Brad Bird has built up some serious cred with but a few films. The Iron Giant did not perform well at the box office, but over time it has been extremely well-receieved, with some calling it one of the best animated films ever. After coming over to Pixar, Bird brought us The Incredibles, easily one of the greatest superhero films. Then, he jumped onto Ratatouille after production had already began, and that film gave us one of the best looks at what it means to be a critic. Now, he is currently working on Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, his first live-action film. Collider was at the CBS TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, where producer J.J. Abrams confirmed what I had already been thinking – Brad Bird is on track to bring us another great film.
Director Brad Bird
J.J. Abrams was at the press tour to speak about his upcoming show, Person of Interest, but got asked a question about Brad Bird and Mission Impossible. Here is a snippet of what Bird had to say:
I think it’s the best one of the series. I do. First of all, you’ve never seen a live action Brad Bird movie, and yet when you watch it, you go, “This is a Brad Bird movie.” You realize you’ve been watching Brad Bird films that just happen to be animated. It’s really fun. It’s got a fun intensity to it, and that’s Brad. It’s the biggest one, by far, in terms of the stuff that happens in it.
Bird has already tackled the animated world spectacularly, so we were always interested to see if he could do the same in the world of live-action. It is true that the two mediums work differently on-screen and behind the camera. However, if Bird can transfer some of that focus on character and story that audiences watching Pixar films are so used to, it will not be that different. I’m certainly pulling for this new Mission Impossible to be great.
To read J.J. Abrams’ full quote on Brad Bird, check out Collider.
Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol hits theaters at the end of this year – December 21.
Source: Collider
