LAIKA Partners With Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios For International Sales of New Animated Feature
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 28 April 2018 06:06
LAIKA, the animation studio behind the Academy Award®-nominated Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Coraline, has pacted with AGC International, the worldwide sales and distribution arm of AGC Studios, Stuart Ford's recently launched global content studio.
AGC Int'l will handle foreign sales for LAIKA's "Film Five" (working title), currently in production at the studio. The announcement was made today by LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight and Stuart Ford, CEO of AGC Studios.
LAIKA just announced Annapurna Pictures as its domestic distributor on the film.
The Lighthouse, 2017 BAFTA Winner, Acquired by Uncork'd; Theatrical Release Summer 2018
The new film is bursting with humor, heart, and a profound message of acceptance and finding one's place. "Film Five" is written and directed by Chris Butler (ParaNorman), with a voice cast led by Hugh Jackman (The Greatest Showman, Wolverine), Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover). Arianne Sutner (ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings) and Travis Knight are producing.
AGC International will introduce the film to international distributors in Cannes via an invitation-only private screening of footage from the film, accompanied by an on-stage discussion between Mr. Ford and Mr. Knight.
"LAIKA's latest film is an epic, rip-roaring comedic adventure that spans the globe," said Knight. "It's a fantastic and universal story, deserving of a world-class team to bring it to worldwide audiences. Stuart Ford and AGC fit the bill perfectly. Combining innovation, creative sensitivity, experience, and ambition, AGC is a partner that shares LAIKA's vision and values. Together with our bold domestic distributor Annapurna Pictures, it feels like we've found a home."
"This film is a magical piece of family entertainment," said AGC's Ford. "It's an absolute honor for all of us at AGC to be partnering with LAIKA and working with Travis Knight, CFO Brad Wald and the entire LAIKA team to bring this wonderful animated film to the international market."
About LAIKA
Fueled by the vision of its owner, Nike co-founder and former Chairman Philip H. Knight, and its President & CEO Travis Knight, feature film animation studio LAIKA was founded in 2005. Located just outside Portland, Oregon, LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar® for its innovation in 3D printing in 2016. Its four films, Kubo and the Two Strings (2016); The Boxtrolls (2014); ParaNorman (2012), and Coraline (2009) were all nominated for Oscars® and PGA Awards as Outstanding Animated Film. Kubo, which marked the directorial debut of Travis Knight, also received an Oscar® nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects and the BAFTA Award as well as three Annie Awards, the National Board of Review and 19 regional and critics' group awards.
COLCOA French Film Festival Announces Focus On A Composer and Television Selections For 22nd Edition
The Boxtrolls earned Critics' Choice and Golden Globe Award nominations and 13 Annie Award nominations, more than any other film that year. ParaNorman garnered BAFTA, Critics' Choice, and GLAAD Media Award nominations, won two Annie Awards and was cited as the year's best animated film by 14 critics' groups. Coraline earned Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics' Choice nominations, and was named one of the year's 10 Best Films by the American Film Institute (AFI). For more information, visit www.LAIKA.com
About AGC STUDIOS
AGC Studios was founded and launched by Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford in February 2017 as a platform to develop, produce, finance and globally license a diverse portfolio of feature films, scripted, unscripted and factual television, digital and musical content from its dual headquarters in Los Angeles and London. The studio's Hollywood output has a wide-ranging multicultural focus, designed for exploitation across an array of global platforms including major studio partnerships, streaming platforms, traditional broadcast and cable television networks and independent distributors, both in the U.S. and internationally.
AGC Studios is initially backed by three key strategic investors; Latin American private asset management firm MediaNet Partners; Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Symantec CEO and founder and chairman of Fibonacci Films, Greg Clark; and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, one of the leading media and entertainment companies in the Arabic-speaking world. Chief Operating Officer Miguel Palos is also a stakeholder in and co-founder of the business with Ford.
