Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had dinner with a very famous friend on Sunday night.
The Castaway star and Rita, both 67, grabbed a bite to eat at famed Santa Monica hotspot Giorgio Baldi with none other than Steven Spielberg, 77.
The trio were all dressed casually, with the Sleepless in Seattle actress wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt over a white midi jacket.
The You’ve Got Mail actor wore black jeans with a dark green sweater and a gray sports coat.
Meanwhile, the ET director wore jeans with a black jacket and a pair of very cool blue suede high-top sneakers.
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had dinner with 77-year-old Steven Spielberg on Sunday evening
Spielberg and Tom go way back and have worked together on several films, including Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Bridge of Spies and The Post.
They also worked together as producers on the TV series Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Now, the old friends are co-producing the AppleTV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, which explores the “air wars of World War II through the men of the United States Army Air Forces’ Mighty Eighth Air Force,” according to an official synopsis.
Hanks and Spielberg have been trying to get the series on the air for twelve years.
The cast features some of the hottest young actors around, including Elvis Oscar nominee Austin Butler, Callum Turner (The Boys In The Boat), new Doctor Who lead Ncuti Gatwa and Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan.
It cost an estimated £235 million to produce, but as Tom Hanks says, no one wanted to make it ‘unless it could be as good as Band Of Brothers’.
Thirty sources, including memoirs and historian Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name, were used to piece together the storylines because, says show creator John Orloff, “Steven, Tom and Gary insisted that everything be on screen would be true.’
Tom explains the crew’s mission. ‘It was the battle between good and evil, because that was the Second World War. But Don’s book integrated the human element along with the madness. The distinction between ‘I’m safe’ or ‘I could be killed in an instant’ is about as specific as it gets.”
So as well as the stunning aerial photographs, there are also the personal stories that form the heart of the series, particularly the friendship between Majors Gale Cleven and John Egan (Austin and Callum).
The old friends all dressed casually for their night out in Santa Monica
Tom and Rita have been married for 36 years, pictured here in 2022
The couple has been friends with Spielberg for a long time. Hanks and the legendary director have collaborated on several films and television series, pictured here in 2018
Going way back, Spielberg and Tom have worked together on several films, including Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Bridge of Spies and The Post, pictured here in 2001
They also worked together as producers on the TV series Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Now, the old friends are co-producing the AppleTV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, which explores the “air wars of World War II through the men of the United States Army Air Forces’ Mighty Eighth Air Force,” according to an official synopsis. Pictured here in 2018
Steven Spielberg explained why he keeps returning to World War II as a subject. ‘
It is important that we create a library where young people can understand what it took to keep our country free,” he said. “We must carry that generation’s sacrifice and contributions to future generations.”
Spielberg’s resume is dominated by World War II films, including Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List.
He also directed and/or produced Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Flags of our Fathers, all about the war.