Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation Team Up for Live Action/Animated Smurfs Movie

Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation Team Up for Live Action/Animated Smurfs Movie

- Studio To Bring Classic Characters To Life For New Generation of Fans -

- Jordan Kerner to Produce Major Motion Picture -

CULVER CITY, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation have obtained the motion picture rights to the Smurfs from Lafig Belgium S.A. via producer Jordan Kerner. The parties will develop a dynamic, live action/animated major motion picture based on the iconic and lovable sky blue colored classic characters it was jointly announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures, Bob Osher, president of digital production for Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Hannah Minghella, President of Production for Sony Pictures Animation. Jordan Kerner will produce the film for Sony.

David Stem and David Weiss are in negotiations to be brought on board to write the screenplay. Stem and Weiss are the award-winning screenwriters behind Shrek 2 and 3, and other notable animated projects including The Rugrats Movie, and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.

Commenting on the announcement Belgrad said, "The Smurfs are one of the best-known franchises and among the most beloved collection of characters in the world. These classic characters have entertained millions of people and several generations all over the world for more than half a century. We're very excited to introduce a new generation to Papa Smurf, Smurfette and the other Smurfs in all of their 'three apple tall' glory."

"Through Animation and Imageworks, our visual effects and character animation studio, we have an extraordinary capability to mix animation and live action having created a number of fully-realized CG characters in live action films from Stuart Little to Spider-Man 3," said Osher. "We couldn't be more delighted or excited about working together on The Smurfs motion picture."

"The entire team at Sony Pictures Animation is tremendously excited to team with our colleagues at Columbia Pictures and Kerner Entertainment in bringing the Smurfs to the big screen. This is our first hybrid film and we're excited to expand our creative initiatives in this direction" said Minghella, president of production for Sony Pictures Animation. The Smurfs project is the first new piece of development Minghella and her team will oversee since joining the division in April.

Said Kerner, "It all began with a holiday conversation with Michael Lynton and then another with Amy Pascal. Michael was raised with the "SCHTROUMPFS" in the Netherlands. He relished them as I do and suggested that it should be a live-action/CG film. Amy felt equally that there was potentially a series of films in the making. I knew that the dream would come true when we started working with Doug, Bob and Hannah. It all became very Smurfy! I have been working with Veronique Culliford, the daughter of Peyo, the author-creator of the Smurfs, and Hendrik Coysman, CEO of Lafig Belgium to bring this franchise to the screen. They have captivated me for years with their great humor and huge hearts."

Added Coysman, "Jordan Kerner and the entire Sony team have demonstrated such great enthusiasm for bringing Peyo's creation to the big screen. Their passion, together with a true understanding of the property, will translate into a wonderful entertainment experience for fans -- old and new alike. We are thrilled that the Smurfs have found such a great home for their new adventures!"

Best known in the U.S. for the long-running Hanna-Barbera cartoon, the Smurfs were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known throughout the world as Peyo. The Smurfs -- originally called Les Schtroumpfs in French -- were created for a Belgian series of comic books, first as minor characters, but soon taking on a life of their own. The peaceful little characters were featured in a best selling line of statuettes (selling over 300 million worldwide), models, games, toys, theme parks, and, of course, the immensely popular television series. Running as part of NBC's Saturday-morning lineup from 1981-1990, the cartoon was a huge critical and commercial success, twice winning Daytime Emmy Awards(r) for Best Children's Entertainment Program, running for 256 episodes, and inspiring seven specials.

Sony will begin a licensing effort around the Classic Smurfs characters at this year's Licensing Show beginning today in New York.

Creative Artists Agency brokered the deal on behalf of Kerner and Lafig Belgium S. .A.

The movie rights to the property were secured in 2002 and Jordan Kerner had been developing a Smurfs based feature at Paramount/Nickelodeon, which has an option to co-finance the film and distribute internationally. The development of the script will be overseen for Kerner Entertainment by Ben Haber and the movie will be executive produced by Haber and Paul Neesan.

Kerner is the producer, most recently, of Charlotte's Web, a live- action/CG adaptation of the E.B. White classic. His many other films include Snow Dogs, Inspector Gadget, George of the Jungle, the Mighty Ducks franchise, The Three Musketeers, Fried Green Tomatoes, When a Man Loves a Woman, Red Corner, Up Close and Personal, The War, Miami Rhapsody, and Less Than Zero. Among the films and miniseries he has produced for television are "A Wrinkle in Time," "A House Divided," "Mama Flora's Family," and "Heat Wave," which won four Cable ACE awards, including best picture, an Emmy Award, a WGA Award, and an NEA Award.

About Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/.

About Sony Pictures Animation:

Sony Pictures Animation exemplifies the next generation of CGI storytelling to produce a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. Sony Pictures Animation is developing a full slate of films with Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs now in production. Its second film, Surf's Up was nominated for this year's Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and won two Annie Awards. It's first film, Open Season, was a box office success and the #2 DVD title of the year for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2007. A sequel, Open Season 2, is now in production for SPHE. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

About Sony Pictures Imageworks

Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is an Academy Award(R) winning, state-of- the-art digital production studio dedicated to the art of visual effects production and character animation. The company's achievements have been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars(R) for its work on Spider-Man(TM) 2 and the CG animated short film The Chubbchubbs!. Most recently, Surf's Up was nominated for this year's Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In 2007, two of Imageworks' projects, the all-CG animated feature Monster House and Superman Returns, were nominated for Academy Awards in the Best Animated Feature and Outstanding Achievement in Visual Effects respectively. With those two nominations, Imageworks became the first studio to be recognized in the same year in these distinct areas, an indication of the diversity and quality of the company's capabilities. Other Oscar(R) nominated projects include The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Spider-Man(TM), Hollow Man, Stuart Little and Starship Troopers, for a total of nine nominations.

Imageworks most recently completed projects include Hancock, Speed Racer, Beowulf, and I Am Legend..

For more information, please visit http://www.imageworks.com/.

"ACADEMY AWARD(R)" and "OSCAR(R)" are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

MARVEL, and all Marvel characters including the Spider-Man, Sandman and Venom characters (TM) & (C)2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    For further information contact:     Steve Elzer    Senior Vice President, Media Relations    Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group    (310) 244-7142    steve_elzer@spe.sony.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Columbia Pictures

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/
http://www.imageworks.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment