Hanks for Nothing

Tom Hanks was in the city Tuesday night to pump up the British romantic comedy Starter for Ten, which his company Playtone produced and which opens Friday in New York. Because we strive for comprehensiveness a little more than we do for, well, British romantic comedy, join The Reeler in a dishy, scintillating round-up of what we all missed:

Ben Widdicombe, New York Daily News: "Tom Hanks had the Tribeca Grand Hotel audience in stitches when he introduced a new film he produced, Starter for 10. 'I can't believe I just dropped the f-bomb in front of a 13-year-old-girl [in the front row],' he said, after he was a little too enthusiastic about asking people to turn off their cell phones."

Justin Ravitz, NYM Daily Intelligencer (on Hanks' Oscar-pool history): "It's always just twenty bucks a head. And I've never won. ... When you're not a member of the Academy, you don't know what those animated shorts are. You might not even know them if you are a member of the Academy. But with the Oscar pool, you've gotta pick 'em, man. One out of five. If you don't nail one of those four -- documentary short, animated short, best sound mixing, stuff like that -- you're sunk."

Paula Schwartz, The Carpetbagger: "When the Baguette sweetly asked for his Oscar picks this year, Mr. Hanks outmaneuvered her and sweetly replied, 'Well, as a member of the Academy Board of Governors, I’m not allowed to say.”

Posted at February 15, 2007 1:25 PM