Like the rest of America, HBO can’t get enough Tom Hanks. The network has already collaborated with the actor/producer on From The Earth To The Moon, Band Of Brothers, John Fucking Adams, The Pacific, Big Love, and that one month in 1994 when they played Bachelor Party like six times a day until your roommates were all like, dude, nobody needs to see Bachelor Party that many times, and maybe you should go outside. But wait, there’s more: Soon to be added to the list are an in-production miniseries about outsourcing and another on the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Now, maybe that’s enough Tom Hanks for you. But you’re obviously not into Tom Hanks the way HBO is into Tom Hanks, because they’re teaming up yet again to return to a mutually favorite subject: Americans at war. Along with corporate underwriter Starbucks, Hanks and HBO are presenting The Concert For Valor, a live benefit show broadcast from the National Mall to celebrate the soldiers who fight bravely in the multiple wars that Americans everywhere are dimly aware of.
Much like its Comic Relief series, HBO intends for the show to “help raise awareness” and encourage viewers to donate to as-yet-unspecified veterans’ organizations. The performing lineup includes Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Dave Grohl, Jamie Foxx, Metallica, and John Oliver, with appearances by Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Meryl Streep, who we’re pretty sure will rip out an Yngwie Malmsteen-style guitar solo and win an Academy Award for it. No word yet as to whether Hanks has enough clout to get Chet Haze added to the bill.