"Uncle Walt" - a new movie (open brainstorming)

mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This is an idea I've had for a biography movie about Walt Disney. It is similar to "Saving Mr. Banks" and the non-Disney "Walt Before Mickey", in that it is about a certain aspect in Walt's life that led to his creating something amazing - in this case, Disneyland.

It will start around 1945 after the war and a time when the studio was struggling financially, and Walt wanted to break off away from merely animated films, which ultimately led to live-action movies, television, and, centered around it all, Disneyland.

What do you think so far?
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Twilight_Roxas said:
Sounds cool. I could see Ryan Gosling portraying Walt.
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This is set in the mid-1940s to mid-1950s, by which time Walt was into his midlife. We need an actor who fits around that age range. Gosling would not work for two reasons: first, he is a tad young for that age range (only in his late 30s), and second, he's not American (he's Canadian). Both Tom Hanks and Thomas Ian Nichols (who played Walt in "Walt Before Mickey") are American, and I want someone who can fill the bill in both regards.
 
spacemt354

spacemt354

Chili's
Since this takes place in a similar time period to Saving Mr. Banks, why not just have Tom Hanks play Walt Disney again? He did a great job with it.

As to the film setup - it's neat, but it seems like it's covering similar territory to Saving Mr. Banks.

Why not set it up like the 2015 Steve Jobs movie. Have it at 3 points in time during Walt's life, centered around his interaction with associates and how Walt saw things as a dreamer. Act 1 - Walt dealing with shift to live action films post-war, Act 2 - Prep for Opening Day at Disneyland, and Act 3 - The Florida Project brainstorming and dream for Disney World.

Something like that where we get to see moments in the life of Disney that would be interesting to view the behind the scenes interactions with team members. Have Aaron Sorkin write it so we can get that fast-paced, intuitive back and forth like he's done in The Social Network and Steve Jobs.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
Since this takes place in a similar time period to Saving Mr. Banks, why not just have Tom Hanks play Walt Disney again? He did a great job with it.

As to the film setup - it's neat, but it seems like it's covering similar territory to Saving Mr. Banks.

Why not set it up like the 2015 Steve Jobs movie. Have it at 3 points in time during Walt's life, centered around his interaction with associates and how Walt saw things as a dreamer. Act 1 - Walt dealing with shift to live action films post-war, Act 2 - Prep for Opening Day at Disneyland, and Act 3 - The Florida Project brainstorming and dream for Disney World.
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"Saving Mr. Banks" was about the production of "Mary Poppins". This is different.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
My point was it has already seen in Saving Mr. Banks, showing the behind the scenes production of a Disney live-action film.
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Well, this movie will be set primarily in the 1940s and '50s, long before the time period of "Saving Mr. Banks", set in the early 1960s. As good a job as Tom Hanks did as Walt, I think he captured him at the appropriate time. I think someone else needs to do the same for the postwar period.

The concept is that Walt is unhappy with his company not doing as well as he wants. He is tired of just doing animated movies, which is why broke off into live action, television and Disneyland. This is the ultimate climax of the movie: he is trying to dabble in ways of escape, as animation used to be an escape. The book on Walt by Neal Gabler concludes one chapter with the successful debut of "Cinderella", which helped restore the studio's positive reputation, but that Walt didn't seem too impressed by it:

He saw the problems and the compromises and the shattered camaraderie, and [...] he began looking elsewhere to recover what he felt had been stolen from him and to find what he hoped would save him. He was looking to create an even better fortress for himself, an even more perfect world than the world of animation had been.

Disneyland was what saved him. Disneyland was that fortress. That is the basis of this movie, Walt looking for a way to save himself, which he does through Disneyland. I think that would make a great movie. It would end with the actor playing Walt reading the dedication speech, and it would transition to the real Walt giving the same speech (in black and white, of course, but whatever).
 
spacemt354

spacemt354

Chili's
mharrington said:
Well, this movie will be set primarily in the 1940s and '50s, long before the time period of "Saving Mr. Banks", set in the early 1960s. As good a job as Tom Hanks did as Walt, I think he captured him at the appropriate time. I think someone else needs to do the same for the postwar period.

The concept is that Walt is unhappy with his company not doing as well as he wants. He is tired of just doing animated movies, which is why broke off into live action, television and Disneyland. This is the ultimate climax of the movie: he is trying to dabble in ways of escape, as animation used to be an escape. The book on Walt by Neal Gabler concludes one chapter with the successful debut of "Cinderella", which helped restore the studio's positive reputation, but that Walt didn't seem too impressed by it:

He saw the problems and the compromises and the shattered camaraderie, and [...] he began looking elsewhere to recover what he felt had been stolen from him and to find what he hoped would save him. He was looking to create an even better fortress for himself, an even more perfect world than the world of animation had been.

Disneyland was what saved him. Disneyland was that fortress. That is the basis of this movie, Walt looking for a way to save himself, which he does through Disneyland. I think that would make a great movie. It would end with the actor playing Walt reading the dedication speech, and it would transition to the real Walt giving the same speech (in black and white, of course, but whatever).
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Personally I think what happens after Disneyland is also interesting, and the eventual lead in to The Florida Project.

So if the film ends with Walt giving the speech that only accounts for part of the 'Disneyland' story, the results of which led Walt to pursue a location bigger and better.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
Personally I think what happens after Disneyland is also interesting, and the eventual lead in to The Florida Project.

So if the film ends with Walt giving the speech that only accounts for part of the 'Disneyland' story, the results of which led Walt to pursue a location bigger and better.
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If that's the case, we might as well do Walt's ENTIRE life, since he was pretty much in pursuit of escape to bigger and better things all his life. And certain accomplishments have already been made into movies (i.e., "Saving Mr. Banks", "Walt Before Mickey"). Besides, he passed away before he could do anything of significance with the Florida Project.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
These ideas just didn't happen overnight
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No, but my point is, EPCOT as Walt envisioned it never happened.

This is the equivalent of "Walt Before Mickey", except it's about the lead-up to Disneyland, rather than the lead-up to Mickey Mouse. Roy Disney was really opposed to Disneyland at first, so you can factor that in. It could be a parallel to P.L. Travers' misgivings about how "Mary Poppins" would be filmed.

"Saving Mr. Banks" runs for just over two hours, and I'm pretty sure you can do a lot about this just from the lead-up to Disneyland. It would go a lot longer than that if you included the Florida Project. And I don't want to end it with Walt on his death bed; that would be kind of a downer ending.

Honestly, while the Florida Project might make a good movie, that's really another movie concept for another time. And like I said, it didn't happen quite as he envisioned it.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
I mean, this is an open brainstorming thread right? By all means make the film you want. I'm just offering ideas.
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I would like ideas, but I would like not to take it in another direction than what I had intended.

For example, who could play Walt? It should be someone younger (but not too much so) than Tom Hanks.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
Then that's not really an 'open' brainstorming thread:p It's a 'the film is happening this way...so the ideas need to follow suit' thread.
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It can be possible to be "open" within a certain timeframe. "Open" does not necessarily mean (nor has to mean) there are no rules at all.
 
spacemt354

spacemt354

Chili's
mharrington said:
But no one would be able to pitch ideas then. I would be pretty much alone.
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If you open up a brief pitch to people and ask them what they think, everyone might not have the same view on the direction. That's what open brainstorming is all about because it creates a dialogue of different ideas.

Though if you have a set vision it's tough to brainstorm if everyone's ideas need to parallel your own.
 
mharrington

mharrington

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
spacemt354 said:
If you open up a brief pitch to people and ask them what they think, everyone might not have the same view on the direction. That's what open brainstorming is all about because it creates a dialogue of different ideas.

Though if you have a set vision it's tough to brainstorm if everyone's ideas need to parallel your own.
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That doesn't mean we can't still brainstorm details, though. For instance, who could play Walt here? There are a couple of little things to keep in mind: he should be younger (but not too much so) than Tom Hanks, because this is the late '40s and early '50s. Also, I want this actor, whoever he is, to be American, so no non-Americans (Canadians included - sorry, Ryan Gosling, who is too young anyway) will be considered.
 
spacemt354

spacemt354

Chili's
mharrington said:
That doesn't mean we can't still brainstorm details, though. For instance, who could play Walt here? There are a couple of little things to keep in mind: he should be younger (but not too much so) than Tom Hanks, because this is the late '40s and early '50s. Also, I want this actor, whoever he is, to be American, so no non-Americans (Canadians included - sorry, Ryan Gosling, who is too young anyway) will be considered.
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Aaron Eckhart or Edward Norton.
 

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