Saving P. L. Travers
So, the movie, Saving Mr. Banks is out. And I am extremely conflicted.
On the one hand, Tom Hanks is absolutely perfect casting for Walt Disney. (A close runner-up would be the guy playing Tony Stark's dad in Iron Man II.) As is Emma Thompson for P. L. Travers. I would love - love! - to watch the two of them locking horns on screen. They are both fantastic actors, and from the reviews their performances are every bit as good as one would expect.
On the other hand, reviews have pretty much confirmed what I'd suspected: the movie is a whitewash job of the Disney/Travers conflict over making a Mary Poppins movie. I used to work for a magazine for which Travers once wrote (before my time, of course), and so not only have I read a great deal of Travers' writing, but I've also read a lot about the lady and her conflicts with Disney. It'd be difficult going into a happy, feel-good movie and enjoy it, knowing how very different the reality actually was.
On yet a third hand, I love the Mary Poppins movie, even knowing how different it was from the books and from what Travers wanted. (And yes, I've read the books. I loved the books. The movie is very much its own thing, and I have no problem loving them both in their own way and for their own strengths.) The thought of the Disney movie not existing is a sad one, even if I am curious as to what a movie might have been like that was closer to what Travers wanted.
On the one hand, Tom Hanks is absolutely perfect casting for Walt Disney. (A close runner-up would be the guy playing Tony Stark's dad in Iron Man II.) As is Emma Thompson for P. L. Travers. I would love - love! - to watch the two of them locking horns on screen. They are both fantastic actors, and from the reviews their performances are every bit as good as one would expect.
On the other hand, reviews have pretty much confirmed what I'd suspected: the movie is a whitewash job of the Disney/Travers conflict over making a Mary Poppins movie. I used to work for a magazine for which Travers once wrote (before my time, of course), and so not only have I read a great deal of Travers' writing, but I've also read a lot about the lady and her conflicts with Disney. It'd be difficult going into a happy, feel-good movie and enjoy it, knowing how very different the reality actually was.
On yet a third hand, I love the Mary Poppins movie, even knowing how different it was from the books and from what Travers wanted. (And yes, I've read the books. I loved the books. The movie is very much its own thing, and I have no problem loving them both in their own way and for their own strengths.) The thought of the Disney movie not existing is a sad one, even if I am curious as to what a movie might have been like that was closer to what Travers wanted.