Tom Hanks is Talking to Michel Hazanavicius About ‘In The Garden Of Beasts’

Winning an Oscar for Best Director generally means that Hollywood is going to throw their hottest projects at you. For 'The Artist's Michel Hazanavicius, that means that Tom Hanks and his production company are talking to him about helming 'In the Garden of Beasts.'

This comes from Deadline Hollywood, and Hanks has been attached to the project since November. Based on the Erik Larson novel, the non-fiction novel tells the story of William Dodd (who Hanks will play), a Chicago professor turned American ambassador to Germany who grows to see the rising evil around him in the 1930's. The tale is filled with intrigue as his daughter starts dating the men in the third Reich, while Dodd comes to the realization that the Nazi's end game is genocide for the Jewish people. The rumor is that they want Natalie Portman for the part of the daughter.

Generally there are four types of winners when it comes to Oscars, the undeniables (think 'The Godfather' or 'Schindler's List'), the late rewards (Al Pacino for 'Scent of a Woman'), the outsiders who made good (Marlee Matlin in 'Children of a Lesser God') or the promising newcomer (Diablo Cody for 'Juno' or Mira Sorvino for 'Mighty Aphrodite'). Hazanavicius is more the outsider who made good, so it's hard to say if he's a great director, or just a flash in the pan. It sounds like this film will test his talents.