Timur PANKOV
ALMATY, July 8 (THE GLOBE)
Many critics cite Tom Hanks as a throwback to the Golden Era of Hollywood�s brand of leading man, and, in particular, to the light comedic talents of Cary Grant or James Stewart, and to the quiet magnetism of quintessential Everymen Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper. Whether he�s played a ping-pong-playing half-wit, a lovelorn widower, a cool-under-pressure astronaut, a gay lawyer trying to find justice and dignity as he dies of AIDS, or the voice of an animated toy sheriff named Woody, Hanks has woven his hopelessly likable, American-dreaming screen persona into one of the most gravity-defying careers in Hollywood history. He seems to have accepted his public countenance of likability: �That�s the bed I�ve made, and it�s very comfortable.� Most actors would kill to get into that kind of bed: not only did Hanks win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, but two of his films alone, Forrest Gump and Apollo 13, racked up $500 million at the box office � a healthy bottom line that certainly disproves the old adage about where nice guys always finish.
Hanks isn�t the typical child of a broken home, but he suffered some of the typical stresses. His parents split up when he was five, and the three oldest kids (Hanks was third) went with their father, Amos, a chef by trade, who uprooted the family about every six months chasing after a job. Bouncing around to half a dozen grammar schools rendered Hanks at times painfully shy � sometimes he responded by playing the class cut-up � but his nomadic upbringing was perfect for fostering the chameleon-like skills of an actor. In high school, Hanks learned to channel his �nervous energy� into student drama productions. After graduation, he attended Chabot College, where he took a class that literally changed the course of his life: after seeing a production of Eugene O�Neill�s The Iceman Cometh for the course, he stumbled out of the theatre with his resolve firmly set to become an actor. Towards achieving that goal, he subsequently transferred to the drama program at California State University in Sacramento. An impressive performance in Chekhov�s Cherry Orchard led to Hanks� recruitment by the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Ohio, where he made his first professional bow, as Grumio, in a 1977 production of The Taming of the Shrew. With three full seasons of classical training with the festival to his credit (he had dropped out of school) and an equity card in hand, Hanks departed for New York City, ready to submit himself to the caprices of a struggling actor�s life. Making the rounds on countless auditions, he hit a relative career high point when he landed a role in a slasher flick called He Knows You�re Alone (1980).
His performances in the less-than-stellar Bachelor Party, The Man With One Red Shoe, Volunteers, The Money Pit, and Dragnet were the only things to recommend the otherwise innocuous films. It seemed he was Teflon-coated, as he continually managed to shrug off clunkers without being tainted. Moderate box-office receipts proved that he had secured a foothold, and he finally gained quite a bit more leverage in Penny Marshall�s 1988 hit Big � the guileless, rubbery-faced charm he brought to his characterization of a boy trapped in a man�s body earned him his first Academy Award nomination. That same year, he manifested his talent for portraying a darker side in the critically maligned Punchline, which tells the story of a self-destructive and vitriolic stand-up comic.
It was during filming on Philadelphia that director Jonathan Demme urged Hanks to try his own hand at directing, and furthermore pledged his support when it came time to produce the resulting film. Two years later, after turning in a commanding portrayal of astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howard�s smash film Apollo l3, Hanks completed his first-ever screenplay for the buoyant That Thing You Do!, a film which chronicles the make-it-big story of a small-town Pennsylvania rock-n-roll band called the Wonders. Anything but an act of hubris, the film proved that his golden touch extends behind the camera.
Hanks bowed out of Mike Nichols� adaptation of Primary Colors due to his commitments to the Emmy-decorated HBO astronaut series, From the Earth to the Moon, for which he acted as executive producer, and to Steven Spielberg�s WWII drama Saving Private Ryan, released to overwhelming acclaim in 1998. He next lightened the mood a bit by reuniting with his Sleepless in Seattle co-star, Meg Ryan, for a little online romance in the Nora Ephron holiday comedy You�ve Got Mail. When Oscar nominations were announced the following February, Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg, and Hanks were listed among the nominees in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor categories.
In the last issue, we tried to find a thread connecting the creations of the cartoon serial �Aldar-Kose� and the film �Siberian Barber�. The common point is the national idea. According to the leading critics, Mikhalkov�s national idea was pseudo-patriotism. In our serial, this idea was embodied in the character of a both clever defender and poor man.
(Cjntinued from # 53(371))
Aigul MYRZATAI
ALMATY, July 4
(THE GLOBE)
Now let�s talk about our dear and native Aldar-Kose, whose image symbolised the dreams of the common Kazakh people. The Kazakhs did not have a warm and cosy shelter, a piece of bread and any human rights as they were oppressed by the heartless selfish bays, who did not take care of their people�s fate at all. The Kazakh people wished to glorify the unrealised ideas of victory of the good over the evil, when to protect the weak, a young man struggles against a powerful people.
This young man exposes hypocrisy and lies, theft and selfishness. He reveals the swagger and sanctimony that is sometimes skilfully imitated as �love to everyone�. The young man correctly guesses where the truth is, and where there is no truth, but rather �eye-wash� and pain of the soul. But the young man is disinterested, as he is sincere and does not wish to obtain the trust of the common people and then live joyfully and easily. The young man says: �It�s necessary�, but means �I should�; he says: �To do�, but means �By any means.�
Several days ago the TV channel �Khabar� broadcast the first series of the serial �Aldar-Kose� cartoon entitled �Rolling Stone�. The reference to the national hero and creation of the first national cartoon is significant. It is too early to evaluate whether the cartoon is well timed, let alone the form and content of the total creation, when we have only watched the beginning (the first series). However let�s emphasise some positive moments, that in our opinion, seem to be successful: the image of a full of life Kazakh guy wearing a white shirt and having a one-hump camel-friend, and the qualitative computer graphics.
However, in our opinion, the plot of the cartoon is not interesting and the dubbing-in is very bad. The actors� voices seem even worse because they do not comply with the cartoon heroes and do not coincide with the action. In 1930 when Walt Disney worked at �Columbia Pictures� and created his widely known Mickey-Mouse, he managed to make sound ideally coincide with the action. Our cartoon-makers should learn to do this (let�s hope they�re not offended).
Despite all these defects, �Aldar-Kose� will time to improve (there are another 49 episodes). We hope that this cartoon will impress children�s imagination and will be one of the favourite serials along with the Disney cartoons.
In the end, returning to our thoughts about �the national idea�, we should mention that Nikita Mikhalkov has begun to realise a joint Kazakhstan-Russian film project devoted to Ablai-khan. This film is supposed to be shot in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Possibly, Mikhalkov felt that he is not at ease with the Kazakh mentality, and that is why he is not going to thrust his opinion of the history of Ablai-khan�s period on his colleagues. Mikhalkov will only be the producer of the project.
Consequently, Mikhalkov will most probably reject the role of a dictator, who is intolerant to �the opinion of other people� (Alexander Adabashyan). We hope this man will like the Kazakhs. But according to Georgy Boos, despite the fact that Mikhalkov is �a strong, clever, cunning, adroit, intelligent, delicate, witty and gifted man, there is one �but�: he does not like people�. That is why he is not able to make people love, as to do this he has to love himself. �To love people, he has to have the corresponding organ which is called soul. But this organ of Mikhalkov is completely infected with cancer, called arrogance.� (Maxim Sokolov).
We hope that in the future, this feature of Mikhalkov will not significantly influence the content of the Kazakhstan national film. We hope that there won�t be numerous statements by critics blaming the leading producer of Russia, the chairman of Cultural Fund and Union of Cinematographists for false patriotic and any other feelings, which put labels on his creations, such as �Barber�. The film is full of these signs: �A false ballet at the false scenery made of cardboard and papier-m�ch� do not impress, while the fantastic striving for true scenery so greatly emphasises the entire falsification of the events, that you become increasingly uneasy.� (Maxim Sokolov) It�s too early to judge however, the future film about great Ablai-khan whose feelings to people were true.
9 July 1808 - The leather splitting machine was patented this day by Samuel Parker of Billerica, MA.
9 July 1872 - The doughnut cutter was patented this day by John F. Blondel of Thomaston, ME. Take your favorite policeman for a donut today!
9 July 1935 - American track star, Norman Bright, ran a two-mile record time of 9 minutes, 13.2 seconds in a meet in New York City.
9 July 1956 - Tom Hanks (academy Award-winning actor: Forrest Gump [1994], Philadelphia [1993], Apollo 13, Sleepless in Seattle, Big, Joe Versus the Volcano, Splash, The Money Pit)
10 July 1866 - Edison P. Clark of Northampton, MA patented his indelible pencil this day.
10 July 1913 - It�s summer in the northern hemisphere and while you are baking at the beach or lake, keep this factoid in mind: The highest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States was 134 degrees which melted thermometers this day in Death Valley, California. Water, anyone?
10 July 1949 - The first practical rectangular television picture tube was presented this day. The tube measured 12 by 16 inches and sold for $12. A big difference in the price of TV picture tubes today, for sure. Ever try and have one replaced? It costs less to buy a whole new set.
10 July 1985 - The Coca-Cola Company announced that the former (regular) Coke was coming back to share shelf space with the New Coke, after a consumer furor. The original formula was renamed Coca-Cola Classic.
12 July 1982 - �E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial� broke all box office records in the history of motion pictures by surpassing the $100 million mark of ticket sales in the first 31 days of its opening.
12 July 1854 - George Eastman (inventor: Kodak camera; flexible roll film)
The Kosteyev State National Museum. Exhibition of the works of S. Kalmykov, I. Itkind, V. Eifert, and Rudolf Nuriev�s painting.
From 10.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Closed on Monday.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
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