If ever there was a movie for which Tom Hanks has a shot at winning his third Best Actor Oscar, it is for Saving Mr. Banks.
The logo for the movie, and some photos from the film, were debuted at CinemaCon 2013 by Disney head honcho Alan Horn, who came out of (firing) er, retirement from WB to run Disney, according to sources, so that he could cash in on huge stock options.
Alan Horn actually spoke incorrectly when annoncing before an audience of 3,000 at CinemaCon, “Emma Thomas costars with Tom Hanks.” In fact, it is Oscar winner Emma Thompson to whom he was referring, and who plays the author of Mary Poppins.
In any event, in Saving Mr. Banks, a Disney film, of course, Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney. And, as you can see from the photos below, he seems quite convincing. And ready for his third Oscar. Doesn’t Hollywood loves movies about old Hollywood?
When P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Walt Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.
Saving Mr. Banks was directed by the same guy who delivered The Blind Side to Warner Bros. when Alan Horn was there. So, don’t become shocked if Saving Mr. Banks becomes another sleeper hit and Oscar winning movie.
Why?
Alan Horn who was thrown out at his last job as head of WB Pictures, and says Disney CEO Robert Iger has promised him flexibility in the number and type of movies that the studio will make, allegedly hand picked the director for this job.
Oh, incidentally, the movie Mary Poppins went on to win five Oscars, including the Best Actress Oscar for Julie Andrews and the Oscar for Best Song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.”
Mary Poppins (1965) was nominated for 13 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
The only movie that had earned more Oscar nominations than it, All About Eve (1950), which received 14. To this day, All About Eve and Titanic are tied with the most Oscar nominations for any movie.
