THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE - Tom Hanks

Have you ever been curious about the process of making a major motion picture?  Why not read about, in fiction form, from a man who's been on the inside for decades.  The story...

A well-recognize and lauded movie director has taken on the task of adapting a 1970's comic book into a major superhero movie. We follow the director, his producer, their new-to-the-business production assistant, a cast of seasoned pros and fresh new faces, and the whole gamut of crew and technicians as they prepare and shoot the film on a tight timeline in remote areas of New Mexico.

But before we get to the making of the movie, we spend some time with TREV-VORR/Robert Andersen - the man who created the Firefall comic book that was published by an underground publisher (back in the days when there were few small press comic publishers).

But before we get to the making of the comic book, we spend some time with Bob Falls - the distant uncle of Robert Andersen. Falls has served in the Vietnam War - used a flame-thrower - and returned home a distant and dark man.  But he shared some stories with his nephew, he would go on to take those stories and create a superhero, Firefall, based on his uncle.

This book has so much Tom Hanks in it.  Hanks seems like such an incredibly nice, honest, authentic man and this book is a nice, honest, authentic read

Hanks has seen a lot of characters in his time in Hollywood and he gives us some really clear characters here - almost every single one of them a person we come to like and want the best for.  There is really only one exception to this and that exception is made crystal clear right from the start and that character will get their comeuppance! 

I really enjoyed the read. Hanks fills the reader in on some of the standard Hollywood language through footnotes (these were fun to read) and we really do get the feeling that we're on set, along for the ride. The parallels to the Marvel Cinematic Universe are obvious, but here, it's the director of the film, Bill Johnson, who is the creative genius putting it all together.

I would label this as a 'cozy bestseller.'  Clearly it will sit on the Bestseller List for a few weeks, in large part because it's Hanks.  But it's a 'cozy' story ... there's no conflict, there's no drama.  There are moments of conflict (the not-likeable character) and drama (the death of someone) but the only over-arching drama to the book is the challenge of filming a major motion picture in under two months. To the layman that does seem Herculean, but it happens all the time.  I love Hanks' line in the book: Making movies is about solving more problems thank you cause.

My guess is that we'll see a lot of people reading this on beaches this summer.

Hanks is not the first Hollywood actor to add author to his curriculum vitae, but he may be the biggest Hollywood star as certainly has shown himself to be one of the finer writers as well.

Looking for a good book? The Making of Another Major Motion Picture by Tom Hanks is an engaging, direct read. There's no major drama here, but for a lot of readers, that will prove to be a good thing.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4-1/2 stars

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The Making of Another Major Motion Picture

author: Tom Hanks

publisher: Knopf

ISBN: 9780525655596

hardcover, 448 pages