Yesterday I sent New Orleans-based movie maven David Dubos a PDF of Kelly Marcel‘s Savings Mr. Banks screenplay. A few hours later he replied: “Read it today, quite good. Surefire Oscar nom for Best Original screenplay, and likely acting noms for Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson.

“Marcel’s script, which appeared on the 2011 Black List, is so wise and clean and well-crafted that you can hear Hanks and Thompson say the lines as you read them,” I wrote on 5.12. “The writing is so skilled, assured and articulate about conflict and the creative process.

“No one knows how the film will turn out as a whole, but the director, John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Rookie, The Alamo), is probably the most skilled guy in the business when it comes to giving G or PG-rated or family-friendly material a certain echo-y gravitas, so don’t be surprised if Saving Mr. Banks ends up as a Best Picture contender.”