Thomas Newman Scoring Marc Forster’s ‘A Man Called Otto’

Composer Thomas Newman (American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption, Finding Nemo,  1917, Skyfall, Wall-E) is reteaming with director Marc Forster on the upcoming comedy drama A Man Called Otto. The film is based on Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel and the Swedish 2015 feature A Man Called Ove and stars Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton and Mike Birbiglia. The movie follows a grumpy isolated widower who gives everyone in his neighborhood a hard time, when he starts developing an unlikely and reluctant friendship with his new neighbors. David Magee (Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns) wrote the screenplay. Hanks is also producing the project with Playtone’s Gary Goetzman and Rita Wilson (Mamma Mia!, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), as well as SF Studios’ Fredrik Wikström (Snabba Cash, Horizon Line). Newman has previously collaborated with Forster (Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner) on White Bird: A Wonder Story, which was completed last year and will open in U.S. theaters on October 14. A Man Called Otto will be released in theaters nationwide on December 14, 2022 by Sony Pictures.

Also coming up for Newman is André Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is currently scheduled to be released on August 11, 2023 by Universal Pictures.