In Pixar’s 2009 Oscar-winning movie Up, Carl Fredricksen begrudgingly held out against the development of the surrounding buildings being constructed in his neighborhood after the death of his wife. In the animated film, Fredricksen ultimately avoided vacating his home by rigging it up to thousands of balloons and flying off. Now, Fox Searchlight and Will Gluck (Annie) will produce the true story about a Seattle home that drew numerous comparisons to that of Fredricksen’s house in Up.
Aptly dubbed “The Up House”, the Seattle home of Edith Macefield became something of a local (and national) sensation when Macefield, an elderly woman, allegedly turned down one million dollars to allow developers to purchase her land and build a mall on her property. After developers bought up all the surrounding property, Macefield’s small farmhouse ultimately became the single holdout, yet Macefield was unwilling to part with the land.
In something of a twist, Macefield would go on to strike up a valuable friendship with superintendent Barry Martin, who was tasked with heading up the construction project that was occurring around the home, even as Macefield held firm against it. Throughout the construction, Martin would habitually find time to check in on Macefield, and the two went on to develop a deep affinity for each other. Macefield would end up passing in 2008, but not before she willed the home to Martin. Martin would later go on to write a memoir about the entire ordeal, 2013’s Under One Roof.
Today, the over one hundred year old home still stands, and is owned by nonprofit OPAL Community Land Trust, which is planning on channeling Carl Fredricksen by moving the house to the Orcas Island amidst more threats of demolition. They’ve even set up a fundraising project to do so.
The project will be produced by Gluck and Jodi Hildebrand. The script by John Whittington is based off of Martin’s memoir.
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