Hanks for the memories

Park City may draw the feckless filmmakers, stars and swag whores, but the festival premiere of “The Great  Buck Howard” at the Rose Wagner Center in Salt Lake City brought out the PWGs (People With Gravitas).

Introductory remarks were delivered by none other than Jon Huntsman Jr., the Republican governor of Utah, who regaled the opening night crowd with boasts of the “impact” of the fest: 50,000 visitors from 35 countries bringing in $60 million to the state. Ka-ching! Looking dashing in a blazer and turtleneck, he also proudly proclaimed that this is the first year a filmmaking delegation from China was appearing at the festival and then thanked them for coming. . . in Mandarin.

It was a hard act for the film’s producer Tom Hanks to follow, but the “Charlie Wilson’s War” star was equal to the task. As the flash guns bathed him in white light, creating an almost saintly aura, Hanks cracked that although Huntsman wasn’t in the race at all, his position in the South Carolina primaries had just surged. “I might even vote for him,” Hanks added, tongue-in-cheekily.

In a rapid-fire monologue that reminded us what a truly witty man he is, Hanks trotted out the cast of the film produced by his production company Playtone: John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Tom Arnold, Don (formerly Donnie) Most (fondly remember as Ralph Malph from "Happy Days") and a “man I have known for 30 years and every day he just gets better” — his son, Colin Hanks. (FYI: This is the first time the two Hanks have shared appreciable screen time, and while their scenes in this gently quirky comedy aren’t two-hanky dramatic, they do play father and son.)

Standing at the podium, Hanks concluded his remarks by tapping the top of the lectern and asking, “Is this going to be moved so the people in the cheap seats get to see the film?”  As crickets chirped and no stagehand rose to the occasion, Hanks grabbed the sides of the lectern, found it surprisingly manageable and announced, “Oh, I’ll just do it myself,” dragging it into the wings and shouting “Enjoy the film!”

He even knows how to make an exit.

-- David A. Keeps

(Photo courtesy AP)