The dynamic duo from Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan could once again join forces in Ryan’s directorial debut, Ithaca. The film is written by Erik Jendresen (Band of Brothers), who adapted William Saroyan’s 1943 novel, The Human Comedy.
The Human Comedy centers on the telegraphs of a 14-year-old bike messenger, Homer Macauley during World War II. Macauley relays messages from his older brother (a soldier at War), while tending to his widowed mother, older sister, and younger brother. The picture will portray the hardships of dealing with love and loss on the home front during the year of 1942, in the setting of California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Although we have not yet confirmed that Hanks will act in Ithaca, he is definitely on board to help as the film’s executive producer. Hanks has additional projects in line; he will star in Steven Spielberg’s untitled Cold War film, and has recently finished dramatizing a role in Tom Tykwer’s A Hologram for the King.
The Hollywood Reporter claims that Hanks will possibly play Homer’s father. Ryan will star amongst an acclaimed cast, including her son, Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), and Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff).
If Hanks and Ryan team up for Ithaca, this will be the fourth time they have acted together in a picture since 1998. Hanks and Ryan played romantic leads in prior collaborations: John Patrick Shanley’s Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail (1998).
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