The tale of the small Seattle-area home that rose to fame after the owner famously turned down $1 million for her home even as a shopping mall was being built around her and was once used to promote the Disney film “Up,” because of its similarities to the movie, is now headed to Hollywood itself.
According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, the story of Edith Macefield, who died in 2008 at the age of 86, but not before refusing to sell her 1,000-square-foot home to developers for $1 million, is at the center of a new movie set to be produced by Will Gluck, the filmmaker who directed Emma Stone’s “Easy A” and the recent remake of “Annie.”
Macefield rose to prominence after she refused to move out her home in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The developers were forced to alter their plans and build the mixed-use office and retail building around Macefield’s home.
The home later fell into foreclosure, but not before reaching fame in 2009 when Disney used Macefield’s home to promote the move “Up,” which is also about a homeowner refusing to sell.
In the movie, Carl Fredricksen doesn’t want to give up the home he shared with his wife, so he ties balloons to the home and floats away. Disney tied balloons to Macefield’s home in 2009 to celebrate its similarities with the movie.
After Macefield’s death, she left the home to Barry Martin, who was actually the construction superintendent on the project that surrounded Macefield’s home. The two apparently became very close throughout the construction process, with Martin reportedly looking after Macefield when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The relationship between Martin and Macefield will be the core of the movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter article.
From the Hollywood Reporter:
The feature project, intended to be a comedic drama, will tell the story of Macefield and her unlikely relationship with Martin, how each changed the other’s life, and how living a life with dignity is a basic human need.
The actual home is still facing demolition, but a nonprofit organization is running a fundraising campaign to help move the home to nearby Orcas Island.
Regardless of the results of the fundraising campaign, the story of Edith Macefield, Barry Martin and the “Up” house could be coming to a theater near you soon.
