Following the blockbuster success of “Rango,” Paramount Pictures said Wednesday that it is creating a division to make its own big-budget animated movies, putting the studio in competition with longtime partner DreamWorks Animation.
The new division will make one animated film per year with a fairly large budget by Hollywood standards — up to $100 million each. The first title is set for release in 2014.
Paramount’s first fully owned animated movie, “Rango,” charmed audiences. The flick, starring Johnny Depp as a chameleon in the Wild West, has grossed more than $240 million worldwide since its release in March.
Paramount’s chairman and chief executive, Brad Grey, said the studio is looking to produce more of its own material because it is more lucrative than simply distributing other studio’s pictures for a fee.
“It’s in our best interest at this point — with the global distribution business that we’ve built, as well as the great production pipeline — to own our own product,” Grey said in an interview.
The move will put a strain on its longtime agreement to distribute movies from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the maker of “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda.” Paramount has distributed two or three DreamWorks movies a year since 2006, earning 8 percent of the box office receipts and recouping all its marketing costs. The deal expires at the end of next year, and the two studios have not yet agreed to another deal.
Paramount has offered a one-year extension on the same terms, but it is looking to get a better deal for any extension beyond 2013, according to a person familiar with the studio’s thinking. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Ben Mogil said Paramount’s announcement suggests that it and DreamWorks will head their separate ways, to DreamWorks’ detriment.
“Clearly, a new in-house competitor to DreamWorks is a negative,” he wrote in a research note Wednesday.
Paramount plans to create characters in conjunction with Nickelodeon, a channel that is also owned by Paramount’s parent company, Viacom Inc. The plan is not just to make movies from characters on television such as “SpongeBob Squarepants,” but to develop Nickelodeon with fresh material as a film brand for families, Grey said.
“Every now and then you could see a SpongeBob, but hopefully we’ll come up with new franchises,” he said.
Paramount makes about 12 movies per year. Its latest release, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” had the biggest Fourth of July weekend opening ever, with nearly $116 million in tickets sold domestically. In one week, “Transformers” has raked in $404 million worldwide.
LOBO Signs Filmmaker Cisma For Commercials and Branded Content
Creative studio LOBO has added multi-faceted artist Cisma (Denis Kamioka) to its directorial roster for commercials and branded content. Cisma, a self-taught motion designer, animator, and live-action director, began his career at LOBO nearly 20 years ago. His return marks a homecoming following a tenure working in Europe as a film artist.
Cisma’s filmmaking style combines live-action with heavy postproduction elements and art direction. Cisma’s work has earned a Latin Grammy nomination and many advertising festival wins, including Cannes Lions, Clio’s, D&AD, and One Show Interactive Awards. Cisma was previously repped in the U.S. by Black List/Psyop.
Starting as a motion designer and 3D animator, Cisma was quickly recognized by Diesel and asked to join their creative team in Italy. After this, he began shooting mixed-media films in Barcelona, later moving into directing music videos. To date, he’s collaborated with many artists, like Milton Nascimento, Racionais MCs, Tropkillaz, Nação Zumbi, and a music video for Criolo made in partnership with the video game franchise League of Legends. Additionally, Cisma directed sports documentaries “A História de Claudio Kano” for ESPN and “Espírito da Luta” for Canal Combate. He recently directed two episodes of the Netflix series “Sintonia” for its fourth season, reaching #1 on the Netflix Global Non-English chart. His commercial career includes brand films for Lay’s, Adobe, IBM, Fiat Abarth Pulse, Samsung Vivo, Banco Bradesco, Getty Images, a promotional film for Brazilian graffiti artist Os Gemeos entitled “The Giant,” and much more.
“It feels so good to be back home at LOBO,” said Cisma. “This place and these people shaped so much of who I am as a filmmaker.... Read More