EXCLUSIVE: Grindstone Entertainment has acquired North American rights to animated fantasy movie Mosley, whose voice cast includes Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Temuera Morrison (Star Wars) and Rhys Darby (Jumanji).
Written and directed by Kirby Atkins, the film became the first ever New Zealand-China animated co-production. It had its world premiere at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Pic follows a species of creatures known as “thoriphants” who rebel against their life of servitude and embark on a treacherous journey to find the fabled city of Uprights.
Grindstone’s Stan Wertlieb and Ryan Black brokered the deal with Huhu Studios, Jack Sheehan, and Jeremie Guiraud at Lotus Entertainment. The firm, which has a long-standing partnership with Lionsgate in North America, is planning to release the film later this year.
Mosley had already pre-sold it to Australia/New Zealand (Rialto), C.I.S. (Top Film Distribution), China (China Film Group), Czech Republic/Slovakia (Fenix Distribution), Bulgaria, Ex-Yugoslavia and Romania (Programs 4 Media Limited), Israel (Five Stars), Middle East (Eagle Films), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), South Africa (Filmfinity) and Vietnam (Ram Indo).
In a statement, Atkins said: “This film’s journey has been a labor of love over two decades and I’m thrilled to share this with a wider audience. I’m immensely grateful to Lotus Entertainment and Grindstone for believing in it enough to bring it to the U.S. market.”
