Tom Hanks is in talks to play Walt Disney in the making-of-“Mary Poppins” pic “Saving Mr. Banks,” with Emma Thompson negotiating to play “Poppins” author P.L. Travers.
Disney project is based on the true story of how Walt Disney spent 14 years courting the Australian scribe for the film rights to the character, played by Julie Andrews in the 1964 classic.
John Lee Hancock will helm the pic, based on Kelly Marcel’s script. Title refers to the character played by David Tomlinson in the film.
Hanks, who most recently starred in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” and is currently lensing the Wachowski’s “Cloud Atlas,” before moving on to Sony’s Somali pirate pic “Captain Phillips,” would play Walt Disney, while Thompson, who will next be seen in “Men In Black 3,” would portray Travers, who was ultimately unhappy with the film, especially the animated sequences.
Disney declined to comment, although sources close to the project confirmed the talks to Variety.
