Tom Hanks appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday. It was fun because he was so excited to appear on a live talk show again. Tom has a new movie called Finch in which he stars alongside a robot and a dog. One assumes Tom’s learned his lesson and this dog lives. (RIP Hooch!) Tom is a good interview because he’s a great storyteller. Jimmy asked him about being invited by Jeff Bezos to ride Blue Origin into space, even before Bezos asked Capt. Kirk, William Shatner. Tom declined the richest man in the world’s offer because he didn’t feel like spending $28M for the 12-minute experience.
Tom Hanks is not blasting off into space.
During the appearance, he opened up about getting invited by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to join on a Blue Origin flight to space.
He clarified that the invitation didn’t come for free: “Well, yeah, provided I pay,” he said.“You know, it costs like 28 million bucks or something like that. I’m doing good, Jimmy, I’m doing good. But I ain’t paying 28 [million] bucks,” he added.
“It’s about a 12 minute flight? Is that it? Okay, we could all do it in our seats right here,” he said, before pretending to bounce around in his seat and simulate a flight.
“I don’t need to spend 28 million bucks to do that,” he said, jokingly adding that he might do it for free “on occasion just in order to experience the joy of pretending I’m a billionaire.”
Does Tom have $28M to consider a joyride into space? He mentions he’s “doing good,” but that’s $28M in extra cash because this is no investment. Actually, that makes me wonder where Shatner got the money as well. Of course, I just wrote about Judge Judy sitting on a $460M fortune, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at these numbers. Nor should I check my own bank account if I don’t want to be depressed as hell. If I did have $28M extra, I’d like to think I’d make the same call as Tom and keep that coin for other endeavors. Like maybe Tom could fund vaccine education and enroll his idiot son, Chet. I know Bezos asked Tom because of the publicity of riding into space with one of the Apollo 13 actors. He was probably going to hit up every space related film or TV show until he got a bite. So in addition to the cash, I’m glad Tom didn’t let Bezos ride his film legacy coattails for his vanity project.
I am posting the full interview below. The Bezos discussion begins at 5:25. It’s entertaining, especially when Tom demonstrates how we can all simulate going to space in our chairs for free. But I am including the interview because Tom talks about Peter Scolari who passed away from cancer two weeks ago. Peter and Tom starred on Bosom Buddies, a show I watched religiously during its run. I also loved Peter in Newhart (I didn’t watch Girls, but people say he was great in that too.) Tom pays a lovely tribute to Peter. That segment begins at 10:40. I suggest grabbing a tissue for the end:
Photo credit: Avalon Red, Getty Images and via Instagram
He’s a smart man. I wouldn’t want to pay 28 million for the “privilege” either. (I don’t have 28 million, but let’s just pretend for a minute on this friday morning, lol.) I won’t even do Mission Space at Epcot😂😂
I mean I was over here excited this morning because I thought my old management company DID give me a bonus but I realized it’s the money I transferred from savings to write a check to daycare 🤦♀️
I would absolutely love to go to space but I would want to…. do something. Not just go up and then come down. If I had an extra $28M I might pay to like go up to the International Space Station, but that will never happen
I am guessing he wanted Tom Hanks cause it would have made for some great memes later.
@ Noki, that and the free publicity. Let us not forget how much a complete douche bag Bezos is. All that money could make such a difference in other countries that are struggling so much. Hell, even this country could utilize half of that 28mil for some school supplies so teachers don’t have to buy them for students, the other half for new school books in the poorest school districts too. Maybe a new schoolyard, or 10 of them.
On a side note, I loved Bossom Buddies when it was on. I had forgotten how funny it was!! Peter had dynamic comedic timing too!!
RIP Peter Scolari
I love Tom! He seems like such a genuinely nice & friendly guy, with a great sense of humor to boot (my favorite combo). I had no idea about Peter Scolari passing away, so sad. Bosom Buddies was definitely a favorite of mine as a kid which, like most people, also introduced me to Tom and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. Splash remains to this day one of my all-time favorite 80’s movies (I *know* I’m not the only who pretended to be a mermaid while swimming).
I still quote Splash to this day…wonderful movie and Hanks was SO FUNNY in it, as was Eugene Levy. “Just me and the moron twins!” John Candy, too. RIP.
and Bosom Buddies was a great sitcom. the video is great; you can really see how much Hanks loved Scolari and misses him.
I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING.
I will never forget my ditzy friend meeting Tom right after he won his second Oscar. She opened with, aren’t you the guy from Bosom Buddies? He laughed pretty hard.
@ Sealit, how fabulous!!!! I wish you had video to share!! That would make my month!!!
I do adore Tom Hanks!!! He is such a down to earth and friendly guy, it seems. Genuinely nice too.
I won’t go even if it’s $5. I have a fear of heights so I’m not going into a space rocket 🥲
I’m old enough to remember Bosom Buddies. It was a ridiculous, silly and wonderful show! Please, please don’t ever let me find out anything horrible about Tom Hanks.
I would love to go to space, but not with Jeff Bezos.
I would not go because it is totally a waste of energy and a totally unuseless source of pollution. These are not scientific trips, these are really stupid, stupid and selfish space trips.
This! I read an article today about the top 1% and how they damage the planet. Apparently the emissions from a single 11-minute space flight amount to at least 75 tonnes, which would exceed the lifetime emissions of one of the poorest billion people on Earth.
That’s really astonishing and horrorific, those travel space trips should really be abolished and prohibited in every way possible! I’m quite angry for this.
And are they really going into space? I think they just go to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, experience a few seconds of weightlessness as they turn around, and then come back down. Such a waste.
I listen to the Wait Wait..Don’t Tell Me podcast & they had a former NASA scientist on recently. She said yes, yes indeed, they really did go into space these billionaires. Briefly.
Also, Tom’s already had his taste of space, and they paid HIM. Reportedly they did 500 takes on the Vomit Comet while filming Apollo 13.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IAAjk3QdU8
RIP Peter Scolari (and Bill Paxton)
man do I miss Bill Paxton.
Me too. Gone way too soon.
I hope Tom Hanks is always a great human!
So wait… Bezos is worth not just billions but hundreds of billions and he still charged people to ride his space phallus?
Oh man. You warned me to get tissues and I didn’t listen. Hanks choking up at the end really got me. God bless Peter Scolari.
I really don’t get the point of the “space flights”. It doesn’t seem much different than a plane flight. If it was outer space maybe but millions to be a minute in inner space is a waste of money.
I’d like to orbit our planet, but I’m not riding a dick to get there.
Why does everyone keep calling it a space flight? They never break the earth’s atmosphere. So they don’t go into outer space. And why are they spending so much money times three reinventing something we already did (and paid for) in the 1950s. It’s ridiculous.
Our own government is on Mars and has people living on a space station, which actually is in outer space.
Tom already experienced weightlessness during Apollo 13 filming. I don’t doubt that he has the $28M but why waste it on this b.s.
Technically, it isn’t even space.