Tom Hanks Cleans Up & Opens Up At HBO’s Emmy Party

By Quendrith Johnson
Fancast.com

While the HBO Emmy After Party at Pacific Design Center held right after the ceremony on Sept. 21 was not officially put on by the Emmy organization, it might has well have been. The stars arrived in a river of black stretch limousines, and the parade of A-Listers down the VIP carpet included early guests Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon (with a killer Sanskrit tattoo on the back of her neck, ps), followed by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Sally Field, Laura Dern, Jon Voight, Arianna Huffington, Bill Maher, Dennis Leary and his drop-dead gorgeous wife, The Little Britons’ guys, MAMA MIA beauty queen Amanda Seyfried (yes, she is a HUGE star now worldwide ).

Then the TV galaxy of TV stars showed up: Omar Epps, Cheryl Hines, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, industry exec heavies, the list goes on. This particular Hollywood constellation of politically active, Democratic Hollywood seemed to turn out in support of Oscar & multiple-Emmy winning producer of the night, Mr. Tom Hanks, who provided the muscle behind HBO’s John Adams series. Likehis Revolutionary hero, Hanks is in the middle of the skirmish between actors/SAG vs corporations/studios. Which may also end up in a War (read: SAG strike). Here’s what Tom had to say:

Q: Earlier Denis Leary said to me ‘Tom Hanks should restructure all the unions in Hollywood.’ He’s like ‘print it!.’ You know Dennis, he’s like that, he’s from Boston. What do you think of that?

TOM HANKS: Oh yeah. yeah. Well, we’re going through a time here when everything is changing right now. Everything. The way people — look, I’m trying to put this in a –

Q: Diplomatic way?

Concise way. The way people watch entertainment, that is created, written and produced by creative artists is in flux and is changing — for every aspect of that assembly line, the product train, every aspect of that talent pool, is in flux as well.

Q: How do you see it?

On the one hand, it is very easy for the big corporations — that also make jet airplanes, and have massive holdings in other areas that have got nothing to do with entertainment — not to care. But for those of us who love to tell stories, we have to understand that in telling stories and delivering the stories to the audience who wants to see those stories, is changing.

Q: Why would you take the risk, to be their spokesperson?

To be whose spokesperson?

Q: For SAG. You are one of the lead negotiators, right?

Oh no. I was just voting as a member of SAG.

Q: But everybody (in Hollywood) looks to you to be ‘the man’ (with a plan).

Yeah. We gotta come back and take a look. You can’t stay out of it completely and not take a side. But, quite frankly, I understand there’s like five big issues — three of those issues, I would strike for at a moment’s notice. Big issues on (the table) there.

Q: Wow!

Look, there are issues in there — they can’t do that to us. They can’t do that to us.

Q: You are the Good Guy!

Look, there are hard-working, middle class actors who go off and try to make a living, which $300 bucks a month is gonna make a huge difference. The difference between being paid 30 cents a mile or 50 cents a mile. So there are issues out there that we would all strike over. Solidarity right across the line.

Q: That’s really cool.

There’s other issues in there that are theoretical, more than practical, and we have to understand — there is not just HBO, and the “z” channel — there’s YouTube. And by the way — you and I, if we wanted to, could go on the internet right now and be entertained by stuff that is not paid for. Anybody who wants to right now, can go on any laptop can be entertained for free: on stuff that is not paid for (as far as artist compensation). Just stuff on there.

We have to understand that we have to be even better, get an even better product (films, TV, filmed entertainment) so they will be willing to pay or willing to tune in for the time — or who are willing to click on a certain place, to be entertained.

Q: Since this is your Big Night, are you going to go party?

I am going to go in there and sit down with the folks (his son Colin, wife Rita Wilson in attendance) — do you know how much money this thing (HBO After Party) costs?! For them to go all out like this…

Q: Thanks Tom. I’m going to go talk to Rita — Congratulations!