Acclaimed American screenwriter to work with local animators on a new 3D cartoon
Inan unexpected move, some of Hollywood moviemakers seem to view Ukraine as the Promised Land for realizing their projects. Just last Friday American screenwriter Billy Frolick, whose biggest project so far was the script for the acclaimed cartoon “Madagascar,” is having the next animation based on his screenplay made in Ukraine. The film, whose working title is “Paws and Wires,” will be co-produced by Ukrainian 3D animation studio Umbrella Vision and made by Ukrainian animators, at the request of Umbrella Animation Works Inc. based in the US.
“Paws and Wires” will be created to resemble the aforementioned “Madagascar,” as well as “Ice Age,” “Finding Nemo,” “Over The Hedge” and similar 3D animations. The producers refused to reveal any plot details so far, but claimed that extracts of the film will be shown at Cannes Film Festival 2008. The characters of the cartoon will be voiced by Hollywood stars and the recording will naturally be conducted in the States, as Ukraine so far lacks a suitable technology base for it. On the other hand, the music for the film will be written by Ukrainian composers and the background symphonic parts will be recorded in Kyiv.
According to the producer of the project, Mikhail Dudko, the financing of “Paws and Wires” will be provided by Ukrainian sponsors and the budget will resemble that of similar American films. The film, set to be released in 2009, will be first distributed in the US, though there is a possibility that the world premiere will take place simultaneously in Ukraine.
Frolick, whose future projects include the movie “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (based on the famous novel by Richard Matheson), explained that work in the American studio system is difficult, as it’s hard for authors to retain their vision, and he sees more possibilities for him to avoid this by working in Ukraine. Somehow his words bring to memory the times when the pioneers of American cinema fled from New York to California, to have more freedom doing what they want. So is Ukraine becoming New Hollywood? Just joking…
