Could Tom Hanks have written a nonfiction book about all the elements that go into a movie? He sure could have. But he wrote a fictional story instead, and it was extremely creative, and a lot of fun.

I loved how Hanks took us through the journey from comic book conception to the making of a major motion picture. I also liked all the different journeys into the movie making business, all the little happy accidents that can happen along the way, and how everything comes together at the end.

While I did enjoy this, it’s a slower read and can be a bit choppy at times. I didn’t devour it, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Bottom line- if you’ve been curious or intrigued by this- then I think it’s worth a go! Let me know if you catch the ‘That Thing You Do’ easter eggs!

While Hanks does narrate this audiobook be aware there are some cool comic drawings you may miss out on. Also, the chapters are looonnngg and there are footnotes which were difficult to navigate on an ebook, so I’d highly recommend a good, old fashioned physical book for this.

Grab your popcorn and enjoy!

I appreciated receiving an advanced reading copy of this book. It sounded interesting -- to read a novel about the making of a movie by an established and much admired actor. I think I enjoyed the first two parts the best -- learning about the author of the comic book and then how the book came about, but I got a little bogged down in the part about the actual making of the movie. The dialogue was disjointed and I had a hard time following what was going on. I also felt like this part went on too long. I kept restraining myself from jumping ahead just because I was getting tired of the story line. I may sound harsh, but I don't mean to. I did enjoy the book and I think it was an interesting concept and, when I have the opportunity, I will recommend it to our customers.

Pretty charming! I was surprised at the effort put into this—not only is it an interesting gloss of a bunch of fictional people making a fictional movie, the movie is part of a fictional major comic book franchise for which there's a whole detailed history, and borrows from a one-off fictional comic book with a ton of detail about its creator and backstory. That's a lot of layers of fictional details! In addition to several movies based on this novel itself I would watch many of the movies implied to exist in this universe.

I’m a huge fan of Tom Hanks and who better to tell the story of how movies are made? But know what you’re getting into before starting this book. The book tends to jump around at the beginning, giving you way too much prelude before getting down to the heart of the book. “You wrote too many scenes, too many characters, too many pages, and not enough conflict.” What Bill Johnson’s agent says about his first screenplay could apply to Tom Hank’s novel. Every little part of the story is embellished. Every character was given a full backstory. He never uses one word when he can use several. Run on sentences abound. And what’s with all the footnotes? They really disrupted the flow. This is a novel, for Pete’s sake. And some were idiotic. Did we really need a footnote explaining who John Wayne, Lee Marvin and Charlton Heston were? Or what a grip or an electrician does? This book was crying out for an editor, but it seemed like whoever had that job was afraid to give the actor the necessary harsh words.
Having said that, once it got to what I’ll call the real meat, I enjoyed myself immensely. The story is told in the third person omniscient narrative style. We hear from the writer/director, the actors, the associate producer, the makeup artist, the driver, the list goes on and on. That doesn’t count the young boy in love with comics who became the young man that wrote the comic. Despite being about how to make a movie, it’s actually much more character based than an action story.
There’s just the right amount of humor, most at the expense of the male lead. Hanks, who never acts like he has an ego, is no fan of those that do. This is his chance to extract revenge without naming names. In fact, consider this Hank’s treatise on what it takes to get a movie made - show up on time, solve more problems than you create. Ynes has a great line that the making of the movie relies on everyone. “At some point, and there’s no telling when that moment is, someone is responsible for the whole movie, right then and there…Everyone has to do their job well or they become a problem. They have to work hard. And keep their word, too. Everyone has the most important job on the movie.”
The book includes a series of comic books that are the basis for the movie. The problem is it’s very hard to enlarge them enough in a kindle to read them. (Bringing them up on the kindle app on my iPad solved the problem, but that may not be an option for all readers.)
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Books for an advance copy of this book.

The Making of Another Motion Picture by Tom Hanks is a beautiful ode to the delicate & impressive balancing act of a dance that is filmmaking. It truly showcases the complex & layered mountain of a process that it takes as well as the gigantic & sophisticated machine that it requires to create. It’s a behind the scenes look at making films from one of the greatest actors of our time with an obvious appreciation for the creativity of the arts & the cast & crew that make the magic happen.

It is quite a unique book with comics, drawings, letters & such spliced throughout to build this interesting story. The comics were beautifully drawn with a neat style.

This was extremely well-written story that easily encapsulates the reader back into time. It does a fantastic job of creating the atmosphere of the era in the first part. At times, the details are very intricate & while it paints a comprehensive picture, it does slow down the momentum of the story a bit. I appreciated the current look at present movie making. I’m in awe of the detailed process that is necessary, especially in big budget films.

Overall, this was an interesting read for which I appreciated the story it provided as well as the sneak peek of a look into filmmaking.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Knopf for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I was immersed in the world that Hanks created before the actual movie was being shot. I wasn't that interested in the actual filming of the movie - perhaps because it was a superhero movie and I don't really watch superhero movies. But overall the book was strong and I was invested until the end.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks truly depicts the complete journey that occurs when making a movie - from the real life events that inspire a comic book, to a director discovering that comic book and adapting it to a screenplay, backstory details about multiple individuals involved with making the film (producer, director, hair and makeup artists, production assistants, and actors), the process of the film shoot on location, the post-production, and the aftermath once the film has been released. As may be ascertained from this abbreviated list, it felt that the book was a victim of it's own strength - too much information. While I feel like I got a realistic glimpse behind of the curtain of making a movie, there were many times where I felt that the storyline got bogged down in too many (necessary?) details, so rather than grind to a reading halt, I chose to skim a bit until I got to another bit of the book where there was more activity rather than continuous description of the environment or characters' internal thoughts.

The organization of the book felt a little bit disjointed. There was a lot of character development for a wide spectrum of people across a wide span of time that sometimes it was difficult to see where the threads connected. Eventually, after pushing through to the end, the reader gets a payoff where certain threads come full-circle, but it definitely felt like I had to *work* to get to that point.

The writing style was very conversational with a lot of "asides"; I think it might actually lend itself to being a better audiobook rather than one to read. Being very familiar with the author's voice, there were several times that I felt I could hear him narrating portions of the book. I would recommend this book for individuals interested in the film industry, but it's definitely not a "light, easy" read.

I highlighted this book on my Booktube channel. The video can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/hQor2a9RjwE

The good news about The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece is that Tom Hanks, America’s nicest actor, can write. And he writes the way he speaks: you can absolutely hear that warm, friendly and congenial Tom Hanks voice in every sentence. You learn much about the nitty-gritty of moviemaking and just how much hard work goes into every phase of the process from prep to shooting to post-production. The writing is very focused on details, which is wonderful for providing insight into moviemaking, but the plot often gets bogged down in unnecessary details, explanations, footnotes and long character backstories which makes for a meticulous but slow-moving read.

We have a WWII soldier, Rob Falls, who wields a flamethrower in the Pacific theater, suffers PTSD and struggles to return to civilian life in the late 1940s. 25 years later, Rob’s nephew Robby is inspired by his uncle to create a comic book series titled “The Legend of Firefall” which in 2020 is turned into a blockbuster superhero movie filmed in Robby’s home town. This seems simple enough, but after 100 pages we have barely gotten to this point and the moviemaking hasn’t even started. But as the movie production progresses (after a few near disasters, of course) and we meet the narcissistic male lead who almost destroys the movie, the professional female lead who gets it back on track, a hyper-efficient producer and her problem-solving driver/assistant, the story picks up the pace. I particularly enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek gossip about difficult actors. I’m sure Hanks has some juicy stories to share!

The end result is an enjoyable novel which I would recommend for fans of Tom Hanks and readers curious about the movie making process. It’s not a masterpiece exactly, but it’s a good read for a long flight (which is where I read the bulk of it) or a vacation. I think Tom Hanks’ first novel is captured well by its own title: a bit cumbersome, lighthearted, probably too long, but ultimately both educational and entertaining.

Many thanks to @aaknopf and @netgalley for providing an e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

A wild ride through time and character, with deep dives into a nightmare of a leading man, a gem of a female lead, the beating heart of production, and the rock-solid leadership that making a movie takes.

This wasn't what I expected, and doesn't take a necessarily linear trip through making a movie, but it was full of joy and detail that only Hanks could know.

Expect extensive footnotes, interspersed graphic novels, and a jumpy narrative that all comes back to what makes the heart of a movie.

At first I was puzzled by the dual storyline. One takes place in the 1940s in a small town in California. A young boy draws a comic book featuring his uncle, a WWII flamethrower. The second story features all the behind-the-scenes effort involved in making a blockbuster action-hero movie. But the connection is that the movie is based on the comic book, and the original artist, now an old man, visits the set.
This is a delightful story, and also a very informative one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the amazing publisher for the ARC of this title! I am so grateful to be auto-approved for this title!
I look forward to reading and reviewing. More to come!

Tom Hanks reveals himself as a very apt novelist, creating appealing, fleshed-out characters and setting them in engaging situations. Then, there's an underground comic book (fully reproduced in the novel), World War II vets, vintage typewriters, and the ten million moving parts of film production are all tossed into "The Making," a zippy and enjoyable read.

There's possibly too much to enjoy. The film making scenes are so chaotic that you wonder how anything ever gets made, even though Hanks wisely concentrates on the episodes through the characters' experiences.

But there's something joyous about this novel, about how dreams can really come true. Why are we not surprised that Tom Hanks has the chops to write fiction? I look forward to his next outing in this new endeavor.

This is a really interesting look at the film industry and how films come to be and the scripts in their process of being made. It's also a great look at how people are connected.
I liked the look at this family of how they were connected to the making of this story and the film.
It's a good read that moves pretty quickly.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece
By Tom Hanks
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
Knopf
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a good writer Tom Hanks is! This is a perfect beach/ airport read.
5 stars