Brad Bird Explains How SOUTH PARK Inspired Him to Turn Down STAR WARS
Before J.J. Abrams came on to direct direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Brad Bird was offered the job. He's talked about this a little bit in the past, and he basically had to pass up on the opportunity to direct it so that Tomorrowland would get made. He even revealed that he wanted to direct both films at one point, but that ended up not working out.
During an interview with Yahoo, the director explained why he chose Tomorrowland over Star Wars, saying,
"It absolutely was [a tough decision], but there was no way to do that film without junking this film, and we had already gotten George Clooney involved and I was excited about this film. I understand they had to get [The Force Awakens] made, and they would’ve had to push it in order for me to do it.”
After seeing Tomorrowland, I'm happy that Bird stuck with it. I wouldn't have wanted to see that movie die. In a separate interview with IGN, he talked a little bit more about how his choice came about, and how South Park played a part in his decision. When Tomorrowland screenwriter Damon Lindelof found out that Brad was offered the Star Wars job, he said.
"Yeah, I thought you were gonzo. They'd just offered Brad Star Wars and we were about six weeks out [from production on Tomorrowland] and were scouting in Florida, and I looked down at my phone and it was your smiley face and I was like, 'He's about to bounce.' And you didn't."
Bird went on to explain how an episode of South Park helped him make his decision to turn down the opportunity to direct Star Wars and focus on his Tomorrowland efforts.
"What's really funny is that we were having conversations on the phone during this. And we were in Florida scouting and having to keep this a secret from everybody that we were scouting with. Because that's a buzz kill immediately. But there was this episode of South Park that appeared as this was going on and I was completely blown away. Because there was a shot from it - I even Tweeted you [Lindelof] the shot - it was Cartman and behind him was a lightsaber and in front of him was Space Mountain from Tomorrowland. And God it was happening right in front of me! It was like a super, unbelievable scene from a movie. Like I don't accept that at all. But it was happening right in front of me."
The director then talked about how Star Wars would basically happen with or without him, but that if he left Tomorrowland, the movie could very well not happen at all.
"I love Star Wars, but Star Wars is going to get made whether I do it or not. They are not going to delay Star Wars in order for me to do Tomorrowland. [In terms of] Tomorrowland, you know momentum is fragile. And we need momentum. There was a lot of momentum on Tomorrowland and I really loved what the movie was. And I thought there's a chance that Tomorrowland won't get made, simply because it loses its momentum. A movie is a weird thing. It's not a tangible thing. You have this wispy cloud that you're trying to solidify and I thought that it deserved to be made. You know, Star Wars is a very robust thing right now and it's going to be fine."
There will be several opportunities for Bird to direct a Star Wars film if he wants to do that some time down the road. In the end, I think Bird made the right decision. Tomorrowland tells an original story that is extremely fun and imaginative. I am happy that the director stuck with it.