Tom Hanks Reveals Why He Asked to Play Geppetto in 'Pinocchio' (Exclusive)

etonline.com:

Tom Hanks could not let the role of Geppetto pass him by. ET's Denny Directo spoke to Hanks at the premiere of Disney's live-action film, , Wednesday night, where he shared why he asked to play the part of the woodcarver and creator of Pinocchio.«Oh, this is like being on the '27 Yankees, you know, it goes back so far in the American cultural zeitgeist, and I know way too much about because I played Walt Disney in, so, I already did a prime study on it — I was ready to hit it,» Hanks revealed.«As soon I as I heard that Bob was doing it -- Bob Zemeckis, I called him up cold and I said, 'Pinocchio,' literally one word.

I said, 'Pinocchio,' and he said, 'Yeah,' and I said, 'Geppetto' and he said, 'Really?' and that was that,» he continued. «To be in anything, to have a part in 'When You Wish Upon a Star?' Come on.»The technology used to bring the film to life piqued Hanks' interest as well, with the 66-year-old actor telling ET that with all the history ingrained in this film, there was just no way he could let the opportunity to take part in slide by.«Not only just all the updated versions that you're gonna get from this, but also to have Bob's fingers on the technology, that of today, is equal to the multi-plane camera that Walt Disney — and this was the first movie that used the multi-plane camera back in 1941, and then they lost half the world to a little box office -- half the world for a little thing called World War II.