Tom Hanks is set to star in You Are My Friend, a biopic of TV pioneer Fred Rogers which TriStar Pictures has just picked up worldwide rights to.
The story will focus on the real-life friendship between Rogers and award-winning journalist Tom Junod. In the story, the cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.
Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl) is set to direct from a Black List screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster. Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf and Youree Henley will produce.
Filming is set to begin in the fall.