"Sully" star Tom Hanks is set to write and star in the World War II drama "Greyhound" with "Get Low" director Aaron Schneider on board to helm it. His longtime Playtone partner Gary Goetzman is the producer.
According to Variety, Hanks has written the script for "Greyhound" with an eye to star on it. He would be playing a career officer given command of a Navy destroyer named Greyhound. He has to deal with combat enemies and his own self-doubts. He needs to fight his personal demons to prove he belongs.
The title "Greyhound" comes from the battleship, Deadline reported. The project is being packaged by CAA, which repped Hanks and Schneider. The agency is pulling the pieces together.
Hanks previously wrote the script for "Larry Crowne" back in 2012 with Nia Vardalos, in addition to directing and starring. He also wrote the screenplay and directed "That Thing You Do!" back in 1996.
Hanks stars in Warner Bros.' drama film "Sully." He played Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. He successful 2009 landed a damaged U.S. Airways jet on the Hudson River. The biopic-thriller is directed by Clint Eastwood and is performing above forecasts with an opening weekend gross expected to hit $32 million domestically.
Hanks is expected to be seen next month reprising his role as symbologist Robert Langdon in Sony's "Inferno." Director Schneider is managed by Brillstein Entertainment Partners. His 2009 drama is "Get Low," starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacey, and Bill Murray.
"Greyhound" is still coming together. Playtone Pictures is in negotiations with FilmNation to finance the film with a budget in the $35 million range. The principal Glen Basner has not return emails yet. This is probably not a deal for this ongoing Toronto International Film Festival.
Watch the video of "Time Travel Earthquake" starring Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Hanks:
