Mike Fleming

Brad Bird 1952 DisneyEXCLUSIVE: Brad Bird has been set to direct 1952, a script that Disney paid former Lost producer Damon Lindelof last year to write. The film, which Lindelof is writing with Jeff Jensen, is a closely guarded secret at Disney, but it’s a big-scale tentpole film. I’m not sure if it’s a reference to the year, or a Lost reference. But it has multi-platform aspirations, and the studio hopes it will be the next film directed by Bird, who made the leap from animation to live action feature directing with the blockbuster Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. The intention is to get the film into production next year, after a long prep, with Lindelof producing. Bird has been developing his own projects, including 1906.

The Lindelof deal was made last June and came out of a series of meetings that Lindelof had with Disney’s production president Sean Bailey and senior exec Brigham Taylor, and it’s the first film he is producing from the ground up. He has had an enviable run as a screenwriter since Lost wrapped. Hired to rewrite Jon Spaihts’ Alien prequel, Lindelof came up with an idea that Ridley Scott embraced and it turned the film into Prometheus, a free-standing film. He also co-wrote the Star Trek sequel for JJ Abrams. Bird is repped by UTA, Lindelof by CAA.