The Weinstein Co.’s 3-D animated feature film Escape From Planet Earth has been delayed, with production shut down until August and its release pushed back to January 2011 at the earliest.
The problems with the film are mostly creative, with script problems prompting the shut down that idled 150 animators at Vancouver-based Rainmaker, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Escape from Planet Earth is not the only film from The Weinstein Co. to be delayed. The studio, run by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, recently brought in financial consultants to help them re-organize their debt and finances.
The delays have hampered the bottom line for Rainmaker, which reported a 31 percent first-quarter drop in animation revenues due to the production delays. But Warren Franklin, the company’s CEO, says the issues are being sorted out and expects the film to get back on track.
“The production schedule is being sorted out,” he told the Times, adding that the delays are “very normal for an animated film.”
