve-racking because i care so much about it. we have become a family. also i've been around long enough to know these things don't come along very often. >> i think i've had an idea -- >> reporter: the film follows his journey in creating the first-ever circus. >> putting together a show. i need a star. >> reporter: rallying a group of outcasts and misfits into a spectacle. united against backlash and bigotry. there is a strong current of taking outcasts, allowing them to come out of the shadows. yet at the same time it's met with some of sort of mob mentality. >> right. >> are there sort of parallels in current affairs that you draw on? >> absolutely. >> because art always reflects life. >> as we develop this for seven years, the theme of inclusion, the theme of tolerance, came further and further to the surface of the movie. i'm an australian. i've come all the way across the world to america to live here.

and i have only ever felt welcomed. supported. and i just have a feeling now, we're just retreating a little bit. >> reporter: the film's glowing depiction of barnum's life makes some selective jumps. glancing over accusations that he took advantage of, even exploited, people who were social pariahs. p.t. barnum is a bit of a flawed hero in real life. >> yeah, he's definitely a flawed character. i think that's why i was drawn to him. was he probably using the bearded lady and tom thumb in the beginning to sell tickets? yeah. he was. but what happened was, he genuinely created this family. i'm not sure if that's what he intended in the beginning. >> reporter: barnum's famed circus closed its doors for good earlier this year amid dwindling ticket sales. after years of animal cruelty allegations by rights groups. in the movie you ride a cgi elephant. >> yes. >> was that fear of the cruelty to animals accusations?

>> we were never going to use animals in the movie. everyone in the film totally agrees animals should not be used in circus or form of entertainment in that way. that's a bygone era. this is 1850. it is there and that's why we used cgi animals because we don't want anyone to think we were exploiting or celebrating that in any way. >> reporter: barnum may have invented showbiz, hugh jackman is now dominating it. a rare action hero headlining blockbusters like x-men. ♪ who am i >> reporter: then morphing. from superhero to song and dance man. jean belle jean in "les miserables." >> hugh jackman! >> reporter: charming enough to host the oscars. >> i'm an australian who played an australian in a movie called "australia." >> reporter: and the tonys. not once but four times. ♪ i love the tonys >> reporter: plus he took one home. >> hugh jackman.

>> reporter: the film and jackman's portrayal of barnum already nominated for golden globes. a role far different than the one that made him a household name. wolverine. that character's final performance hit the screens earlier this year in "logan." you watched that final performance with tears in your eyes. >> oh, yeah. not just in my eyes. rolling down my cheeks. i'll be honest. i was so nervous to see that final showing. and i just really was pinching myself and felt so blessed and so relieved. because i knew it was my last. and i wanted to go to sleep at night for the rest of my life knowing that i'd made the movie that i'd always felt was there. >> reporter: in this film jackman joined by a powerhouse cast. michelle williams as his ever-patient wife. zac efron as his junior partner. ♪ what percentage of the show would i be taking ♪ >> you talk about transcending class in this movie. >> in some ways barnum, the

story of barnum is the story of the birth of show business, but i would go further and say it's the story of modern america. in the beginning there were limitations of your class, of your background, of the family name. there were certain places you couldn't go. barnum was one of those. >> reporter: a big-budget hollywood musical still not a sure thing, even when the composers are the oscar and tony-winning duo behind "la la land" and "dear evan hansen." ♪ city of stars are you shining just for me ♪ >> you had two songwriters who at the time were somewhat unknown. >> yeah, they were unknown. they were unknown. >> you had to even fib some credentials in order to get the studio to buy in? >> may have been some barnum hoodwinking going on. these young guys got in there, met michael gracie, our director, wrote one song we loved. >> when was when was the hook? >> it was a million dreams.

it was a beautiful, simple song. ♪ every night i lie in bed the brightest colors fill my head ♪ ♪ a million dreams are keeping me awake ♪ >> it was a hook. mark gracie went in had a meeting with the studio exec, i won't tell you the name. the exec is like, who is these guys? justin and ben? oh, they're very big, they just won a tony. for what? "james and the giant peach," the first thing that came to his mind. there's never been a broadway production of "james and the giant peach." now they just got nominated for three grammys, they won the tony, they won the oscar for "la la land," and they don't talk to me anymore. >> they won't return your calls. >> it's fine. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. >> our thanks to juju. the greatest show hits theaters on december 20th. next, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's an unidentified flying object?

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finally tonight, it sounds like a science fiction film. a pentagon program that investigated alleged ufo sightings. here's abc's nick watt. >> what is that thing, dude? >> reporter: according to the "new york times," just one of many alleged sightings investigated by the secret $22 million ufo unit run by the u.s. department of defense. this, another incident from 2004, retired rival commander david fraber was piloting an f-18 super hornet on a routine training mission that day. >> i have never seen anything in my life that had the performance, the acceleration, and it's moving around left, right, forward, back. the radar starts getting jammed. all of a sudden it takes off. >> reporter: the pentagon tells abc news the advanced aviation

threat identification program ended in the 2012 time frame, was determined there were other, higher priority issues that merited funding. >> i don't know if it was alien life, but i will say in an infinite universe with multiple galaxies that we know of, that if we're the only planet with life, it's a pretty lonely universe. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm nick watt in los angeles. >> okay, sure, why not? thanks for watching "nightline." as always, we're online on our "nightline" facebook page. thanks for the company, america. good night. ♪ toyland, toyland ♪ little girl and boy land ♪ while you dwell within it ♪ you are ever happy there daddy, it's christmas! ♪ childhood's joy land never let go of your dreams. the mercedes-benz winter event is back. lease the glc300 for $449 a month

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