Somewhere in between his Oscar-winning portrayal of a gay lawyer dying of AIDS in "Philadelphia" and his performance as the mild-mannered captain of an Army detachment ordered to rescue the sole surviving son of a family that lost three of their children to the Normandy Invasion in "Saving Private Ryan," Tom Hanks was declared the James Stewart of his generation. The evidence was compelling. As Forrest Gump, astronaut Jim Lovell, and Sheriff Woody, Hanks had come to exemplify all that is right and decent about America. We saw the best of ourselves in his characters, while, off-screen, he exuded good, clean charm whenever he turned up on a talk show or a red carpet. He seemed affable, erudite, and kind. But to call him the Baby Boomer James Stewart was to ignore Stewart's willingness to play hard against type.
It is 2023, and Hanks has just delivered his first truly...
It is 2023, and Hanks has just delivered his first truly...
- 3/17/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Ever since there have been movies, there have been movie stars – and becoming one of the world’s greatest actors involves being able to be many things at once. For one, you have to be able to act – to really inhabit a character’s deepest emotions, to step into their skin so that the words on the page come across as lived and felt. Plus, you have to be able to take that technical mastery and apply it across multiple genres, from quiet character dramas to epic action-packed blockbusters. And on top of that, you have to have that thing that can’t really be learned, or taught – a charisma, a command of the camera, an energy that enlivens even the most stellar script, and makes audiences flock to the multiplex in their droves.
For Empire’s February 2023 issue, we asked readers to vote for the best actors of all...
For Empire’s February 2023 issue, we asked readers to vote for the best actors of all...
- 12/20/2022
- by Ben Travis, Sophie Butcher, Nick de Semlyen, James Dyer, John Nugent, Alex Godfrey, Helen O’Hara
- Empire - Movies
For Tom Hanks, "Big" was the movie that changed everything. Prior to his Oscar-nominated performance as Josh Baskin, a prepubescent kid who wakes up as a thirty-something grown man after wishing to be big, he was pretty much just that guy from "Bosom Buddies."
Sure, he'd done a few films between "Bosom Buddies" and landing the role that would net him his first Academy Award nod. Most of them leaned into his sitcom chops and portrayed his characters as smarmy, bumbling, out of their depth... or sometimes all three, like in "Volunteers." But thanks to a fortuitous sequence of events (including the likes of Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford passing on the role), Hanks landed one of his career-defining parts.
He had a couple misfires at the box office in the years to follow, most notably "The Bonfire of the Vanities," but soon enough he was back on track...
Sure, he'd done a few films between "Bosom Buddies" and landing the role that would net him his first Academy Award nod. Most of them leaned into his sitcom chops and portrayed his characters as smarmy, bumbling, out of their depth... or sometimes all three, like in "Volunteers." But thanks to a fortuitous sequence of events (including the likes of Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford passing on the role), Hanks landed one of his career-defining parts.
He had a couple misfires at the box office in the years to follow, most notably "The Bonfire of the Vanities," but soon enough he was back on track...
- 11/10/2022
- by Jeff Kelly
- Slash Film
“Finch,” which debuts on Apple TV+ on November 5, is a cinematic showcase for two-time Oscar champ Tom Hanks. He plays the titular character, who embarks on a perilous journey into the desolate American West following a cataclysmic solar event. Accompanied by his dog Goodyear and a robot named Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones), Finch must navigate the dangers of a new world while convincing his non-human companions to get along. Could “Finch” be Hanks’ vehicle to a seventh Oscar nomination and his first for Best Actor since 2000’s “Cast Away”?
See Miguel Sapochnik (‘Finch’ director) on his ‘partnership’ with Tom Hanks and creating a futuristic American West
Critics are lavishing praise on the Hollywood vet. “You’re probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you’re coming to Finch for Hanks,” writes Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press). “The good news is that he’s not just the reason to show up, he...
See Miguel Sapochnik (‘Finch’ director) on his ‘partnership’ with Tom Hanks and creating a futuristic American West
Critics are lavishing praise on the Hollywood vet. “You’re probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you’re coming to Finch for Hanks,” writes Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press). “The good news is that he’s not just the reason to show up, he...
- 11/5/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
On Monday, Robert De Niro Zoomed into The Tonight Show, where he was grilled by Jimmy Fallon, regarding a number of interesting “myths” that surround his career.
During the two-time Oscar winner’s appearance, Fallon made sure to ask about a rumor that he had once been cast as Josh—the character eventually played by Tom Hanks—in Penny Marshall’s 1988 comedy, Big.
“Yes,” De Niro said, this is true. “But we had a thing, an issue with the negotiations, so it went the way it went. But that was fine.”
As you might recall, Big centers on Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish to be “big,” and learns to be careful what he wishes for, when he is transformed into an adult overnight. News about a potential version of the classic film starring De Niro began circulating widely in April, when Big’s Elizabeth Perkins shared...
During the two-time Oscar winner’s appearance, Fallon made sure to ask about a rumor that he had once been cast as Josh—the character eventually played by Tom Hanks—in Penny Marshall’s 1988 comedy, Big.
“Yes,” De Niro said, this is true. “But we had a thing, an issue with the negotiations, so it went the way it went. But that was fine.”
As you might recall, Big centers on Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish to be “big,” and learns to be careful what he wishes for, when he is transformed into an adult overnight. News about a potential version of the classic film starring De Niro began circulating widely in April, when Big’s Elizabeth Perkins shared...
- 6/9/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
During a recent appearance on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” (via NME), actress Elizabeth Perkins shined a light on an alternate version of “Big” in which the original casting of Robert De Niro as Josh Baskin stuck. Tom Hanks ultimately landed the part of Josh in the Penny Marshall-directed 1988 body swap comedy, and his performance remains one of his most famous to this day. But Perkins said she first auditioned for “Big” by reading scenes opposite De Niro, not Hanks.
“Robert De Niro was actually cast in the role of Josh in the movie ‘Big,’” Perkins said. “It fell apart because he had a scheduling conflict, and then they went to Tom Hanks. It’s like a totally different movie in my brain with Robert De Niro.”
Perkins said “Big” was a more serious film with De Niro playing the part and lacked the goofy charm that...
“Robert De Niro was actually cast in the role of Josh in the movie ‘Big,’” Perkins said. “It fell apart because he had a scheduling conflict, and then they went to Tom Hanks. It’s like a totally different movie in my brain with Robert De Niro.”
Perkins said “Big” was a more serious film with De Niro playing the part and lacked the goofy charm that...
- 4/8/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
One of Tom Hanks’ best movies hits Disney Plus next month.
The Mouse House inherited countless classics from 20th Century Fox to fill their streaming service with, but in many cases, it’s taken some time to clear the rights to get them up on D+. And that’s the way it’s been with 1988’s Big. But the comedy film is now set to finally land on the site next month, as Disney Plus has announced that it’ll be adding the movie to its library in the US on December 4th.
Hanks had already been in hits like Splash and The Money Pit, but Big was a huge turning point for his career at the time, as it was the first occasion that he was noticed by the Academy. His role as Josh Baskin, a 13-year-old who wishes he was big and wakes up looking like he’s...
The Mouse House inherited countless classics from 20th Century Fox to fill their streaming service with, but in many cases, it’s taken some time to clear the rights to get them up on D+. And that’s the way it’s been with 1988’s Big. But the comedy film is now set to finally land on the site next month, as Disney Plus has announced that it’ll be adding the movie to its library in the US on December 4th.
Hanks had already been in hits like Splash and The Money Pit, but Big was a huge turning point for his career at the time, as it was the first occasion that he was noticed by the Academy. His role as Josh Baskin, a 13-year-old who wishes he was big and wakes up looking like he’s...
- 11/18/2020
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
Universal Pictures has set the release date for “News of the World” for December 25, officially launching the post-Civil War drama starring Tom Hanks into the Oscar race. (Watch the trailer.) The film reunites Hanks with his “Captain Phillips” director Paul Greengrass and could become the vehicle that brings the two-time Academy Award winner his seventh acting nomination.
Hanks first broke through at the Oscars for playing Josh Baskin in the 1988 film “Big.” The fantasy comedy was directed by Penny Marshall and proved Hanks could be a major box office draw as well as a critical favorite. After losing his first bid to Dustin Hoffman for “Rainman,” Hanks waited five years to return to the Oscars. His portrayal of Andy Beckett in the legal drama “Philadelphia,” opposite Denzel Washington, earned Hanks his first win for Best Actor. The next year Hanks prevailed once more for his iconic role as the title character in “Forrest Gump.
Hanks first broke through at the Oscars for playing Josh Baskin in the 1988 film “Big.” The fantasy comedy was directed by Penny Marshall and proved Hanks could be a major box office draw as well as a critical favorite. After losing his first bid to Dustin Hoffman for “Rainman,” Hanks waited five years to return to the Oscars. His portrayal of Andy Beckett in the legal drama “Philadelphia,” opposite Denzel Washington, earned Hanks his first win for Best Actor. The next year Hanks prevailed once more for his iconic role as the title character in “Forrest Gump.
- 11/16/2020
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Stuck at home and in need of something to watch that your whole family can enjoy together? Let TheWrap help by highlighting family friendly movies that are available to stream, right now, on HBO Now and HBO Go. From animated films like “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” to superhero movies like “Shazam!,” and classics like “The Mighty Ducks,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “Big,” there’s something for everyone in the family to enjoy and plenty to keep kids distracted while parents are working from home.
Big (1988)
“Big” is a fantasy comedy film directed by the late Penny Marshall, and stars Tom Hanks as Adult Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish “to be big” and is then aged to adulthood overnight.
The Little Rascals (1994)
The original “Little Rascals” was a series of short films from the 1930s featuring the antics of small children. This 1994 children’s movie...
Big (1988)
“Big” is a fantasy comedy film directed by the late Penny Marshall, and stars Tom Hanks as Adult Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish “to be big” and is then aged to adulthood overnight.
The Little Rascals (1994)
The original “Little Rascals” was a series of short films from the 1930s featuring the antics of small children. This 1994 children’s movie...
- 4/1/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
The word on Tina Gordon’s “Little,” a slapdash modern inversion of “Big,” is that “Black-ish” star Marsai Martin came up with the idea for the movie when she was only 10 years old, and became the youngest executive producer in Hollywood history when the thing actually went into production a few years later. That’s a nice bit of trivia, but “the hacky premise for this studio comedy was pitched by the child star of a network sitcom” may not be the strongest hook for a PG-13 comedy that’s aimed at adults (though also still appropriate for older kids). If anything, it sounded like a chintzy excuse to soft-pedal another lazy remake at a time when audiences are desperate for original fare that rewards their decision to leave Netflix at home for the night.
And maybe it was. The finished product won’t exactly disabuse you of your most...
And maybe it was. The finished product won’t exactly disabuse you of your most...
- 4/10/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
If you can remember sitting in a movie theater watching Tom Hanks as a grown-up child, we’ve got some news for you: You’re Big! That’s a nice way of saying you’re all grown up now, too — because it’s been 30 years since the release of director Penny Marshall’s fantasy-comedy classic Big, and to mark the occasion the movie is returning to theaters this July.
Thirty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Josh Baskin uttered a secret wish to a carnival fortune-teller machine and made movie history as he grew up overnight, turning director Penny Marshall’s Big into a box-office smash and one of the defining films of the 1980s.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Big, Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Twentieth Century Fox are bringing its magic back to movie theaters throughout the U.S. as part of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series.
Thirty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Josh Baskin uttered a secret wish to a carnival fortune-teller machine and made movie history as he grew up overnight, turning director Penny Marshall’s Big into a box-office smash and one of the defining films of the 1980s.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Big, Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Twentieth Century Fox are bringing its magic back to movie theaters throughout the U.S. as part of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series.
- 6/27/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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