- Title: USA: Red carpet is rolled out for "Saving Mr. Banks" premiere
- Date: 10th December 2013
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 09, 2013) (REUTERS) "SAVING MR. BANKS" POSTER WITH PAN TO TOM HANKS
- Embargoed: 25th December 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA431F7NP1G0QJRL3TDFIH530K7
- Story Text: Double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks and fellow two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson added Hollywood royalty to the red carpet as they arrived for Monday night's (December 09) premiere of Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks."
The film, which has generated a strong buzz ahead of its release, is inspired by the untold back story of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen. When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise; one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt, played by Hanks, comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer, played by Thompson, who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins to the silver screen.
Hanks, who's riding high after his strong showing in "Captain Phillips," explained the essence behind playing "Uncle Walt."
"The pressure is that you are playing someone who is extremely recognizable and that is beloved," said Hanks, who attended the premiere with his wife, Rita Wilson.
"But I think we all had a very strong connection to Walt Disney because we just loved it when he came on the television and said, 'Tonight we are going to visit Disneyland by candlelight.'"
Thompson, who dressed warmly for the red carpet on the unseasonably cold California evening, said she and Hanks were intrigued by the relationship between their characters..
"We always said it would be so nice to work together," said Thompson, on talking with Hanks prior to signing on to the project. "I said though that this isn't a married couple, it is not a brother or sister thing, it is not a lover thing. It is just a very interesting relationship between two very powerful people, powerful in completely different ways, who come to lock horns. I don't ever think I've seen that in films. What a great and original thinking."
While "Banks" co-stars headline the film, the supporting cast that director John Lee Hancock put together is stellar and helps provide depth to the storyline.
"It felt like it wanted to be told. It really did, it felt like it wanted to be told," explained Colin Farrell, on the ease of working with the cast on the film. "I think that it had a lot to do with John Lee Hancock's temperament and his understanding of the material and his ease with that understanding."
Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, stars of the original 1964 classic film, "Mary Poppins" also walked the premiere line for the film.
"Saving Mr. Banks" has a limited open in U.S. theaters on December 13, followed by a wider release on December 20. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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