Up-and-coming feature animation studio LAIKA Inc. plans to build a state-of-the-art campus on 30 acres of land purchased by company owner Philip H. Knight in Tualatin, Oregon. Located 12 miles south of Portland, the new facility will open in 2008 to house the company’s entertainment division and a large staff of animators to work on its aggressive production slate. The staff is expected to jump to more than 400 employees over the next two years.
Groundbreaking is set for early 2007, kicking off the first phase of construction which will include buildings dedicated to CG animation, stop motion animation, executive offices, conference rooms, a fitness center, a cafeteria and a theater.
“LAIKA Ent. has a world-class roster of talent and projects and I felt it was time to provide them with a full-time home,” says Knight. “Just as we anticipate our films will look like no others before them, so too will this campus make a bold and distinct architectural statement.”
A spokesperson for the Oregon Film & Video Office says the feature film studio will provide a big boost for the local creative community and the overall economic growth of the region.
Formerly known as Vinton Studios, LAIKA was peripherally involved in the production of he Oscar-nominated stop-motion feature Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, and has two animated features of its own in production. Based on the international bestselling children’s novel by Neil Gaiman, the stop-motion fantasy pic Coraline is being brought to the screen with director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) at the helm and child star Dakota Fanning in the title voice role. Animator and writer Jorgen Klubien is directing Jack & Ben’s Animated Adventure, which is described as a heartwarming story of brotherly love set in the animal kingdom. LAIKA has also acquired film rights to U.K. writer/illustrator Alan Snow’s bestselling series of children’s novels, Here Be Monsters.
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