Tom Hanks satirizes ‘crybabies, on-the-wagon alcoholics and off-the-wagon addicts’ in debut novel about life on a Hollywood movie set – and says his OWN behavior inspired him to write
Tom Hanks has given fans a unique insight into the tricky relationships, bad habits and studio pressures that underscore a major Hollywood movie set in a debut novel inspired by his own illustrious career.
The Oscar-winning actor has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most established stars, but the recently released book The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece suggests his behavior hasn’t always been so favorable.
Hanks drew on more than 40 years in the film industry to produce the novel, in which he references “cry babies, psychological trainwrecks, alcoholics in the car, addicts not in the car… a few feuds between the Talent.”
The 448-page book, released in May, centers on the development of a big-budget superhero movie with an enigmatic director and a cast of misfits — most notably a selfish male lead whose behavior repeatedly interferes with the shooting schedule.
And Hanks admits he’s had his fair share of bad days at the office, not least during his early years starring in a string of Hollywood comedies.
Candid: Tom Hanks has given fans a unique insight into the tricky relationships, bad habits and studio pressures that underscore a major Hollywood movie set in his debut novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece
Iconic: Hanks drew on his own experience in the film industry while developing the novel, which revolves around the development of a big-budget superhero movie with an enigmatic director and a cast of misfits (pictured left in Forrest Gump and right in Castaway)
Opening: Actor has built a reputation as one of the most grounded stars in Hollywood, but a newly released book suggests his behavior hasn’t always been so favorable
“I drew all those behavioral moments myself on a set,” he told the BBC. Not everyone is at their best on a movie set every day.
“I’ve had some tough days trying to be a professional when my life fell apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving – and that’s the last way I feel.
He added: ‘What can’t happen on a movie is that someone can’t mess with the timing or the length of the shoot or the budget. That is a mortal sin in the film world.
“You’d be surprised 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 2017 release of Uncommon Type, a collection of short stories that sold a staggering 234,000 copies in the UK – but his latest offering was less well received.
Old times: “I’ve had some tough days trying to be a pro when my life fell apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving,” he said (pictured in comedy crime caper Turner and Hooch)
Reviews of his prose have turned negative, but the actor – accused by The Sunday Times’ Dave Sexton of developing “clumsy” prose while “abusing” the film industry – insists his day job makes him “stronger when it comes to really being torn apart”.
Hanks – an avid collector of vintage typewriters – also admitted that the book served as a liberation from the “unending pressure” of moviemaking.
He added, “I wrote between movies, I wrote wherever I was, I wrote on planes, I wrote at home, I wrote on vacation, I wrote in hotel rooms, I wrote on long weekends when I wasn’t working .’
Hanks also rejected the awakening trend of reworking classic novels to accommodate easily offended millennial readers, which includes the work of British authors Roald Dahl and PG Wodehouse.
“I think we’re all adults here,” he said. “Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities instead of letting someone decide what we should or shouldn’t be offended by.”
‘Let me decide what I am offended and what I am not offended. I would be against reading any book from any era that says “shortened for modern sensibilities.”