In the late 70s and early 80s, Disney Pictures had been getting grief for releasing films that were too adult. When “Splash” came along, they decided to create a new label for releasing more adult fare. And thus, Touchstone Pictures was born! On top of that, the film was such a success that it pushed its star, Tom Hanks, and director, Ron Howard, up toward the upper echelons of the Hollywood elite. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Tom Hanks series near the beginning of his career with “Splash,” a film that Andy holds near and dear to his heart while Pete struggles with many aspects of it. We talk about the beginnings of Hanks’ career and how he ended up getting cast in this film, as well as how well he works in it. We touch on the other actors — Daryl Hannah, John Candy and Eugene Levy in particular — and how they do in the film. We discuss what works for Andy and what doesn’t work for Pete and try to identify specific elements that could be causing Pete to disconnect from the movie. And we chat about the cinematography and how beautiful the film looks, standing out from the flat lighting most comedies suffer from. It’s a film Andy and Pete likely will never agree on, but it’s certainly fun to talk about. Tune in!
