Hot off its deal with Nickelodeon, Worldwide Biggies Inc. has entered into an agreement with Ilion Animation Studios to produce the studios first CG theatrical release entitled PLANET ONE. Albie Hecht, the ceo of Worldwide Biggies Inc., and Ilion have signed the Oscar-nominated writer of SHREK and SHREK 2, Joe Stillman, to pen the script. Ilion Animations Studios is the theatrical animation company started by the founders of Pyro Studios, best known as the creators of the international hit videogame series COMMANDOS.
PLANET ONE is the story of an alien planet that is terrified of a human invasion. Hecht, along with ceo of Ilion Animation Studios Ignacio Perez Dolset, will produce. The film is in pre-production and slated for release in the first quarter of 2008.
Worldwide Biggies goal is to produce projects that will generate characters that can be developed across multiple platforms. With Ilions huge commitment to CG animation, and the creative genius of Joe Stillman, PLANET ONE has the key ingredients in place to establish characters that can be built into major childrens franchises, said Hecht.
At Ilion Studios we have developed a ground breaking technology, said Dolset. With our group of highly talented programmers, artists and designers, plus our proven experience on videogames and with the talents of industry top professionals Joe Stillman and Albie Hecht, we expect PLANET ONE to become a worldwide success and Ilion Animation Studios a reference in computer animated movie production.
On PLANET ONE, the locals have two antenna, eight fingers and tons of fear about alien invaders. They live in a world like our suburban 1950s, with sci-fi flicks, gory comic books and paranoid army generals barking about monsters from outer space. A young inhabitant, Lem, thinks that space can be wonderful, but he lacks the courage to even move out of his parents basement. Then one day, out of the sky, an alien ship appears with something funny written on it: NASA. It is piloted by astronaut and ladies man, Captain Russ Baker. Russ had expected to plant the American Flag on a baron planet, only to land at someones backyard barbecue. Now his new friend, Lem, must keep Russ safe from the authorities and help him find his ship to get back home.
PLANET ONE is Ilion Animations Studios first CG theatrical release, and will carry a budget of $50 million. Based in Madrid, Ilion Animation Studios was founded in 2003 to create computer animated movies for theatrical release. Pyro Studios, founded in 1996, is one of the world leading videogame developers, whose games have sold more than five million copies worldwide and have been number one sellers in more than 25 countries.
Worldwide Biggies is helmed by family-entertainment maven and former president of Nickelodeon and Spike TV, Hecht. Biggies, with offices in New York and Los Angeles, is a new digital media content company with a goal to create content that cuts across all the traditional and emerging distribution platforms from developing and producing animated features; hi-definition (HD) movies and television series; direct to DVD series; and broadband and mobile content aimed at the family entertainment audience.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
