Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks
Release Date: December 13 (Limited) December 20 (Wide)

Walt Disney Studios

Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Annie Rose Buckley, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, Rachel Griffiths, Kathy Baker and Colin Farrell

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Facebook:www.Facebook.com/SavingMrBanks

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DisneyPictures

Official Web site: www.Disney.com/SavingMrBanks

Two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks," inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory 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 comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

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 free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Inspired by true events, "Saving Mr. Banks" is the extraordinary, untold story of how Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" made it to the screen-and the testy relationship that the legendary Walt Disney had with author P.L. Travers that almost derailed it.

See the Trailer Here:

Fun Facts

"Saving Mr. Banks" is the first film to depict the iconic entrepreneur Walt Disney.

Richard and Robert Sherman's original score and song ("Chim Chim-Cher-ee") would go on to win Oscars at the 1965 ceremonies.

"Mary Poppins" won five awards of its 13 Academy Award nominations: Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Effects, Best Film Editing, Original Score and Original Song. Among the nominations were Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Disney began his quest to get the rights to "Mary Poppins" in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters.

P.L. Travers' father was a banker and is the basis for the "Mary Poppins" story's patriarch, Mr. Banks - the character in the book whom the famous fictional nanny comes to aid.

Tom Hanks is a beloved, Academy Award winning actor known for roles in iconic movies like Forrest Gump, the Toy Story franchise, and The Polar Express. There's no doubt that if anyone was going to bring a legend like Walt Disney to life on the big screen for the first time, most of America would have voted for Tom to take the job!

EnterTeenment News reporter, Alyson McHargue, recently attended the "Saving Mr. Banks" press conference to learn more about the making of this peek behind the Disney curtain, including how Mr. Hanks prepared to take on some very big mouse ears to fill! Below is just a taste of what the stars of the film had to share.

The cast of Saving Mr. Banks didn't just walk into the press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel; they sang, laughed and even climbed their way into the room of eager journalists. To say they've had a lot of attention from the movie would be an understatement! They were in high spirits and happy to be together again.

Hanks, the main target of questions asked, including one about showing the essence of Walt, suggested, "There's a bit of a vocal cadence and a rhythm that Mr. Disney had that took a while to get down." Another audible characteristic was equally as challanging. "Walt's cough," he said, for example, "Walt smoked three packs a day. Richard [Sherman] wrote that you always knew when Walt was coming for a visit because you could hear him down by the elevator." Hanks added that sadly, Disney was a victim of the times, dying of lung cancer. "That's just another one of the grim realities of the way the world operated back then," he stated.

Take a peak behind-the-scenes here:

Thankfully, the actors had help in piecing together elements of their characters from family and friends of their real-life counterparts. Hanks told the press that he had a lot of help from friends of Walt. "Richard Sherman was a never-ending, fountain of stories, of facts, of anecdotes, and bits and pieces of everything that had happened."

The star, who is already known to Disney fans as the voice of "Woody," from the Toy Story franchise, added that he was able to work with a lot of video footage and audio clips, however there was a handicap there because most of it is Walt Disney playing the iconic "Walt Disney." "But even in that there is ... that true sense that he believed everything that he said about his projects. He completely embraced the possibilities of wonder in the movies that he was going to make. So I had a great road map in order to search it out."

Hanks added that Disney's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, provided "unlimited access to the archives and the museum in San Francisco," and that she insisted that Disney really was just a regular Dad. "Disneyland itself came about because he used to spend every Saturday with his two daughters. And after a while, here in L.A., he ran out of places that he could take his two daughters" said Hanks. According to Hanks, Disney was sitting on a park bench in Griffith Park when he thought there should be more places Dads could take their daughters on a Saturday in L.A. Thus, Disneyland was born.

One reporter asked Hanks what it's like to be Tom Hanks as a grandfather to his two grandchildren. Hanks replied sarcastically that he is a fantastic grandfather. He informed the press that he took his granddaughters to Disneyland on the very day they shot there. Believing, as a grandparent, that the girls would be delighted to take a ride on the Winnie the Pooh Adventure. "It's fun! It's Pooh Bear! It's Kanga and Roo and Owl! It's Christopher Robin! It's gonna be a blast! She's gonna remember this the rest of her life, her ride on Winnie the Pooh's Great Adventure!" he remembers thinking. After a long dramatic pause, Hanks comically added, "My granddaughter was terrified! By the noise... the big spinning bears... she will now be haunted for the rest of her days by this first image of Winnie the Pooh in a loud, short, herky-jerky ride that her grandfather forced her to do on the day he played Walt Disney in Disneyland. That is just a sample of the fantastic job I do as a grandparent. Thank you."

When asked about the challenges presented by having to look and sound like Walt, Hanks replied, "We had the most discussed, photographed, analyzed, diagrammed, and tested mustache on the planet... I don't look too much like [Walt], but there is-there is a line, an angular figure you can get by way of the way the boxiness of the suits." In all seriousness, Hanks figured he had some luck in his research of Disney because, as he says, "Walt Disney at this time in his life was very much already 'Walt Disney.' He is the accomplished artist, [and] industrialist that he was."

Overall, it sounds as if Tom Hanks' process to becoming Walt was a rather endearing, and introspective one. The time and energy is definitely paying off as early screenings have generated favorable reviews of the film and his portrayal. Everyone should check it out when "Saving Mr. Banks," comes to a theater near you this Christmas time!

If the rather adorable, curmudgeon P.L. Travers were to watch Saving Mr. Banks, would she be pleased or horrified? This was on the minds of several journalists who attended a press conference for Walt Disney Studios' latest release. Luckily, capturing the true essence of both P.L. Travers and Walt Disney, along with keeping the integrity of what actually happened during the battle of the film rights to Mary Poppins, were top priorities of the makers of this film.

The goal of the movie was focused around the process to getting the rights to Mary Poppins the book, rather than the actual production of the movie. Kelly Marcel, one of the film's tasteful writers said, "There was never a point that we talked about putting the production of the film into [the movie]." According to Marcel, focusing on the production aspect of the film not only would have made it much longer but also would have required a whole new cast.

When asked how Travers would have responded to the film, Emma Thompson was quick to reply. "I reckon this is a woman who kept on saying, 'I-I-I don't want anything. I don't want a biography... I don't want anyone to do or know anything about me.' Meanwhile, she kept everything she wrote and [gave it to] the archives at Brisbane University. So she felt, I'm certain, that she was an important contributor to the culture, and wanted to have it preserved."

Getting into character, Thompson switched on her rather high-pitched Travers' voice, saying "I think that's what she would say about this, 'Absolutely ridiculous film... n-n-n-no relationship whatsoever to what was happening. Uh, but, you know, uh, it's about me. And, I thought that the clothes were really rather nice.' I think that's what she would have said."

Towards the end of the film there's a very sweet moment where Travers finally sees the film at Grauman's Chinese theatre. Emma believes at this point, "[Travers] is having a huge reaction" and that "the thing that made [the film] work was the clip from Mary Poppins."

Kelly Marcel added what a great experience it was to work with the Disney company on this production. "This particular process was kind of beautiful from day one, really. Everybody said 'Yes' all the way through, including all of these amazing people sitting at this table, which sort of still blows my mind."

Kelly also mentioned that at some point along the way she and her writing partner, Alison Owen, thought Disney might not allow them to make the movie. "But, in fact, they embraced us with open arms." said Marcel. "And I don't think John Lee and I ever felt the hand of the studio on our shoulder. They really trusted us to go ahead and make it the way that we wanted to make it. So, no, we didn't make any compromises."

In short, "Saving Mr. Banks" exudes a twinkling charm while authentically capturing an honest perspective of Walt Disney's sincere passion and careful attention to the people in his life. We can only hope Travers would be somewhat pleased with the dedicated work and research that went into making this truly amazing film.

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