Disney is right to have high Academy Award hopes for Saving Mr. Banks, as it's a film that seems perfectly built for late season honors. Starring Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, and Colin Farrell, the film tells the story of Disney's making of Mary Poppins, and how Walt Disney himself convinced author P. L. Travers to lend him the film rights to her classic novel. Disney + biopic + acting pedigree...yep, sounds like a recipe for at least a few nominations.
The latest to join the cast are Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, and Ruth Wilson(Luther), taking on the film which frankly I'm surprised Disney is even making. The story deals in large part with how Travers was so disgusted by the film that she swore never to allow Disney to use her creation again, no matter how hard they tried. Hanks is playing Disney, with Thompson as Travers, and Farrell as her father seen in flashback. He died when Travers was a merely a child, so she kept his memory alive by basing the Mr. Banks character on him. Giamatti will play Ralph, Travers' chauffeur while she's in Los Angeles. Wilson, who is currently filming The Lone Ranger alongside Johnny Depp, will play Travers' mother and wife to Farrell's character. The role of acclaimed Disney songwriter Richard Morton Sherman will be tackled by Schwartzman. Sherman wrote the music for Mary Poppins and a number of other Disney animated gems.
Production should get underway soon, and if Saving Mr. Banks is half as good as Finding Neverland was, we could be in for a real treat. [Variety]
