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| James Patterson Entertainment |
Curious Pictures Teams with James Patterson Entertainment First effort will be live action/motion capture New York, NY – December 11, 2007 – Curious Pictures has entered into a co-production partnership with James Patterson Entertainment (JPE) to produce long-form animated motion media based on best-selling author James Patterson's books, graphic novels and original concepts. Their first project is a feature-length film titled Beer Belly and Fat Boy. The announcement was made by Curious Pictures’ Partner and Executive Producer, Susan Holden. JPE is headed by former J. Walter Thompson President Steve Bowen, who is working on this project, among others, with Executive Producer Leopoldo Gout, a writer, director and producer based at Curious Pictures. The company is the one of the largest animation and mixed media production houses on the East Coast and home to such hit TV series as Little Einsteins for the Disney Channel. Curious Pictures also provided the animated courtroom scenes for the 2007 Sundance opener Chicago 10, directed by Brett Morgan (The Kid Stays in the Picture), and is currently working on the animated portions of the new film from director Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) for The Weinstein Company. Patterson’s most recent title to make the transition from print to the screen is the new ABC hit series Women’s Murder Club, which was adapted from his bestselling series of novels. JPE is currently in a development deal with Spiderman producer Avi Arad to develop Patterson’s 2005 young adult novel Maximum Ride as a feature film. In addition, JPE is developing a screenplay for the third Alex Cross film with Jamie Foxx attached to star. Beer Belly and Fat Boy is slated to be a mixed media feature that will combine live action with motion capture and digital animation. The story is currently in development, and both Curious and JPE are in negotiations with writers, directors and other talent, according to Holden. The movie is a high-concept tale about a slacker who’s in reality a killing machine secretly manipulated by evil corporations, Holden describes. Part Big Lebowski, part Bourne Identity—with a dash of 50 First Dates thrown in—it’s aimed at a decidedly young male demographic that’s drawn to games and comedy. The Beer Belly concept was originally developed by Patterson as a game platform that could be expanded into additional media executions, according to Bowen. “Jim has purposefully created a unique piece of entertainment that converges both of these formats, games and movies,” says Bowen. The move reflects the author’s desire to extend his vaunted storytelling capabilities into new media areas beyond film and television, and to exert more control over his entire media portfolio. Bowen adds that he and Patterson knew about Curious Pictures’ from their career in advertising, as the studio has long been a supplier of TV commercials to the top agencies in the business. (Patterson is the former chief creative officer of J. Walter Thompson.) “We were looking for an independent studio that could develop graphic interpretations of our content,” he explained. “We felt there was a natural connection between our skill sets. We’re taking the creative expertise of Curious and combining it with the storytelling, trans-media phenomenon that is James Patterson, and seeing where we can take it.” The partnership gives JPE access to the studio’s expertise in design, animation, live action, mixed media, motion capture and game development. Notes Holden, “Jim is bringing the stories and the ideas, and we’re supplying the visual development, production, financing and distribution. It’s a perfect union, as it will give him a great deal of control over the final product while giving him access to all these production tools that are tailor-made for new media forms.” # # #
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