Earlier in March, Tom was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” discussing his project on HBO, “The Pacific,” which he said depicts a war of “racism and terror.” Despite what you may think, the fact that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor without warning on a Sunday morning in December had nothing to do with it.
He further clarified his remarks on CNSNews.com, standing by his statement, but generously allowed that we’ve made some progress:
“I’d like to think that as our time has gone by and as Americans have found themselves in 2010, ignorance is being replaced by a certain amount of enlightenment and racism is going to be replaced eventually by an acceptance. It’s just taking an awfully long time.”
Very big of Mr. Hanks, wouldn’t you say? You’re making progress…it’s slow, but it’s happening. Pat yourself on the back, since Tom’s too busy to do it himself.
We here at Big Hollywood like to give credit where it’s due, and so we decided to see how progressive Hanks is when it comes to racial equality in his own industry. We decided to take a look at his major works after Forrest Gump, which garnered him his second Oscar win and made him a true power player in Hollywood, with plenty of pull. He’s certainly come a long way from playing a cross-dressing advertising agency employee in the 1980 sitcom “Bosom Buddies!”
See the list below: We’re including movies he’s acted in and those he wrote/produced/directed, although we are not including animated films or films he simply narrated. Who does Tom work with, both on camera and behind the scenes? Is he as devoted to diversity as he thinks the rest of us should be? (Not diversity of thought; progressives are more concerned with skin color than what’s inside your head or whatever else you might have to offer.)
We look at the stars and big names behind the camera: directors, producers, cinematographers and composers. Main cast members reflect first billed according to IMDB.com. Who gets the big bucks and all the glory? (A set of three asterisks behind a name denotes a minority.)
By our count, that’s 25 minorities out of 289 people in 14 movies (Tak Fujimoto makes an appearance twice; Tom himself was not included in the count). That’s about 8.65 percent. Compare that to 2007 estimates, which had the non-white population at 34 percent, just over one-third the total population. I guess Tom’s right; fully leaving racism behind is certainly taking a long time if we’re to judge by his own standards.
To make sure we’re as fair as possible, and on the off-chance our math was wrong or someone was overlooked, we’ll go ahead and double Tom’s “inclusiveness” to 17.3%. Still doesn’t help. Mr. Racially Sensitive is still WAY behind “looking like America.” Does someone need some racial-sensitivity training, because there are Tea Party gatherings less Caucasian than most Tom Hanks movies.
Could it be that Tom doesn’t think about skin color or ethnicity when putting a project together, but concentrates on whether a person fits the role or can do the job properly? What a novel idea. But while Tom is capable of it, the rest of us must not be; which is why he feels the need to lecture us on our sins.
Then there’s this little news nugget from just five years ago with the claim that the Japanese themselves are guilty of racism in their own nation, while Hanks opines about how Americans were racist against the Japanese during the difficulties of wartime. Racism occurring anywhere but America? Inconceivable!
Apollo 13
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Roger Corman, Clint Howard, Joe Spano, Loren Dean, Todd Louiso, Tracy Reiner, David Andrews, Michele Little, Chris Ellis
Main crew: Ron Howard (director); James Horner (composer); Brian Grazer (producer); Al Reinert and William Broyles (screenwriters); Dean Cundey (cinematographer); Todd Hallowell (executive producer); Lorne Orleans (producer)
That Thing You Do (directed)
Main cast: Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Obba Babatunde***, Giovanni Ribisi, Chris Ellis, Alex Rocco, Sean Whalen, Bill Cobbs, Peter Scolari, Rita Wilson, Chris Isaak
Main crew: Tom Hanks (screenwriter/director); Howard Shore (composer); Tak Fujimoto*** (cinematographer); Mike Piccirillo and Adam Schlesinger (songwriters); Keith P. Cunningham, Suzan Wexler, Stella Fumer and Masako Masuda*** (set designers)
Saving Private Ryan
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis Farina, Joerg Stadler, Max Martini, Dylan Bruno
Main crew: Steven Spielberg (producer/director); John Williams (composer); Janusz Kaminski (cinematographer); Tom Brown (art director/co-producer); Robert Rodat (screenwriter)
You’ve Got Mail
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Katie Sagona, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, Heather Burns, Dave Chappelle***, Dabney Coleman, John Randolph, Hallee Hirsh, Jeffery Scaperrotta, Cara Seymore, Katie Finneran
Main crew: Norah Ephron (director/producer); G. Mac Brown (executive procducer); Delia Ephron (executive producer); Lauren Shuler Donner (producer); George Fenton (composer); John Lindley (cinematographer)
The Green Mile
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Clark Duncan***, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene***, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patrica Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton, Dabbs Greer, Eve Brent
Main crew: Frank Darabont (director/screenwriter/producer); David Tattersall (cinematographer); Thomas Newman (composer); David Valdes (producer)
Cast Away
Main cast: Paul Sanchez***, Lari White, Leonid Citer, David Allen Brooks, Jelena Papovic, Valentina Ananyina, Semion Sudarikov, Tom Hanks, Peter von Berg, Dmitri S. Boudrine, Francois Duhamel, Michael Forest, Viveka Davis, Nick Searcy, Jennifer Chloe***
Main crew: Robert Zemeckis (producer/director); Tom Hanks (producer); Alan Silvestri (composer); Jack Rapke (producer); Steven J. Boyd (screenwriter); Steve Starkey (producer); Joan Bradshaw (executive producer); Don Burgess (cinematographer)
Road to Perdition
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Maxey, Paul Newman, Liam Aiken, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Craig, Ciran Hinds, Craig Spidle, Ian Barford, Stephen P. Dunn, Paul Turner, Kathleen Keane, Brendan McKinney
Main crew: Sam Mendes (producer/director); Richard D. Zanuck (producer); Thomas Newman (composer); Conrad L. Hall (cinematographer)
Catch Me If You Can
Main cast: Leonardo diCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brian Howe, Frank John Hughes, Steve Eastin, Chris Ellis, John Finn, Jennifer Garner, Nancy Lenehan, Ellen Pompeo
Main crew: John Williams (composer); Steven Spielberg (producer/director); Janusz Kaminski (cinematographer); Michel Shane (executive producer); Jeff Nathanson (screenwriter); Barry Kemp (executive producer); Daniel Lupi (executive producer); Tony Romano (executive producer); Walter Parkes (producer)
The Ladykillers
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall***, Marlon Wayans***, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma***, Ryan Hurst, Diane Delano, George Wallace***, John McConnell, Jason Weaver***, Stephen Root, Lyne Odums***, Walter K. Jordan***, George Anthony Bell,*** Greg Grunberg
Main crew: Ethan Coen (screenwriter/producer/director); Barry Sonnenfeld (producer); Joel Coen (screenwriter/producer/director); Roger Deakins (cinematographer); Carter Burwell (composer); Barry Josephson (producer); Tom Jacobson (producer)
The Terminal
Main cast: Tom Hanks; Catherine Zeta-Jones; Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride***, Diego Luna***, Barry Shabaka Henley***, Kumar Pallana***, Zoe Saldana***, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella, Corey Reynolds***, Guillermo Diaz***, Rini Bell, Stephen Mendel, Valeri Nikolayev
Main crew: John Williams (composer); Stephen Spielberg (produce/director); Janusz Kaminski (cinematographer); Andrew Niccol (screen story/executive producer)
The Da Vinci Code
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jurgen Prochnow, Jean-Yeves Bertelot, Eienne Chicot, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Marie-Francoise Audollent, Rita Davies, Francesco Carnelutti, Seth Gabel, Shane Zaza***
Main crew: Hans Zimmer (composer); Ron Howard (director); Brian Grazer (producer); Avika Goldsman (screenwriter); Dan Brown (book author/executive producer)
Charlie Wilson’s War
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymore Hoffman, Terry Bozeman, Brian Markinson, Jud Tylor, Hilary Salvatore, Cyia Batten, Kirby Mitchell, Ed Regine, Daniel Eric Gold, Emily Blunt, Peter Gerety, Wynn Everett
Main crew: Mike Nichols (director); Aaron Sorkin (screenplay); George Crile (book author); Gary Goetzman (producer); Celia Costas (executive producer); Ryan Kavanaugh (executive producer); Jeff Skoll (executive producer); Stephen Goldblatt (cinematographer); James Newton Howard (composer)
The Great Buck Howard (producer)
Main cast: John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt, Ricky Jay, Steve Zahn, Tom Hanks, Griffin Dunne, Debra Monk, Adam Scott, Patrick Fischler, Wallace Langham, Jonathan Ames, Jacquie Barnbrook, Paul Darricarrere, Terry Scannell
Main crew: Tom Hanks (producer); Tak Fujimoto*** (cinematographer); Marvin Acuna (executive producer); Blake Neely (composer); Sean McGinly (screenwriter/director); Steven Shareshian (executive producer); Gary Goetzman (producer)
Angels and Demons
Main cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Thure Lindhardt, David Pasquesi, Cosimo Fusko, Victor Alfieri, Franklin Amobi, Curt Lowens, Bob Yerkes, Mark Fiorini
Main crew: Ron Howard (director/producer); David Koepp and Akiva Godsman (screenwriters); Dan Brown (book author/executive producer); Todd Hallowell (executive producer); Marco Valerio Pugini (executive producer Italy); John Calley (producer); Brian Grazer (producer); Hans Zimmer (composer); Salvatore Totino (cinematographer)
***
Thanks goodness for people like Tom Hanks to remind us of our imperfections from his self-made pedestal. It’s because of people like him that I can sleep easily at night, knowing he has the reins of America’s cultural direction firmly in his grip.
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