Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Centered on the development of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, the film stars Emma Thompson as book author P. L. Travers and Tom Hanks as film producer Walt Disney, with supporting performances by Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, and B. J. Novak. Deriving its title from the father in Travers' story, Saving Mr. Banks depicts the author's tragic childhood in rural Queensland in 1906 and the two weeks of meetings during 1961 in Los Angeles, during which Disney attempts to obtain the film rights to her novels.^[6]

Essential Media Entertainment and BBC Films initially developed Saving Mr. Banks as an independent production until 2011, when producer Alison Owen approached Walt Disney Pictures for permission to use copyrighted elements. The film's subject matter piqued Disney's interest, leading the studio to acquire the screenplay and produce the film.^[7] Principal photography commenced the following year in September before wrapping in November 2012; the film was shot almost entirely in the Southern California area, primarily at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, where a majority of the film's narrative takes place.^[8][9]

Saving Mr. Banks premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 20, 2013, and was distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures that same year in the United Kingdom on November 29 and in North America on December 13. The film received positive reviews, and was named one of the 10 best films of 2013 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and was also commercially successful, grossing over $117 million at the worldwide box office. Thompson's performance garnered BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actress, while composer Thomas Newman earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.