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Tag: Tom Hanks

  • “A Man Called Otto” Gives Tom Hanks His Most Memorable Role in Years

    Things have gone wrong for Otto. “He’s led this ritualistic life, and then suddenly, everything changes for him,” says Hanks. “His wife has passed away. He is forced into retirement. New neighbors move in. He’s feeling like the only thing he has left is his daily routine, and now he thinks he’s fighting his final battle, against the relentlessness of fate.”

    “The thing that Otto is dealing with really is time – relentless time that passes – and time ends up being both the villain and the hero of the piece,” Hanks continues. “Otto hates the passing of that time. He rebels against the fact that it’s time for him retire. He doesn’t appreciate the fact that his wife got older and she developed the great malady of maladies, and her time was up.

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    “And now, he’s trying to rush time along, to end it all for himself and join her,” says director Marc Forster. “But you can’t do that.”

    That’s why he’s so grumpy, says Hanks. With the passing of his wife, Sonya – a courtship that the film lovingly plays out in flashbacks – Otto has lost the sweetness that makes life worth living. “He knew that he was made different by Sonya,” says Hanks. “And when she was gone, he thought he was never going to have that back again. And in the early part of the film, he’s actually trying to speed along time. But time takes care of itself. You can’t fight it. He lives another day and he goes from a bad day to a better day.”

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    Time takes care of itself with the appearance of new neighbors – who bring Otto into that better day despite himself. “It’s the last thing he’s anticipating as being the great catalyst for the rest of his days,” says Hanks.

    “The thing that fills the void in our lives is each other – ourselves – our neighbors,” says Hanks. “Even if you don’t like each other, even if you have great cultural differences, religion or heritage or politics, sooner or later, they’re going to need your help and you’re going to need theirs. If you don’t know how to bleed your radiators, who are you going to turn to? When the tornadoes always hit, what’s the first thing that happens? Neighbors come out with chainsaws and U-Hauls. A Man Called Otto puts that idea forward – it is a movie about community and a movie about family.”

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    In Philippine cinemas January 25, A Man Called Otto is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #AManCalledOtto

    Photo & Video Credit: “Columbia Pictures”

  • WATCH: Tom Hanks Gets Grumpy in ‘A Man Called Otto’ Trailer

    Discover what can happen when you let life in. See Tom Hanks as Otto in the official trailer of Columbia Pictures’ heartwarming comedy/drama “A Man Called Otto,” in Philippine cinemas 2023.

    Trailer Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    Based on the comical and moving # 1 New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grumpy widower who is very set in his ways. When a lively young family moves in next door, he meets his match in quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that will turn his world upside-down. Experience a funny, heartwarming story about how some families come from the most unexpected places.   

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    Poster Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

    Directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland), A Man Called Otto stars Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Cast Away), Mariana Treviño (Club the Cuervos), Rachel Keller (Fargo) and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Magnificent Seven). The screenplay is written by Academy Award® nominee David Magee (Best Adapted Screenplay, Life of Pi, 2012; Best Adapted Screenplay, Finding Neverland, 2004) based upon the best-selling novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman. The film is also based on the Swedish film written and directed by Hannes Holm. The film is being produced by Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro.

    In Philippine cinemas 2023, A Man Called Otto is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #AManCalledOtto

  • Tom Hanks Plays the Shady Manager of “Elvis” Presley

    Oscar-winner Tom Hanks stars as Elvis Presley’s enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker in Warner Bros.’  “Elvis,” an epic, big-screen spectacle from visionary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann that explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler).   

    Watch the new “Elvis” spot below:

    As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. 

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    “While this story is called ‘Elvis,’ it’s also Colonel Tom Parker’s story—the telling of it at least; he’s our way in, our narrator, and an unreliable one at that,” states writer/director/producer Baz Luhrmann, whose extensive research into the music icon Elvis aided in his discovery of the strange partnership behind the artist’s public success and personal struggles.  “As I like to say, Colonel Tom Parker was never a colonel, never a Tom, never a Parker, but a fascinating character all the same.  He was a carnival barker dedicated to finding that one great act.

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    “Nineteen-year-old Elvis Presley had lived for a period of time in one of the few white-designated houses in a Black section of Tupelo, Mississippi,” the filmmaker continues, “where, along with a group of neighborhood friends, he absorbed the music of both the local juke joints and the Pentecostal revival tents.  As he grew up, he fused this with his love of country music.  Parker had no ear for music whatsoever, but he was absolutely struck by the effect Elvis’s whole package had on young audiences.  As the Colonel says in the film, ‘It was the greatest carnival act I had ever seen.’”

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    Lurhmann further adds that, “In the mid-1950s in parts of America, carnivals were transitioning into music, mainly country and western.  But Parker was always looking for the extraordinary—the one that made the most money, had a great costume, excited the audience, had a strange twist… Just something special, like Elvis.”

    Luhrmann recruited Tom Hanks to play the role of Parker, stating, “I’d never worked with Tom previously, but I just told him the story and before I even got to the video I’d brought along to show him what I had in mind, he said, ‘Well, if you want me I’m your guy.’  What a gift!”

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    Hanks has said of the real-life Parker, “He was both a genius and a scoundrel.  He was a very disciplined man, a wicked smart businessman and a dime-squeezing skinflint, but also a pioneer in a big type of show business that did not exist until Elvis Presley came along.  He knew instantaneously that Elvis was a unique artist, he saw his grand potential and knew that if he didn’t make a ton of money off him, somebody else would.”

    As Luhrmann reveals in the film, money was a key motivator and, as such, Parker was also possibly the first person to see the financial potential beyond the music: merchandising.  “He sees how this boy, Elvis, has an effect on an audience, an effect like he’s never seen before and certainly beyond anything he’s seen on the carnival circuit,” the filmmaker notes.  “To Tom Parker, it’s the greatest carnival act he’s ever witnessed, and he must have it.”

    In cinemas across the Philippines starting June 22, “Elvis” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

    Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #ElvisMovie

    Photo and Video Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures