The actor Tom Hanks will publish his first novel, a fiction book in which the central plot will be the cinema and which will be inspired by some of his personal experiences in Hollywood.
“The making of another major motion picture masterpiece” is the title of the book that will be published by Penguin Random House in May 2023.
As explained by the company, it is a novel about the making of a star-studded superhero action movie and the humble comics that inspired its filmmaker.
The first part of this story takes place in 1947, when a troubled soldier returning from war meets his gifted five-year-old nephew, makes an indelible impression, then disappears for twenty-three years.
Then there is a jump to 1970, when the nephew, who now draws underground comics in Oakland, California, reunites with his uncle and, remembering the comic he saw when he was five years old, draws a new version with his uncle as a hero of World War II.
And finally he travels to the present, when a director of commercial success discovers the comic of 1970 and decides to turn it into a contemporary superhero movie.
The actor of 66 years has detailed to People magazine that the novel is based on his experiences in Hollywood, and with her he also seeks to share the “important lessons” he has learned along the way or the “tricks” he did to stay afloat in difficult times.
“No one knows how to make a movie, even though everyone thinks they know”
Tom Hanks
“I’ve done a lot of movies (and four of them are pretty good, I think) and I’m still amazed at how they’re created, from an idea, to the image on the screen, the whole process is a miracle”, he pointed out.
In the novel, which is the second book by Hanks after the collection of stories “Singular Types” (1970), comics written by the actor and illustrated by Robert Sikoryak will be interspersed.