The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece: A novel

I have been a serious moviemaking nerd since high school, even once considering working in film production. Working in Corporate America cured me of wanting to work in another cutthroat chew-you-up and spit-you-out industries. Sigh.

Anyway, gravitating to this book was a natural thing for me to do. During the Covid (and later writers and performers strike) shut-down of film and television production, Tom Hanks decided to write a book about the ins-and-outs of making a movie on location, in this case the fictional town of Lone Butte, California. Because he is who he is, he has created a world and characters that provide a reliable peek into what goes on into pre-production, production and later post-production of a big-budget film. The show more film as envisioned loosely follows the comic book story of a veteran of WWII who finds himself a superhero called Firefall and the antics that ensue MCU-style. Within the book, we are introduced to individual characters who work in the various departments involved in moviemaking, from a teamster to the director and many in between. While the book does tend to meander a bit, and is more than a little over-long, it is wonderful escapism, especially for a nerd like me. show less

This is an ambitious book, but with so many different parts there’s likely to be something to appeal to most readers.

Ostensibly, it’s the tale of the making of a movie. If that’s something that you’re interested in, then you’ll learn a lot about the many, many different areas of expertise that go into running a functioning movie set, from teamsters to gaffers to hair/makeup. I found these bits of the book both fascinating and informative. However, if you’re looking for a “dirty underbelly of the industry” perspective, look elsewhere! Hanks is unwaveringly fawning in his depiction of his colleagues: everyone is professional, clever, and personable, with the exception of a single character whose cartoonish bad behaviour show more is so absurd, readers obviously aren’t meant to take him seriously.

But mostly it's a tapestry woven of life stories. If you did a page count, I imagine most of them would be devoted to the business of exploring the lives of the folks who have, via various paths, comes to intersect with the movie, from the traumatized WW2 vet whose war experiences inspired the character in the movie to the edgy cartoonist who immortalized him in comic book form; from the supernaturally competent producer who was "discovered” at the desk of a small-town hotel to the small-time comedian who suddenly finds himself cast in a critical supporting role; from the level-headed geologist girlfriend of the genius director to the jobbing actor who rose from the ranks of “Dr. Gore’s Horror Show” dinner theater to Hollywood. There isn’t a bit character that Hanks doesn’t feel worthy of at least a few paragraphs of backstory. Some of the stories are funny, some tender, some painful, some poignant - for the most part, however, they hit as deeply authentic and human. Some might argue that all this time spent on characterization drags the pace of the storytelling, to which I would counter: the book isn’t about plot, it’s about process - a process so unimaginably complex that only the combined competence of thousands of different individuals makes it work at all ... so the time spent exploring how those individuals came to hone their disparate competencies is absolutely relevant.

Finally, it’s a book about the relationship between movies and their viewers, an exploration of the place where culture, capitalism, and fantasy intersect. It’s about the unfathomably complicated business of pulling together millions of pieces in the hopes that, once assembled, they achieve that most ephemeral of goals: a story so engaging, so engrossing, so well-told that it justifies the vast investment of resources, energies, and dreams that went into the making of it.

I get that Hank’s writing style might not be to everyone’s taste, but I liked the way that he mixes narrative styles, shifting from close POV to third person exposition to interviews, testimonials ... even the occasional comic book page. Yes, I found his tendency to overelaborate easy concepts while simultaneously under-explaining more complex ideas a bit frustrating, but not off-puttingly so. Might this book have been more interesting if not for Hanks’ upbeat, buoyant, “smile, everyone!” approach towards storytelling? Undoubtedly! But if you take it for what it is, I'm comfortable recommending this as a charming, engaging, and often quite moving read. show less

This book is so detailed, so well-observed that there were moments when I forgot I was reading fiction.

Were there minor continuity errors? Yes. Was there a section where I'm convinced a chunk went missing from my ebook copy? Yes. Were there a lot of footnotes I didn't need and one that wasn't there that I really did? Yes. (What the heck are koombies, my good dude?) But absolutely none of that mattered.

(I also deeply enjoyed how clear this book makes it that the real art (of movies, of management, of living) is solving problems and keeping calm and trying for the least harm every time. These characters end up in some really incredibly irritating situations, and the ones who manage to be as calm and kind and focused on the problem as show more they possibly can be are the ones who save the day. Love a book where the heroes never wield a weapon more pointed than "Maybe we can look at this another way.") show less

I've enjoyed some of Tom Hanks' short fiction and thought I'd give this a try. I found it a bit disappointing. It was about movie-making, but for me the strongest identifiable quality was that it constituted what I would call "competence porn." No fewer than three of the female characters are "discovered" and brought into the movie production business because they're uber-competent in their mundane jobs. Years ago the director character, Bil Johnson, encountered Dace while shopping for a typewriter, and eventually makes her his right-hand assistant and co-producer. Dace in turn hires hotel desk clerk Al Mac-Teer because Al overhears Bill say he could go for some frozen yogurt and she immediately sends out for it. Al hires her rideshare show more driver Ynez because Ynez is always polite, non-intrusive, and on-time, plus one day a movie staffer mistakes Ynez for a gofer, sends her all over creation for stuff, and she just buys everything with her own money even though she doesn't work for him and has no idea if she'll be reimbursed. When Dace eventually gets cancer, she just goes off to die with her family -- she doesn't reach out to her "movie family" and they don't reach out to her, as though it's noble of her not to bother them with something as minor as dying.

There's only one character who exhibits major incompetence, and honestly, I think he's there just to show how wonderful and professional everyone else is.

While I enjoyed reading about some of what went into making this fictional, Marvel-like superhero movie, I felt the book was overly long and ultimately didn't have much point. show less

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece - Hanks
Audio performance by the author and additional cast
4 stars

Everything you always wanted to know and more. The story follows the creation of a movie from the incidental publication of two comic books to the final distribution of the film through a streaming service. The final product is the newest addition to a superhero franchise. The initial comic book is a post WW2 war hero propaganda comic.

This book is not a two hour motion picture. It’s a mini-series.

I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every bit of nostalgic backstory. I enjoyed the Tom Hanks brand of respect for WW2 service. I loved the comedic appearance and exit of O.K.B. as the male lead. The book was full of strong, show more assertive, female characters. It was a fun book. It made me want to eat popcorn.

Also. I’ve lived and worked in Southern California for many years. As a public school teacher I know how many families depend upon the ‘business’ to pay the bills. Hanks gives full credit to the many people that the entertainment industry employs. They are a part of ‘the making’. His narrator and his most likable characters treat ‘the little people’ with respect. Some of those lowly gofers are the most likable characters.

This book has received some criticism for the pages and pages of backstory for each character. I liked that part. I’m aware that Hanks doesn’t depict the ugly aspects of the industry. There was no sexual harrassment. There were no union disagreements or strikes. Positive attitudes, professional integrity, and a dedicated work ethic were all rewarded on the set. Exactly what I would expect from a Hanks production.

I had the audiobook, which is an excellent and elaborate multi-cast production. It comes with a pdf of the three full color comic books that are a part of the text. show less

Pretty charming! I was surprised at the effort put into this—not only is it an interesting gloss of a bunch of fictional people making a fictional movie, the movie is part of a fictional major comic book franchise for which there's a whole detailed history, and borrows from a one-off fictional comic book with a ton of detail about its creator and backstory. That's a lot of layers of fictional details! In addition to several movies based on this novel itself I would watch many of the movies implied to exist in this universe.

[ 1.5 stars, generously rounded up] With apologies to one of my favorite contemporary actors, I positively hated this book. So much so that it landed on my short “DNF” (Did Not Finish) list. I realize that I’m once again playing the outlier role given the many glowing reviews. But after an excruciatingly slow start, I almost called it quits a fifth of the way through. Then my inner voice boomed, “Come on, man, it’s Forrest!” The same thing happened a third of the way through. I finally ignored the inner voice at the halfway point. I disliked the book’s disjointed structure. I couldn’t get into a single character. And when Hanks finally delved into the moviemaking angles promised in the title, it was — well, boring. show more There are a handful of intriguing vignettes sprinkled throughout the first half, but they weren't enough to keep me engaged. I resisted the urge to assign it 1 star in recognition of the author's stature and accomplishments. I'm surprised, because I was sure I would like the book given the fact that I’m a lifelong movie buff and have loved many Hanks films. I guess books are like a box chocolates… show less