Tom Hanks movie ‘A Man Called Otto’ films in Western New York

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks arrives at the premiere of "Finch" on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/invision/AP)

A new Tom Hanks movie stirred up excitement over the weekend with film crews in Western New York.

WIVB reports “A Man Called Otto,” an upcoming film starring Hanks, shot scenes on the Maid of the Mist and the Moonlite Motel in Niagara Falls on Friday.

Tim Clark at the Buffalo Niagara Film Office told WGRZ that Hanks himself was not in Niagara Falls, but his wife Rita Wilson and their youngest son, Truman Hanks, were in town. Wilson does not appear to have an acting role in the project, but she and Tom Hanks are listed as producers, while Truman is expected to play a younger version of his father in flashback scenes.

Despite sharing a name with Syracuse University’s mascot, “A Man Called Otto” has no connection to SU’s Otto the Orange. The plot centers on Tom Hanks as Otto, a cranky retired man who strikes up an unlikely friendship with his boisterous neighbors.

The movie is an American remake of a Swedish comedy-drama based on Frederick Backman’s book, “A Man Called Ove.” Marc Foster (”Quantum of Solace”) directs a script written by David Magee (”Life of Pi”); the cast also includes Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mariana Trevinio and comedian Mike Birbiglia.

“Otto” is not expected to be primarily set in Western New York, but Clark said the scenes shot in Niagara Falls will take place there. The movie has also been filming in Toledo, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“A lot of movies we shoot aren’t set here,” Clark told WGRZ. “At least the portion that they’re shooting here is set here. We saw it in Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley.’ That was set in Buffalo, and we’re seeing more and more of those productions that want to not just shoot here, but also set the movie here. That’s a thrilling part of this job.”

“A Man Called Otto” is scheduled to be released in theaters on Christmas Day.

It’s one of at least three Hanks films expected to come out this year. The two-time Oscar-winning actor will also play Geppetto in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action “Pinocchio” remake for Disney, and Elvis Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker in the upcoming biopic “Elvis,” starring Austin Butler and directed by Baz Luhrmann.

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