Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - How would you react if you were a novelist and suddenly, an important film studio requested authorization to adapt one of your novels for the film screen, featuring a star-studded cast?

You probably wouldn't think twice and agree to the deal, or so thought Walt Disney when he contacted London-based, Australian writer Pamela Lyndon Travers - better known as P. L. Travers - about adapting her Mary Poppins children's book series. His daughters used to love the books and he had actually promised them he would turn them into a musical film.

In fact, when it comes to adapting books into movies, there are many authors that protect their characters as though they were their own children. In the case of 'Poppins,' it took Walt Disney 20 years - including several trips to her London flat - to persuade the writer, who finally flew to LA, all expenses paid, so she could visit the Disney studios and oversee the production of the film.

The Travers scenario was truly extreme. She objected to the entire film production process with a variety of obstacles, to the point that she had to shame a Disney executive to obtain an invitation to the film premiere in 1964. Mary Poppins became a huge blockbuster for the studio, but she never approved of it.

The tug of war between Disney and Travers to bring Mary Poppins to fruition was the plot of Saving Mr. Banks, a beautiful film directed by John Lee Hancock in 2013, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. The film provides a glimpse into California during the sixties, along with the process undergone by composers and lyricists working together to compose the songs in a musical film, making 'Saving Mr. Banks' an ideal choice to screen as part of Paco Ojeda's music appreciation series at Biblioteca Los Mangos.

The film will be screened in English with Spanish subtitles on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 pm, with a suggested cooperation of $50 pesos per person. We welcome you to join us!