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The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A wildly ambitious story of the making of a colossal, star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film, and the humble comic book that inspired it all.


Spanning 80 years of a changing America and culminating in the opening of the film, we meet a colourful cast of characters including a troubled soldier returning from war, a young boy with an artistic gift, an inspired and eccentric director, a pompous film star on the rise, a tireless production assistant and countless film crew members that together create Hollywood magic.

Funny, touching, and wonderfully thought-provoking, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece offers an insider's take on the momentous efforts it takes to make a film. At once a reflection on America's past and present, on the world of show business and the real world we all live in.

This audiobook features 15 narrators, including Rita Wilson, other character backstories performed by Peter Gerety (Charlie Wilson's War, The Wire), Natalie Morales (Dead to Me, Language Lessons), Ego Nwodim (Saturday Night Live), Nasim Pedrad (Chad, Saturday Night Live), Connor Ratliff (Dead Eyes, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Holland Taylor (The Practice, The Morning Show). Additional parts are performed by Frankie Corzo, Hillary Huber, David Lee Huynh, Sean Patrick Hopkins, JD Jackson, January LaVoy, and Oliver Wyman.

Interspersed throughout the book are three comic books featured in the story. This audiobook contains downloadable PDF of the comics from the book and a QR code for access to the original screenplay of Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall.

© Tom Hanks 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Critics Review

Affectionate and endlessly entertaining. Hanks writes with such tenderness about human connection and the magic of the movies
Richard Osman
With a unique insight and a rare eye for detail, Tom Hanks delivers a stunning, emotionally satisfying tale about the art of storytelling. I never wanted the lights to come up. I could not put it down
Graham Norton
THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE is its own universe, complete with a sun, a cast of circling planets, and a limitless number of stars. Its gravity pulls you in and its far reaching, multi-layered, rollicking exuberance holds you in place. I would have been happy to live inside this book forever
Ann Patchett
A proper literary belter
The Times
An extravagant, buoyant, joyfully sprawling book, bursting with affection for its characters, for the intricate lore of the movie business, and for the many ways in which human beings are one another's greatest opportunity
Tana French
This is a wild, ambitious and exceptionally enjoyable novel. A story about how stories happen, with a swirling kaleidoscope of characters across the best part of a century, and a real beating emotional heart. It has a lot of astute and fascinating things to say about comic books, movies, show business, America and human beings. I loved every page
Matt Haig
Vibrant, jazzy, witty, snazzily written, with a great sense of time and place, this novel-cum-comic book is one of those rare, unique, pieces of fiction. Loved it
Kate Mosse
Do you want to go on an adventure? Who doesn't? This was a joy to read in that certain kind of way that only happens when it was a joy to write. Tom Hanks is such a natural storyteller that everything feels like he's telling this story just for you, at a dinner table, and you don't want the night to end
Fredrik Backman
A heartfelt tribute to movies and the people who make them . . . Lovingly crafted, a wildly entertaining story beautifully told . . . You'll love this book
Booklist
An impressive debut
Daily Express

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
Author Tom Hanks
Narrator Tom Hanks, Peter Gerety, Natalie Morales, Ego Nwodim, Nasim Pedrad, Connor Ratliff, Holland Taylor, Rita Wilson, Full Cast
Duration 15 hours and 57 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529190014
Format Audiobook
Publisher Random House
Genre Films, cinema, Historical fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction
Collections Full Cast Audio
Availability AU, GB, IE
Rating
5.0 (1 review)
Narration
5.0 (1 review)

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