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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed Hanks sharing how movies are made in an entertaining way. There is a lot of knowledge shared and that was fun. I’ve never wanted to work in Hollywood, but always like seeing behind-the-scenes of any creation. It was a fun ride.
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There is a lot to love about this book that also has a lot of flaws. I appreciate multiple timelines, but the structure of this was confusing at times - I fully get the point, giving depth to characters, but I feel some of it was awkward and disjointed. Some chapters were excellent and magical, and some dragged - and I love a "boring", meandering book, so that wasn't the issue.
It takes awhile to tie everything together and the book doesn't quite live up to the title. I guess if the real life making of a motion picture is pretty hunky-dory and not too complicated, where almost all of the crew and talent (save for one, really) are friendly and supportive... but I don't think it's really like that. It's like someone just wrote down the timeline of how a movie is made, and then wrote a LOT of words around it.
Anyway, you DO wind up caring about the characters (Al and Ynez were my favorites, and I think TH put the most of himself into them), the way it wraps up is sweet, and Tom Hanks is and always will be kind, witty, and charming - but I think I'll stick to his film projects rather than his written ones (even if they are written on a typewriter, which - we know, Tom, we get it. You don't have to tell us again).
It takes awhile to tie everything together and the book doesn't quite live up to the title. I guess if the real life making of a motion picture is pretty hunky-dory and not too complicated, where almost all of the crew and talent (save for one, really) are friendly and supportive... but I don't think it's really like that. It's like someone just wrote down the timeline of how a movie is made, and then wrote a LOT of words around it.
Anyway, you DO wind up caring about the characters (Al and Ynez were my favorites, and I think TH put the most of himself into them), the way it wraps up is sweet, and Tom Hanks is and always will be kind, witty, and charming - but I think I'll stick to his film projects rather than his written ones (even if they are written on a typewriter, which - we know, Tom, we get it. You don't have to tell us again).
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For a 400 something page book, it was fine. The pacing felt a bit off and there was a few parts where it felt discombobulated. It was interesting to kind of learn about the nitty gritty of movie making but it was also filled with odd comparisons that just lost me. I don’t think I’d recommend it unless you are intrigued by movie making and want to see a fictional movie being made
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
Honestly I'm neither a hater or lover of Tom Hanks- he's always just been around! I really liked the short stories he wrote so when I saw this on the shelf I thought 'why not' (Y-not? you'll get it if you've read the book...) I finished it but it really fell flat for me. I was honestly kinda bored and his obsession with foot notes is just annoying. He obviously wrote this book for himself which is fine, but I wasn't very amused by it and started another book in the middle of it just to have something interesting to read.
Bravo! A testament to the wonderful and absolutely delusional world of filmmakers. I felt Tom Hanks captures our day to day perfectly, and explains it well enough for those not part of the world, to understand what it takes to make a movie, and the experiences we carry with us forever. Everyday, we make a choice to be part of this circus & this captures why that is.
“Making movies is complicated, maddening, highly technical at times, ephemeral and gossamer at others, slow as molasses on a Wednesday but with a gun-to-the-head deadline on a Friday. Imagine a jet plane, the funds for which were held up by Congress, designed by poets, riveted together by musicians, supervised by executives fresh out of business school, to be piloted by wannabes with attention deficiencies.”
“Making movies is complicated, maddening, highly technical at times, ephemeral and gossamer at others, slow as molasses on a Wednesday but with a gun-to-the-head deadline on a Friday. Imagine a jet plane, the funds for which were held up by Congress, designed by poets, riveted together by musicians, supervised by executives fresh out of business school, to be piloted by wannabes with attention deficiencies.”
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really tried to like this book and it has some good elements, but it has even more problems. It’s clear that Hanks is trying to write “the great American novel” and is trying to use techniques of the greats without really understanding how to use them.
The main problem being it’s way too long. Early in the book one of the characters gets told to get a better editor, this book should’ve used that advice. Every bit part character has a back story, usually irrelevant. The footnotes are plain stupid and even more irrelevance.
Why does it suddenly go into interview mode out of nowhere? Just weird.
It does offer some insider knowledge of the movie making process, but you’re made to work for them.
The main problem being it’s way too long. Early in the book one of the characters gets told to get a better editor, this book should’ve used that advice. Every bit part character has a back story, usually irrelevant. The footnotes are plain stupid and even more irrelevance.
Why does it suddenly go into interview mode out of nowhere? Just weird.
It does offer some insider knowledge of the movie making process, but you’re made to work for them.
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.” It has issues, and we’ll discuss those in a moment, but overall it’s an entertaining look behind the business of entertainment.
The novel follows the arc of filmmaking itself, from backstory to development to pre-production, production, and post-production. The cast highlights the writer-director, his assistant, her assistant, and the stars. Additionally, it devotes time (and character names for the reader to remember) to pretty much everyone in the credits.
Honestly? It’s fascinating. I imagine that almost everyone who has seen a movie is curious about how the sausage gets made. The novel teaches us all about it, from transportation to electrical to who gets the coffee, who arranges lodging for a location shoot, who casts Woman Talking in the Background #5, and even the layout pecking order of the cast’s trailers. As a film buff who has seen all the pictures in Roger Ebert’s ‘The Great Movies’ and moderates a private discussion group of fellow cineasts, this was 100% my cup of high-end espresso.
But ...
First-time novelist Tom Hanks could have used a more ruthless editor. There are too many detours and footnotes. There’s so much detail, so many character names, that even a reader who devours the book in a few days can lose track. And there’s a lot of time spent on Hanks’s niche interests: antique typewriters and high-end coffee and espresso machines.
Still, as I wrote up top, I enjoyed this novel. I think most readers will, too; in particular, my fellow moviegoers will eat it up. I look forward to reading whatever Mr. Hanks writes next.
The novel follows the arc of filmmaking itself, from backstory to development to pre-production, production, and post-production. The cast highlights the writer-director, his assistant, her assistant, and the stars. Additionally, it devotes time (and character names for the reader to remember) to pretty much everyone in the credits.
Honestly? It’s fascinating. I imagine that almost everyone who has seen a movie is curious about how the sausage gets made. The novel teaches us all about it, from transportation to electrical to who gets the coffee, who arranges lodging for a location shoot, who casts Woman Talking in the Background #5, and even the layout pecking order of the cast’s trailers. As a film buff who has seen all the pictures in Roger Ebert’s ‘The Great Movies’ and moderates a private discussion group of fellow cineasts, this was 100% my cup of high-end espresso.
But ...
First-time novelist Tom Hanks could have used a more ruthless editor. There are too many detours and footnotes. There’s so much detail, so many character names, that even a reader who devours the book in a few days can lose track. And there’s a lot of time spent on Hanks’s niche interests: antique typewriters and high-end coffee and espresso machines.
Still, as I wrote up top, I enjoyed this novel. I think most readers will, too; in particular, my fellow moviegoers will eat it up. I look forward to reading whatever Mr. Hanks writes next.