Who do you hope is the new director for TGD? The Good Dinosaur - 2015
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Senior Wilderness Explorer 293 posts Dan the Pixar Fan Senior Wilderness Explorer 293 posts
Dan the Pixar Fan
I honestly thought that the rumours were false...especially after Bob Peterson's Twitter profile description change about the dinosaur era yesterday. I was so exited for a Bob Peterson film as I know of his amazing work there at the studio! BUT unfortunately it has been confirmed by slashfilm that he has indeed been taken off the film but is not leaving Pixar (PHEW). Now it's reported that some of the Pixar Brain Trust John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews, and Pete Sohn are working on different parts of the movie until they found an official replacement as director. To me this doesn't sound like a falling out with Pixar and Bob or that they fired him or that there are any hard feelings. I think that Bob and the team recognized that changes needed to be made in order to make the best film they could make and that fresh eyes were needed and lots of help to get the movie back on track. Possibly Bob felt he couldn't do it on his own? I trust Pixar and know that this decision is ultimately going to be for the best! When they know somethings not right, they recognize it and change it no matter how tough the process is. 

What do you think? Do you think Bob was taken (fired) off the project or do you think that there was a mutual feeling/understanding and that he left on his own in order to do what was right for the movie?

Also, since they are now looking for a new director, who do YOU guys think or hope it should be!?
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Pixar Post - T.J. Forum Owner 3,082 posts
Pixar Post - T.J.
Wow, those are a lot of heavy (and good) questions. I would guess that the decision wasn't easy for sure...and one can hope that Peterson was not deeply impacted by the decision (though it would be hard for sure).

If it were my call (and I were making the decision at this point), I would hope that it shakes out and that Sohn takes the lead Directing roll. Obviously I'm only saying that with minimal knowledge of the process and it's more of an emotional decision than a logical one - but I would like to see Sohn hold those reigns (especially since Andrews and Unkrich are already working on their own projects...and since Lasseter is so busy between the two studios).

One additional question that has been coming up now is, "why wasn't Peterson one of the many directors that was added to the project"? I'd be interested to hear what other's thoughts were on this too...but my feeling would be that when you're so close to a project and the project needs to take a different direction or turn, then it may be best to remove yourself completely. Stated another way, if a family member needed surgery, the doctor takes them into another room to perform the surgery...I'll see them again, but just not while the work is being done. Maybe that's a bad example, but it's just another way to look at it.

Our writeup of the official Bob Peterson change is here.
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WilliamJardine Luxo, Jr. 3 posts
WilliamJardine
I'm glad that we've got this collection of Brain Trust guys helming the film right now (although having that many different perspectives may be a little counter-intuitive if what they want is to help the film come together...), but I am still bummed out that Bob's off the film. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure John Lasseter had his reasons to remove him, but it's still sad.

That said, Pete Sohn seems the logical choice for a successor. If he's not been removed, John and co. clearly have faith in his image, and if he impresses while working with John, Lee and Mark for the time being, I'd say it's entirely likely he'll get bumped up to director.
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somedudenamedmilan Luxo, Jr. 22 posts
somedudenamedmilan
I'm still very optimistic about this film seeing that these four amazing Pixarians are working on the movie. Most likely the new director will be Pete Sohn, but I wouldn't mind Mark Andrews taking over this project. I don't know if that's going to happen with him working on a secret project, and I doubt it will be Lee Unkrich with his "Dia de los Muertos" film coming 2016. Looking forward to see what Bob Peterson is working on next at Pixar!  
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Pixar Post - T.J. Forum Owner 3,082 posts
Pixar Post - T.J.
Let's hope that Pete does get bumped to the main director. I think I'm feeling that way so we can have at least a part of the original team getting the main directing credit for the film. Agreed, I'm bummed too...Peterson is so well loved, it's hard not to be slightly bummed.

The one thing that I am reminding myself of though is that if the film did need to be reworked, then it could potentially be a good thing so our reputation of Peterson isn't tarnished. The expectation for Bob going in was really high and I'd rather see the film tweaked than (potentially) break his stellar reputation.

I do agree that they will need to figure out who will take the helm as the lead director shortly or there will be too many views and/or "cooks in the kitchen".  <-- That's a good point, William.
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Dan the Pixar Fan Senior Wilderness Explorer 293 posts
Dan the Pixar Fan
I know that this isn't the first time switching directors has happened at Pixar (Ratatouille, Brave, Cars 2...) but is this the first time theyve had 4 directors take over at the same time while they decided on a new one? After all this work has been done by Bob, Pete and now at least 4 others from the Brain Trust, who will get the final credit as director (Directed by: ?). Will Bob still be listed just as Brenda was still listed for Brave? So many Qs!!
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Pixar Post - T.J. Forum Owner 3,082 posts
Pixar Post - T.J.
No doubt for sure, Dan! So many questions is right! [Thinking_zpsf6d4ab4a]
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mac95 Pizza Planet Truck Driver 534 posts
mac95
I think the easiest and best choice would be to hand it over to Pete. As the Co-Director, he knows the film almost as much as Bob did.
Amazing that they're changing directors this late in production.
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