Palisadian Tom Hanks Delivers the ‘News of the World’

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Adapted from Paulette Jiles’ novel of the same name, Paul Greengrass’ “News of the World” is a Western drama that chronicles the life of war veteran Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, played by Palisadian Tom Hanks, five years after the end of the Civil War.

The film follows Kidd’s stories as he travels from town to town, until he eventually meets 10-year-old Johanna (Helena Zengel) on the plains of Texas. It is revealed that Johanna’s parents were killed six years prior by a Kiowa tribe, and Johanna was adopted by the group as their own. Kidd agrees to return Johanna to her biological aunt and uncle—leading the duo through a 400-mile treacherous journey.

“As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two will face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place that either can call home,” according to IMDb.

In a recent interview with ET Canada, Hanks shared that individuals of the Kiowa nation in the film were played by actual members of the tribe.

“We didn’t have Native Americans who were playing generic Native Americans, we had the Kiowa nation playing the Kiowa nation,” Hanks said. “It was important to us that they were there, and I think it had weight to them that they were part of the process.”

Hanks and Zengel are joined by a cast made up of Elizabeth Marvel, Ray McKinnon, Mare Winningham and more.

“News of the World” marks director Greengrass’ second time working with Hanks after the 2013 drama-thriller “Captain Phillips,” which earned rave reviews. The film was nominated for four Golden Globes in 2014, including Best Picture (Drama), Best Actor in a Drama (Hanks), Best Supporting Actor (Barkhad Abdi) and Best Director (Greengrass).

“News of the World,” which is rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and some language, has a runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes. The film is scheduled to release in select theaters in the United States on December 25.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, studios have had to alter release plans for a number of films—Universal Pictures recently sold the international distribution rights of “News of the World” to Netflix. A digital release is slated for 2021.