Tom Hanks’ New Movie Just Sold For A Record-Breaking Number
Tom Hanks' upcoming comedy just got a huge payday.
This article is more than 2 years old
The highly sought after Tom Hanks starring comedy, A Man Called Otto has found a home with Sony. But, chasing down and finalizing the purchase of a feature with one of Hollywood’s top actors is bound to be a pricey get. Deadline reports that in its final deal, the film sold for a whopping $60 million, blowing the spending cap off of what we’ve seen before in the European Film Market (EFM.) Prior to this buy, the record was set last year when rights to The Pale Blue Eye were purchased by Netflix for $55 million. The Pale Blue Eye is a horror thriller set to star Christian Bale and serve as a piece of historical fiction centered around a murder at West Point Military Academy. Hoping to get audiences into theater seats and make back much of what they’ve spent, Sony is reportedly gearing up to give A Man Called Otto a Christmas 2022 release.
Tom Hanks stars in the film which will center around the titular character, Otto. A curmudgeonous grieving widower who is stuck in his ways, Otto acts as the neighborhood watch on his small block, making sure nothing out of the ordinary is happening and that those living in his surrounding area are toeing the line. When a few newbies take up residence in the vacant home next to Otto, the crabby man begins a life changing relationship with them – albeit forced at first. This friendship will end up having long lasting effects on the man who had given up on life.
Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) has been tapped to direct the feature and along with Tom Hanks, A Man Called Otto will star Mariana Treviño (Overboard,) Rachel Keller (Legion,) and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (6 Underground.) David Magee (Life of Pi) is set to pen the script which will serve as an adaptation of the Fredrik Backman novel, A Man Called Ove. Prior to the upcoming English form of the film, an original Swedish version directed by Hannes Holm took critics by storm in 2017. Hanks and the rest of his colleagues will soon be heading to Pittsburgh where cameras are set to begin rolling later this month.
SF Studios’ Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, Playtone’s Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and Rita Wilson will produce. The film’s writer, David Magee, will executive produce alongside director Marc Forster and Renée Wolfe, who will work under their 2DUX2 banner. Excited for the company’s monumental buy of the upcoming film, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, Tom Rothman, released a statement surrounding the news calling Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast an “all-star constellation of talent,” adding that Hanks would be taking on “an iconic role.” Rothman also shared his zest in acquiring the “exceptional” Mark Forster to direct alongside the “outstanding” production team. With plenty of praise to spare, Rothman went on to give David Magee credit for his work on an “exquisite screenplay.”
With production to be soon underway for the record breaking project, more news is bound to be arriving shortly. Tom Hanks is also sure to be happy to have nabbed the upcoming role. Judging by the success the Swedish version had, Hanks and the rest of the cast, as well as Sony stand to gain even more than what has been poured into the acquisition of the new film.
