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Tom Hanks: The Time's Up movement is just the beginning (exclusive)

Tom Butler
·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment UK


The Post star Tom Hanks says the Time’s Up movement has only just begun and it could lead to a huge sea change of attitudes in Hollywood.

The Time’s Up campaign against sexual harassment in the film industry was launched on January 1, with backing from a host of huge names, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that’s rocked Hollywood.

“This is going to be a long and massive marathon,” Hanks tells Yahoo Movies.

“Right now you could say it’s a litmus test of if it’s one colour that means one thing. Over time, I think the great discussions and new – not rules necessarily – but ethics, are going to come into place.”

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The Big star’s new movie with Steven Spielberg tackles sexual politics head on, with Meryl Streep’s Washington Post publisher Kay Graham facing everyday sexism from her peers despite being in control of one of the biggest newspapers in America.

In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Tom Hanks portrays Ben Bradlee, left, and Meryl Streep portrays Katharine Graham in a scene from “The Post.” (Niko Tavernise/20th Century Fox via AP)
In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Tom Hanks portrays Ben Bradlee, left, and Meryl Streep portrays Katharine Graham in a scene from “The Post.” (Niko Tavernise/20th Century Fox via AP)

“Meryl Streep said an interesting thing: ‘this is now just beginning’,” Hanks adds. “Right now it’s an airplane that’s made out of canvas and wire. There’s going to be a lot of crashes, and a lot of test flights that aint gonna come across. It will move forward.”

One of the first goals from the Time’s Up movement was for every person at the 2018 Golden Globes to wear black on the red carpet in protest. And, they did (for the most part) sending a clear message that it was time for change in Hollywood.

Another aim of the movement was to offer legal help, backed by a $13m donation fund, “to help less privileged women — like janitors, nurses and workers at farms, factories, restaurants and hotels — protect themselves from sexual misconduct.”

It’s clear that many women in Hollywood have long been victims of sexual harassment at the hands of some of the biggest names in Hollywood. But is there a road back to redemption for these people, as some people have recently suggested? Hanks is not so sure.

“Whether or not anybody deserves ostracism, or can make a comeback from that… I think it’s going to come down to an aspect of character as opposed to a specific checklist.”

The Post arrives in UK cinemas on Friday, 19 January. Watch our full interview with Tom Hanks below.


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