tavis: this film kind of reminded me, though, in terms of the acting -- it was a tom hanks film.staway." you know how good this guy really is. ease carrying the film all by himself. it's on an island. you know the story. >> yes. tavis: you love hank for how he's doing it all by himself. franco is the same way in this film. this guy is in this hole, his arm is trapped and the only thing is, he's working with himself. tell me more about how you direct that. i'm just fascinated by, when you're directing one guy, basically, and that's it. >> well, the thing -- like tom hanks had a football, didn't he, that he called wilson. tavis: a soccer ball. >> a soccer ball that he calls wilson. tavis: exactly. >> well, in our case he had a video camera with him and he left a series of messages to his loved ones. every day he left a message. that was our ammunition. and what he can do is he can talk directly to the camera. he's leaving these messages, and you can go inside the camera and literally look at this guy who knows he's dying. he wants to leave messages to these people to apologize for

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. >> larry: and pour water on tom hanks. >> pour water on tom hanks. know, i think there is a sense of play. that's what is important to me about this show is i've never taken myself that seriously. and i really do want there to be a sense of silliness so people come on the show it's a relatively small space. we try and create an intimate atmosphere and get people very comfortable and then get them to do things they'll always regret. >> larry: i was proud to be part of your first night. that was a great opening night. >> you were really nice to help us out. we wanted to tell the story on the first night of what had happened to me in the previous -- a wrap up of the previous nine months and a silly wrap up but we at one point had become very despondent about being off television. i don't know what's going to happen. i am about to jump off a bridge and take my own life when an angel from basic cable appears to me, larry king. >> larry: i am so thankful you thought of me. >> well you're such a -- you are such an iconic figure and it's larry king, the susp

. >> larry: pour water on tom hanks. >> pour water on tom hanks. i think there is a sense of play. is is important to me about the show. i have never taken myself that seriously. i really do -- want there to be a sense of silliness. people come on show. it's a relatively small space. we try to create an intimate atmosphere. get people comfortable. get them to do things they will always regret. >> larry: i was proud to be part of your first night. great opening night. >> you were really nice to help us out. and we wanted to tell the story on the first night of, what happened to me, a wrap-up of the previous nine months. a silly wrap up. but we at one point i become despondent about being off television about to jump off a bridge and take my life. an angel from basic cable appears to be. larry king. >> larry: thankful, you thought of me. >> you are such -- you are such an iconic figure. it's larry king, the suspenders glasses would you do it? i didn't know if you would do it. you said immediately, yes, i will do it. so we were at a bridge downtown, l.a., i show up and i am ready to s

i mean, to me, kermit was the original tom hanks. >> jimmy: really?i do get that. yeah, absolutely. yeah. 'cause he's kind of heartbreaking, but he's -- he's lovable. >> he's the every man. >> jimmy: yeah. >> i'm not going to lie to you. i mean, i wrote the script for, like, three years, and we did the first table read, and they brought all the puppets. and so we come out, and it starts, and then kermit comes out. and i think his first line is "hi ho." >> jimmy: aw, come on. >> yeah. it's just, "hi ho." >> he was born in my brain. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: wow! >> yeah, his name is walter. he's the sweetest puppet of all times. but i must say, like, it's not, like, such a funny talk show story, but -- i don't care. [ laughter ] i don't care, jimmy, i'm sorry. >> jimmy: i know -- >> i want this to go well >> jimmy: i want to hear this story. >> these guys are so talented. they're not just puppeteers. they're not just operating a puppet. they're actors, and they're singers, and they're contortionists. we did a scene where me and walter, the puppet i just s

. >> reporter: tom hanks may be the king of the weight i donyo-.nt from an average attorney into a man dying from aides. and he was nominated from shrinking to the fedex executive to cast away. >> you're not showing up on set and getting into character. you're living in a way that puts you in touch with that character. >> reporter: movies may be make-believe, but atth actors are very real and roles that seem skin deep may not pull their weight at the oscars. nbc news, hollywood. >>> that's "nbc nightly news" for in sunday. up next, "football night in america" followed by nbc's "sunday night football." the eagles versus the cowboys tonight. brian williams will be here tomorrow. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. from all us here at nbc news, new york. from all us here at nbc news, good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

. >>> coming up, tom hanks has died. he is playing an old man in his next movie. >> and what is victoria up until now? about 5 foot 3. that's a terrible joke. >>> so will more blood spill over a drill? it depends on the lovable crack pot, kim jong-il. they are blustering like something that blotsers. -- that blusters. if a live firing drill goes ahead by seoul goes ahead. he will recall that the north responded fighting artillery shells on a disputed island. even though the south may contain] the exercise as justified, the quote, intensity and scope, end quote of its retaliation will be worse. i think i know what they mean. >> i would be scared by this. gov, how concerned should we be about north korea? >> we should be concerned. it is run by a loonetic and he has a nuclear weapon. >> you can say that about the united states. >> no, i am not run by them. >> he is a loon and the man has his hands on the device them. >> the first round and he shot like a 50. this guy is amazing and he can do anything. >> he played it legit

. >> jimmy: so it's almost like -- what was that movie with tom hanks where he's stranded on the island think about it. >> the more i think about it, it's very similar. >> jimmy: and i was shocked that that didn't come out in 3-d. [ laughter ] >> not only did it not come out in 3-d, it barely came out in 2-d. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: what "d" is it? >> it's just "d." [ laughter ] >> jimmy: yeah. they just don't put a number in front of it. it's just plain "d." >> it's just "d." >> jimmy: you guys, when we come back, we'll show an actual clip from "how do you know." more with paul rudd when we come back, you guys. come on back! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ate something loaded with fat? we got a beef with that. 25 of our campbell's chunky soups give you 100% lean meat and a full serving of vegetables. so, come on. have the chunky soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.™ we've saved people a lot of money on car insurance. feels nice going into the holidays. ohhhh.... will you marry me? oooh, helzberg diamonds. yeah, well he must have saved some money with geico. reminds me of the

when you're a kid, kermit the frog is tom hanks, you know what i?, kids? >> spending time with my boys and having a holiday feast with the family. >> sounds fantastic. jason. >> same, see my family and try to spread joy throughout the world. >> all right. there you go. guys, good luck. thank you so much for coming in pleasure. >> pleasure was mine. >> you went up against "king kong" a few years ago and this year kind of like it. >> that's right. christmas day. "gulliver's" will be unleashed. >> greatest family fill m of all time. >> well said. >> thank you, gentleman. it makes its way to a theater near you christmas day. rebecca? >> thank you, russ. always cited as one of the biggest annoyances of the holiday season, no, for the the crowds or in-laws i'm talking about the hard-to-open packages that drive us all crazy. ♪ ♪ >> opening the toys, some of the packaging is almost impossible to get into. >> you have the zip ties where everything is twisted in the back through cardboard. >> it's almost impossible. >> two nails broken today. >> cd packages,

check out tom hanks as the conductor. a lot of excitement and great message. you can't go wrong with it. >> we can't go wrong with you. thank you so much for being with us on christmas. have a great one. >> thanks. >> back to you, russ. >> thank you, rebecca. tomorrow, of course, the holiday hustle begins, stores will be crowded again this time with folks returning gifts. nearly 20% of americans one in five will return at least one present this according to "consumer reports" the national retail federation predicts nearly $44 billion of merchandise will be refunded or exchanged. if you anticipate bringing back that day-glo golf sweater, regina lewis joins us with the secret to many happy returns. >> a third of retailers say they will have more lenient policies. it is, after all a customer service opportunity for them. they have you in the store and want to give you a good impression, likely to buy something while you are there. to your point, half say they will have stricter precautions in place to guard against something walled serial returners people who ste

. >> or tom hanks, either way. >> thus the polar express reference.very much. >>> just holay holiday music from jimmy buffett after your local news. >>> it's 8:26. hard to call it a commute. not a lot of people are out there. >> we found one for folks. that's not a great thing, but it's by the coliseum where there is an accident on the southside. the northbound side must be a distraction for those folks as they head past the area. this is typical through the area, but that's more than we expected on this light wednesday. rainy earlier, but slick roadways persist. keep that in mind. the san mateo bridge moving smoothly. maybe hitting your windshield. misty for you. >> the rain gauge is on four wheels. it is misting, but you can see the substantial wind lifted off to the east. we have a lot of moisture bringing drizzle and light rain. the heavier showers moved off to the east of the most of the north bay drying out. should see that arriving later what's left of the showers and drizzle should be ending today and tomorrow and friday we h patchy thick morn