Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Groups has gone galactic.
The studio acquisitions arm has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the animated family film "Planet 51," scheduling it for a Nov. 20, 2009, release through its TriStar Pictures label.
Produced by HandMade Films International and Ilion Animation Studios Film, "Planet" is an alien adventure about an Earth astronaut (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who lands on Planet 51, thinking he's first to set foot on it only to discover "little green people" who live in a white picket-fence community reminiscent of 1950s America. Their only fear is being overrun by alien invaders like the astronaut.
Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman, Justin Long, John Cleese and Seann William Scott also have voice roles.
Jorge Blanco directed the CGI tale with co-directors Marcos Martinez and Javier Abad from a script by Joe Stillman ("Shrek," "Shrek 2").
Ilion's Ignacio Perez Dolset and HandMade's Guy Collins produced the film, with Peter D. Graves, Michael Ryan and Jose A. Rodriguez executive producing.
"With 'Planet 51,' Ignacio and his very talented team have created an original and entertaining family film featuring an outstanding cast," Spwag president Steven Bersch said.
London-based HandMade will handle the worldwide sales on the film. A "Planet 51" video game also is in development from Ilion, set for a worldwide day-and-date release with the film.
The studio acquisitions arm has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the animated family film "Planet 51," scheduling it for a Nov. 20, 2009, release through its TriStar Pictures label.
Produced by HandMade Films International and Ilion Animation Studios Film, "Planet" is an alien adventure about an Earth astronaut (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who lands on Planet 51, thinking he's first to set foot on it only to discover "little green people" who live in a white picket-fence community reminiscent of 1950s America. Their only fear is being overrun by alien invaders like the astronaut.
Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman, Justin Long, John Cleese and Seann William Scott also have voice roles.
Jorge Blanco directed the CGI tale with co-directors Marcos Martinez and Javier Abad from a script by Joe Stillman ("Shrek," "Shrek 2").
Ilion's Ignacio Perez Dolset and HandMade's Guy Collins produced the film, with Peter D. Graves, Michael Ryan and Jose A. Rodriguez executive producing.
"With 'Planet 51,' Ignacio and his very talented team have created an original and entertaining family film featuring an outstanding cast," Spwag president Steven Bersch said.
London-based HandMade will handle the worldwide sales on the film. A "Planet 51" video game also is in development from Ilion, set for a worldwide day-and-date release with the film.
- 7/8/2008
- by By Leslie Simmons
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jessica Biel, Seann William Scott and Justin Long will voice lead characters in the CG-animated sci-fi film Planet 51 for New Line.
The film revolves around a group of residents on the eponymous planet who fear an alien invasion. Johnson will play astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker, who arrives from Earth and confirms their worst fears. He's forced to avoid capture so he can find his spaceship and return home.
Long will voice Lem, the local who Chuck befriends. Biel will voice Neera, the film's female protagonist and Lem's love interest. Scott will voice Lem's sidekick, Skiff.
New Line recently acquired North American rights to director Jorge Blanco's $60 million feature, written by Joe Stillman (Shrek). Ignacio Perez Dolset is producing the Ilion Animation Studios project from Handmade Films International. It marks the studio's first animated feature in its 40-year history.
Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked on the video game Commandos with Blanco, are co-directors.
The film revolves around a group of residents on the eponymous planet who fear an alien invasion. Johnson will play astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker, who arrives from Earth and confirms their worst fears. He's forced to avoid capture so he can find his spaceship and return home.
Long will voice Lem, the local who Chuck befriends. Biel will voice Neera, the film's female protagonist and Lem's love interest. Scott will voice Lem's sidekick, Skiff.
New Line recently acquired North American rights to director Jorge Blanco's $60 million feature, written by Joe Stillman (Shrek). Ignacio Perez Dolset is producing the Ilion Animation Studios project from Handmade Films International. It marks the studio's first animated feature in its 40-year history.
Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked on the video game Commandos with Blanco, are co-directors.
- 2/15/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New Line is venturing into the animation business for the first time in its 40-year history by acquiring Ilion Animation Studios' $60 million feature "Planet 51" from Handmade Films International.
Written by Joe Stillman ("Shrek"), the story is set on Planet 51, whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home.
The film is produced by Ignacio Perez Dolset, directed by Jorge Blanco and co-directed by Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked with Blanco on the worldwide best-selling video game "Commandos".
Ilion set up a studio in Spain five years ago to start work on "Planet 51", where it developed technology in-house.
"Planet 51" is in production and scheduled for completion in March 2009. A search for A-list voice cast is under way. The project already has sold to more than 30 territories.
Written by Joe Stillman ("Shrek"), the story is set on Planet 51, whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home.
The film is produced by Ignacio Perez Dolset, directed by Jorge Blanco and co-directed by Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked with Blanco on the worldwide best-selling video game "Commandos".
Ilion set up a studio in Spain five years ago to start work on "Planet 51", where it developed technology in-house.
"Planet 51" is in production and scheduled for completion in March 2009. A search for A-list voice cast is under way. The project already has sold to more than 30 territories.
- 11/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
America has always been a nation of immigrants. And that experience of newfound hope mingled with alienation and despair has occupied a large place in our literature and cinema. But David Riker's "The City" (La Ciudad) deals so directly with this subject that a kind of distortion creeps into the film. Nothing else seems to inform his characters' experience other than their status as aliens.
This well-made, black-and-white film takes the form of four completely separate vignettes about Latino immigrants eking out bleak existences in an indifferent New York. The film has received abundant praise on the film-festival circuit, and there's no doubt Riker's heart is in the right place. But as an American drawing on other people's experiences, Riker possesses the viewpoint of an outsider. And, as an outsider, what he sees as gloom and despair may not always register as such to the one experiencing that life.
It will be fascinating to see how Latino audiences respond to this picture. The guess here is that the largest segment of "The City"'s audience will be English-speaking Anglos in urban venues.
The film originated as a short in 1992 while Riker was enrolled in New York University's graduate film school. After winning awards for that short, Riker decided to expand the film to include three additional stories.
He ventured into Latino communities in New York, made connections, listened to people and, finally, cast immigrant nonactors in almost every role. He was rewarded with sensitive, resonant performances. The most affecting thing about these stories are the wonderful faces and emotions expressed by his cast.
Three of the four vignettes view its immigrant heroes as victims while a fourth conveys a sense of helplessness in an alien land. In the first, a group of men recruited from a street corner to work at a job site fail to trust one another. When one gets crushed by a collapsing brick wall, they realize the value of collaboration.
The second vignette sees a young Mexican immigrant meet a young woman from his hometown at a party. After he establishes a genuine connection, he loses her in a maze of look-alike buildings in a housing project.
In the third tale, a homeless and ailing puppeteer tries to register his young daughter for school only to be turned away when he lacks proof of residence. In the final episode, which answers questions raised in the first, a seamstress desperately needs to send money home for her daughter's medical care. But she has no money because the Asian-owned sweatshop where she works hasn't paid her in weeks.
Riker ably portrays the anguish and dislocation of the immigrant experience. But he gives no thought to its joys or happiness. Gregory Nava, for example, has made a number of exceptional films about Latin Americans in the United States, most notably "El Norte" and "Mi Familia", where he achieved a balance and sense of humor in his portrait of immigrant struggles.
The city has a million stories; not all are as bleak as those in "The City".
THE CITY
Zeitgeist Films
Independent Television Service and Echo Lake Prods. presents a North Star Films Production
Producers: David Riker, Paul S. Mezey
Writer-director-editor: David Riker
Executive producers: Andrew Hurwitz, Doug Mankoff, Robin Alper
Director of photography: Harlan Bosmajian
Production designers: Ariane Burgess, Roshelle Berliner
Music: Tony Adzinikolov
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
The Men from "Bricks": Fernando Reyes, Moises Garcia, Marcos Martinez Garcia, Mateo Gomez, Cesar Monzon, Harsh Nayyar, Fernando Reyes, Victor Sierra and Carlos Torrentes
Young man from "Home": Cipriano Garcia
Young woman from "Home": Leticia Herrera
The father from "The Puppeteer": Jose Rabelo
The daughter from "The Puppeteer": Stephanie Viruet
The seamstress from "Seamstress": Silvia Goiz
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This well-made, black-and-white film takes the form of four completely separate vignettes about Latino immigrants eking out bleak existences in an indifferent New York. The film has received abundant praise on the film-festival circuit, and there's no doubt Riker's heart is in the right place. But as an American drawing on other people's experiences, Riker possesses the viewpoint of an outsider. And, as an outsider, what he sees as gloom and despair may not always register as such to the one experiencing that life.
It will be fascinating to see how Latino audiences respond to this picture. The guess here is that the largest segment of "The City"'s audience will be English-speaking Anglos in urban venues.
The film originated as a short in 1992 while Riker was enrolled in New York University's graduate film school. After winning awards for that short, Riker decided to expand the film to include three additional stories.
He ventured into Latino communities in New York, made connections, listened to people and, finally, cast immigrant nonactors in almost every role. He was rewarded with sensitive, resonant performances. The most affecting thing about these stories are the wonderful faces and emotions expressed by his cast.
Three of the four vignettes view its immigrant heroes as victims while a fourth conveys a sense of helplessness in an alien land. In the first, a group of men recruited from a street corner to work at a job site fail to trust one another. When one gets crushed by a collapsing brick wall, they realize the value of collaboration.
The second vignette sees a young Mexican immigrant meet a young woman from his hometown at a party. After he establishes a genuine connection, he loses her in a maze of look-alike buildings in a housing project.
In the third tale, a homeless and ailing puppeteer tries to register his young daughter for school only to be turned away when he lacks proof of residence. In the final episode, which answers questions raised in the first, a seamstress desperately needs to send money home for her daughter's medical care. But she has no money because the Asian-owned sweatshop where she works hasn't paid her in weeks.
Riker ably portrays the anguish and dislocation of the immigrant experience. But he gives no thought to its joys or happiness. Gregory Nava, for example, has made a number of exceptional films about Latin Americans in the United States, most notably "El Norte" and "Mi Familia", where he achieved a balance and sense of humor in his portrait of immigrant struggles.
The city has a million stories; not all are as bleak as those in "The City".
THE CITY
Zeitgeist Films
Independent Television Service and Echo Lake Prods. presents a North Star Films Production
Producers: David Riker, Paul S. Mezey
Writer-director-editor: David Riker
Executive producers: Andrew Hurwitz, Doug Mankoff, Robin Alper
Director of photography: Harlan Bosmajian
Production designers: Ariane Burgess, Roshelle Berliner
Music: Tony Adzinikolov
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
The Men from "Bricks": Fernando Reyes, Moises Garcia, Marcos Martinez Garcia, Mateo Gomez, Cesar Monzon, Harsh Nayyar, Fernando Reyes, Victor Sierra and Carlos Torrentes
Young man from "Home": Cipriano Garcia
Young woman from "Home": Leticia Herrera
The father from "The Puppeteer": Jose Rabelo
The daughter from "The Puppeteer": Stephanie Viruet
The seamstress from "Seamstress": Silvia Goiz
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/5/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.