We thought it a little odd that Tom Hanks was noodling over a new David Pumpkins sketch before SNL even got to October, and NBC has finally answered our questions. The viral Halloween character will return for a half-hour animated special, with Hanks and Peter Dinklage lending their voices.
In all the talk of SNL Season 42's breakout year and political impressions, poor David Pumpkins seems like a world gone-by. Tom Hanks briefly resurrected the character for the finale, but the actor might now be teasing a full return in Season 43. Any questions?
When Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg last made a war film, they produced Saving Private Ryan, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and features what’s widely considered one of the greatest battle scenes ever captured on film. They’ve worked together since, including on Catch Me If You Can, one of the best movies of either man’s career, but Bridge of Spies might be considered a kind of spiritual sequel to Ryan. That was Hanks and Spielberg’s World War II picture. This is their Cold War one.
The Late Late Show With James Corden made its grand debut last night, with seemingly every celebrity in existence popping up to say hello. But for his first official guest, Corden snagged everyone’s favorite actor: the one and only Tom Hanks. More importantly, he got Tom Hanks to get really silly and there are few things better than Hanks throwing caution to the wind and embracing his inner comedian. In this case, he got the two-time Oscar winner to re-enact all of his movies in less than eight minutes.
We knew going in that the SNL 40th anniversary special would be chock-full of just about every famous person who has ever walked within spitting distance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and the opening monologue was quick to make use of this genuinely insane temporary cast of stars. Things got started on the right foot when the always-welcome Steve Martin took the stage ... but then he was joined by Tom Hanks. And then things got really crazy.
Just a few months ago, Tom Hanks wondered aloud why he was never cast in a superhero movie. "They don’t ask me and I keep trying … Come on, I can do it. Let me play a bad guy, let me play the bad guy against Batman. I’ll do anything, call me!" he said. And, guess what? They almost did. It turns out Hanks was on a very shortlist of contenders to play Lex Luthor in 'Batman vs. Superman.'
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