Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird

2015 / 130min / 35mm

Teen science whiz Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), briefly transported to a nigh-utopian world of jet packs and glittering possibility after touching a mysterious lapel pin, recruits the help of a former visitor to this futurist paradise, middle-aged pessimist Frank Walker (George Clooney), in order to unlock its secrets. .

“Bird’s widely overlooked 2014 Disney blockbuster, starring George Clooney and co-written by Lost and Watchmen scribe Damon Lindelof, poses the question: ‘Why did the bright future promised in the 1950s and 1960s never come to fruition?’ Bird’s vision of an optimistic future—ultimately left unfulfilled—was heavily influenced by Syd Mead’s canon of work dating back to the early 1960s. While only brought on to develop the film’s promotional materials, Mead’s designs were central influences for the window into the future Bird built on screen.” —Series curators William Corman and Elon Solo

Introduction by associate programmer DeWitt Davis on Saturday, May 10th