Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson set for Saving Mr. Banks

Brad Sturdivant April 10th, 2012

Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson

I know I say this every time I do a story about Tom Hanks, but I so desperately want Tom Hanks to get back to his Oscar winning ways. He had what might be the greatest ten years for an actor in the history of film from 1993 to 2003, gaining two Best Actor Oscars for FORREST GUMP and PHILADELPHIA, not to mention starring in the TOY STORY films as well as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, ROAD TO PERDITION and producing HBO’s ‘Band of Brothers’. If not for YOU’VE GOT MAIL, I would have said it was a perfect ten years for Tom Hanks. But the last decade hasn’t been so kind for the leading man Tom Hanks. But every time I hear about a new project of his, I get hope he’s going to get back to his old self.

Next up for Tom Hanks is the long in the works SAVING MR. BANKS from screenwriter Kelly Marcel. The film is about how Walt Disney pressured and persuaded Australian author P.L. Travers to give him the rights to her famous book ‘Mary Poppins’. She eventually did and after the final film was released, she was very unhappy with the finished product, thus souring ties with Disney. Perhaps my brief synopsis didn’t do it justice since it seems there was more going on than one man trying to convince a woman to sell him rights to her book.

As you may have guessed, Tom Hanks will be playing Walt Disney and Emma Thompson will be playing P.L. Travers. At one point, Disney wanted Meryl Streep to team with Tom Hanks, but it looks like that fell through. And yes, Disney will be making the film, so don’t expect a level, two sided story here. John Lee Hancock (THE BLIND SIDE) will direct. (Variety)