The actor has directed a documentary about the rise and fall of the once powerful record store chain; the first-ever Politicon was a sort of Comic-Con for political junkies, journalists and jokesters; Fox is developing more TV shows with comic book heroes, including "X-Men" characters.
Colin Hanks' documentary tells the story of the iconic Tower Records
Tower Records was a symbol of the rise and very visible fall of the music industry. The record store was the first of its kind when it opened in Sacramento in 1960. It quickly expanded across the country and the globe, eventually becoming the most successful record store chain up.
But then digital music and Napster came along and had a hand in the closure of the company in 2006. It's a complicated story, and one that actor/director Colin Hanks, has turned into a documentary called "All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records."
This is Hanks' directorial debut and while it may seem like a random passion project, Hanks is deeply obsessed with music. Hanks told The Frame's John Horn that he brings a portable speaker on TV and film sets and acts as a DJ during the down time:
I find it's a nice little way to lighten the mood a little bit. So I don't just play what I wanna hear, I take requests. I try to find different music that fit for different moods — all genres — and, yeah, I try and be the DJ for anyone I'm working with. Luckily, I give all of my cast members the out. I say, "If ever you want me to turn this music off, all you have to do is tell me. You will not hurt my feelings." But so far no one has taken me up on that offer.
Hanks, 37, grew up in Sacramento and would often hang out at Tower Records with his friends. (He lived with his mother, who divorced Tom Hanks when Colin was about 10 years old.) But it wasn't until he was making the film that he realized his connection to the record store is much more personal.
My godmother worked at Tower Records. I remember hearing stories about her working at the store over at Bay Street and Columbus Avenue in San Francisco, and I had remembered hearing a story: She had got into a horrible car accident when she was working at Tower and she was bedridden in the hospital. Her medical bills were just astronomical, just through the roof. Tower, at that time, had medical insurance for their employees, but they needed to still be at work in order for that medical insurance to kick in.
So, I don't know if it was [company founder] Russ Solomon. I don't know if it was the store manager at the time. I don't know who it was, but the people at Tower said, "Okay, well, if Marnie can't leave her bed, why don't we give her the little white dividers and a big, black pen and she could write out all the bands' names. That way, she could still be working for Tower Records." And that story, which I had completely forgotten about when we started this whole process — I just [thought], What a special place to work. What an incredibly unique place to have your coworkers or your boss think in those regards. That really tells you something about the kind of people that not only work there, but the kind of people that Tower Records really was.
The film took seven years to make and, during that time, Hanks became more knowledgeable about the company and also formed his own opinions on how the collapse of Tower Records could have been avoided:
When Russ Solomon got into the record business, he sold used 78s out of his father's drug store. If Tower Records sold used CDs, that might ... have helped give them a little bit more time. And maybe with that paring down they could have weathered the rough part of the storm, but [Solomon] refused. He believed that there would always be someone that wanted to buy new records.
After spending several years making the film, Hanks was asked by The Frame's John Horn if there's anything public radio could learn from Tower Records' missteps:
Colin Hanks: I will be quite honest: Once I started making this documentary, I became much more in tune to these kinds of things. Here's what I will say: public radio has been very, very, very good at adjusting to the new technologies and finding out the different ways that people can listen to music. So you guys are pretty good. You're not stubborn, saying, You can only listen to this on radio. So I think you guys are doing okay. Now, can the pledge drives maybe be a little bit shorter? I mean, yeah.
John Horn: If you write a check we can end it right now.
Hanks: Oh, listen. You're talking to the wrong member of the family unfortunately.
The documentary, "All Things Must Pass," is in theaters on Oct. 16. The Tower Records building on the Sunset Strip will be back to its heyday form for one night only on Oct. 15 to celebrate the release of the film.
Politicon brings out political junkies, journalists and jokesters
With the 2016 presidential campaign going full bore, the Los Angeles Convention Center last weekend hosted the first-ever Politicon — a sort of Comic-Con for political junkies, journalists and even a few actual politicians. The festivities included a competition to identify the funniest political comedian.
Adam Yenser of Sherman Oaks, a writer for The Ellen Degeneres Show, beat out nine other comedians and won the $500 prize. Yenser said he thinks comedy plays an important role in how people process politics.
"When you present something in a funny way, and also an intelligent way, I think that kind of makes people think about it in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise," Yenser said. "It’s fun to seek out comedy. It’s not fun to seek out political information."
The event was held in part to help promote comedians who have political material, and also to encourage more comics to talk about politics.
Longtime comedy writer Merrill Markoe, who worked for many years with David Letterman, was one of the judges. She said comedy is important during campaign season in part because it helps people understand what’s happening.
"I think it’s a release valve," Markoe said. "It’s the thing you do to make life not seem terribly scary."
Andrew Tenenbaum, a producer and manager, was also on hand to judge the competition. He said he was impressed by the number of young people who showed up at the convention who are interested in politics. Tenenbaum said, for comedians, the campaign trail provides lots of opportunities:
"It is a gift on a silver platter to comedians, and to late night talk show hosts, because there's more material from Donald Trump alone — and you haven't even gotten to the rest of the candidates, and Hillary's hairdo and all that — than probably the last five or 10 campaigns combined."
Ramsey Badawi was one of the comedians in the competition. He said political comedy presents unique challenges.
"It’s hard to find the right rooms. Most comedy clubs are filled with people having bachelorette parties," Badawi said. "So you could go up there with some killer material, but people are just like, ‘Hey, we’re just trying to get drunk. Can you stop talking about Rwanda for a minute?’"
Yenser, the event’s winner, said he enjoyed the challenge of playing to a mixed crowd, with various political leanings. His material was much further to the right politically than most of the comics who performed, and he even earned a few groans with his jokes at the expense of the president:
"I don’t worry about the economy too much though, because when Barack Obama got elected I stocked up on these Obama commemorative coins. 'Cause as any collector will tell you, a coin is worth a lot more when there’s an obvious mistake on it.”