After a fierce bidding war, Walt Disney, who already own much of the rights to P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins character, picked up the rights to Saving Mr. Banks, a film based on the Black List script by Kelly Marcel. Not a remake or sequel to the classic 1964 movie, Marcel's story is a biopic detailing Travers' reluctance to part with the film rights to the late Walt Disney. As we all know, Travers eventually caved, but she hated the movie and regretted the decision ever since, which effected her relationship with Disney ever since.
Variety reports that Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are in talks for the two leads, making this instantly a potential Oscar contender with these veteran actors attached. Unbelievably, this would be the first time Hanks and Thompson have worked together, which should be worth the price of admission alone. John Lee Hancock(The Blind Side) will direct.
The production of the Mary Poppins film is an interesting one mainly because of how Travers was treated during the whole process. She despised the animated sequences used, and never allowed another Poppins film to be made by Disney, even though they often tried to change her mind. She wasn't even invited to the movie's premier, although she did attend after personally requesting a ticket. Travers ultimately wrote eight books about the magical nanny, the last one published in 1988.
I'm curious to see how Disney treats Travers in the film, since she had such a contentious past with the studio. When filming could begin is unclear, as Hanks still has to shoot Captain Phillips for Paul Greengrass first.
