Happy 60th Birthday Tom Hanks!

Is there such thing as the male America's sweetheart? If there is then Tom Hanks would surely have to be him. The general public love him, your mum loves him, cinephiles love him, his co-stars love him, and cinematic history definitely loves him. To say Happy Birthday let's say T-Hanks for 5 of the best characters he's gifted us after the jump...

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Clint Eastwood's 'Sully' Biopic Lands Its First Trailer

Daniel here. When news broke that Tom Hanks was cast as airline captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger – the real-life angel with jet wings who, in 2009, famously piloted an A320 to an emergency water landing on the Hudson River, saving the lives of all crew and passengers in the process – approximately no one was surprised. If you ever need to cast an IRL hero for the big screen, Hanks’ evergreen likeability automatically makes him the safest choice; personally, as much as I really, really, really, really, really, really like Hanks, I’d have loved to see William Hurt take the controls. Regardless, we now have our first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s Sully and down to its Oscar-nominated, underutilized actress propped as a wallpaper wife, it’s about what you've come to expect from a ripped-from-the-headlines biopic these days. To some, it seems the surest route to stoic is stale.

In lieu of our traditional Yes No Maybe So, a whole bunch of Maybe concerns... 

• How it will stretch two hours’ worth of drama from a single incident that in actuality didn’t last that long? How will it craft a compelling character arc for a figure of such broad-stroked, well, likeability. No points for originality, as it seems to take Flight’s plan of cross-examining his methodology and, briefly, toxicology. That said, its shards of PTSD and demythologizing its hero archetype through personal doubt look promising.
• While J. Edgar was a dud in the American History Eastwood department, some (including the Academy) found American Sniper’s mode of pointed patriotism to be persuasive. This could go either way.
• Eastwood’s scummy blue scrim has deservedly taken a lot of flack over the years and, for a few shots in the trailer anyway, cinematographer Tom Stern has opened a critical window for some light to make its way into the frame.
• As mentioned, The Lovely Laura Linney seems totally wasted here, issuing words of support to her husband and little else. As if that’s not bad enough, they gave her a hale bay wig to go with it. The Film Experience couldn’t be more thrilled with the movies’ recent showcases for senior actresses – Blythe Danner, Susan Sarandon, Sally Field, to name a few – but how about giving our middle-aged actresses some vehicles as well?

A firm “I hope to God I’m surprised” on this. Does it look like Eastwood's latest will take flight?

"Wicked" is Finally Officially For Real Coming Soon

Musical lovers have finally gotten the long rumored news they've impatiently waited for: Wicked is officially a go! The film will be directed by Stephen Daldry and open on December 20, 2019 - a likely guaranteed holiday hit like Into the Woods and Les Miserables.

While that is still awhile to wait for the big screen adaptation, this announcement comes after more than a decade of crumbs and non-starting rumors for the fanbase. The hope for original stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth has long gone out the window, so casting is the next phase to obsess over. While Universal likes to keep their musicals star loaded (think Les Mis and Mamma Mia), my suspicion is that some expected names won't be in the running... sorry, Lea Michele.

Which is all the better for the green leading lady. Daldry has a gift for finding new talent, so why not give us a new talent to make Elphaba's sense of discovery all the more meaningful. Maybe if it's not a completely fresh face this could be where a Broadway star shows up. Also how many times can we hear "Defying Gravity" before those notes aren't as emotionally transporting? Give us someone who can take us to unexpected emotional and musical heights! Recent Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, for example - her Tony's solo should be all the proof you need (starts at 2:48).

For Glinda, I have a bolder recommendation...

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Which actors will Oscar celebrate this year?

We've discussed Best Actress and the overall April Foolish Predictions so let's talk Best Actor & Supporting Actor

First, we have to wonder what it will take to get Tom Hanks back in Oscar's shortlist. His last two acclaimed hits have wound up with Best Supporting Actor & Best Picture nominations but Hanks was passed over in both cases. If the same thing happens with Aaron Eckhart in the co-pilot seat of Sully, the famous story of the pilot who successfully crash landed a plane on the Hudson, we'll have a bonafide trend and not just a coincidence. That's what I'm currently predicting though of course it's all fun and games now before we see the films. And before we even know about several competitors as the year doesn't really get going until the fall according to Oscar voters.

The pressure is off Birth of a Nation... at least a little bit. Several films with actors of color look promising this year, so it needn't be the sole standard bearerIn other acting category predictions, I feel confident in saying that we'll see the end of the dread #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Or, rather, the issue will persist (Hollywood having white male imbalance problems) but it will take a different shape, less focused on the Oscar's acting branch which was an easy but unfortunate scapegoat of a much larger Hollywood problem. The Acting branch has always been the most inclusive and diverse of any Oscar branch but the uproar and embarrassing photo ops of the past two years -- as well as, yes, too-defensive quotes from some famous actors themselves -- have convinced the public otherwise. With more racially diverse dramas being released this year (Fences, Birth of a Nation, A United Kingdom, Loving, Lion and possibly more)  it should be an easy fix; AMPAS members can only vote for films and performances that are eligible. My sincere hope is that we see a few Latino or Asian nominees in the mix soon so we can move past this idea that racial identity and diversity are binaries. But first people will have to start actually casting Latin and Asian actors in movies. Wouldn't that be nice. It's especially rough for Asian actors since they nearly always change their characters to white characters between source material and production.

[Tangent for Hard Core Fans: Despite the difficulty of predicting a full slate of nominees this far in advance I don't actually do a poor job of it. Even in the below the line craft lineups I tend to score two of five before we've seen any films. This sounds easy but I assure you it's not. Try it one year in April and save your list with no changes ever each time you hear news or release date shifts thereafter and see how many remain at the end of the year. Best Actor remains my best category in terms of flying that blind. In 2013 and 2015 I correctly guessed 4 of the 5 nominees this early which is really something. And in 2001 and 2008 the scores would have also been that incredible but for the business of men being nominated the next year instead. - Nathaniel]

Review: A Hologram for the King

Eric here, with a review of the new Tom Tykwer film in theaters, A Hologram for the King, an adaptation of the best seller by Dave Eggers. It's the tale of a desperate American businessman near the end of his professional rope, who travels to Saudi Arabia to sell a holographic teleconference system to the king. 

While Tom Hanks isn’t at the peak of his popularity these days, he remains one of the biggest movie stars alive.  So it may feel surprising that this film is being released with very little publicity, dumped rather unceremoniously in “arthouse” cinemas...

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