The Poster Memorabilia blog

When Legends Landed on Earth

The first signature was Tom Hanks, the last was Ron Howard, and a pandemic landed in between.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Ron Howard's Apollo 13 never fails to amaze me no matter how many times I see it. It's one of those masterful historical epics that almost make you more emotional than the real thing. The real mission came terrifyingly close to disaster, and the film does an incredible job of putting you inside those days when nobody knew if the crew would make it home.

Of course, we have to give credit to the amazing cast. In less-than-capable hands, the movie could've been a melodramatic biopic that was pure Oscar bait. But with Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, and Kevin Bacon, we got an outstanding film that respected the real-life story while delivering the right emotional weight and tone.

I'm not surprised the movie earned all those awards and nominations. In the Academy Awards alone, Apollo 13 was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture. It eventually won for Film Editing and Sound, but I still think Ed Harris deserved to win Best Supporting Actor. I also found it wild that Tom Hanks wasn't even nominated for Best Actor.

“When people say that Tom Hanks is the nicest celebrity in Hollywood, they weren't joking.”

Tom Hanks really is a treasure, and I'll never forget meeting him in person. It was at the Saving Mr. Banks premiere in Burbank, California, in 2013, and I saw him alongside Disney legends Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Even though the night was for a different movie, I still brought my Apollo 13 poster to ask him to sign it.

When people say that Tom Hanks is the nicest celebrity in Hollywood, they weren't joking. I've never had a more pleasant celebrity encounter, and I've seen a lot of them since. If not for him, I wouldn't have started this hobby of autograph-hounding. I really lucked out that he was the first movie star I met.

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Fortunately, the rest of the cast was just as nice. Kevin Bacon, for instance, didn't look annoyed when I asked him to sign the same poster at the 2018 Golden Globes. You'd also think Ed Harris would be cold to any fan, given his intimidating features, but he wasn't.

My only regret was never meeting Bill Paxton before he passed away in 2017. I had many opportunities since he appeared at several red-carpet events throughout the 2000s and 2010s, but I always missed them. And before I knew it, he was gone. I'm still sad about it since he, along with Hanks, was my favorite part of the film.

Nevertheless, I'm still grateful I met all the others. It took me a long while to feel satisfied, but now I am. Especially since I eventually got the great Ron Howard to sign the poster, too. I finally got his autograph when I saw him on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020.

He was there with his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, and his autograph was the last one I got before the COVID pandemic. I've yet to fully return to autograph-hounding since, but if I never do, I don't mind that iconic director being the last I ever got.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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