Hancock (film) Hancock" before settling on its final title. Prior to the film's release, marketing consultants attempted to persuade Sony Pictures to again change the title "Hancock" because it was too vague for audiences, suggesting alternatives like "Heroes Never Die", "Unlikely Hero", and "Less Than Hero". Despite the advice, Sony stayed with "Hancock" and anticipated marketing on the popularity of the film's star, Will Smith. "Hancock" had its world premiere as the opener at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival on June 19, 2008. To avoid copyright infringement, organizers took "unprecedented" steps to prevent illegal reproduction of the film. For the film,
Tony Hancock had not read any of the screenplays. The result of the break was that Hancock chose to separately develop something previously discussed, and the writers were ultimately commissioned to write a "Comedy Playhouse" series for the BBC, one of which, "The Offer", emerged as the pilot for "Steptoe and Son". That "something previously discussed" became "The Punch and Judy Man", for which Hancock hired writer Philip Oakes, who moved in with the comedian to co-write the screenplay. In "The Punch and Judy Man" (1962), Hancock plays a struggling seaside entertainer who dreams of a better life; Sylvia Syms plays his