Adam Goldberg, star of “God Friended Me” and the upcoming Russell Crowe pic “The Georgetown Project,” is developing a series at Quibi which is loosely based on his own experiences with social media, Variety has learned exclusively.
The project in question is called “@GeneralStories” (working title) and also hails from Eric Siegel and Stampede Ventures. Goldberg is on board to direct.
It follows millennial couple Charlie and Lake who decide to uproot their young family and hectic life in Los Angeles to move in with Lake’s parents and open a general store in a small East Coast town after a downsizing trend they notice on Instagram. Before they know it, they become Instagram stars themselves and what began as a hobby and sales tool to support the store, quickly become an obsession and exposes problems the family didn’t know (or weren’t prepared to admit) they had.
Goldberg...
The project in question is called “@GeneralStories” (working title) and also hails from Eric Siegel and Stampede Ventures. Goldberg is on board to direct.
It follows millennial couple Charlie and Lake who decide to uproot their young family and hectic life in Los Angeles to move in with Lake’s parents and open a general store in a small East Coast town after a downsizing trend they notice on Instagram. Before they know it, they become Instagram stars themselves and what began as a hobby and sales tool to support the store, quickly become an obsession and exposes problems the family didn’t know (or weren’t prepared to admit) they had.
Goldberg...
- 7/13/2020
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
With only four nominations “The Emoji Movie” wasn’t the biggest contender at the 2018 Razzie Awards, but sometimes bad things come in small packages. Not only did it win Worst Picture, it swept all four of its categories. It also claimed Worst Director (Anthony Leondis), Worst Screenplay (Leondis, Eric Siegel and Mike White) and Worst Screen Combo (any two obnoxious emojis). This film, rated as the worst of the year on MetaCritic with a score of 12 out of 100, is the first animated movie to win the top prize. But the Razzies spread the wealth — or disdain — to several films in other categories.
The next biggest winner with two awards was “Fifty Shades Darker.” While its predecessor, “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015), swept the awards with five victories two years ago including Worst Picture, “Darker” got off easier by only claiming Worst Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger, with her first win after seven nominations) and Worst Remake,...
The next biggest winner with two awards was “Fifty Shades Darker.” While its predecessor, “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015), swept the awards with five victories two years ago including Worst Picture, “Darker” got off easier by only claiming Worst Supporting Actress (Kim Basinger, with her first win after seven nominations) and Worst Remake,...
- 3/3/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The Emoji Movie's Patrick Stewart on switching it up to voice a character called Poop The Emoji Movie's Patrick Stewart on switching it up to voice a character called Poop Bob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine7/25/2017 9:28:00 Am
Verily, is there an English actor more worthy of respect than Sir Patrick Stewart?
The distinguished Shakespearean, birthed in Yorkshire in 1940, has wowed on the stage his whole career and continues to do so, most recently in a production of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land that he and his buddy Ian McKellen mounted on Broadway and then brought across the pond to London.
Before that, his portrayal of cerebral starship captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a major factor in ensuring the longevity of one of pop culture’s greatest science-fiction franchises.
Speaking of franchises, the X-Men movies, which set the template for this century’s superhero genre,...
Verily, is there an English actor more worthy of respect than Sir Patrick Stewart?
The distinguished Shakespearean, birthed in Yorkshire in 1940, has wowed on the stage his whole career and continues to do so, most recently in a production of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land that he and his buddy Ian McKellen mounted on Broadway and then brought across the pond to London.
Before that, his portrayal of cerebral starship captain Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was a major factor in ensuring the longevity of one of pop culture’s greatest science-fiction franchises.
Speaking of franchises, the X-Men movies, which set the template for this century’s superhero genre,...
- 7/25/2017
- by Bob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine
- Cineplex
No matter what you think of Sony’s upcoming Emoji Movie, you have to give its screenwriter, Eric Siegel, at least a little credit for figuring out a way to make an actual narrative out of a bunch of static little doodles on your cell phone. Now there’s word of what his next script will entail, and it should be a breeze to write compared to that mess. According to Deadline Hollywood, Siegel has sold a pitch to CBS Films for an action-adventure movie about Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain—you know, based on all the fantastical hijinks those geniuses got up to.
As weird as that sounds, at least Siegel has a shred of actual history to go off of for this one. Tesla and Twain were real-life buddies who are said to have met in New York and become fast friends. One legendary story about the duo...
As weird as that sounds, at least Siegel has a shred of actual history to go off of for this one. Tesla and Twain were real-life buddies who are said to have met in New York and become fast friends. One legendary story about the duo...
- 2/3/2017
- by Matt Gerardi
- avclub.com
Exclusive: CBS Films has closed a deal to acquire Tesla & Twain, an action-adventure pitch from Eric Siegel, the scribe behind Sony Pictures’ upcoming The Emoji Movie and the TV series Men at Work. The Jungle Book‘s Brigham Taylor will produce. The film is a fictional exploration of the real historical friendship between the great writer Mark Twain and the genius inventor Nikola Tesla. Alex Ginno will oversee this genius collision for CBS Films. Siegel is repped by Apa…...
- 2/3/2017
- Deadline
Hacker emoji Jailbreak (Ilana Glazer), exuberant Gene (T.J. Miller) and his handy best friend Hi-5 (James Corden) embark on the app-venture of a lifetime in Sony Pictures Animation’s Emojimovie: Express Yourself, in theaters summer 2017.
Making good on the commitment to increase overall output while continuing to offer its distinctive mix of family films, Sony Pictures Animation today released the project details on its upcoming roster of titles through 2018, along with additional highly anticipated future feature film projects, including one from Pulitzer Prize-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Kristine Belson, President of Sony Pictures Animation, says, “We are proud of the artist-driven titles we have coming to the marketplace. The abundance, variety and quality of the features are a testament to the wealth of creative talents who call Sony Pictures Animation their home.”
Smurfs: The Lost Village (April 7, 2017 release)
Newly announced voice cast includes: Michelle Rodriguez (SmurfStorm), Ellie Kemper (SmurfBlossom), Ariel Winter (SmurfLily...
Making good on the commitment to increase overall output while continuing to offer its distinctive mix of family films, Sony Pictures Animation today released the project details on its upcoming roster of titles through 2018, along with additional highly anticipated future feature film projects, including one from Pulitzer Prize-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Kristine Belson, President of Sony Pictures Animation, says, “We are proud of the artist-driven titles we have coming to the marketplace. The abundance, variety and quality of the features are a testament to the wealth of creative talents who call Sony Pictures Animation their home.”
Smurfs: The Lost Village (April 7, 2017 release)
Newly announced voice cast includes: Michelle Rodriguez (SmurfStorm), Ellie Kemper (SmurfBlossom), Ariel Winter (SmurfLily...
- 1/20/2017
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Throughout his decorated career, Sir Patrick Stewart has amassed a collection of truly memorable roles. We’ve had the great Professor X – a role that Stewart will soon reprise for James Mangold’s Logan – Star Trek‘s Jean-Luc Picard and, more recently, Darcy Banker, the neo-Nazi skinhead seen in Jeremy Saulnier’s excellent Green Room. But in 2017, Stewart will lend his voice to Sony’s Emoji Movie.
He’ll play Poop – no, really – and we understand that Stewart has climbed on board alongside a whole host of newcomers including Jennifer Coolidge, Bridesmaids alum Maya Rudolph as Smiler, and Jake T. Austin as the human character of Sony’s twee animation. Anthony Leondis is at the helm for The Emoji Movie, which largely centers around Gene (Deadpool’s T.J. Miller), a sprightly symbol who has essentially been rendered the outcast of Textopolis after displaying more than one emotion. In order to course-correct his internal code,...
He’ll play Poop – no, really – and we understand that Stewart has climbed on board alongside a whole host of newcomers including Jennifer Coolidge, Bridesmaids alum Maya Rudolph as Smiler, and Jake T. Austin as the human character of Sony’s twee animation. Anthony Leondis is at the helm for The Emoji Movie, which largely centers around Gene (Deadpool’s T.J. Miller), a sprightly symbol who has essentially been rendered the outcast of Textopolis after displaying more than one emotion. In order to course-correct his internal code,...
- 1/18/2017
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Sir Patrick Stewart just landed a literal shit role: The dignified actor, best known for his trademark work in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men franchise, scooped up the part of Poop in the upcoming Emoji Movie, Sony Pictures announced Wednesday.
The company revealed the casting via Twitter, writing, "So excited to announce the distinguished @SirPatStew as Poop in the #EmojiMovie," along with a picture of Stewart's character, a charming pile of feces wearing a bow-tie.
He ain’t no...
The company revealed the casting via Twitter, writing, "So excited to announce the distinguished @SirPatStew as Poop in the #EmojiMovie," along with a picture of Stewart's character, a charming pile of feces wearing a bow-tie.
He ain’t no...
- 1/18/2017
- Rollingstone.com
When Sony Pictures Animation first drafted up plans for The Emoji Movie, the Internet was suitably perplexed. How could an audience expect to care about a host of digital characters that are, by definition, one-note personifications of an emotion, or a symbol, or, you know, poop?
To be fair, similar questions were raised in anticipation of The Lego Movie and this year’s Trolls, and Sony has crafted something of a workaround in Gene (T.J. Miller), a symbol whose ability to express more than one emotion renders him the outcast of Textopolis, a bustling digital utopia in which much of Anthony Leondis’ animation is set to take place. Think Zootopia, only overrun by sprightly pixels as opposed to an entire animal kingdom. And so, what follows is an “app-venture” like no other, after Gene is left with little choice but to buddy up with Hi-5 (James Corden) and a stealthy...
To be fair, similar questions were raised in anticipation of The Lego Movie and this year’s Trolls, and Sony has crafted something of a workaround in Gene (T.J. Miller), a symbol whose ability to express more than one emotion renders him the outcast of Textopolis, a bustling digital utopia in which much of Anthony Leondis’ animation is set to take place. Think Zootopia, only overrun by sprightly pixels as opposed to an entire animal kingdom. And so, what follows is an “app-venture” like no other, after Gene is left with little choice but to buddy up with Hi-5 (James Corden) and a stealthy...
- 12/21/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Sony Pictures Animation has launched the world’s first-ever vertical movie trailer designed especially for mobile users supporting the highly anticipated family comedy The Emoji Movie, the computer animated adventure that unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. For the first 24 hours, the trailer will be optimized for mobile users and best viewed on the phone.
Mobile moviegoers can see the teaser trailer for The Emoji Movie at http://bit.ly/EmojiTeaseFB and an extended version in theaters nationwide Today.
Simultaneously, the studio announced that it is teaming up with the most popular apps on your phone to bring The Emoji Movie to life in a way that every mobile user will recognize. The teaser trailer will launch with these partners and others equaling a social footprint of nearly 700 million followers.
The teaser trailer features the vocal performance of Steven Wright, who joins the cast as Mel Meh, the father of T.
Mobile moviegoers can see the teaser trailer for The Emoji Movie at http://bit.ly/EmojiTeaseFB and an extended version in theaters nationwide Today.
Simultaneously, the studio announced that it is teaming up with the most popular apps on your phone to bring The Emoji Movie to life in a way that every mobile user will recognize. The teaser trailer will launch with these partners and others equaling a social footprint of nearly 700 million followers.
The teaser trailer features the vocal performance of Steven Wright, who joins the cast as Mel Meh, the father of T.
- 12/21/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chances are, when you heard that Sony Pictures Animation was making The Emoji Movie, you assumed that it would be a shameless marketing strategy for various mobile phone applications. While the first teaser trailer doesn’t exactly confirm this, it does nothing to dispel that expectation, either.
Written and directed by Anthony Leondis (Igor), and co-written by Eric Siegel (Men At Work), The Emoji Movie promises an adventurous ride through your favourite digital landscapes – but whether the finished product will deliver on that promise is not clear from this promotional footage.
For more on what to expect, you can consult the official plot summary below:
“The Emoji Movie unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial...
Written and directed by Anthony Leondis (Igor), and co-written by Eric Siegel (Men At Work), The Emoji Movie promises an adventurous ride through your favourite digital landscapes – but whether the finished product will deliver on that promise is not clear from this promotional footage.
For more on what to expect, you can consult the official plot summary below:
“The Emoji Movie unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial...
- 12/20/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
Where words fail, emojis speak.
Emojis have become a part of our daily lives, using the small digital images to express emotions and ideas via texts or social media. Now the animated icons are hitting the big screen in Sony’s “Emoji Movie,” a thrilling adventure into the land of Textopolis.
The first teaser trailer for the upcoming CG animated movie doesn’t tell us much about the plot, rather it introduces viewers to “Meh” (Steven Wright), an unenthusiastic emoji who is “oh-so-excited” to announce the film.
Directed by Tony Leondis, who co-wrote the script with Eric Siegel and Mike White, “Emoji Movie” features a great voice cast including T.J. Miller, “Broad City’s” Ilana Glazer and James Corden. The story is set in the messaging app Textopolis, where every emoji has one facial expression, except Gene (Miller), who was born without a filter and has multiple expressions. Determined to...
Emojis have become a part of our daily lives, using the small digital images to express emotions and ideas via texts or social media. Now the animated icons are hitting the big screen in Sony’s “Emoji Movie,” a thrilling adventure into the land of Textopolis.
The first teaser trailer for the upcoming CG animated movie doesn’t tell us much about the plot, rather it introduces viewers to “Meh” (Steven Wright), an unenthusiastic emoji who is “oh-so-excited” to announce the film.
Directed by Tony Leondis, who co-wrote the script with Eric Siegel and Mike White, “Emoji Movie” features a great voice cast including T.J. Miller, “Broad City’s” Ilana Glazer and James Corden. The story is set in the messaging app Textopolis, where every emoji has one facial expression, except Gene (Miller), who was born without a filter and has multiple expressions. Determined to...
- 12/20/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
So yeah... this is a thing. Below you'll find the first trailer for Sony's The Emoji Movie, which features the voice talents of Deadpool's T.J. Miller, late night talk show host James Corden, and Broad City star Ilana Glazer among others. In it, the "Meh" emoji (standup comedian Steven Wright) introduces himself and promotes the movie in a very enthusiastic manner. I guess this is mildly amusing stuff, and to be fair, nobody thought The Lego Movie would amount to much and that was one of the funniest movies of the last few years. Will we be giving The Emoji Movie a chance? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments. Directed by Anthony Leondis with an original screenplay co-written by Eric Siegel, The Emoji Movie has a release date of August 4, 2017.
- 12/20/2016
- ComicBookMovie.com
Get ready for an “app-venture” like no other with the first image for Sony’s animated flick, Emojimovie: Express Yourself.
Headlined by T.J. Miller of Deadpool fame – he can be seen here front and center as Gene, an anomaly of Textopolis because he, unlike his pixelated peers, can render more than a single emotion – there’s also word that James Corden (Into the Woods) and Ilana Glazer (Broad City) have climbed aboard to fill the supporting roles of Hi-5 and Jailbreak. As if things aren’t ridiculous enough, a bow-tied poo emoji sneaks into the frame, though there’s currently no mention of who will be lending their vocal chords to that particular emote.
One thing we do know for sure is that Tony Leondis is at the helm of Emojimovie: Express Yourself, directing from a script he penned alongside Eric Siegel. Drawing comparisons to Pixels and, in particular, The Lego Movie,...
Headlined by T.J. Miller of Deadpool fame – he can be seen here front and center as Gene, an anomaly of Textopolis because he, unlike his pixelated peers, can render more than a single emotion – there’s also word that James Corden (Into the Woods) and Ilana Glazer (Broad City) have climbed aboard to fill the supporting roles of Hi-5 and Jailbreak. As if things aren’t ridiculous enough, a bow-tied poo emoji sneaks into the frame, though there’s currently no mention of who will be lending their vocal chords to that particular emote.
One thing we do know for sure is that Tony Leondis is at the helm of Emojimovie: Express Yourself, directing from a script he penned alongside Eric Siegel. Drawing comparisons to Pixels and, in particular, The Lego Movie,...
- 10/10/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Sony Animation is pulling out all the stops to boost its output for 2017 and 2018, and the result is some fairly wide-ranging news regarding both the television and film side of the operation. With its animated Spider-Man feature already moving full-speed ahead – with Phil Lord and Chris Miller on board – and television series of both Ghostbusters and Cloudy With a Chance Of Meatballs in development, the biggest titles currently under discussion are Hotel Transylvania 3, that film’s overall franchise, and EmojiMovie: Express Yourself.
The Hotel Transylvania franchise
Recently, Sony announced that the director of the first two instalments of the highly successful franchise – Genndy Tartakovsky – had opted not to return for the third movie. This was widely acknowledged to be the result of his return to the Samurai Jack fold, since he was that show’s creator, and he just headed up a brand new season. However, having performed a rather nifty about-face,...
The Hotel Transylvania franchise
Recently, Sony announced that the director of the first two instalments of the highly successful franchise – Genndy Tartakovsky – had opted not to return for the third movie. This was widely acknowledged to be the result of his return to the Samurai Jack fold, since he was that show’s creator, and he just headed up a brand new season. However, having performed a rather nifty about-face,...
- 6/21/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
Sony Pictures Animation has always been the red-headed stepchild of studio animation arms. They’ve had a few big hits, a few mid-sized hits, and they’ve done a very good job of squeezing every possible penny out of the direct-to-video market with sequels to some of their titles. In the press release they sent out today, Sony made it clear that they’re doubling down on animation. Kristine Belson is the president of Sony Animation, answering directly to Tom Rothman, and she talked about letting artists drive the films they’re planning to make. It’s a pretty safe list overall, with an emphasis on pre-existing properties, and I have a hard time getting my head around how anyone is even remotely artistically moved by the idea of an Emoji movie. Some of the titles had already been announced, but there are new details on those, and some of the announcements were brand-new.
- 6/20/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Labelled as yet another example of 'the end of civilization' in some social media posts, it looks like Sony Pictures' proposed 'Emoji Movie' may have hit a snag. THR reports that Marco Husges, a former video game executive who lives in Germany, seems to have all the merchandise trademarks for emojis.
First created by mobile-phone operators in Japan in the late 1990s, Husges doesn't own the rights to the digital icons on phones and social media. However, as founder of The Emoji Co. he has created more than 3,000 of his own icons and trademarked and licensed them for use on an array of merchandise.
Husges claims to be surprised that Sony Pictures Animation announced "The Emoji Movie" dated for August 2017. Sony filed applications for dozens of trademarks in connection with its project in October, trademarks which have since been rejected.
Husges tells the trade: "I am curious how Sony would...
First created by mobile-phone operators in Japan in the late 1990s, Husges doesn't own the rights to the digital icons on phones and social media. However, as founder of The Emoji Co. he has created more than 3,000 of his own icons and trademarked and licensed them for use on an array of merchandise.
Husges claims to be surprised that Sony Pictures Animation announced "The Emoji Movie" dated for August 2017. Sony filed applications for dozens of trademarks in connection with its project in October, trademarks which have since been rejected.
Husges tells the trade: "I am curious how Sony would...
- 6/1/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
When Sony announced they had won a bidding war against two other studios to make The Emoji Movie, an animated feature based on emojis, we were like [insert Wtf face emoji here]. Now we know what the pitch from Eric Siegel (producer on the TBS series Men at Work) and Anthony Leondis (director of the animated series Kung Fu Panda: Series of the Masters and the delayed […]
The post The Pitch for the Emoji Movie Revealed [CinemaCon 2016] appeared first on /Film.
The post The Pitch for the Emoji Movie Revealed [CinemaCon 2016] appeared first on /Film.
- 4/13/2016
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
Sony Pictures Animation stirred all kinds of emotions when it first confirmed plans to build a feature film based on Emoji – Smiley emoticons, confused emotions, angry emoticons, you name it – but perhaps the one reaction that resounded around the four corners of the Internet was a general feeling of apathy.
But low and behold, The Emoji Movie is beginning to ease the wheels into motion, after the studio outlined some preliminary details and plot points during the ongoing CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. Situated in a place known as Emoji Valley, the movie looks to be rooted within the cybernetic walls of a mobile phone – think Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph – centering on a group of Emoji going about their daily business.
The first and all-too-brief plot description reads as so: “Inside your phone, there’s a secret world– and we enter through the text app where we discover Emoji Valley,...
But low and behold, The Emoji Movie is beginning to ease the wheels into motion, after the studio outlined some preliminary details and plot points during the ongoing CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. Situated in a place known as Emoji Valley, the movie looks to be rooted within the cybernetic walls of a mobile phone – think Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph – centering on a group of Emoji going about their daily business.
The first and all-too-brief plot description reads as so: “Inside your phone, there’s a secret world– and we enter through the text app where we discover Emoji Valley,...
- 4/13/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Though many balked at its announcement, Sony Pictures Animation has reminded us all that its Emoji Movie is still very much in development, and it has a new release date to call its own: August 11, 2017.
It was just one of a number of animated features that the studio dated, with the other notable reshuffling arriving in the form of Chris Lord and Phil Miller’s animated Spider-Man movie, which has shied away from its tentative 2017 window – logical, given that Marvel’s live-action feature is due in 2017 – and taken up residence at December 21, 2018.
Lord and Miller are currently pitching a treatment for the animated film and are set to go on to produce. They’ll stop short of directing, though, with a certain Han Solo spinoff movie looming on the horizon as the creative pair begin to make tracks for the Star Wars universe.
This is by no means the first...
It was just one of a number of animated features that the studio dated, with the other notable reshuffling arriving in the form of Chris Lord and Phil Miller’s animated Spider-Man movie, which has shied away from its tentative 2017 window – logical, given that Marvel’s live-action feature is due in 2017 – and taken up residence at December 21, 2018.
Lord and Miller are currently pitching a treatment for the animated film and are set to go on to produce. They’ll stop short of directing, though, with a certain Han Solo spinoff movie looming on the horizon as the creative pair begin to make tracks for the Star Wars universe.
This is by no means the first...
- 12/22/2015
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Sony Pictures Animation must certainly be enjoying how people are taking in the Pac-Man-heavy marketing for this weeks' Pixels (and, to the film's mild credit, he is the best part of it), because the suits in charge have ponied up the near seven figures to have some other yellow-faced friends transition to the big screen. In a heated three-studio audition, Sony won the right to have their banner placed in front of an Emoji movie. With Warner Bros and Paramount reported to be the other two studios vying to get the expressive, social media/text message-based personalities their cinematic due, it's apparently a ripe opportunity to take this property (c) to the next level, as the Japan-hatched ideograms don't subside themselves to any pesky rights, making them essentially free-reign when it comes to marketing, promoting and all that jazz. Does it matter that they'll have to take the extra route...
- 7/22/2015
- by Will Ashton
- Rope of Silicon
Proving that Hollywood thinks anything is a good idea (even when it is absolutely terrible), Emoji’s are headed to the big screen. Yes, those cute winky faces that you send to your friends are getting their own movie. And whats more, Deadline is reporting there was even a heated bidding war between Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Paramount over Eric Siegel (Men at Work) and Anthony Leondis' (Igor, and slated to direct this project) pitch for an Emoji centric movie, which Sony won with a reported seven figure pay out. So apparently, this license is something people actually want to make, but will anybody actually want to see it? Sure, The Lego Movie proved there is a market to make something genuinely compelling out of the most unlikely of sources, as evidenced by the the upcoming Pixels, but it’s a big jump from iconic characters from multiple...
- 7/22/2015
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
You read that right: Emoji The Movie is in the works at Sony Pictures Animation...
And you thought some of the remake stories we've been running have been odd.
Still, we suppose it was inevitable, really. The rise of the Emoji - those little pictures designed to get across messages that used to be conveyed by things such as words - has been quick and brutal. The Emoji first came to prominence in Japan in the late 1990s, and we now learn that there's going to be an Emoji movie.
The film has come about courtesy of a pitch from Eric Siegel (the TV show Men At Work) and Anthony Leondis (who made Igor, and DreamWorks' unreleased B.O.O.: Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations). Leondis reportedly storyboarded the film in detail, leading to a bidding war breaking out between Sony Pictures animation, Warner Bros and Paramount.
Sony has won the battle for the film,...
And you thought some of the remake stories we've been running have been odd.
Still, we suppose it was inevitable, really. The rise of the Emoji - those little pictures designed to get across messages that used to be conveyed by things such as words - has been quick and brutal. The Emoji first came to prominence in Japan in the late 1990s, and we now learn that there's going to be an Emoji movie.
The film has come about courtesy of a pitch from Eric Siegel (the TV show Men At Work) and Anthony Leondis (who made Igor, and DreamWorks' unreleased B.O.O.: Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations). Leondis reportedly storyboarded the film in detail, leading to a bidding war breaking out between Sony Pictures animation, Warner Bros and Paramount.
Sony has won the battle for the film,...
- 7/22/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
As if they weren’t ubiquitous enough already, the Emojis, those colorful little icons found throughout social media communications as a particularly vivid way to articulate emotional reactions, are inexplicably getting their own movie. Because no idea is too silly or abstract for a Hollywood studio to develop the hell out of in hopes of coming up with something midway marketable.
Believe it or not, there was actually a three-studio auction over an animated movie pitch centering on the Emojis, involving Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony, but Sony ultimately swooped in and made an almost seven-figure deal. That’s right, people – Hollywood is so convinced that you’re dying to see a movie about cute little winky faces that major studios shelled out bucketloads for the rights to make it. Let that one sink in.
Sony Animation has set Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters helmer Anthony Leondis, who...
Believe it or not, there was actually a three-studio auction over an animated movie pitch centering on the Emojis, involving Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony, but Sony ultimately swooped in and made an almost seven-figure deal. That’s right, people – Hollywood is so convinced that you’re dying to see a movie about cute little winky faces that major studios shelled out bucketloads for the rights to make it. Let that one sink in.
Sony Animation has set Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters helmer Anthony Leondis, who...
- 7/21/2015
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
Just when you thought Hollywood had run out of ideas comes news that Sony just won a intense bidding war for the right to make a movie about emoji. Seriously.
Yes, those cute -- and sometimes crude -- little symbols you use in texts and on Twitter are set to hit the big screen in their own movie, written by Eric Siegel (TBS comedy "Men at Work") and Anthony Leondis ("Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters"), with Leondis directing. Deadline reports that Sony snatched up the pair's pitch (which already included storyboards) for a rumored seven-figure payout. That's a lot of dollar sign emojis.
According to Deadline, the bidding on the project was so intense because "Unlike, say Lego, there are also no underlying rights here to purchase, which makes this as much a catnip idea to Hollywood as public domain fairy tales that fuel so many blockbusters." And...
Yes, those cute -- and sometimes crude -- little symbols you use in texts and on Twitter are set to hit the big screen in their own movie, written by Eric Siegel (TBS comedy "Men at Work") and Anthony Leondis ("Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters"), with Leondis directing. Deadline reports that Sony snatched up the pair's pitch (which already included storyboards) for a rumored seven-figure payout. That's a lot of dollar sign emojis.
According to Deadline, the bidding on the project was so intense because "Unlike, say Lego, there are also no underlying rights here to purchase, which makes this as much a catnip idea to Hollywood as public domain fairy tales that fuel so many blockbusters." And...
- 7/21/2015
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
Elizabeth Banks has made her mark as a successful actress, and now she’s making her mark as a successful television producer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Banks and her husband, producer/author Max Handelman, have sold “Dave’s Dead,” a single-camera comedy to Fox. The project comes from 20th Century Fox Television and seems to be tapping into the macabre-loving portion of television audiences who tune into shows like “The Walking Dead”; “Dave’s Dead” is being called a mash-up of “My Name is Earl” and “Shawn of the Dead.” Sounds intriguing. While Banks and Handelman will act as non-writing executive producers, Eric D. Wasserman and Eric Siegel will act as writers and...
- 10/11/2011
- by monique
- ShockYa
Elizabeth Banks has sold a comedy series to Fox. The Hunger Games actress will serve as an executive producer for the show alongside her husband Max Handelman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Titled Dave's Dead, the comedy is described as a combination of the zombie film Shaun of the Dead and the TV series My Name is Earl. Eric Siegel and Eric D. Wasserman have been hired to write and executive produce the project as well. Banks recently finished shooting the (more)...
- 10/11/2011
- by By Tara Fowler
- Digital Spy
Original 'Saturday Night Live' castmember died of a drug overdose in 1982.
By Eric Ditzian
Todd Phillips
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images
Filmmaker Todd Phillips has made a career of documenting the modern man-child's debauchery: Will Ferrell's beer-bong-sucking nice guy in "Old School," Owen Wilson's stoner-cop in "Starsky & Hutch," and basically the entire cast of the booze-sodden "Hangover." Now Phillips is planning to document the travails of another debaucherous funnyman. But this time, it's a true story, and we should expect a dose of tragedy to be mixed in with the drug-addled madness.
Phillips and screenwriter Steven Conrad ("The Pursuit of Happyness") are developing a biopic based on the life of John Belushi, following Warner Bros.' acquisition of the comedian's life-story rights from his estate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Conrad is set to pen the script, with Phillips onboard as a producer but not yet committed to directing the project.
By Eric Ditzian
Todd Phillips
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images
Filmmaker Todd Phillips has made a career of documenting the modern man-child's debauchery: Will Ferrell's beer-bong-sucking nice guy in "Old School," Owen Wilson's stoner-cop in "Starsky & Hutch," and basically the entire cast of the booze-sodden "Hangover." Now Phillips is planning to document the travails of another debaucherous funnyman. But this time, it's a true story, and we should expect a dose of tragedy to be mixed in with the drug-addled madness.
Phillips and screenwriter Steven Conrad ("The Pursuit of Happyness") are developing a biopic based on the life of John Belushi, following Warner Bros.' acquisition of the comedian's life-story rights from his estate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Conrad is set to pen the script, with Phillips onboard as a producer but not yet committed to directing the project.
- 8/12/2010
- MTV Movie News
John Belushi may be getting a (second) second life on the big screen.
"The Pursuit of Happyness" screenwriter Steven Conrad and "The Hangover" director-producer Todd Phillips are developing a biographical film about the late comedian's life. Warner Bros. recently acquired the rights from Belushi's estate.
Conrad will script the project and Phillips will produce, though he has not yet committed to directing it. Alexandra Milchan and Bonnie Timmerman are also producing.
In a typically difficult process that saw the rights deal come together, then fall apart, then come back together again, the project would be the latest attempt at a full-scale biopic about the "Saturday Night Live" cast member and film star who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at age 33.
Belushi's life was famously detailed in Bob Woodward's 1985 biography, "Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi." That book is not part of the rights deal,...
"The Pursuit of Happyness" screenwriter Steven Conrad and "The Hangover" director-producer Todd Phillips are developing a biographical film about the late comedian's life. Warner Bros. recently acquired the rights from Belushi's estate.
Conrad will script the project and Phillips will produce, though he has not yet committed to directing it. Alexandra Milchan and Bonnie Timmerman are also producing.
In a typically difficult process that saw the rights deal come together, then fall apart, then come back together again, the project would be the latest attempt at a full-scale biopic about the "Saturday Night Live" cast member and film star who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at age 33.
Belushi's life was famously detailed in Bob Woodward's 1985 biography, "Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi." That book is not part of the rights deal,...
- 8/11/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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