Who knew bird watching was a suitable cornerstone for filmmakers? Apparently first-time director Rob Meyer did when he decided to make his award-winning short film Aquarium – now being developed for feature-length treatment into A Birder’s Guide to Everything. Subject matter aside, The Playlist is reporting via Production Weekly that the likes of Bryan Cranston and Ben Kingsley have been added to the film’s roster. Despite shooting as soon as this summer, The Playlist had little to report on Cranston and Kingsley’s roles in the film. However, they did note the synopsis as revolving around a teenager named David who goes in search of an extinct duck with three friends – learning life lessons and coming to terms with personal family issues along the way.
While it does sound like a standard fare coming-of-age-film, the bird-watching backdrop certainly piques curiosity – especially with Cranston and Kingsley now attached. The source material, Aquarium, was an honored short at the 2008 San Joaquin Film Festival, and I can certainly see from its trailer (embedded below) that there should be plenty of dry wit and humor for the indie crowd to chew on.
What do you think? Is Meyer onto something in adapting Aquarium into A Birder’s Guide? Will Cranston and Kingsley make the project worthwhile? Sound off.