Colin Hanks and Ryan Reynolds are developing a documentary that will focus on legendary comedic actor John Candy. Hanks is directing the doc, of which Reynolds is a producer.
As you might imagine, with Tom Hanks as a dad, Colin found himself growing up with a lot of movie legends around. One of those people was John Candy, who was a close friend of the family.
During an episode of the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Hanks talked about the documentary on Candy, who died of a heart attack at the age of 43 in 1994. He said:
“Hopefully, touch wood, [I] start the next documentary at the beginning of the year. Trying to get a doc made about John Candy. Yeah. So, I produced a documentary about Willie Mays that just came out on Tuesday. It’s great. It’s on HBO Max, it’s called ‘Say Hey, Willie Mays!’“
Variety reported that Amazon Studios was in negotiations to pick up the doc, which is said to have the approval of Candy’s family, and it will explore the life and legacy of the comedy icon, who starred in films such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, Spaceballs, and Cool Runnings. The film will also include never-before-seen home videos, archives and family interviews.
Hanks went on to talk about his own experiences with Candy when he was growing up, and called him a “sweet, sweet presence.” He said:
“I did [know him]. My dad and my moms, both my moms. He was around when my parents were still married, and then he was around when my dad and Rita fell in love. He was present in my life quite a bit when I was a kid. Incredible guy. And when I say that I’m saying that as an eight-year-old, about a guy I never really had a sit-down conversation with. Big presence. Sweet, sweet presence. I remember him just being funny, making me laugh, making me feel better if I’ve been feeling shy. He was a good dude.”
When asked about what his favorite John Candy movie is, Hanks explained on the actor was “the glue” of a production, no matter how big or small a role he was in:
“They’re all delightful and they’re all different. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is kind of tough to beat. That I think is like the most complete performance of his. But like I could get lost in the weeds in terms of the sort of smaller stuff. Just the little stuff that he does in Home Alone, or Spaceballs. Then also, Vacation, the thing that I really do like admire so much about him is that he did everything. He would be the main guy, like he’d be the lead guy, Uncle Buck, the name of the fucking movie. But he’d also be the guy that pops in for just a couple of scenes that is just a fully-fledged character, believable person in this world. There was no middle ground. It didn’t matter how much he was in, he was just the glue.”
That’s 100% true! I loved that about Candy and his performances. I’ll be looking forward to this doc because I’m such a huge fan of Candy and his films.
Via: CinemaBlend