Samurai Jack Movie?
Genndy Tartatovsky will write, direct animated flick for Federator
(Source: www.variety.com)
Samurai Jack fans rejoice: your favourite sword-slinger is headed to the big screen.
Genndy Tartatovsky's animated creation, which ran on the Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004, is getting the feature film treatment courtesy of new animated studio Federator Films. Tartatovsky, who is also directing the Henson Company's upcoming Power of the Dark Crystal, will write and direct the off-beat story of a samurai who is trying to defeat Aku, an ancient demon who flung him into a far future. Phil LaMarr will return as the voice of the titular character.
Federator Films was recently founded by three entertainment veterans: Fred Seibert was the former president of Hanna-Barbera and a long-time producer for Federator Studios. With Federator Studios, Seibert created Oh Yeah! Cartoons for the Cartoon Network, which soon spun off into Cow & Chicken, Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory. FS also produced The Fairly OddParents, ChalkZone and My Life as a Teenage Robot for Nickelodeon.
Second partner Kevin Kolde managed Spumco, John (Ren and Stimpy) Kricfalusi's company, for more than a decade, while third man Eric Gardner ran Panacea Entertainment, a talent and production agency that represented artists such as Donny Osmond, Richard Belzer, Paul Shaffer, the Sex Pistols, Elvira and several members of the Rolling Stones.
The new film company will produce traditional cel-animated films with an average budget of below $20 million.
"Fred (Seibert) is the master at identifying voids in the marketplace and filling them with paradigm-shifting content," said Gardner in the official announcement. "There has been a dearth of both 2-D and genre animated feature product, which Frederator Films will be rectifying." He said these movies will be aimed at males aged 18 - 34.
Other projects in Federator Film's schedule include The Neverhood, a claymation flick based on the DreamWorks video game of the same name. Game creator Doug TenNapel (Creature Tech, Earthboy Jacobus, Earthworm Jim) will write and direct the flick. FF will also produce The Seven Deadly Sins, a hip-hop-flavoured toon featuring the voice of boxing impresario Don King.
There's no word on when a Samurai Jack movie will hit theatres.
Fun Fact 1: George Lucas was such a fan of the show that he brought in Genndy Tartatovsky when he developed his first cartoon series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The animated television series used many elements that Tartatovsky had pioneered in Samurai Jack.
Fun Fact 2: One major problem with bringing Samurai Jack to the big screen is the fact that the voice of Aku, Mako Iwamatsu, died July 21st, 2006.
