Academy Award™ winner Anders Walter to direct live-action adaptation of the award-winning graphic novel
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 24, 2015) – Treehouse Pictures has come on to fully finance Anders Walter’s feature length directorial debut I Kill Giants, the film adaptation of Joe Kelly’s critically acclaimed graphic novel about a young misfit girl battling both real and imagined monsters in her life. Chris Columbus is producing through his 1492 Pictures/Ocean Blue Entertainment, along with Treehouse, Man of Action Entertainment and XYZ Films. Kelly, wrote the graphic novel and the screenplay adaptation.
Treehouse Pictures’ producing credits include All is Lost, Arbitrage, the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment and most recently Mediterranea, which is currently in post-production and which Treehouse financed and produced along with Chris and Eleanor Columbus’ Maiden Voyage Pictures.
Kelly is a partner in Man of Action Entertainment, creators of the team and characters in Academy Award® winner Big Hero 6, and creators of the worldwide action franchise Ben 10.
Director Walter is best known for writing and directing the 2014 Academy Award™ winning live action short Helium. I Kill Giants will be his first foray into feature length filmmaking.
I Kill Giants, illustrated by J.M. Ken Niimura, Kelly’s co-creator, won a Gaiman Award in 2013 (an overseas manga award selected by readers); the International Manga Award in 2012; was named to the “Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens” in 2010 by the Young Adult Library Services Association; as well as “Best Indy Book of 2008” by IGN and was an Eisner Award finalist.
The producers are currently casting, with production targeted for later this year. XYZ is handling world sales on the project.
Columbus states, “Joe Kelly has written a deeply insightful story about a child using fantasy to navigate through a harsh reality, and I am excited and proud to finally be able to bring this wonderful material to the screen.”
Kelly states, “I’m overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, vision and sheer talent of the team we’ve assembled. Chris and Anders understand the book on an instinctive level and will translate it into a hell of a film. I could not be happier.”
Treehouse’s president Justin Nappi states, “I am very excited to be working with Chris again. We both feel strongly that Anders has the depth and vision needed to bring the amazing story and characters of “I KILL GIANTS” to life. As exemplified by his work in “Helium” and “9 Meter”, Anders has a unique understanding of children and their uncanny ability to face life’s most difficult challenges.”
Treehouse’s president Justin Nappi states, “I am very excited to be working with Chris again. We both feel strongly that Anders has the depth and vision needed to bring the amazing story and characters of “I KILL GIANTS” to life. As exemplified by his work in “Helium” and “9 Meter”, Anders has a unique understanding of children and their uncanny ability to face life’s most difficult challenges.”
About Treehouse Pictures:
Treehouse Pictures is an independent film production company based in Los Angeles.
Founded by its president Justin Nappi, the company focuses on working with dynamic filmmakers to produce compelling films with global appeal.
To date, Treehouse has produced eight feature films including the critically acclaimed ARBITRAGE written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki and starring Richard Gere in a Golden Global nominated performance; ALL IS LOST directed by J.C. Chandor and starring Robert Redford whose performance was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award; and the romantic comedy THAT AWKWARD MOMENT starring Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan which was released by Focus Features on over 2,500 screens.
Projects in development currently include “Incompatible” a futuristic adventure from Jake Schreier (the director of “Robot & Frank” and the soon to be released “Paper Towns”) and “On Your Doorstep” a suspense thriller.
About 1492 Pictures:
1492’s Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan are the Academy Award-‐nominated producers behind The Help. Columbus directed, as well as produced with 1492 partners Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe, the first two installments of the Harry Potter franchise: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. They also produced the third film in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The trio have served as producers on such Columbus‐directed projects as Nine Months, Rent, Stepmom, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. In addition, Columbus has been at the helm of several classics, including Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire, and as a writer he launched his career with the legendary films Gremlins and Goonies. Columbus’ next film is the Adam Sandler-starring Pixels, which he directed and produced alongside Barnathan and Radcliffe. 1492 Pictures recently entered into a long-term partnership with Ocean Blue Entertainment to finance and produce films together.
About Ocean Blue Entertainment:
Ocean Blue Entertainment is co-‐managed by Tracy K. Price and Bill Andrew. They most recently released Frontera, starring Ed Harris, Michael Pena and Eva Longoria with Magnolia Pictures handling domestic distribution and Myriad Pictures acting as foreign sales agent. Ocean Blue also produced director Cyrus Nowrasteh’s The Stoning of Soraya M for Roadside Attractions. Up next, Ocean Blue plans to produce and finance 12-24, a project based on a script written by Matt Lieberman with 1492.
About Man of Action Entertainment:
Man of Action Entertainment, the creative studio and writers’ collective started in 2000, created the megahit Ben 10, a three billion dollar boys’ action empire that has been called the most successful superhero launch of the past decade. Man of Action Entertainment is comprised of creators and acclaimed comic book writers Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle, having collectively worked on the largest franchise characters in comics from Superman to X-Men before refocusing on creating worlds and characters for their own original work published through their Man of Action imprint at Image Comics. They also created cult favorite series Generator Rex for Cartoon Network, and are co-executive producers and writers for Marvel’s Avengers Assemble and executive produced/wrote Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD. Beyond the world of animation, Man of Action has created wildly successful video games, toy lines, comic books, stage productions, as well as forthcoming feature films and live action television shows, some of which are based on their own original comic book series and graphic novels. Big Hero 6, Disney’s Academy Award®
winning film, was the first animated feature based on a Marvel property, featured the team and characters created by Man of Action. Upcoming projects based upon other Man of Action creations include The Great Unknown, KAFKA, Officer Downe, I Kill Giants and The Crusades.
About XYZ FILMS:
XYZ Films is an integrated content company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As an independent production company and worldwide sales agency, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian, with Kyle Franke joining as Head of Development in 2010.