George Clooney may star in Brad Bird's UFO movie '1952'
With story details still closely guarded, this is an intriguing package
George Clooney, seen here accepting an award for Being Generally Awesome, could star in Brad Bird's science-fiction film '1952'
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It's interesting that when people started listing A-list filmmakers they'd want to see tackle the next "Star Wars" film, Brad Bird's name came up more than almost any other. I've had faith in Bird's abilities as a storyteller for years, and as soon as I saw a rough cut of "Iron Giant," I was ready to declare the guy a national treasure. It wasn't until he made the jump to live-action filmmaking with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' that he was suddenly at the top of every fanboy's wish list for pretty much every genre film in development.
I'm excited to see him develop original material, though, because I think he's got a strong voice and he's got a deeply-rooted love of genre. He's exactly the sort of guy we should be supporting in the creation of new properties instead of just dumping the familiar on him over and over. Sure, he'd make a great "Star Wars" movie, but I'd rather see whatever "1952" is from him instead.
What we know so far is that the script is by Damon Lindelof and Jeff Jensen, who you may know as a pop culture columnist from "Entertainment Weekly." It has long been theorized that the film might have something to do with the Washington D.C. UFO sightings from 1952, which inspired all sorts of film and TV projects including "Earth Versus The Flying Saucers," and Variety's report today once again suggests that the film is about alien invaders. If the casting they discussed today works out, though, we can expect to see George Clooney in the mix, and that makes this even more interesting.
After all, Clooney doesn't do a ton of big genre movies. He has seemed very happy to star in and direct movies that are more adult in nature, less genre or blockbuster oriented. This could be a great way for him to make a big piece of pop entertainment that is also substantial. I like the fact that this is still pretty much an unknown quantity, that we really have no idea what it is.
It sounds like they're getting ready to get this one started in earnest, and we'll have more for you as it comes together.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupmridge1
November 9, 2012 at 11:45PM EST Reply to CommentI wouldn't argue against the point that secrecy is paramount during certain stages of development but I think a logline, no matter how brief, would really keep the masses at bay regarding this project (and stop the continued rumors that it's really the new 'Star Wars')
drew Those rumors are just silly. It's not the new "Star Wars," and the guy who wrote that e-mail in the first place was completely off-base.
November 10, 2012 at 12:09AM ESTmridge1 Oh I know its completely baseless and fan-wankery but people will still perpetuate them nonetheless (it is the internet after all).
November 10, 2012 at 12:14AM ESTDrew: Do you think too much secrecy can hurt a film? Perhaps not creatively but in the marketplace (ie 'Super 8')
CaptainCanada
November 10, 2012 at 12:23AM EST Reply to CommentI think that "The Incredibles" definitely had people wanting Bird to direct more genre stuff (particularly superhero related), not "M:I 4" (though that certainly helped).
bob
November 10, 2012 at 6:48AM EST Reply to CommentIf Brad Bird would want to direct Star Wars VII and if Kathleen Kennedy would want him to do it, I bet that Disney could work it out, given that they'd produce the 2 projects and that "1952" doesn't have a start date yet ...
mridge1 Based off the fact that they have announced the writer already I'm fairly certain a director has been selected as well and they're just waiting to announce it.
November 10, 2012 at 2:05PM ESTAnd disappointingly, I doubt it will be Brad Bird.