Tag: Tom Hanks

April 22, 2019

Patti Smith, Janelle Monáe, Better Oblivion Community Center Among Artists Donating to Nick Hornby & Dave Eggers Charity Auction

A fundraiser organized by award-winning authors Nick Hornby and Dave Eggers—which benefits international youth writing and activism centers— starts up tonight, April 22nd.

Image Via Kingston University

Nick Hornby and Dave Eggers are pretty famous people, as you’re probably aware Nick Hornby wrote Fever Pitch, which got loosely adapted into a film of the same name, as well as the film that gave Nicholas Hoult his start, About a Boy.

Image Via Bigspeak

Dave Eggers wrote A Hologram for a King, a small novel which became a finalist for the National Book Award and also got a film adaptation (which stared Tom Hanks!) They must be as persuasive as they are great at writing, because they got a few fairly amazing people on board.

Image Via Setlist.fm

As an aside, in case you’re not music savvy, a setlist is a list of what the musician is going to play for that night – literally their ‘set’. So if you have a musician’s setlist, then you have a piece of history that the musician depended on.

I hear you asking…”Why are you going on about setlists?”

Image Via Pitchfork

The reason is simple – setlists from Patti Smith, The Who, Wilco, Sigur Ros, Steely Dan, Dixie Chicks, Nine Inch Nails, Mitski, Jim James, Rush, The Pretenders, Shakey Graves, Better Oblivion Community Center, Toro Y Moi and so so many more musicians are going on auction for Hornby’ and Eggers’ fundraiser!

As Paste Magazine writes, “Ever wished you could turn back the clock for a chance at one of R.E.M’s setlists, like the one from their first major tour in 1989, signed by all four original members? What about a Death Cab for Cutie setlist from their Transatlanticism 15th anniversary show in Chicago? Or maybe Janelle Monae’s 2019 Coachella setlist?”

It’s a tempting question. Plus, the money is going to a good place.

Image Via Paste Magazine

Pitchfork quotes Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch, as saying…

“…this is a way to satisfy your music-geek side without aggravating your favorite musicians”

and Paste Magazine quotes Dave Eggers, author of Where the Wild Things are, as saying…

“We’re hoping to raise about $50,000….That will have a powerful impact on more than 150 student writers at the Ministry of Stories and writing centers worldwide.”

Wow!

These pieces of music history is going to help writers and readers of all shapes and sizes. Want to buy anything? Check it out here!

Featured Image Via Alternative Press

March 5, 2019

Tom Hanks to Produce ‘In the Garden of Beasts’ Adaptation

The director of Darkest Hour, the film that earned Gary Oldman his first Academy Award, has sett his sights on another World War II story. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Joe Wright is in talks to direct an adaptation of Erik Larson’s In The Garden of Beasts, with Tom Hanks to produce.

Image Via Amazon

This nonfiction book tells the story of William Dodd, who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s rise in the 1930s. The book also examines Dodd’s family, particularly his daughter Martha who had an affair with Gestapo head Rudolf Diels. Larson chronicles the Dodd family as they slowly begin to realize the horrors and brutality of Nazi Germany.

An adaptation of this novel had been shopped around Hollywood for a while. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the film through their Playtone production company. Though Hanks was rumored to star in the lead role at certain points, it is unknown if this will go ahead.

Some of Joe Wright’s other film hit adaptations include Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Anna Karenina.

Featured Image Via Amazon and IMDb

February 14, 2018

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Star in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’

Tom Hanks will star alongside his wife Rita Wilson in the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ production of Shakespeare’s play Henry IV. The show will run for twenty-four performances between June 5th and July 1st 2018 and will take place at the Japanese Garden on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus. Hanks will play Sir John Falstaff.

Parts 1 and 2 of Shakespeare’s play will be brought to the stage by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan. According to Variety, “2,000 tickets will be reserved for active and retired members of the military.”

Shakespeare’s play follows the reign of King Henry IV, and Sullivan’s version will focus on the story of Hanks’ Falstaff and the young Prince Hal who grows up to become King.

The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’s 25^th Annual Simply Shakespeare benefit honored Hanks and Wilson, as they have been sponsors for twenty-six years.

Last year, Hanks released his first book of short stories, Uncommon Type. On top of this, he is a remarkably gif-able human, and there are many great Tom Hanks gifs, but below is potentially my favorite. Enjoy.

^{Via Giphy}

Featured Image Via The Independent

November 7, 2017

Man Pulls off Epic Marriage Proposal…With Help From Tom Hanks of Course

It was just last month that award-winning actor, father, husband, and now-author, Tom Hanks, released a collection of his original short stories. So far it’s been a success because, hey, it’s Tom Hanks. We love that guy! And now we love him just a little bit more.

During an event for Uncommon Type: Some Stories, Tom Hanks played the role of Cupid at the Texas Book Festival in Austen.

_{Image Via E! Online}

He was in the middle of answering various audience questions when suddenly he blurted out that he was bored and he had his own question. He then proceeded to ask, “Nikki, will you marry me?” Well, that’s a surprise. The young couple, Ryan McFarling and Nikki Young, were then pulled up on stage by Hanks himself. Young, of course, had a look of total disbelief.

_{Image Via People}

When they did get on stage, McFarling finished the job properly on one knee as Young cried tears of joy. Applause and cheers broke out.

And if that ain’t love by the book, I don’t know what is.

Feature Image Via Malay Mail Online

October 20, 2017

We Can All Thank Steve Martin for Tom Hanks’ Writing Career

Tom Hanks, whose debut collection Uncommon Type has just dropped, has The Jerk himself, Steve Martin, to thank for his newly established writing career. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Hanks revealed his writing hobby only became a real thing after he sent one of his stories to his fellow actor-turned-writer buddy Martin. Hanks said, “I sent [Steve] a story and I asked him, quite frankly, ‘Is this a thing?’ And he wrote back, ‘Yeah it is a thing. Let me send it to my agent.'”

Thanks to Martin, who has written plays, novels, and the beloved memoir Born Standing Up, Hanks met his literary agent Esther Newberg. Not long after that, Hanks’ work appeared in numerous publications, such as the New Yorker and One Story. If you want to make it big as a writer, it clearly helps to have friends in high places, and, also, to be Tom Hanks.

It seems like Uncommon Type came out of nowhere, but hardcore Hanks fanatics are probably familiar with his typewriter obsession. He collects vintage typewriters. He owns over fifty. In fact, he was even featured in the recent typewriter documentary California Typewriter, alongside John Mayer and Sam Shepard.

Anyway, you can thank Steve Martin for this opportunity to go even farther into Hanks’ psyche, and pick up Uncommon Type here!

^{Image Via Gravitas Ventures}

Feature Image Via Parade