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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 3, 2014 16:08:37 GMT -6
With “The Lego Movie” set to open solidly this weekend, Warner Bros. has already launched development of a sequel.
The studio has tapped screenwriters Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan to write the script. Stern, who wrote “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” was one of the half-dozen writers announced a year ago by Warner Bros. as part of its animation consortium aimed at revving up its production of high-end toons.
“The Lego Movie” is the first project to emerge from the consortium. “Lego” is produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee, with Chris Lord and Phil Miller directing. Providing voices will be Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Morgan Freeman. Most of the animation was being produced by Australia-based Animal Logic.
Morgan wrote the Kristen Wiig comedy “Girl Most Likely.” She’s repped by UTA; Stern is repped by WME.
TheWrap.com first reported Stern writing the sequel.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 21, 2014 15:30:18 GMT -6
From: variety.com/2014/film/news/lego-sequel-set-for-may-26-2017-1201115576/With “The Lego Movie” topping $200 million in worldwide grosses, Warner Bros. has set the sequel to open on May 26, 2017. The untitled sequel is the first movie to be be set for that date. Warner Bros. confirmed four days before the film opened on Feb. 7 that it had tapped screenwriters Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan to write the script for the sequel. “The Lego Movie” is poised to win its third straight weekend at the U.S. box office, where it has grossed $151 million in its first two weeks. The computer-animated comedy has taken in another $52 million in 42 international markets and is adding France and Italy this weekend, followed by Russia on Feb. 27, Japan on March 21, Australia on April 3 and Germany on April 10. Stern, who wrote “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” was one of the half-dozen writers announced a year ago by Warner Bros. as part of its animation consortium aimed at revving up its production of high-end toons. “The Lego Movie” is the first project to emerge from the consortium. “Lego” is produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee, with Chris Lord and Phil Miller directing with voices by Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Morgan Freeman. Most of the animation was produced by Australia-based Animal Logic. |
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 12, 2014 9:06:12 GMT -6
From: www.deadline.com/2014/03/warner-bros-builds-lego-sequel-with-chris-mckay-directing/Warner Bros has set Chris McKay to direct its sequel to The LEGO Movie, the film that opened last month and turned in a worldwide gross of $361 million. McKay was animation co-director on the first film that was made under the direction of Phil Lord & Chris Miller. That duo is producing, and Michelle Morgan & Jared Stern are writing the next installment. At the same time, McKay is also negotiating a first-look producer deal at the studio. Dan Lin & Roy Lee are also producing. Who’s McKay? The Chicago native cur his teeth mixing animation with irrererence on the small screen, winning an Emmy for his work on Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken, on which he has directed over 40 episodes and the film Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode 3. He also directed and produced Titan Maximum for Adult Swim. The sequel is being overseen by Courtenay Valenti for Warner Bros, and McKay is repped by UTA, Mosaic and attorney Jeff Endlich. |
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 26, 2014 9:41:41 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lego-movie-2-village-roadshow-691087Insiders say Warner Bros. execs realized they made "a big mistake" allowing its financing partner to cover 50 percent of the box-office hit's costs. Warner Bros. gave up a whopping chunk of its profits from the blockbuster Lego Movie, but it won't make the same mistake twice. Sources say Village Roadshow Pictures has not been invited back for the sequel that is being developed by animation guru Chris McKay. Insiders say Warners execs realized they made "a big mistake" allowing financing partner Village to cover 50 percent of the first Lego's costs (including production and marketing), with RatPac-Dune Entertainment getting a smaller share. The movie has made nearly $400 million worldwide, with a sequel planned for 2017. "Obviously, they didn't have confidence in it," says one source. "If you don't really know animation, you would look at that movie [while in production] and think it's awful. If you do understand animation, it was so clever because it felt different. It was cool. But somebody [at Warners] made the judgment that it wasn't cool. Why else would you sell off almost three-quarters of a $65 million movie?" Village was spurned by Warners when it first asked to invest in the film, but the studio came back later, offering 25 percent, followed by a further 25 percent. Just why it turned to Village twice isn't clear, but as a result, the company covered half the movie's $100 million total cost (including both production and P&A) and will get back half the profits once the studio has taken its distribution fee. Still, Warners can thank its lucky stars there are no first-dollar gross participants -- unlike Gravity, for which Sandra Bullock will take home some $70 million.
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