Exodus Film Group, the company behind Igor, has tapped some star power for it upcoming CG-animated family feature, The Hero of Color City. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rosie Perez, Craig Ferguson and Arsenio Hall have signed on to lend their voices to the fantasy flick about Crayons, joining previously announced star Christina Ricci.
Directed by Becky Bristow, The Hero of Color City introduces a diverse band of crayons who struggle to protect their magical homeland from an evil tyrant who threatens to rid their world of joy and color. All the crayons on the film have personalities that correspond to their color. Red, for instance, is a bit of a hot head while blue is cool and Yellow timid and fearful. The screenplay was written by J.P. McCormick and Rich Raczelowski.
Magnolia Pictures picked up North American distribution rights to the movie in 2006, and had hoped to have it in theaters by the fall of 2007. The pic was put on hold but now appears to be chugging along now that Igor is out of the way. That film was made for roughly $30 million and earned approximately $25.5 million worldwide following its late-summer release.
Exodus has inked a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster, which will publish a line of Hero of Color City books, including coloring books, aimed at young children. Other licensing deals are expected as the film gets closer to completion. Magnolia now plans to release it sometime in 2010.
Former talk-show host Hall re-teams with Exodus after playing a role in Igor. Current late-night gabber Ferguson hosts CBS’ The Late, Late Show and played a part in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Perez most recently appeared in the Seth Rogan/James Franco comedy Pineapple Express.
