Tom Hanks has said there will be a “specific and seismic shift” in Hollywood as a result of the sexual harassment scandal that has rocked the industry.
The Oscar-winning actor, who will soon be seen playing legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in Steven Spielberg’s new film The Post, added there is “a reckoning going on” and “a Rubicon has been crossed”.
Referring to Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, when the attendees wore black to stand in solidarity with the victims of sexual assault, Hanks told the Press Association: “It was a big deal.
“ We kick-off on this fabulous carousel of awards shows and because the Golden Globes is the first one and there is alcohol involved, it has a whole different sense.
“More often than not it’s just a goofy party with this kind of pancake breakfast element of ‘who is going to win the colour TV?’ so there is excitement when the winners are announced and what have you, but I have never been in the room that was as specifically focused on one complete and involving sea change in regards to the industry.
“There is always politics, there is always a lot of preaching to the choir, there are always jokes about what goes on.
“But no, the time’s up element to this, this is not a joke and there is a reckoning that is going on and I would probably say that last week’s award show is the first of a new era and there is a new era, a Rubicon has been crossed.
“You will see specific and seismic shift in literally the proportion of women who are now going to be running things.”
“I know what is at stake.” Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks share a moment in this new clip from #ThePost. Book tickets now: https://t.co/PlvuGfGISr pic.twitter.com/cJNneXiLjF
— The Post (@ThePostFilm) January 5, 2018
Asked about Oprah Winfrey’s speech, in which she told little girls that “a new day is on the horizon”, when nobody will have to say “Me Too”, Hanks said: “Oprah was standing on a rock and I believe as she was speaking, out on the patio at the Hilton hotel, the pool waters actually parted and suddenly you could see the bottom and the waiters could get back and forth, take shortcuts.
“Then when she stopped it came back together again but that was not just a galvanising moment, that was a stem-winder of a speech.
At London premiere of a movie called “The…”. Hanx pic.twitter.com/4f4FUhXpX0
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) January 10, 2018
“I think you could probably say everything shifted up to that point, then on the other side it’s the downhill slope.
“Everyone says ‘what is this going to mean?’ It’s going to mean action, quite frankly.
“I know for a fact that there are any number of showbusiness entities that are saying ‘alright we are going to literally change the patina of our boardroom, we are going to make promotions that are taking into account the need for our company to reflect the numbers of our population’.”
The Post is released in UK cinemas on January 19.