Brad Bird is currently at work on Tomorrowland, but he recently discussed a road he could take one day and a road not taken.  For the former, Bird commented on the possibility of making a sequel to The Incredibles.  Briefly, Bird says he hasn’t forgotten about the characters and that world.  The issue is how to “get ‘em to click all together.”  Bird adds that he wants to keep creative control, but he also has other projects he’s trying to work on (among them could be the historical drama, 1906).  There’s also the issue of getting Pixar on board when that studio has its next four films lined-up, and while a possible sequel to one of their movies is in development, I doubt it’s Incredibles without Bird’s involvement.

Hit the jump for his full quote and what he had to say about passing on Star Wars: Episode VII.

There’s no doubt about it, when Director Brad Bird takes on a project anticipation and expectations in geekdom can, for better or worse, swell to great heights. Add Lost co-creator Damon Lindleof into the mix and we’ve got a whole new set of feelings to wade through. When news came that Bird and Lindleof were working together on a project for Disney called 1952, film geeks everywhere perked up. Earlier this year when the title changed to Tomorrowland, many of us raised our eyebrows, as we figured this had to be tied in with the classic Disney sub-theme park — home of the infamous Space Mountain. So, just what could Bird and Lindelof be cooking up for Disney? And would Lindelof be bringing his particular brand of “mystery-box” writing to the project?

Fresh details on just what this Tomorrowland could bring, after the jump.

Director Brad Bird’s secretive project at Disney looks to have found its villain.  Previously referred to as 1952, the possibly sci-fi project was co-written by Bird and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and recently landed the new title of Tomorrowland.  The plot has been kept firmly under wraps, but we know that George Clooney is the film’s star and the story has been described as being in the vein of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Now, as the film marches towards a production start-date later this year, Bird has settled on the actor to play his villain: House star Hugh Laurie.  Hit the jump for more.

Director Brad Bird’s feature film collaboration with screenwriter Damon Lindelof has an intriguing new title.  Previously referred to as 1952, the project (which stars George Clooney) was hatched when Lindelof stumbled across a box in Walt Disney’s personal development lab with the label “1952.”  Lindelof and Bird tweeted pictures of the box’s contents last week, giving us a tease as to what the film’s plot may involve.  Rumors have swirled that the story may have something to do with the creation of a theme park, and that theory has been given a bit more credence today as Disney has announced that 1952 has been retitled Tomorrowland.

Nothing further was revealed, but my interest in this project seems to grow with each new revelation.  Lindelof and Bird are currently working on the script based on an idea by Lindelof and Jeff Jensen, with Bird set to direct and produce.  The two hope to begin production this year in anticipation of the film’s December 19, 2014 release date.

Though there are a number of highly anticipated projects in development at the moment (Star Wars 7 anyone?), the collaboration between director Brad Bird and screenwriter Damon Lindelof is certainly one of the more curious upcoming films.  Titled 1952, we know very little about the pic other than it’s rumored to be about a middle-aged man’s contact with alien life.  George Clooney is set to star, and the genesis of the project apparently came about when Lindelof stumbled upon a box in Walt Disney’s personal development lab with the label “1952” written on it.

Now that the film has a firm release date of December 2014 and production is set to begin later this year, Lindelof and Bird have begun teasing what’s to come.  Yesterday Lindelof tweeted a picture of the unopened box, quickly followed by a tweet from Bird that reveals a snapshot of the box’s contents.  Hit the jump to take a look.

Disney has announced a slew of release date changes.  Briefly:

• The Muppets 2 will be released on March 21, 2014.
• Maleficent has been pushed back from March 14, 2014 to July 2.
• 1952, director Brad Bird’s collaboration with screenwriter Damon Lindelof, will hit theaters in 3D on December 19, 2014.
• Pirates of the Caribbean 5 has been given a July 10, 2015 release date.
• The 3D re-release of The Little Mermaid on September 13, 2013 has been removed from the schedule.
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D.

Hit the jump for more details, including the confirmation of George Clooney in 1952 and Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 5. [Update: Brad Bird has now stated via Twitter that 3D has not been discussed for 1952, so Disney's press release may have been mistaken.  This doesn't mean the film absolutely won't be in 3D, just that Bird hasn't OK'd it yet.]

While there are always many projects in development in the studio system, 1952 is near the top of my list.  That’s because not only is Damon Lindelof writing the film, it’s going to be directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), who only makes awesome movies.  While plot details are under wraps, everything points towards a large scale mystery film that may star George Clooney.  The last thing we heard about the plot was, “the picture is said to center on the journey of a middle-aged man and his contact with alien life,” but this one liner could easily be wrong.

At a recent Bad Robot press event for the Star Trek sequel (more on that soon), I got to speak to Lindelof about 1952 and asked how it’s going.  He revealed that he hopes to be in production in mid-2013, that Bird is now co-writing the film, and how he got Bird to direct the project.  He also says the film is not yet greenlit but when they figure out some casting elements and the budget, “we’ll be able to announce what this movie is.”  Hit the jump for more.

Sorry to put a damper on your weekend, but it’s looking as if director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) is out of the running for Star Wars: Episode VII.  Tops on may fans’ lists of dream directors for the new sequel, Bird was considered a frontrunner due to his connections with Disney (who now owns Lucasfilm and the rights to Star Wars, along with Pixar, of course) and the involvement of screenwriter Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) who will write the screenplay for Episode VII.  Bird’s schedule grew a little more complicated recently when the epic sci-fi project 1952 landed George Clooney in a lead role.  Though the project isn’t greenlit (and though Twitter isn’t exactly hard journalistic evidence), it looks like this will be Bird’s next picture and, sadly, not Star Wars.  Hit the jump to see what Bird had to say. 

George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven) is reportedly in talks to star in Disney’s 1952, an extraterrestrial pic in the vein of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Written by Damon Lindelof (Star Trek) and  Jeff Jensen, 1952 will be directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles).  Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the picture is said to center on the journey of a middle-aged man and his contact with alien life.  We previously reported that the title is a reference to a banker’s box of files and documents that had been left in Walt Disney’s personal development lab.  The contents of the box were documents and primary source materials that look like someone had been working on a project about alien contact.  Additionally, “1952″ could refer to the appearance of seven UFOs on radar at Washington’s National Airport.  Hit the jump for more, including how this affects Bird’s schedule and chances to direct Star Wars: Episode VII.

Word has it that Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) will be among the writers on Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode VII.  Arndt reportedly has a 40-50 page treatment already prepared and is likely to be one of the writers on board before the picture starts shooting some time in 2014.  It sounds like his preparation includes all three films in the trilogy, which was alluded to in a recent press conference by Disney CEO Bob Iger.  Rumors have run rampant since the news that Disney would be purchasing Lucasfilm to the tune of $4 billion and would be releasing a Star Wars sequel trilogy starting in 2015.  It’s been speculated that Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) may be lined up to direct the film, but Arndt’s treatment is expected to cross the desks of Brad Bird, J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg.  Hit the jump for much more.

It was bound to happen some day.  Star Wars: Episode VII is becoming a reality now that Disney has purchased LucasFilm, and set a release date for 2015.  George Lucas has gracefully bowed out of the director’s chair, and given the reigns over to producer Kathleen Kennedy, although it remains to be seen how much influence he’ll have over future Star Wars films.

But since the director’s chair is open and we all love pretending we’re Hollywood executive, let’s play Suggest!  That!  Director!  This is the fun part since we have no idea what the story will be and who would be appropriate for that story.  However, we do have a vibe of what a Star Wars movie is, or at least what a Star Wars movie should be (i.e., the originals, not the prequels).  So who’s the right director to make a worthy successor to the original movies?  Hit the jump for my suggestions.

Back in May, we reported that Brad Bird was set to direct a mysterious blockbuster for Disney entitled 1952.  Written by Damon Lindelof, details on the project were practically non-existent, but new information has come to light.  According to Vulture, the movie is about aliens making first contact on Earth in the present day.  Furthermore, Bird and Lindelof are reportedly looking to make the movie in the vein of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the protagonist will be a man in his mid-40s like Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss).  No word if this man will go crazy, play with his food, and abandon his family to live with the aliens.  [Correction: Vulture has updated its story to note that while 1952 is similar in the sense of Neary's journey--putting the pieces together to solve a mystery--the film will not involve contact with aliens.]

Hit the jump for more on 1952.

Well this is news that’s sure to please the cinephile/nerd/geek community.  Last year, Lost co-creator and Prometheus scribe Damon Lindelof was tapped by Disney to pen a large-scale mystery film for Disney.  The project was shrouded in secrecy, and we still know nothing about the plot other than the fact that it may or may not be in the sci-fi genre and it’s called 1952.  Now it appears that The Incredibles and The Iron Giant director Brad Bird, who made an extremely successful live-action debut with last year’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, is coming onboard to direct.  Hit the jump for more.

Tom Cruise is a movie star, but after his public embarrassments in 2005, whether audiences could accept him in any role was questioned. And at this point, he probably can’t create a character who isn’t a variation on Tom Cruise, movie star, which may be why the Mission: Impossible franchise is perfect for him. After four films, what can you say about Ethan Hunt other than he’s an effective problem-solver? Ultimately, when you have a director engaged with the material, you get a good film, otherwise it’s just wheel spinning by craftsmen. Brad Bird had a lot to prove with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and it shows, he delivered a home run. Cruise is supported by Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Paula Patton in his battle to stop a terrorist (Michael Nyqvist). And our review of the Best-Buy exclusive Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Though we weren’t exactly lacking in popcorn movies last year, one of the most fun times I had in a movie theater in 2011 was most certainly Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, made his live-action debut in a big way with the crowd pleasing fourth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise.  What’s not to love about Tom Cruise playing out a death defying action sequence thousands of feet in the sky on a giant IMAX screen?  Given that a different director has helmed each film in the franchise, most weren’t exactly expecting Bird to return for the next installment.  The director has now, unsurprisingly, confirmed that he’s unlikely to helm Mission: Impossible 5, but he also revealed that they changed the film’s ending during the middle of production.

Hit the jump to see what he had to say, but beware of obvious spoilers for the ending of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.