Tom Hanks has given fans a unique glimpse into the conflicting relationships, bad habits and studio pressures that underscore a major Hollywood film, in a debut novel inspired by his own illustrious career.
The Oscar-winning actor has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most down-to-earth stars, but newly released book The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece suggests his demeanor wasn’t always so favourable.
Hanks drew on more than 40 years of experience in the film industry to produce the novel, which references “crying babies, psychological train wrecks, alcoholics on the wagon, addicts off the wagon… and more a few feuds between the talent.”
The 448-page book, released in May, focuses on the development of a big-budget superhero film, an enigmatic director and a cast of misfits — most notably a selfish male lead whose behavior repeatedly gets in the way of the shooting schedule.
And Hanks admits he’s had a few bad days at the office, not least in his early years starring in a slew of Hollywood comedies.
Candid: In his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece Iconic, Tom Hanks has given fans a unique insight into the fractious relationships, bad habits and studio pressures that underscore a major Hollywood film: Hanks drew on his own experiences in of the film industry during the development of the novel, which focuses on developing a big-budget superhero film with an enigmatic director and an underdog cast (pictured in Forrest Gump) Stranded: Hanks in the blockbuster film Castaway Opening Up: Actor has earned a reputation as developed into one of the most down-to-earth stars in Hollywood, but a newly published book suggests his demeanor wasn’t always so auspicious
“I drew every single one of those behavioral moments on set myself,” he told the BBC. “Not everyone is at their best every day on a film set.
“I’ve had rough days trying to be a pro when my life fell apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me in that day is to be funny, charming and loving – and that’s the last thing I do.” feel.
He added, “What can’t happen with a film is that nobody can mess with the timing, the length of the shoot, or the budget. It’s a deadly sin in the film business.
“You’d be amazed how many people know they can get away with it and are told they can get away with it because they’re carrying the film on their shoulders.”
Hanks’ debut novel follows the publication of Uncommon Type, a 2017 collection of short stories that sold an impressive 234,000 copies in the UK – but his latest offering has been less well received.
Old times: “I had rough days trying to be a pro when my life fell apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me in that day is to be funny, charming and loving,” he said (pictured in a comedy crime caper Turner and Hooch)
Reviews of his prose have turned negative, but the actor – who has been accused by The Sunday Times’ Dave Sexton of developing “clunky” prose while “mansplaining” the film industry – insists his job makes him “stronger to be torn apart when it matters”.
Hanks — an avid collector of vintage typewriters — also admitted that the book served as a release from the “never-ending pressures” of filmmaking.
He added: “I’ve written between films, I’ve written wherever I have been, I’ve written on the plane, I’ve written at home, I’ve written on vacation, I’ve written in hotel rooms, I’ve written on long weekends wrote when I wasn’t working.”
Hanks also dismissed the awakened trend of revising classic novels to accommodate easily offended millennial readers, with the works of British authors Roald Dahl and PG Wodehouse among the targets.
“I think we’re all grown up here,” he said. “Let’s trust our own sensitivity instead of letting someone decide what offends us or not.”
“Let me decide what hurts me and what doesn’t hurt me. I would be against reading any book from any era that says “abridged due to modern sensibilities”.