Hancock (film) Hancock (film) Hancock is a 2008 American superhero comedy film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. It tells the story of a vigilante superhero, John Hancock (Smith) from Los Angeles whose reckless actions routinely cost the city millions of dollars. Eventually one person he saves, Ray Embrey (Bateman), makes it his mission to change Hancock's public image for the better. The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996. It languished in "development hell" for years and had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino before
John Lee Hancock which was a critical and commercial success. In 2004, he wrote and directed "The Alamo", which was a box office bomb. Five years later, his film "The Blind Side" was a box office success and received an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. In 2013 Hancock directed "Saving Mr. Banks", a film about the life of P.L. Travers and her difficult negotiations with Walt Disney over adapting her famous novel "Mary Poppins" into a feature film. He also directed "The Founder" (2016), about the McDonald's fast food chain, and co-wrote the upcoming musical film "The Goree Girls". John Lee Hancock