Kamal Ghorui
Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks is set to portray the former President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming film adaptation of ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’. The actor will also produce the project, based on George Saunders’ bestselling novel, through his Playtone label with partner Gary Goetzman.
About ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’
‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ centers on Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son. To capture one of the most intimate aspects of the politician’s life, the production will blend stop-motion animation and live-action to explore “themes of love, empathy and human capacity in the face of unimaginable grief” via an ensemble of characters, “both living and dead, historical and invented”.George Saunders is adapting the novel with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson set to direct and produce.As per Variety, this is far from Hanks’ first time portraying a real-life figure, with his filmography ranging from astronaut Jim Lovell to hero pilot Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, as well as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, Fred Rodgers and Walt Disney, but it is the actor’s first time portraying an American President.While President Lincoln’s life, leading the country through the Civil War and abolishing slavery, as in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’, for which Daniel Day Lewis won the best actor Oscar, and his 1865 assassination are more often explored in cinema and other forms of media.
Tom Hanks gears up for ‘Toy Story 5’
On the work front, Tom Hanks will reunite with Tim Allen as they return to voice Woody and Buzz respectively, alongside Joan Cusack as Jessie in the upcoming film ‘Toy Story 5’. The fifth instalment revisits Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang as they confront a new-age dilemma that sees toys go up against technology. The sequel follows the events of ‘Toy Story 4’, which ended with Woody choosing independence over life in Bonnie’s toy chest. How that separation is addressed remains one of the key questions heading into the film’s release.
