Posted on 12/20/2017 11:39:03 AM PST by MarvinStinson
Tom Hanks plays famed newspaper editor Ben Bradlee in Steven Spielberg's upcoming drama The Post. Here, the two-time Oscar winner discusses the man he plays (and also knew); the issues the film raises; and why he would refuse to go to the White House for a screening of his movie.
You knew Ben Bradlee?
He said: "You don't get it. We're covering the stories that are changing the world... And then, of course, the Nixon administration, the Justice Department, says: "If you print these papers, you're going to be traitors," which complicated absolutely everything, because it happened in the week that the Washington Post went public. And who was going to be running it? Well, it turned out to be Katharine Graham, if she had the guts.
Did you spend time at the Post for the movie?
We went down together one day just before we started shooting. Meryl [Streep] was there and Steven and [producer] Kristie Macosko Krieger. I think Amy [Pascal, who also produced] was along as well. We went down and had a very nice tour. It's a very different building now, like walking into a high-tech demonstration. But we did meet people who had worked with Ben.
What did you find out that helped shape your performance?
That Ben loved the day. He loved the power. There's a moment where he would come by and say: "Ah, the fun." We put that into the movie. “Ah, the fun.” It was fun to put out this newspaper. It was a blast. Based on some other stuff that I saw, he [also] said, at one point: "You have to get it right. Because if you set it down in type at midnight and it goes out at 4 o'clock in the morning, you have to eat it for the next 24 hours. You can't just issue a quick walk-back. You have to explain that you got it wrong, why you got it wrong, and then you have to set it right.” And he never wanted to be in that position. He also owned the room when he walked into it. He was an extremely confident guy; he was aware of his physique. He knew how he filled out not only his wardrobe, but the room that he was in. And they all, quite frankly, loved him. Even when it came to bitter fights with him. He was supremely honest and demanding of himself, as much as anybody else.
What's the significance of this story today?
The Nixon administration tried to stop the story from being published. They took on the First Amendment by saying: "You can't tell that story, and if you do, we're going to threaten you." That is going on, of course, right now.
In what way?
There's a number of ways that you can assault the First Amendment. Back in 1971, it was done in such a boldfaced way that a newspaper, The New York Times, was stopped from publishing a story. And it was threatened; anybody who was going to try to publish that story was going to go to jail for treason. Treason, my friend. That's the stuff that goes on with tin-pot dictators and communist tyrants and third-world banana republics. [But] I'd have to say, as Steven Spielberg said: "The truth is making a comeback."
What troubles you about the way the press is treated today?
There used to be this concept, [as the later Senator] Daniel Moynihan used to say: "You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts." Facts are irrefutable. Well, it turns out people are saying: "No, facts are not irrefutable. We can decide whatever facts that we want, that we would like." Right now, without a doubt, there are people in power trying to — if not quash or stop the right to publication, [then at least] denigrate it to the point [where] they are saying there is no truth to it whatsoever. And there are stories out there that are the truth, [in] organs of the Fourth Estate like the New York Times and the Washington Post.
If Donald Trump wanted you to screen this movie at the White House, would you go?
That's an interesting question. I don't think I would. Because I think that at some point — look, I didn't think things were going to be this way last November. I would not have been able to imagine that we would be living in a country where neo-Nazis are doing torchlight parades in Charlottesville [Va.] and jokes about Pocahontas are being made in front of the Navajo code talkers. And individually we have to decide when we take to the ramparts. You don't take to the ramparts necessarily right away, but you do have to start weighing things. You may think: "You know what? I think now is the time." This is the moment where, in some ways, our personal choices are going to have to reflect our opinions. We have to start voting, actually, before the election. So, I would probably vote not to go.
I would not have been able to imagine that we would be living in a country where neo-Nazis are doing torchlight parades in Charlottesville [Va.] and jokes about Pocahontas are being made in front of the Navajo code talkers.
” and jokes about Pocahontas are being made in front of the Navajo code talkers. “
Pocahontas wasn’t even Navajo, you retard.
I don’t give a rat’s @ss what Tom Hanks has to say.
Tom Hanks can stick his Watergate movie where the sun don’t shine, as far as I’m concerned. The guy mixes acting with reality.
Is Tom vying with his co-star Streep to ruin the film’s box office potential? Ho ho ho...
That made me LOL!
Where was all this principled movie making during the last eight years?
Where are the exposes on Benghazi, the abuse of the IRS to target conservative non-profits, etc?
Hanks watches all these public figures go against Trump and then go down in flames, and he says, ‘I want me some of that.’
I don’t believe in the Trump curse. I do believe God is protecting Trump, and that He is listening to the prayers of all those who are interceding on the president’s behalf.
one more actor that I will never watch. too bad.
“There’s a number of ways that you can assault the First Amendment. Back in 1971, it was done in such a boldfaced way that a newspaper, The New York Times, was stopped from publishing a story. And it was threatened; anybody who was going to try to publish that story was going to go to jail for treason. Treason, my friend. That’s the stuff that goes on with tin-pot dictators and communist tyrants and third-world banana republics. [But] I’d have to say, as Steven Spielberg said: “The truth is making a comeback.””
Gee, I wonder if ones like Spielberg and Hanks sympathized when Bob Woodward came out publicly a few years ago criticizing the secrecy of the Obama administration and it’s attempts to silence reporters who did not tow the line? Or is it just the same pathetic double standard that applies to Republicans and conservatives? Give me strength big time, with the arrogance of these people.
They all look alike to Tom.
10 to 1 this movie bombs....any takers?
Hanks thinks his likability with his fans is indestructible. Streep lied about not knowing what Weinstein was up too.
It's like saying:
” and jokes about the Italians are being made in front of the Polish. “
Apples and Oranges.
Tom Hanks, poster child for padded rooms for own safety reasons.
This makes me wonder if the man has the ability to reason, at all.
I would not have been able to imagine that we would be living in a country where workers in the theater-arts think their opinions about politics are worthy of consideration in the national press.
I agree that trump shouldn’t use the name Pocahontas. Liarwatha is much more descriptive.
Hey Tom, when is the release date on the Uranium One movie? Or the Cash for Haitian Kids, or Lolita Express or Chappaquiddick movie? I could go on...
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