Tom Hanks shares foul-mouthed rant about movie reviewers
Despite his ‘nice guy’ persona in Hollywood, acting veteran Tom Hanks has been known to let off some steam every once in a while. Having starred in a vast array of iconic movies over the decades, earning himself multiple Academy Awards in the process, it is fair to say that Hanks knows a thing or two about the film industry. In recent interviews and media appearances, it seems as if the actor is not shying away from discussing that experience, often using colourful language to do so.
In fact, during a recent podcast interview, Hanks detailed the long, arduous process of making a movie and dealing with its subsequent reaction by critics and audiences alike. The actor quickly launched into a tirade, albeit with playful overtones, against movie critics, going as far as to refer to them as “cocksuckers”.
Hanks’ foul-mouthed rant was mainly aimed at those who initially panned his 1996 directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, which has since become something of a cult classic. Speaking on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, Hanks shared, “All of this stuff lives. Now, what has happened is that time has become one of the metrics for how these things matter, right?”
“Back in the day it was just a fistfight,” he continued, “It was every movie you had coming out, are you going to make the playoffs or not? Guess what? No, kid, you ain’t going nowhere. Or, you got a shot.” Over the course of his career, Hanks has experienced his fair share of hits, having appeared in a variety of Hollywood’s most iconic films. However, he has also appeared in more than a couple of flops.
After explaining the basic process of crafting a film and the various “Rubicons” you must cross as a filmmaker, Hanks then said, “Then the critics weigh in, that’s Rubicon number three, and that’s always up or down: ‘We hate it, we like it. This is the worst thing. … Oh hey, Tom, I saw you in a movie. It was cute.’ That’s when you ask the wife, ‘Hey, honey, could you take the revolver out of the glove box and hide it somewhere, because I think…”
When O’Brien then brought up Hanks’ comedy-musical That Thing You Do! as a topic of conversation, Hanks responded, “Let me tell you something about these cocksuckers who write about movies. Can I say that?”
Hanks did, however, concede, “But that’s the thing we all signed up for,” adding, “That’s the carnival, that’s the contest. I got faith in that. That’s okay.” While it appears that the actor is still a little bitter about the initial reception to his directorial debut, it seems his take on the field of movie critics should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Tom Hanks’ issue with superhero movies
One of the very few genres Tom Hanks has never tread is the ever-growing landscape of superhero films. These bid-budget, CGI-reliant works have been criticised a lot as of late, with everybody from David Cronenberg to Martin Scorsese weighing in to voice their disapproval of the movies. Tom Hanks is no different, having recently launched into a rant about CGI films and the fact that many superhero films are lacking in story.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor said, “We’ve had 20 years to explore that kind of thing [CGI],” before questioning, “and now we’re in an evolution and place where it’s: And the story is what? The theme is what? The point of this movie is what?”
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