Audiobook Review: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece

by Tom Hanks, narrated in audioform by Tom Hanks and many others (Compact Disc Hanks)

 

Oscar-winning actor, producer, director and author Tom Hanks released his first novel in 2023, and it was a terrific read. I greatly enjoyed listening to the audiobook-on-cd version of his first book, Uncommon Type, a collection of short stories, in 2017, so I had my fingers crossed that his first novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, would similarly come out in audiobook form. I was not disappointed — Tom Hanks is the primary narrator, but is joined by a large number of his entertainment industry friends, to create something that is just shy of a “full cast recording” of this novel.

 

Hanks’ decades of experience in the film industry lend a great deal of authenticity to this oversized tale of movie-making. The stage is set with opening sequences in the 1950s and 1970s, creating some of the background that will come into play in the bulk of the novel. And that bulk is set in the modern era (2020s — COVID-19 is referenced), as a crew and cast is assembled to film a stand-alone entry in a superhero franchise (think the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but under another name), helmed by legendary director Bill Johnson. 60% of this novel then tells of the experiences of a multitude of characters as they participate in the the filming in little Lone Butte, CA, a dusty flyspeck town in northern California. Every moment of this novel is filled with the little details that show how well Hanks knows his topic — central characters aren’t just the big-name actors, but also include associate producers, locals hired to drive or to appear in bit parts, the make-up designers, the stunt coordinators, the families of the cast members, and the security people whose jobs are to prevent overly enthusiastic fans from penetrating the safety bubble around the stars.

 

I loved The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, and plan to purchase the book-on-CD set. But it isn’t without its flaws. At 417 pages, it feels like it could have used a tighter editorial touch to bring it down to 350 pages. There’s really no “villain” in the story, or sense of over-arching “conflict” — characters that you think are going to be a problem for the central characters are dealt with fairly quickly. Moments that could show the the possibility of critical flaws are glossed over. And some of the film-industry jargon will certainly go over the heads of many readers. But, in the end, this is a loving look at a bunch of creative people combining their talents to make a piece of art that can be appreciated by the rest of the world…and their passion in doing the best job they possibly can is contagious.

 

If you love the film industry and would like a tale that really goes into the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, don’t mind a somewhat slower pace, and love listening to Tom Hanks’ voice, I strongly recommend the audiobook version of The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. If you’re not a big fan of audiobooks, then I recommend the print version — which includes three graphic novel segments, which are the inspiration for the plot of the movie being made. (Those graphic novels are available to listeners of the audiobook via a weblink.)

 

I was going to give this an “8” due to its slow pace and lack of dramatic conflict, but ultimately choose to give it a “9” because I grew to love all the characters and was very sorry to see the story end.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the short story collection Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks, which I also recommend as an audiobook read by Hanks himself.)

 

( Wikipedia page for Tom Hanks )

 

See Scott C.’s review of the audiobook version of Tom Hanks’ short story collection Uncommon Type in the June 2018 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!