Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 10th 2013, 14:40, by Kevin P. Sullivan

Yesterday, Tom Hanks, America's nicest actor, celebrated a birthday, but today we're seeing the first photo (via Time) from a movie where he plays the creator of some of the most beloved characters of all time, Walt Disney. The shot comes from "Saving Mr. Banks," a true-life tale of how the legend secured the screen rights to "Mary Poppins" from P.L. Travers, the author reluctant to see dearest creation ruined by Hollywood, played here by Emma Thompson.

It took all of 20 years for Disney to convince Travers to allow him to make a film version of "Mary Poppins," since she was so afraid of the film he would make, partly because up until that point, Disney was known only for animated features.

The script for "Saving Mr. Banks" by Kelly Marcel (the screenwriter of the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey" film) made the famed Black List—an annual list of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood—and the movie itself is already a part of the early Oscar conversation, thanks to both Hanks and Thompson being awards vets.

"Saving Mr. Banks" will open in theaters on December 13, 2013.

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