Brad Bird and troubled productions, name a more iconic duo. Then again, I’ll watch whatever Bird directs. It’s as simple as that. Even if it means trudging through his 2015 Disney bomb “Tomorrowland” (remember that one?)
When Bird makes a good film, it’s really good. I’m talking “The Iron Giant,” “Ratatouille,” “The Incredibles,” and “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.” Sure, he seems to be a pain in the ass to work with, he's very stringent in not deviating from his vision/script, but many successful artists are like that.
I’ve been keeping out on Bird’s “Ray Gunn” a sci-fi noir which is (was?) a hand drawn animated film originally revived by Skydance Animation, headed by Bird’s longtime friend John Lassetter, in 2022. Since Skydance now has a multi-year feature deal with Netflix, its fate might reside with them.
The film is a passion project of Bird's, that he's being trying to make for nearly 30 years. Originally created alongside writer Matthew Robbins, it's reportedly the story of the last human private detective, Raymund Gunn, in a future world full of both humans and aliens.
Last we heard about “Ray Gunn,” Bird had been subjected to a lot oversight and notes on his passion project, which really slowed down pre-production. It didn’t help that Apple backed away from their deal with Skydance, which ended with Netflix taking over the toon company in 2023.
The latest, according to THR’s sources, claims that the relationship between Skydance Animation and Apple soured when the tech giant concluded that a few of the animated projects were too costly and not strong enough creatively. One particular film that was said to be a “dealbreaker” for Apple was, you guessed it, “Ray Gunn” which, it turns out, is supposed to have a budget exceeding $150 million.
Now, I don’t know if Bird will ever get to make this film, especially with Netflix cutting down costs on many of their future productions, but he might also be taking a break from it soon since it’s rumored that Bird will next be directing “The Incredibles 3” for Pixar.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.