All star cast join 'Horrid Henry' as first British kids' 3D movie starts shooting
Vertigo Films and Novel Entertainment announce start of principal photography on Horrid Henry: The Movie, a 3D live-action movie based on hugely successful children's property of the same name. UK Film Council co-fund. Anjelica Huston among cast.
London - Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Vertigo Films and Novel Entertainment are delighted to announce start of principal photography on Horrid Henry: The Movie, a 3D live-action movie based on Novel's hugely successful children's property of the same name. Shooting will take place in London for 7 weeks. Release is set for Summer 2011. International sales are being handled by Protagonist Pictures, who will launch the film at the AFM.
The first ever British kids' movie to be filmed in 3D, Horrid Henry: The Movie stars Anjelica Huston as Henry's terrifying teacher Miss Battle-Axe, alongside, Rebecca Front as Henry's headmistress Ms Oddbod, Richard E Grant as a rival headmaster and Parminder Nagra as Miss Lovely. Noel Fielding makes an appearance as Killer Boy Rats' frontman Ed Banger, joining Jo Brand as the Demon Dinner Lady, Matthew Horne as Henry's Dad and Prunella Scales as Great Aunt Greta. And introducing new young stars, Scarlett Stitt as Moody Margaret, Ross Marron as Perfect Peter and Theo Stevenson as Horrid Henry.
Horrid Henry: The Movie is directed by BAFTA nominated Nick Moore and written by Lucinda Whiteley. A co-production between Vertigo Films and Novel Entertainment, Horrid Henry: The Movie is produced by Rupert Preston and Lucinda Whiteley, and Executive Produced by Mike Watts and Allan Niblo together with Tim Smith and Paul Brett of Prescience and James Swarbrick for Aegis Film Fund.
The film sees Horrid Henry, Lord High Majesty of the Purple Hand Gang, waging his ever constant battle against the tyranny of adults, only this time it seems the adults really are out to get him!
Nick Moore's directorial debut came on the teenage film Wild Child (2008) and he has recently finished working on the new Harrison Ford movie Morning Glory, to be released later this year. Nick received a BAFTA nomination for Best Editing on The Full Monty, and has since edited a number of iconic British films including About A Boy, Notting Hill, Love Actually and Nanny McPhee.
Lucinda Whiteley is an International Emmy and Bafta award winning producer and writer. Before co-founding Novel Entertainment Lucinda was Head of Children's and Family Programming at Polygram Universal, and prior to that was Commissioning Editor for Children's Programmes at Channel Four where, amongst others, she commissioned Hollyoaks and Wise Up! As Editor of Channel Four's Early Morning Television service, she commissioned Big Breakfast.
Horrid Henry was created by author Francesca Simon, andis the most successful children's literary character in the UK after Harry Potter with book sales of more than 16 million. Novel's animated TV show is the most successful series ever for CITV and the character has also been widely adapted for stage, radio, online and computer games as well as being at the heart of a successful licensing and merchandising programme.
Co-funded with UK Film Council, Prescience and Aegis Film Fund, Horrid Henry: The Movie will be distributed by Vertigo Films in the UK.
Rupert Preston said: "We are delighted to be bringing the magic of Horrid Henry onto the big 3D screen. We have a great adult cast, brilliant kids and a hugely professional team. It's going to be fun!"
Mike Watts said: "To see Henry in real life and real 3D will be a huge thrill for everyone, not least the vast number of Horrid Henry fans who deserve nothing less than the best! This film aims to fulfill their expectations and more."
Chris Collins from the UK Film Council's Film Fund says: "Following on from the successful collaboration on Streetdance 3D, the UK Film Council is delighted to be supporting another 3D innovation from Vertigo Films. Horrid Henry is a classic character, much loved by its young audience, and we are pleased to be part of bringing him to the big screen in an exciting way."
For further information please contact freud communications
Sasha Gibson: 020 3003 6338 / sasha.gibson@freud.com
Matty O'Riordan: 020 3003 6366 / matty.oriordan@freud.com
www.vertigofilms.com / www.novelentertainment.co.uk
Notes to editors
Horrid Henry, based on characters created by author Francesca Simon, illustrated by Tony Ross and published by Orion Children's Books, is a major multi-media brand. Books are translated into 22 languages, and are available in 27 countries including the US, with sales exceeding 16 million books in the UK alone; Henry won the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award in 2008. The three times BAFTA nominated TV series is the most popular series ever for CITV. 156 episodes are slated to complete production and transmission in the UK by Summer 2011, with sales in 15 countries internationally. A live stage show ran for more than 280 performances in London's West End and across the UK from 2009 and the website www.horridhenry.me has attracted more than 6 million hits since its launch in October 2009. Two computer games have been released for the Nintendo platform; the first selling more than 100,000 units to date in the UK alone and a second slated for release in November 2010. Henry has also released his own music album, appeared live at Legoland, broadcast his own radio show, and featured in the recent, hugely popular, Marmite campaign.
Novel Entertainment specialises in the creation and development of successful children's character brands across a wide array of media. Novel's core programmes include Horrid Henry, Fimbles, The Roly Mo Show, Rockit's Pocket and Ping & Pong. Founded in 2001 by Lucinda Whiteley and Mike Watts, the company has produced over 650 programmes for television and radio, as well as a number of stage shows based on the company's leading characters. The company's brand experience extends into licensing and merchandising, computer games, interactive online content, music and film.
Vertigo Films, the UK Media company producing the Horrid Henry movie with Novel Entertainment, has a significant track record for creating and distributing commercially driven independent cinema. Europe's first 3D feature film Street Dance went to number one at the box office in its opening weekend in the UK, beating Hollywood production The Prince of Persia and jumping over ratings for Robin Hood. The opening figures are a record for a UK Film Council financed film, beating Bend It Like Beckham and St.Trinian's. The company was founded in 2002 to create and distribute commercially driven independent cinema. Vertigo's co-production Ajami was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and The Cove won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Around the world from October will see the release of the much-anticipated sci-fi film Monsters, which has been getting exceptional buzz and acclaim on the festival circuit and finding such fans as Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino.
Over the next 12 months Vertigo will produce the big screen adaptation of the much anticipated The Sweeney to be written and directed by Nick Love, a 3D feature film based on the hugely successful character Horrid Henry and Streetdance 2 from the same team that produced the original Streetdance film.
In addition to its production and distribution activity, Vertigo also owns The Post Republic, a state of the art post production company based in Berlin and is a partner in Protagonist Pictures, the international sales company joint venture with Film Four and Ingenious Media.
The UK Film Council
Since being set up in 2000, the UK Film Council has invested over £160m of Lottery funding into more than 900 films and shorts which have entertained over 200 million people and helped generate over £700 million at the box office worldwide, generating £5 for every £1 it has invested in films which include Bend it like Beckham, Bright Star, The Constant Gardener, Fish Tank, Gosford Park, Happy-Go-Lucky, In the Loop, The Last King of Scotland, Man on Wire, Nowhere Boy, Red Road, St Trinian's, This is England, Touching the Void, Vera Drake, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Tamara Drewe and Streetdance 3D, the UK's first 3D film.
Current and forthcoming films backed by the UK Film Council include Nigel Cole's Made in Dagenham, Tom Hooper's The King's Speech, Mike Leigh's Another Year, Justin Chadwick's The First Grader, Peter Mullan's Neds, Joe Cornish's Attack the Block, Rowan Joffe's Brighton Rock, Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk about Kevin, Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights, Ayub Khan-Din's West is West, Debs Gardner-Paterson's Africa United, Clio Barnard's The Arbor, Gillian Wearing's Self-Made and John Akomfrah's The Nine Muses.
Protagonist Pictures
Launched in Spring 2008, Protagonist Pictures has forged a major presence in the international marketplace with a diverse slate of films from both its shareholders (Film4, Vertigo Films and Ingenious Media) and third-party producers. Commercially minded and creatively-spirited, Protagonist is committed to forging strong relationships with film-makers, investors and distributors.Protagonist's current slate includes Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea, based on the Terence Rattigan play and starring Rachel Weisz, Horrid Henry: The Movie, a 3D live-action 3D live action movie based on the hugely popular children's books and television series; Streetdance 2, sequel to the original 3D dance extravaganza; Richard Ayoade's coming-of-age comedy Submarine, which premiered recently in Toronto; Bel Ami, starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Christina Ricci, which is in post production; Monsters, Gareth Edwards' sci-fi feature which opened in the US in October; and Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine's debut feature, in post production.
Prescience
www.presciencefilmfinance.co.uk
Prescience was founded in 2005 by Tim Smith and Paul Brett and since then it has financed a significant number of British films and international co-productions. Prescience and Aegis provide debt, equity, development and bridging finance. Films financed include: Oliver Parker's Dorian Gray, Bernard Rose's Mr. Nice, Daniel Barber's Harry Brown and Tony Goldwyn's Conviction, Together with Aegis Film Fund, Prescience has financed Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson's St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, Mat Whitecross' sex&drugs&rock&roll, John Michael McDonagh's The Guard, John Landis' Burke and Hare, Phil Trail's Chalet Girl, Tom Hooper's The King's Speech and Marc Evans' Hunky Dory. Prescience owns the sales agency Metropolis International which is currently selling sex&drugs&rock&roll, The Guard, Chalet Girl, Trap for Cinderella and Better Living Through Chemistry.
