Moviemaking Magic And Madness

Bill Johnson, director and screenwriter, makes a movie out of a memoir by Joe Shaw, a lecturer at an arts college. One thing leads to another and Shaw is invited to the set of Johnson's next film to witness the production and write a book about it: the book that will be known in this universe as The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, and instead of Shaw it is authored by Tom Hanks.

I could imagine the author, nonplussed, replying to comments about the title: "Well, what else could I have called it?"

To prevent this novel from descending into a monotonous blow-by-blow about the making of a film, Hanks introduces other stories into the mix. Among these is that of Robby Andersen, a cartoonist known for his talent since young; Robby's uncle, Bob Falls, a former US Marine who's the inspiration for a character in Robby's comic and the film; Bill's hypercompetent assistant Allicia "Al" Mac-Teer, who was plucked out of the obscurity of a customer service desk; Wren Lane and Ike Clipper, the lead actors in the film; and Ynez Gonzalez-Cruz, a ride-share driver Al roped into becoming the production house's dogsbody.

Years before, he'd suggested, rightly, that she forgo her christian name, Allicia—pronounced Al-i-SEE-a—and use the terse, masculine Al. Sight unseen, the citizenry assumed she was a man, and she soon proved herself so competent, so proactively assumptive, so badass, she forever-after-and-amen had her calls returned, pronto.

More than a story about moviemaking, this is a sprawling tale about how a movie comes about through a mix of chance and how the lives of those involved shape the product and influence the process. The characters come to life in vivid, almost cinematic vignettes of American life from around World War II to the present day, spanning a good slice of the American social fabric.

The hubbub of a movie set feels true to life. Here, one can soak in what Hanks may have experienced while on set. The atmospheric immersion is not limited to filming nor the use of words, as several short comics – in this edition, at least – give readers more to chew on: the wartime comic Robby once read, the satirical comic Robby drew about war, and the comic adaptation of Bill's finished production.

In this story about a film being made, one sees a nation in progress through the characters, up to the post-COVID era. Here, the US is the masterpiece and its denizens are the cast and crew. Calling it a love letter to America and its entertainment industry is a bit cliché, perhaps even trite, in light of the ongoing strikes by the Writers' Guild of America and Screen Actors' Guild over their future. Seeing it as anything else, however, is difficult

And it's far from monotonous. Hanks's storytelling is also playfully whimsical, the narrative format shifting from plain paragraphs to textspeak and screenplay, whatever the occasion requires. Quaint metaphors and the occasional comic-book sound effect enrich and enliven actions and thought processes. Bold and italicised text are used to good effect to emphasise and shock. Some might chafe at this because, when poorly done, it is irksome. Not here.

...his self-prescribed discipline commanded that he stay at the typewriter no ... matter ... what. Type anything. MAKING MOVIES IS MORE FUN THAN FUN. The phone book, the pledge of allegiance, Springsteen lyrics...

The Gonzalez-Cruzes' dining-table banter. Letters from and to loved ones. The text exchanges between the characters. The beginning of a movie being pounded out on Bill's typewriter (incidentally, Hanks is a screenwriter, producer and typewriter fiend). Character names in film scripts are CAPITALISED, so the same happens in the book, according to Hanks in a footnote (yes, there are footnotes, and there are FOOTNOTES); expect this when the narrative shifts to movie-script mode. And to remind us that "someone is writing this book", we get parts where several characters speak to the "author".

First-time Hanks readers will be charmed. The man can spin a yarn. The America in this novel is real enough that parodied companies and products are still recognisable. And did I mention the footnotes, which not merely add context or clarify things, but provide additional in-story information that at times teases a chuckle or two out of the unsuspecting reader?

A taste: when an extra and self-avowed Screen Actors Guild cardholder gives Al lip for lecturing him about call sheets, the related footnote tells us the name of the production he was in and advises us not to search for his face because he merely "yelled obscenities from a tree line."

Several bits I found over-the-top hysterical. One that stands out is how Bill and his inner circle pondered having to deal with a divo of an actor who broke up with his girlfriend just before shooting – is it really that mission critical? There's so much characterisation of the actor that one can't help but wonder if Hanks is drawing from memory. WHO is he talking about?

Movies last forever. So do characters in books. Blending the two in this volume may be a fool's errand, wasted effort in the mining of fool's gold. Don't hate the final product. Think of it as quite good.

All these characters, their workplaces and favourite haunts, described to a tee. The story seems to drag on at first with all that characterisation. You're not invested at first, but about halfway through, one is anticipating a reference to earlier chapters as if itching to tie two loose ends together. You're rooting for (most of) the characters. You want happy endings for them and your heart sinks when tragedy strikes.

One can glean that Hanks's sympathies lie mostly with the cast and crew. The suits and the execs? Not so much. Two of the people who comprise the beating heart of the production machine are minorities. Towards the end, one gains an appreciation of the filmmaking process and the people behind it. Filmming is WORK and films succeed because of PEOPLE. Because films ARE people.

So it's amazing how this book, this paean to America and everyone in moviemaking, comics and the entertainment industry in general, was released in the early days of the WGA strike, which has now hooked up with the SAG-AFTRA strike by actors, mainly over residuals from streaming media and the use of AI.

Almost as if to tell everyone the industry, everyone who has been suffering since COVID came a-knocking, everyone struggling to get back on their feet after the mess of the past few years, and everyone bracing for the next major shitstorm, "You are loved."


The WGA strike ended on 27 September with the guild successfully making a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) regarding a new contract. The actors' strike is still ongoing.

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The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece
Tom Hanks
Knopf
430 pages
Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1232-7

I Should Say Something

When it was first reported, the ban on When I Was A Kid 3 and the circumstances that led to it shook me a bit. What a mess.

A while back, an Indonesian NGO led a protest at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta over a chapter in the book that was said to have denigrated an Indonesian maid. The NGO asked for a total stop to the printing and sale of the book in Malaysia, and even for the author's motives to be investigated.

The book has been out for almost a decade – why protest now? Who's backing this NGO and what is their angle? Why target the author, someone without a steady income or safety net? Is this really about justice and dignity?


Punishment, not penitence
Sadly, Malaysia has a long history of mistreating migrant workers, so the outrage is justified. But I can't help thinking the protesters may have leaned a bit too deep into "Malaysians always treat us badly" territory.

A friend wondered why the author, who's self-published, wasn't allowed to edit or remove the offending chapter. Also, why limit the ban on the sale and printing of the book to Malaysia, when the cartoon is said to be so bad it should be prohibited everywhere?

I don't think the protesters wanted to give him that choice. Gathering at the embassy was meant to put our backs to the wall. Nor do I believe that the NGO can do much about what happens to the book outside the Nusantara region.

Petitioning for the ban on the sale and printing of the book in Malaysia means cutting off his income, but when one thinks about it, isn't the NGO also profiling Malaysians in general as racist to Indonesians or abusive to Indonesian migrant workers?

The protesters may be concerned that reading the comic would lower our regard for Indonesian migrants further, but it's not like only Malaysians are capable of being racist towards Indonesians.

Based on this, one can only conclude that the aim was to punish. They probably assumed the worst of him, a Malaysian, so that they can make an example of him. Malaysians are the core audience of his works and employ a lot of Indonesian migrant labour, so by denying us this book we end up being punished too.


Barking up the wrong tree?
As if the lot of migrant workers will improve overnight once the book is banned. Abusive private employers may think twice about mistreating their migrant help when they hear about this ban, but after a while, they will forget and revert to type.

Richer employers, meanwhile, will continue to get away with mistreating migrant labourers because the system is broken – not something NGOs can fix by protesting at foreign embassies. Also gone is the chance to teach Malaysians how not to be racist – who knows what they will learn from the protesters.

Racism is impossible to justify. However, I feel that the author, as someone who has benefitted from the kindness of others, heard so many stories, and genuinely engages everyone who has supported him, would never purposely disparage another human being.

Jeopardising his income and putting him through a legal wringer for what's likely to be an editorial oversight is unnecessary. His work sometimes displays crude humour but he is no Charlie Hebdo.

Some commentators concur that the portrayal, taken without context, is racist but then go on a whatabout over why Mein Kampf is still sold in Malaysian bookstores. Trying to help, perhaps, but a comic book with one bad chapter can't be compared to a thematically racist tome bearing the words of a bigoted and genocidal dictator.

Also, Mein Kampf has been in the public domain since 2016. Even before that, anyone can download a copy online, provided their government didn't outlaw the book. Selling it for profit is unscrupulous.


Let it stop here
I'm certain the Malaysian authorities want this issue to go away as soon as possible, hence the decision to ban the book. Oddly enough, watches by Swatch were also banned using the Printing Presses and Publications Act, for the same reasons.

How lamentable has this whole thing been. Fidelity to a story is one thing, but with so many factors at play when putting it out in public these days, even the most dedicated and meticulous storytellers have to be extra mindful.

To his credit, he seems to have accepted the ban and expressed contrition over any hurt feelings. But I fear that some quarters will keep the outrage going for their own agendas. Bad news are a great vehicle for parties looking for attention – or with an axe to grind.

The offending volume has been (or is being) pulled off the shelves. The author is sorry and he's not contesting the authorities' decision. That things seem to have settled down is a relief. Don't let this drag on.

Let it stop with the ban.