Uncommon Type: Some Stories, by Tom Hanks

With the ethics of Hollywood film-making being seriously questioned in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the golden era of tinsel town seems a very long time ago. But grotesque behaviour by movie moguls - as anyone who has read Kenneth Anger’s classic Hollywood Babylon can attest – is nothing new. No one is predicting the downfall of Hollywood, however, and many movie icons retain the faith of the public. Not every actor or director carries with them the whiff of scandal. Tom Hanks – as his many, many fans will testify – is one of the good guys. He has never worked with Weinstein and has publicly dismissed the shamed producer’s defence that he was “brought up in a different era”. But then you’d expect nothing less from the 61-year-old, a socially liberal Democratic Party donor who has long championed same-sex marriage and the need to protect the environment.