Brad Bird – the genius who has bestrode the animation world like a colossus for the past decade or so – has decided to move onto pastures new, by signing on to direct his first live-action feature. And it sounds like a doozy.
He’ll call the shots on 1906, a movie about the massive earthquake – known as the Great Earthquake – that destroyed huge swathes of San Francisco in that titular year.
Bird is currently rewriting John Logan’s original script, which focuses on a college student who stumbles upon a conspiracy while investigating the murder of his father – a conspiracy that could leave San Francisco vulnerable to fire – fire that could come about as the result of, say, a massive earthquake.
Bird, who won Oscars for both The Incredibles and Ratatouille, has worked in live-action before, when he directed an episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories in 1987. He might find that this is slightly different, of course, but his visual sense is second-to-none, while after years of waiting ages for shots to come together, he’ll appreciate the immediacy of live-action.
No release date or shooting date has yet been set, but we’re instantly mega-excited about this one. In his previous films, Bird has shown an incredible ability to blend fantastic visuals with genuine heart, and 1906 certainly would seem to provide plenty of opportunity for both.
The movie is a co-production between Warner Bros. and Disney/Pixar, continuing that company’s exploration of the world of live-action, what with this, sections of Wall-E and, of course, John Carter Of Mars.