‘It remains heartbreaking’: Tim Minchin had to learn to ‘love the process’ after his DreamWorks film was axed

Tim Minchin has opened up about the “heartbreaking” axing of a DreamWorks film he was nearly halfway through completing.

The beloved Australian revered actor, writer and musician was helming the $90 million animation, Larrikins, for the studio behind blockbusters like Shrek and Madagascar when it was shut down in 2017, reportedly following the sale of DreamWorks to the parent company of Universal Pictures, Comcast.

The all-Australian story was to feature heavyweight names like Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie and Naomi Watts – who had all completed their voice work – while Minchin was also scoring the movie with legendary film composer, Hans Zimmer.

Appearing on the latest episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast series and The Plug podcast, Minchin spoke about what he learned from the ordeal and what it taught him about creativity when the film was shut down $46 million in to production.

“I was on a pay or play deal, which means if the movie didn’t go ahead, they had to pay me out,” Minchin told host Neil Griffiths.

“The funny thing is, when I had a quite difficult conversation with the people who were responsible for shutting the movie down… they were like, ‘But Tim, you’ve been paid.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s four years of my life.’ And one of the people said, ‘But you’ve been paid very well for that four years.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t give a fuck!’

@theplug.podcast

I fanboyed out with the great @Tim Minchin for a good hour on the latest episode. Hit the link in bio to listen🎧 #timminchin #youdonthavetohaveadream #dreamworks #film #animation #larrikins #hughjackman #margotrobbie #hanszimmer #dreamworks #dreamworksanimation #dreamworksedit #podcast #music #australia #theplugpodcast

♬ original sound – The Plug with Neil Griffiths

“They just did not get why I would see it as a loss of four years work, given I got paid.”

He continued: “I do think maybe it taught me to really love the process. Because the process is the joy… just sitting in that room with a bunch of smart people going, ‘What if, what if, what if, what if this, we could, she could, we could.’

“Over time I had to remember that I loved the four years, I loved the people, I loved the creativity. It is heartbreaking that all that work is in a computer somewhere. It remains heartbreaking.”

Minchin’s new book, You Don’t Have To Have A Dream, is out now.

Listen to the full podcast here.

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