As early as last summer, we heard that Tom Hanks would star in an adaptation of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Then there was confusion over who would be writing and directing: The Wachowski Siblings and/or Tom Tykwer. In January, Natalie Portman—who was also rumored to co-star—said that the Wachowskis and Tykwer were directing together. Today, we have confirmation on both facts with Deadline reporting that Hanks will star and that the Wachowskis and Tykwer will write and direct the movie.
Portman also said she had a small role in the film, but there’s currently no confirmation that she’s on board at this point. We’re also awaiting confirmation on whether or not James McAvoy and Halle Berry will be in the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in September. Hit the jump for more on the project including a synopsis of the novel.
Hanks is currently filming on Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He’s also attached to star in a film based on Somali pirate hostage Captain Richard Phillips, an adaptation of the Disney ride Jungle Cruise with Tim Allen, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Triple Frontier. Triple Frontier is also reportedly set to shoot in the fall so I’m left wondering if Hanks has left that project or if there’s room in his schedule to do both films.
Here’s a synopsis of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas:
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.
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I’ve always wanted to see Tom Hanks do a movie with Tom Cruise. They are both incredible actors and it would be amazing to see them bounce off each other in a film.
I hope to see Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis do another movie together after only having one scene together in Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). They are both incredible actors and it would be amazing to see them bounce off each other in a film again.
I think just THE WACHOWSKIS sounds better than Siblings.
Read the synopsis 3 times and still can’t tell what the hell this movie is about.
Maybe that’s because you’re dumb.
More like it makes no sense at all.
Noooooooooooooooooooo! Seriously, why adapt metafiction to film? Why cast tapioca turd names like Hanks, Portman, and Berry when Joe 6p won’t care what the film is about without boobs? One can only hope this film will be a career ender for all involved.
Its about several stories of individuals striving to fight against oppression in different eras. They are all connected (birthmark, tattoo, scar, etc). I’ll assume that the story that takes place in Korea will be changed to New York and or the characters will be white washed. The Novel is presented in almost like a russian mini doll fashion. You peel back the layers until you discover the smallest doll. Then when you put it back together, the stories conclude in reverse fashion. So the story with the voyager in 1850 will start the movie and end the movie.