Julie Andrews gave an interview to the L.A. Times which they published today. It was partly to promote The Princess Diaries’ Blu-ray release.

She talks about princesses and the fascination with them, and recounts a conversation she once had with Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers.

The article also provides this little jaw-dropper:

There’s a movie in the works, “Saving Mr. Banks,” about the making of “Mary Poppins,” starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. What do you think of that casting?

I had not heard that. How fascinating. Yes, I can see that that would be great. I certainly was in the thick of it. It’ll be interesting to see what they tell and how they tell it. Disney had that little twinkle in his eye, and he was hugely smart and a little fatherly in some ways. I think Hanks would be wonderful in that.

P.L. Travers held out for over 14 years before finally relenting and allowing Walt to make Mary Poppins, didn’t like the finished product, and refused to sell any more of her stories to Disney afterward.

From Deadline.com:

The heart of this script comes from how close Travers felt to her story of a nanny with magical powers. Mary Poppins was highly personal, and reflected hardships in her own life and her relationship with her father, who died when she was 7. Disney finally persuaded her to let him make the film, but she was prickly all the way to the end. While Mary Poppins was lauded immediately, she hated the animated sequences in the film so much that she refused to sell any of her other works to Disney.

And Tom Hanks playing the part of Walt…Will he be accurate? Will he give a command performance? Will he avoid acting like this?

You know, Winifred, I think he will. I think he will!

I can’t freaking wait for this movie.