Specialty film closes the book on a mixed 2022 this weekend with the limited release by Sony of Tom Hanks-starring A Man Called Otto; a literary doc by Lizzie Gottlieb from Sony Pictures Classics and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest from Neon via Cannes.
11.12.2022 - 01:15 / deadline.com
Following in the footsteps of a massively successful novel, and then the Oscar-nominated 2015 Swedish blockbuster A Man Called Ove, Tom Hanks stars in the English-language remake, A Man Called Otto. It was reinvented to take place in Pittsburgh but still features a central character who is about cranky as they come — a lonely widower who basically wants to end it all but who, with the help of a group of memorable neighbors and one colorful cat named Schmagel, finds hope and heart and a reason for living.
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Hanks of course plays that title character, and it not only is a role perfectly suited to the two-time Oscar winner’s vast talents, it also gives him a chance to try some comedy again on the big screen, something he hasn’t done in quite a while. Hanks and director Marc Forster joined me at today’s Contenders LA3C panel for this Sony Pictures holiday release, which opens limited on December 30 and goes wide January 13. Hanks, who also is a producer on the film with wife Rita Wilson and others, knew this part would be a good fit in a movie that first and foremost wears its basic humanity on its sleeve.
“It’s got nothing to do with people from outer space. There are no helicopters, no cities were destroyed in the making of A Man Called Otto,” he said. “The only thing we had to do was make sure that it was written and directed properly. And so nothing was nothing was gonna happen until [screenwriter] Dave McGee and Marc Forster came along and said, ‘We think we know why we want to make this movie. Do you guys agree?’ And thank God they did.”
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There are a number of flashbacks to
Specialty film closes the book on a mixed 2022 this weekend with the limited release by Sony of Tom Hanks-starring A Man Called Otto; a literary doc by Lizzie Gottlieb from Sony Pictures Classics and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest from Neon via Cannes.
When you have an international best seller that was on the NYT list for 42 weeks and then made into a multi-Oscar nominated Swedish film that became the third most successful in the history of that country Ingmar Bergman called home, you might wonder what the need was for an American english language remake? The answer is a chance to give Tom Hanks a role he can run with, and most importantly to bring a very human, often funny, character-driven story back to light in a time that needs it more than ever.
At first glance, Tom Hanks’ new film, “A Man Called Otto,” comes off a bit too morbid for most. After all, not many people are going to want to dive headfirst into a film that tackles suicide.
It’s been a productive and exciting time for Rita Wilson — the esteemed actress, producer and singer-songwriter who has returned this awards season with her third Oscar-qualifying original song.
David DePape, accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi at their San Francisco home in October, told police that he also planned to target a list of other public figures, including actor Tom Hanks, Hunter Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-writer/director Ryan Coogler joined Deadline’s Contenders LA3C panel to reflect on the impact of the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman and the sensitive display of Black motherhood.
“I had never heard of this guy, and I would be the kind of person who would know about the most prolific serial killer in the U.S.,” The Good Nurse director Tobias Lindholm said of the real-life Charles Cullen, played by Eddie Redmayne in the Netflix film.
Crazy Heart writer-director Scott Cooper joined Deadline’s Contenders: LA3C awards-season event to discuss The Pale Blue Eye, his adaptation of the Louis Bayard novel about a gruesome West Point murder committed while none other than Edgar Allan Poe was a cadet in the military academy.
When Guillermo del Toro takes his shot at an animation classic, he doesn’t mess around. He and co-director Mark Gustafson took the Carlo Collodi creation Pinocchio but made a version unrecognizable compared to the 1940 Disney classic. In the stop-motion animated film, Geppetto, the wood-carved boy and the cricket are there, but in a musical adventure that takes the tale in a direction all its own.
Kerry Condon was thrilled to hear that writer-director Martin McDonagh wanted to return to his Irish roots with The Banshees of Inisherin. The actress reunited with McDonagh for the film after working with him on Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri as well as his plays The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Cripple of Inishmaan.
Till co-writer/director Chinonye Chukwu joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: LA3C awards-season event to talk about the importance of making the film, creating a safe space on set, and casting Danielle Deadwyler.
Thirteen Lives tells the true story of the attempt to rescue a group of young boys and their soccer coach who are trapped in a system of flooding underground caves in Thailand. This isn’t the first time that this story has been told, having been the subject of several documentaries previously, but director Ron Howard saw this film as an opportunity to paint a more intimate portrait of such a harrowing mission.
I was joined at today’s Contenders Film LA3C event by the key people behind the hit epic The Woman King, which was just named to the prestigious list of AFI’s Top 10 Movies of the Year. It also scored a rare A+ Cinemascore during its opening weekend in September, proving it has not only critical acclaim but also that from the audience. The funny thing is this story of a band of all-female African warriors defending their kingdom in the 1800s was turned down by every studio the filmmakers approached until they finally got a yes from Sony’s TriStar Pictures. It was a smart move for the studio as it clearly has an Oscar contender here.
Elvis director Baz Luhrmann joined Deadline’s Contenders Film: LA3C awards-season event to talk about the craft of making his larger-than-life biopic and capturing the unique frenzy of the King’s aura and music.
If not for The Slap that marred Will Smith’s Best Actor Oscar victory for King Richard last March, Emancipation would surely be at the forefront of the awards conversation.