Meg Ryan’s directorial debut Ithaca, with Tom Hanks who is also the movie’s executive producer, is set for theatrical release later this year, on October 23. The movie is based on one of William Saroyan’s most popular novels, The Human Comedy.
In an interview Ryan, who also appears in the film, says she actually got the inspiration for the movie when she read the book while going through her divorce (with Dennis Quaid) when her son Jack (who is also cast in the movie) was 8. “I kept thinking, ‘How do you become a man? I mean is he going to be all right?’ And I remember reading all kinds of things, and I got to this book, and it’s about so many things…there was so many great ideas inside of it”.
Meg Ryan has also narrated an audio version of Saroyan’s book .
The move premiered in festivals in 2015. Mae Abdulabaki, who watched Ithaca at the Middleburg festival, explains the plot- In a world that’s seemingly filled with war and never ending death, 14-year-old Homer Macauley (Alex Neustaedter) is trying to understand the world, his place in it, and why war has to exist. Between becoming a man and taking over as the central figure in his household after his father’s (Tom Hanks) death, Homer becomes a telegram messenger. His eldest brother, Marcus (Jack Quaid), is off fighting in World War II and Homer is left behind in the town of Ithaca. Trying to make sense of all the telegrams he delivers sending news of dead sons and husbands, he ponders questions about war.
MGM made William Saroyan’s original script into a movie in 1943- The Human Comedy. At the time Saroyan himself was asked to direct the movie but was paid off and removed from the project when his film proved to be more than two hours long. In retaliation, Saroyan wrote his novel famous novel of the same name from the script he produced and made sure to release it before the movie. At the time, MGM’s The Human Comedy made $2.8 million in America and Canada and $1.0 million internationally. Saroyan won the Academy Award for Best Story (now, Original Screenplay), Mickey Rooney was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the movie was also nominated for best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture.
