One of the biggest Oscar contenders this year is Stephen Daldry‘s adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer‘s hit novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. With every single previous film from the director getting a Best Picture adaptation, this is a sure-fire lock. Adapted by awards favorite Eric Roth, the drama stars Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, James Gandolfini, Zoe Caldwell, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and Max von Sydow.

We now have our first look at Hanks and his son in the film, Thomas Horn, sent over by Warner Bros. I have yet to read the book, so it will be interesting to see how Hanks is incorporated in the film, as his character died on 9/11. Check it out above (and click for high-resolution) and the first official synopsis below.

Oskar (Thomas Horn) is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother (Sandra Bullock) and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can’t be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him beyond his own loss to a greater understanding of the observable world around him.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close hits limited theaters on December 25th, 2011 before expanding wide on January 20th.

What do you think of the first photo? Are you a fan of the book?