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Disney releases first Saving Mr Banks trailer

SAVING MR. BANKSDisney has released the first trailer for the forthcoming film Saving Mr Banks produced by Australia’s Ian Collie of Essential Media, best known for the ABC series Rake and the upcoming US adaptation of the series.

The film is slated for Australian release on February 6 and is based on the true story of the Australian author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers.

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favourite book, P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins he made them a promise — one that he didn’t realise would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt came up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who had absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the book stopped selling and money grew short, Travers reluctantly agreed to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

The film stars two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson and fellow Oscar-winner Tom Hanks and is produced in conjunction with Alison Owens from Ruby Films and BBC Films out of the UK.

The project is part of a push by the Essential Media Group’s CEO Chris Hilton into the US market. The company recently appointed  Simonne Overend to the role of vice president of drama development, based in Los Angeles and have formed the company  Essential 11 Television to produce reality television for the international market.

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