By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com
BEDROCK STUDIOS STRIKES MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH ANDREW ADAMSON AND ARON WARNER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Shrek” Duo and “Narnia” Creator will Develop and Co-Produce Franchise Oriented Films Through New Banner – Strange Weather Films
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2010 – Bedrock Studios has inked a multi-year agreement with Andrew Adamson and Aron Warner, which calls for the development and co-production of motion pictures, and franchise oriented films through the newly launched Strange Weather Films. Today’s announcement marks Bedrock Studios’ first overall deal with a filmmaker’s production company. Under this new banner, Adamson and Warner will develop projects for Adamson to direct and/or produce, with Warner and Bedrock serving as co-producers. Strange Weather will be based out of Bedrock’s Santa Monica studio offices and will serve as a launching pad where emerging directors can flourish while being mentored by Adamson and Warner. Jeffrey Fierson will serve as the head of development under Adamson and Warner. The announcement comes on the heels of the fourth installment of the Shrek series, (which Adamson and Warner executive produced) grossing $220 million domestic in just three weeks of release.
“Aron and I are excited to embark on this new enterprise with Cary Granat and the team at Bedrock,” said Andrew Adamson. “Their commitment to creating an environment for writers and directors to explore new and innovative ways of approaching broad-based entertainment is something we are proud to be a part of.”
Bedrock Studios is providing the filmmakers with overhead and development funds, which will allow Adamson and Aron to utilize the funds to acquire projects at their discretion. Bedrock Studios will develop character design, environments, and early visualizations, research and development on all of Strange Weather’s projects.
“Ed and I and the entire Bedrock team are thrilled to call ourselves Andrew and Aron’s partners and will do all we can to support Strange Weather in becoming an industry leader and a real shining light in the entertainment industry. These are two of the greatest talents working in our industry today,” said Cary Granat.
Aron Warner produced the Shrek franchise and took home the first Best Animated Feature Academy Award® in 2001 for Shrek. Oscar-nominee Andrew Adamson wrote and directed Shrek and Shrek 2, and executive produced Shrek the Third and the recently released fourth installment, Shrek Forever After. In addition, Adamson produced, directed and wrote the screenplays for Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Originally the head of PDI in their early years, Warner, together with Adamson, was responsible for creating the infrastructure and developing the early slate of films for the company, which then became DreamWorks Animation under Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Bedrock Studios was recently launched from the union of Reel FX and Granat Entertainment, bringing together Walden Media CEO Cary Granat and Academy Award® winning, former Industrial Light and Magic senior executive Ed Jones.
ABOUT BEDROCK STUDIOS
Bedrock Studios is a dynamic new home for top talent to create family entertainment across all platforms. Bedrock has developed a “new studio model” that allows it to function as a streamlined provider of content for film, TV, publishing and digital media. It is a one-stop studio for the development and production of animated films and exciting effects-driven live action content. Bedrock will produce “family franchise films” in the $35 million budget range. Drawing on its deep relationships within the entertainment industry, Bedrock Studios has attracted top creative talent (writers, directors, animation and effects artists) and supports them with seasoned executives and a proven proprietary animation and effects software (developed by Reel FX), which allows artists to work & collaborate more effectively and control rising costs often associated with CGI projects. In addition, Bedrock Studios will develop and secure the rights to franchise-worthy literary material. At present, the studio has secured and is actively developing Rats of NIMH, A Wrinkle in Time and Dinosaur Bob, among others. The studio has already tapped some remarkable talent for its first project, Turkeys, which is currently in pre-production. The animated film is voiced by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. Turkeys is directed by Ash Brannon (Toy Story 2,Surfs Up), and written and produced by John J. Strauss (There’s Something About Mary) and David I. Stern (Open Season 2). Peter Farrelly will executive produce the project.