The Imaginarium, the new London-based performance capture studio founded by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish, has secured film rights to the book series The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon as well as the rights to George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm; Serkis will direct and star in the latter.
The Bone Season will be published in August 2013 by Bloomsbury. Set in 2059, it is about a clairovoyant teenage girl who is kidnapped and taken to meet a charismatic keeper. A series of seven novels is planned by the young London-based author.
The Imaginarium is represented by CAA and Larry Taube, Principle LA Entertainment; publishing and films rights for The Bone Season and Shannon were handled by David Godwin Associates.
“The dystopian world created by Samantha in The Bone Season series offers a fantastic setting for a truly extraordinary and thrilling narrative,” said Serkis. “We are honoured that she chose to collaborate with us in the adaptation of her work.”
“Both The Bone Season and Animal Farm are perfectly suited to the Imaginarium,” added Cavendish.
“With Animal Farm, we will reinvent this iconic story for a new generation, using the unique storytelling techniques offered by performance capture. The acquisition of these two projects marks an exciting time for all us at The Imaginarium.”
Serkis and Cavendish will serve as producers on The Bone Season. Serkis will direct and act in Animal Farm and produce along with Cavendish.
Of the 1945 classic Animal Farm, Serkis said: “We are delighted to officially announce our involvement in bringing this classic yet controversial fable to life, hopefully allowing it to resonate for our times with a combination of a fresh perspective, real emotional heart, a great deal of humor and satire.
“By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell’s fairy tale world where ‘some animals are more equal than others.’ “
The Imaginarium will work across film, TV and videogames.
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