Book Review: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

About:

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks tells of how a movie is made, from the idea of a talented five-years-old to its release. Mr. Hanks’ fictionalize account is certainly eye opening and entertaining.

  • 448 pages
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 052565559X


My rating for The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece – 5 *
Buy The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece from Amazon.com*
More Books by Tom Hanks*

About:

I’ve enjoyed Mr. Hanks previous book, Uncommon Type, and when I heard he is writing a book about making movies, I was excited to find out what it’s all about. I do enjoy reading about movie-making in general, even though it seems that the books are much more exciting than the actual process.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks is an exciting journey into what it takes to make a movie. From the inspiration of the writer as a young boy, to the movie star vying for the role, and the directory, producers, and a congregation of professionals who tackle obstacles daily.

I thought the novelization of movie making made the process a lot more interesting, capturing the energy, excitement, and mechanics which gets lost in non-fiction accounts.  The author’s unique perspective about the behind-the-scenes folks and their unseen contributions are fascinating as they are informative.

Producer Al Mac-Teer (Alicia) and a ride-share driver Ynez Gonzalez-Cruz who becomes instrumental in the production, were, for me, the two most interesting characters. All the of the cast, however, gets a developed with a background story from Lane Wren, the movies star who’s afraid of being stuck as a sex-symbol, to Bailey who represents the Hollywood superego which almost destroys the production, from the makeup artists to the teamsters.

The author, as we all know, is one of the nicest people in the world, and the book has endearing subplots which help to bring the story, and the movie, together. The movies are meant to be a shared experience, delighting audiences, sometimes even makes us think even in a superhero films (which I love).

The ending at Times Square cinema, while corny is still a moving bit and appropriate. Kudos to
Robert Sikoryak who illustrated the graphic novel, included in the book, which the brought fame to the fictional Robby Andersen, and is brought to live by a team of fantasy-makers.

Synopsis:

Little Robby Andersen has always heard about his uncle Bob Falls, a WWII vet who served as a flamethrower and was struck with PTSD. One day Uncle Bob comes riding in on his bike and leaves a huge impression on the talented Robby who bases a comic-book anti-hero on him when he grows up.

Decades later, Hollywood’s hottest director Bill Johnson buys the rights to Firefall, Bobby Anderson’s comic, for making a movie. Together with assistants, actors, technicians, and locals Johnson starts filming Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall in Lone Butte, CA – which is, unbeknownst to him, Bobby Anderson’s hometown.

Buy The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece from Amazon.com*
More Books by Tom Hanks*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I bought this book.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Summary
Review Date
Reviewed Item
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
Author Rating
5
Man of la Book

A father, husband, avid reader, blogger, software engineer & wood worker who is known the world over as a man of many interests and to his wife as “an idiot”.

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