Tom Hanks on his filmography: “Four of them are pretty good, I think”
America’s dad is back with yet another insight into what it’s like being one of the most beloved human beings of his time. Of course, we’re talking about Tom Hanks, who just announced a new novel set to come out in May of 2023. The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece will focus on a film studio’s attempt to bring a multi-million dollar superhero movie to the big screen, something that Hanks himself has managed to avoid getting involved with over his five decades in Hollywood.
When talking to People Magazine, Hanks opened up about the novel and why it took so long for him to start writing fiction. Hanks also noted that public perception of cinema inspired him to begin writing the novel since everyone seems interested in how movies are made without really knowing what goes into them.
“No one knows how a movie is made — though everyone thinks they do,” Hanks said. “I’ve made a ton of movies (and four of them are pretty good, I think), and I’m still amazed at how films come together. From a flicker of an idea to the flickering image onscreen, the whole process is a miracle.”
Now, obviously, Hanks is just making a little self-deprecating remark about his own filmography. But it does raise the question: what does Tom Hanks think his four good movies are? Does he have a special place in his heart for his one directorial effort, That Thing You Do, or does he maybe think that The Post is underrated? (For my money, the list is Philadelphia, Toy Story, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away, but I have a lot of time for Charlie Wilson’s War as an underrated top-shelf Hanks film).
“Movie-making is very hard work over a very long period of time that consists of so many moments of joy slapped up against an equal number of feelings of self-loathing,” Hanks adds. “It is the greatest job in the world and the most confounding of labours that I know of.”
“A smart thing I did is I’ve never signed a contract that had a contractual obligation to a sequel,” Hanks says. “I’ve always said, ‘Guys, if there’s a reason to do it, let’s do it. But you guys can’t force me.’ There is that natural inclination that is one of pure commerce that says, ‘Hey, you just had a hit, so do it again, and you’ll have a hit.'”
That’s what happened with Forrest Gump, a movie I loathe, but Hanks evidently thinks it is on that four-film list. “I will say that, with a long time in between, we did take a stab at talking about another Forrest Gump that lasted all of 40 minutes,” Hanks shared. “And then we never, we said, ‘Guys, come on.'”
The rest of us will not rest until we learn what Tom Hanks’ four favourite films that he’s made are. Until then, check out the trailer for Forrest Gump down below and try to imagine what they could have done for a sequel.
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