Summary: In December 2008, Steven Paul Leiva wrote a story for the Los Angeles Times that gave details behind one of the most interesting unfinished animated films in Hollywood's history: Brad Bird's take on Will Eisner's legendary creation, The Spirit. The much rumored cartoon by the creator of The Incredibles is an especially hot topic with the release of Frank Miller's live action movie, The Spirit. Leiva spent many years working in film animation as a publicist, programmer, promoter, and producer. He produced the animation for Space Jam, the 1995 Warner Bros hit which brought the great Looney Tune characters back onto the big screen and paired them with basketball legend Michael Jordan. Previously he produced a critically praised 7-minute animated segment for the Warner Bros film, Stay Tuned, which starred the late John Ritter. Steven has worked with some of the greatest names in animation including Chuck Jones, Richard Williams, and Brad Bird, as well as famed producers Richard Zanuck and Ivan Reitman. Leiva voiced the role of Scott in the multi-award winning animated short written and directed by Steve Moore, The Indescribable Nth, which was short-listed for the Oscar in 2000. But writing was Steven’s first love and in 1993 he decided to go back to it, privately printing The Old Curmudgeon’s Book of Questions as an announcement of his intentions. He mailed copies to friends, professional colleagues, and people he greatly admired, receiving grateful acknowledgments and encouragement from filmmakers Richard Zanuck and Richard Fleischer, and Frank Rich of the New York Times, among others.
