The beloved and gentle TV figure gets a movie. Variety reports that Tom Hanks is attached to play the titular TV personality in the Mr. Rogers biopic “You Are My Friend,” scripted by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, with TriStar Pictures landing worldwide distribution rights. Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl) is directing. She said: “The script knocked me out with its message of kindness and its exploration of the human spirit.” She further described it as “an antidote to our very fractured culture.”
The film is inspired by a real-life friendship that grew between TV icon Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. It started when the cynical journalist grudgingly accepted a profile piece assignment on the amiable Fred Rogers, and the encounter was transformative.
Hanks has played many real-life personalities, most recently Washington Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee in The Post. The actor has a handful of films expected to shoot this year, including Sony's World War II movie Greyhound, which Hanks wrote as well as stars in. He is also attached to star in the Amblin film Bios, produced by Robert Zemeckis.
You Are My Friend's film will likely start production in the fall, once Hanks has finished his other film obligations.
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