Earlier this week, we learned that Halloween director David Gordon Green was on board to helm a film about the creation of Disneyland with screenwriter Even Spiliotopoulos (the live-action Beauty and the Beast) handling the screenplay. The film is set to go to Disney+ and focus on how Walt Disney was able to create and construct the iconic theme park.
Steve Weintraub was able to speak to Green about the project during an interview for Halloween Kills, and learned that while the director loves learning about the creation of Disney, this is really the story of brothers Walt and Roy Disney, and how they collaborated to make Disneyland into a reality:
COLLIDER: Talk about timing, it came out that you might be doing a movie for Disney+ about the making of Disneyland. I'm assuming the story's true.
DAVID GORDON GREEN: Yeah. I'm developing. It's about the brotherhood of Walt and Roy Disney and it's interesting because you see, and even I saw the headline yesterday, I was, wow, that does sound... I was thinking this cool artistic, collaborative brotherhood story. Then you look at it as it's written and think about the institution that is Disney around this. And you're, "No, that's a big story". But to me, it's how do these two guys engineer something that became Disneyland.
I've watched a lot of documentaries on Disney. In fact, Disney+ has a lot of stuff on.
GREEN: I love that. That stuff is so fun to watch. I watch it with my kids. It's so cool.
As for the timeline of the project, Green noted that it’s still in the scripting stage, and while the plot will have to span years since it took years to actually make Disneyland, this is more about the creation of the park as opposed to how it changed and developed over the decades:
I guess my question for you is, are you imagining that this is taking place in a specific period of time over a five-year time, a ten-year time? What's the parameter?
GREEN: Well, it has yet to be written, so that's kind of evolving, but it's basically the creation, the construction of Disneyland. So that's a several year project for sure.
You may also recall that this isn’t the first time Disney has made a movie about Walt Disney. Back in 2013, they got Tom Hanks to play the iconic studio head for Saving Mr. Banks, but it sounds like Green is excited to find a new actor to take on the role:
In the back of your mind, are you thinking, do I want to get Tom Hanks to play Walt again?
GREEN: I think that's been done. I think I haven't even gotten that far into to how you embody that character, but I love the story and I love the... I have so many valuable relationships from the people that I've worked with, the people that I've butted heads with, the people I've been inspired by.
I had dinner at Jason Blum's house last night and we have such a great time, not agreeing. We have a wonderful time when we get to celebrate agreeing and the evolution of our characters is created through those creative charges. Everything I do is kind of a selfish, self-indulgent exploration of character. If it's Michael Myers versus Laurie Strode, or Walt vs Roy, or Seth Rogen versus Franco in Pineapple Express, I'm always just looking at those people with new mindsets that opened each other's philosophies.
It should be noted that this project will probably take some time to develop and Green is always keeping busy. In addition to this untitled Disneyland movie, he’s also making a new trilogy based on The Exorcist, there’s the conclusion of his Halloween trilogy Halloween Ends, an HBO series based on Hellraiser, and he works on the comedy series The Righteous Gemstones. With a plate that’s mostly full of horror, it’s no surprise that Green also wants to make time for the happiest place on Earth.