19 most anticipated films by women in 2019

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Oct. 18)

The Plot: A biopic about the life and career of Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and the creation of the television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Last year the world got to remember their love for children’s television with Morgan Neville’s documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The documentary looked at the life of Fred Rogers and his attempts to help children learn about kindness, compassion, and tolerance. All of that from a show with puppets! But it sparked a revolution in children’s programming we’re still seeing the effects of today, and it was only a matter of time before Hollywood decided to give Rogers’ story the biopic treatment.

The director who ended up with the project was Marielle Heller, who wowed audiences last year with Can You Ever Forgive Me, a story about as different from the world of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as one can get. For Heller, this is a big Hollywood production with all the trimmings, including America’s favorite actor, Tom Hanks, in the lead role. It’s always fantastic to see a smaller director get handed a big A-list project, but it’s rare for it to be a woman given that opportunity.

Heller should blow it out of the water and, hopefully, will get a Best Directing nod out of it (which she should have gotten this year!).