Once upon a time Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were a seemingly surefire box office draw – in the likes of Joe Versus the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail – but while Hanks is still on the a-list, Ryan isn’t seen on-screen all that much anymore. However she hasn’t gone completely Norma Desmond and is now planning her directorial debut, and according to THR, Hanks will make an appearance in the movie.
It sounds like he’s doing it as a small favour to his old co-star, as it will just be a cameo (he will also executive produce).
The film is based on William Saroyan’s 1943 novel The Human Comedy, about a 14-year-old telegraph bicycle messenger named Homer Macauley. He must take care of his widowed mother, his older sister and four-year-old brother Ulysses after his older brother is sent off to fight in World War II. As time goes by we see how war affects this family in California’s San Joaquin Valley through the messages Homer delivers, including one that will change his life forever.
Hanks will play Homer’s father, joining a cast that already includes Sam Shepard, Jack Quaid and Melanie Griffith. Ryan is directing from a script by Erik Jendresen.