1906 (Brad Bird)

[Morris Schæffer]

Brad Bird, who recently captured an Oscar for Ratatouille, has signed on to make his live-action feature directorial debut with 1906, says the Hollywood Reporter. The project will be a co-production between Warner Bros. and Disney/Pixar, with the historical San Francisco earthquake as its backdrop. There have been rumors that Pixar has some plans to cross into live-action vehicles in the near future and this seems to confirmation that they will help production values for one. Bird is rewriting the original John Logan script. Paula Weinstein is producing the feature, while John Walker, Bird's producing partner, executive produces. Disney/Pixar will co-finance the movie.

Plot Concept: The story centers on a college student who begins to investigate the murder of his father, uncovering a web of deceit that has left the city vulnerable to the sort of fire that breaks out when the Great Earthquake of 1906 hits San Francisco.

This would be interesting to see. It'd be like Spielberg making an indie without Williams, major stars and Kaminski. Well, sort of.

[MadMan]

I'm curious to see how this one turns out. If its successful I imagine we will see more live action films from Brad in the future.

[Raiders]

This would be interesting to see. It'd be like Spielberg making an indie without Williams, major stars and Kaminski. Well, sort of.

I have no idea what that means, but I do agree this sounds interesting.

[Morris Schæffer]

I have no idea what that means, but I do agree this sounds interesting.

Basically, if animation is Bird's comfort zone, and I sorta think that it is, then it would be interesting to see him expand beyond that. Spielberg has worked with the same class-A crew for so long now (I forgot ILM as well) that it would be an interesting experiment to see him make a movie without the usual comfort of working with the best in the business even if "best" is subjective.

[Watashi]

I've known about this for years.

[KK2.0]

Tim Burton also started with animation, I believe Bird has the talent to cross the gap. But i hope he returns to animated features soon.

[Russ]

I've known about this for years.

Yet you haven't been masturbating over it in these very forums.

[number8]

Yet you haven't been masturbating over it in these very forums.

Pretty sure there was a thread about this in the old Match Cut, which was also about Pixar's first live action project.

I actually knew about it before it was announced publicly because my screenwriting teacher wrote both the screenplay (which Bird is rewriting) and the book it was based on.

I forget, did I tell you about this, Wats, or did you only find out when it was announced?

[Watashi]

Your screenwriting teacher is John Logan, 8?

[Watashi]

No, I knew about it before you told me. You told me the title though.

[number8]

Your screenwriting teacher is John Logan, 8?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832278/

James Dalessandro.

[Watashi]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832278/

James Dalessandro.

Why does the article say John Logan then?

[ledfloyd]

I've known about this for a couple months.

[Sycophant]

If it's been in Hollywood for long, I'd imagine it's very likely Logan could have written a draft somewhere in there.

I could have sworn this project was confirmed something like six months ago. Maybe more.

[Sxottlan]

I've known about this for a few minutes.

But then remembering the old thread from before, I realized I've known about this for quite a while.

I had just forgotten.

[DavidSeven]

It makes sense that Bird would make this move now from a creative standpoint. What else does he have to accomplish in animation? He's already been the creative force behind the most successful and acclaimed animated TV series in history, and he's achieved massive critical and commercial success with his feature work. He's got all the awards and became a god to an awkward boy growing up in Minnesota somewhere along the way. It'd probably be stifling to continue along this path for much longer.

[Watashi]

Last week Brad Bird revealed that he was still trying to crack the screenplay for his live-action debut 1906, which seemed baffling to us. In March 2008, our spies told us that Pixar was busy building virtual scale models of a period-era San Francisco and that Warner Bros had put a hold on all of the soundstages that were available on its Burbank lot. So what happened? How did the project get delayed? And what are the script issues exactly? Jim Hill claims that the economy and budget cuts have been sucking the life out of Bird’s big screen epic.

Apparently the recession hit and the three studios involved started to grow worried that the $200 million projected budget which would be required to film Bird’s expansive story might be too much of a risk. This is when Warner Bros quietly released that hold it had on all its Burbank soundstages and then supposedly asked Brad to rework his screenplay. And since then, Bird has been trying to bring the film’s budget
down by minimalizing the scale of the film, according to the report. It always seemed clear to me that Bird was out to make a Titanic-like historical epic. In interviews he would talk about the scale, mentioning all the different areas of the city that would need to be shown in the story.

So when Bird says that “It’s (been) a really hard script to write”, I think he’s talking about the comprimises that he’s being foreced to make. And I think the end of the interview he did with Latino Review was very telling. Bird commented” We’ll see if they have the courage to make it.” And that’s a good question… will they?

Bird's film might not even be made now... :cry:

[Sycophant]

Too bad the film doesn't have, like, a PayPal account I can donate money to.