Tom Hanks has had a long and exceptional career in Hollywood, with a repertoire of critically acclaimed movies. The Captain Phillips actor even won back-to-back Oscars in 1993 and 1994 for his roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. The Elvis actor understands how the movie industry works and recognizes that commercial reception does not always equate to the quality of the movie.
Tom Hanks directed and co-starred in the 1996 film, That Thing You Do!, which was considered as a commercial failure at the time. The movie explores the story of the rise and fall of a fictional pop band, Wonders. It took some time for audiences to recognize the film’s true value as a cult classic.
Tom Hanks Explained The Reason For The Fate Of The Film
That Thing You Do! marked Tom Hanks’ writing and directorial debut. Hanks loved making his film and revealed that the film and the actors in it still remained close to his heart. However, the film failed to achieve commercial success, gaining only $34.6 million against a budget of $26 million. Tom Hanks in an interview with The New Yorker shared his thoughts on the film:
“I loved making that movie. I loved writing it, I loved being with it. I love all the people in it. When it came out, it was completely dismissed by the first wave of vox populi. It didn’t do great business.”
The Cast Away actor further revealed that some publications initially called his movie a “quasi ripoff” of several other musical comedy films. However, the same publications later referred to the movie as “Tom Hanks’s cult classic”. The Da Vinci Code actor explained that the change in response to his film was attributed to time. Hanks told The New Yorker:
“Now the same exact publications that dismissed it in their initial review called it ‘Tom Hanks’s cult classic’… So now it’s a cult classic. What was the difference between those two things? The answer is time.”
Over the years, the Saving Private Ryan actor has gained enough knowledge about how a film wins in the Hollywood game. Hanks shared some interesting insights in his interview.
Tom Hanks Elaborated On The Five Rubicons For Any Filmmaker
In making several acclaimed films and series over the years, including Band of Brothers, Tom Hanks identified the five Rubicon points for any filmmaker. The Circle actor outlined the first point as accepting to become part of the movie. Following this first big step, the second Rubicon is about the filmmaker’s perception of his final product and whether it turned out to be the movie he intended to make.
The third involves the majority opinion of the film, which may or may not work in favor of the film. It’s entirely possible for a section to adore the film, while the majority hates the film. The Larry Crowne actor further admitted that commercial performance is important for a filmmaker’s career trajectory, making it the significant fourth Rubicon. Hanks cited That Thing You Do! as an example of the fifth Rubicon, which is the role of time.
The Asteroid City actor provided a fair analysis in this regard, as time was the factor that did not work for his cult classic. Tom Hanks’ That Thing You Do! is now available for streaming on Paramount Plus.
Source: The New Yorker
