Movies get canceled all the time, for a variety of reasons. Audiences rarely find out why, outside of speculation and the usual PR-friendly lines. In the instance of one cancellation that has become legendary for remaining shrouded in mystery, we finally have some new details about exactly why a lost Pixar movie fell apart.
Among the bigger what-ifs in recent Hollywood history Pixar’s first live-action film, 1906, is right up there with some of the most mysterious cancellations in history. Based on a James Dalessandro novel of the same name that covers the disastrous events of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, the production was massive, as the rights had initially been optioned before the book was even completed, due to the success of Titanic. Warner Bros, Pixar, and Disney were all teaming up to help bring celebrated Pixar director Brad Bird’s vision to life. So… what happened?
In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, screenwriter Michael Hirst explained what led to his departure from the project, and in his view, ultimately ended its life all those years ago. It has to do with the history of the event itself:
“Do you know why San Francisco was saved in the sense that it wasn’t totally burned out? It was saved by ordinary people going out of their houses, [and] finding some water. It wasn’t the authorities that put out the flames; it was ordinary people. They bulldozed some of the houses… They lived and died doing that, and they stopped the fire. I wrote about that, and I was pleased, and I thought, ‘My God, Americans are going to be really interested.’ [But] the studios had no interest in that at all, because it wasn’t heroes [who] saved the day, it was ordinary people.”
Hirst went on to make a follow-up to his successful historical epic Elizabeth with Elizabeth: The Golden Age. He would create and executive produce The Tudors, Vikings, and most recently, Billy the Kid, with a new Vikings-related series, Bloodaxe, just on the horizon, with some exciting new updates.
Bird, of course, has kept busy with Pixar, but recent changes to his slate, such as handing over the directing reins on The Incredibles 3, have implied that 1906 isn’t dead after all. Some rumblings suggest a possible limited series. Only time will tell.
For Hirst’s part, 1906 is over, “…it’s a long way in my past.” Though he still has some disbelief about the reasoning behind the studio’s choices at the time, he replayed the interaction to this day.
“I said, ‘But you’re an American, you’re supposed to like ordinary people.’ ‘No, no, no, we want heroes. Michael, it’s heroes who saved the city.’ So… I walked away. I walked away from that.”
Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn
The other project on Brad Bird’s horizon that could continue the long wait for 1906 is Ray Gunn. Bird started trying to get this title made back in the 1990s and ultimately ended up making The Iron Giant, which helped launch the career he has had since. But returning to the tale of the last human private detective in a futuristic landscape was always important to him. With production underway at Skydance and a Netflix release planned, it seems likely that audiences will finally see the early vision of the beloved director at last.
