A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

[ben6543]

TriStar Pictures has landed worldwide distribution rights to the Mr. Rogers biopic “You Are My Friend,” with Tom Hanks attached to play the iconic TV personality.

“Diary of a Teenage Girl” director Marielle Heller is helming the pic from a script by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.

“I’m thrilled to be making ‘You Are My Friend,'” Heller said. “The script knocked me out with its message of kindness and its exploration of the human spirit. As a mother, I am so inspired by the teachings of Fred Rogers and as a human I am in awe of his life’s work. I can’t wait to bring his story to the public and be a part of such a thoughtful, smart group of people who are all coming together to make this film, which truly feels to me like an antidote to our very fractured culture.”

The film is inspired by a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and award-winning journalist Tom Junod. In the story, a cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.

“This is the perfect alchemy of talent coming together at the perfect time to remind us all of the transformative power of kindness and respect to heal and to unite. We are proud to partner with Marielle, Tom and everyone at Big Beach to bring this inspirational true story to audiences all over the world,” said Hannah Minghella, president of TriStar Pictures.

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Big Beach Films is producing with Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf producing for the company alongside Youree Henley (“The Beguiled”). Leah Holzer of Big Beach will executive produce, along with Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster. The project originated from a true story developed by Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster, first appearing on the Black List in 2013.

“Now more than ever, we all need a re-introduction to Fred Rogers’ message of uncompromising love and kindness between all living things. Mari Heller is the perfect visionary filmmaker to bring Noah and Micah’s script to life and because of her vision and this remarkable script, we have the quintessential actor to play Fred Rogers,” said Turtletaub and Saraf.

Minghella and Shary Shirazi will oversee the project for TriStar Pictures. Production is set to begin in the fall.

Hanks is hardly a stranger to playing real-life personalities. In last year’s “The Post,” which was recently nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, he played Washington Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee. It’s currently unknown when this film would start production, as Hanks has a handful of films expected to shoot this year, including Sony’s World War II movie “Greyhound,” which Hanks wrote as well as stars in.

Hanks is also attached to star in the Amblin film “Bios,” which is produced by Robert Zemeckis with Miguel Sapochnik directing. Hanks is repped by CAA.

Heller is represented by UTA and Ziffren Law Firm. Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster are represented by UTA and managed by Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment and James Feldman at Lichter, Grossman Law Firm. Junod is represented by Lucy Stille of APA and David Black of the David Black Agency.

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/to...ar-1202676746/

[AKORIS]

I could see this having great possibilities.... and Hanks could be terrific in it!

[phobicsquirrel]

Nooooooooo.... mr. Rogers can be played by no one. Why oh why... well maybe they'll release the show on bluray now.

[cinemaphile]

Honestly I am tired of the Tom Hanks as ________ biopics - Saving Mr. Banks, Sully, Captain Phillips, even The Post.... They all bore me and I wish he would find more interesting things to do.

[Riddler The Slag]

This could be excellent.

[jacobsever]

God I hate Tom Hanks so much.

[Batmon77]

Hanks can pull this off.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

God I hate Tom Hanks so much.

as an actor in general or because he's chosen this role?

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by phobicsquirrel

Nooooooooo.... mr. Rogers can be played by no one. Why oh why... well maybe they'll release the show on bluray now.

Videotape. Never happen. PBS is doing the first official, pressed DVD release soon, though.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Mis...llection/23940

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Honestly I am tired of the Tom Hanks as ________ biopics - Saving Mr. Banks, Sully, Captain Phillips, even The Post.... They all bore me and I wish he would find more interesting things to do.

The Tom Hanks Historical Docudrama is a proud genre dating back 25 years.

[jacobsever]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

as an actor in general or because he's chosen this role?

Actor in general. Just don't like him, or his face, or his voice, or any of his performances/movies. Just seeing him annoys me.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I like Tom Hanks and he'll likely do at least a decent job.

That said, for a film about Mr. Rogers, I would prefer to see someone who can really fall into the role and embody Mr. Rogers, kind of like Jim Carry did when he played Andy Kaufman. Hanks is a good actor, but I can't say that he really embodied those other biopic roles that he has played in a similar manner as Carry, and I don't think he'll do that here either.

I can't think of a specific actor who would be good, but if they could get someone who could just "become" Mr. Rogers, whether it's a big name actor or a relative unknown, that would be preferable.



Maybe after this comes out, someone could make a parody bio-pic about Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Honestly I am tired of the Tom Hanks as ________ biopics - Saving Mr. Banks, Sully, Captain Phillips, even The Post.... They all bore me and I wish he would find more interesting things to do.

Removing The Post from the equation, I think I would have been more in tune with this reaction a few months ago before my brother and I rented The Founder. It was kind of a 'eh, what the hell' Redbox rental that we both wound up really enjoying.

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by ElectricPeterTork

The Tom Hanks Historical Docudrama is a proud genre dating back 25 years.

Exactly. It's getting a bit old. Maybe if he did more other projects in between, but now it seems to be practically an annual thing.

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

God I hate Tom Hanks so much.

We've finally found the one person in America that doesn't love Tom Hanks.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by octagon

Removing The Post from the equation, I think I would have been more in tune with this reaction a few months ago before my brother and I rented The Founder. It was kind of a 'eh, what the hell' Redbox rental that we both wound up really enjoying.

Do you mean regarding biopics in general, or ones that star Tom Hanks? Tom Hanks wasn't in The Founder. That was Michael Keaton.

But yes, that is an awesome movie!

[Trace Buster Buster]

I wish he'd stop doing tripe like this and make Dragnet 2: The Adventures of Pep Streebeck already. Come on Tom!

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Honestly I am tired of the Tom Hanks as ________ biopics - Saving Mr. Banks, Sully, Captain Phillips, even The Post.... They all bore me and I wish he would find more interesting things to do.

Like what? The Circle? A Hologram for the King?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Do you mean regarding biopics in general, or ones that star Tom Hanks? Tom Hanks wasn't in The Founder. That was Michael Keaton.

Mashed Potatoes and Tall Actors - YouTube

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Like what? The Circle? A Hologram for the King?

Yeah, there's a definite 'be careful what you wish for' aspect to this.

I'm reasonably okay with the mix of films he does. I might want him to nudge a little more toward things like The Road to Perdition or Cloud Atlas but that's a double-edged sword.

Does anybody really want less Apollo 13 and more The Da Vinci Code?

(I mean, okay, I'm sure some people would but those people are clearly crazy and we should nod politely while ignoring them)

[thecooldud]

The Circle was one of the best films of last year. Certainly more interesting than these "biopics". Sorry if that butthurts you...