Tag: Chris Colfer

Chris Colfer and Ron Perlman To Voice Animated Film ROBODOG

ROBODOG_KC_MARSHALL_IMAGE

Golden Globe winners Chris Colfer (Fox’s “Glee,” STRUCK BY LIGHTNING) and Ron Perlman (HELLBOY, PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS, TANGLED) will lend their voices to Marza Animation Planet Inc.’s first original 3D CG animated film, ROBODOG, to be directed by Oscar nominated Henry F. Anderson III (STUART LITTLE, GNOMEO & JULIET), it was announced today by Marza’s CEO, Masanao Maeda.

Written by Robert Reece (THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL’S BEGINNING) and William Schneider, ROBODOG is produced by Paul Wang (ASTRO BOY) and will be edited by studio veteran Tom Finan (DreamWorks’ upcoming MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN).

Currently in pre-production with voiceover work set to start on February 1st, UK-based Timeless Films is handling international rights to the project, and will present it to buyers at next month’s European Film Market in Berlin.

ROBODOG is a classic, heart-warming adventure story about an unlikely duo who couldn’t be more different. KC (Kinetic Canine) (Colfer) is a bright, energetic but overzealous robotic dog, while MARSHALL (Perlman) is an old, curmudgeonly “real” dog, set in his ways and has little patience for anything new. This canine odd couple embarks on the adventure of a lifetime where each will learn the true nature of friendship, and not to judge a book by its cover.

“We are absolutely ecstatic that Chris has chosen ROBODOG as his first foray into animation. Coupled with Ron’s extraordinary voiceover work, the duo’s talent will make for great chemistry onscreen. Timeless Films is by far the perfect fit for the project due to their expertise in both producing and selling animated films overseas,” said Maeda.

“We are thrilled to be working with Marza and the production team on this wonderfully original film and look forward to presenting it to all of our international distribution partners in Berlin,” said Ralph Kamp, Chairman and CEO of Timeless Films.

“Chris and Ron are the perfect actors to play KC and Marshall as their voices exemplify the qualities of each character. Chris has an appealing, youthful voice which fits right in with our lead character, KC, who is above all a charismatic entertainer. Ron’s voice demands authority, but also has a soft, vulnerable side which works very well for Marshall who comes across as a grouch, but is really a sensitive dog dealing with his past,” said Anderson.

“The kid in me is barely being contained right now. I’m so happy to get the chance to work on my first animated film with this wonderful team,” said Colfer.

Colfer won a Golden Globe and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his ongoing role as Kurt Hummel in Fox’s popular TV series, “Glee.” He also wrote and starred in “Struck By Lightning,” which was directed by Brian Dannelly, and also starred Allison Janney, Christina Hendricks and Dermot Mulroney. The film was released theatrically by Tribeca Film in 2013. Colfer is also an established author. His series of children’s books began with “The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell” which debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List in the summer of 2012. He voiced over 80 different characters for the audiobook version, and is currently working on the 3rd and 4th installments.

Perlman has done extensive voiceover work in feature animated films and television series including providing the voice for the Stabbington Brothers in Disney’s hugely successful Oscar nominated hit TANGLED. He most recently lent his voice to 20th Century Fox’s PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS and can next be heard in THE BOOK OF LIFE co-starring the voices of Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana and Christina Applegate and produced by Guillermo del Toro, coming to theatres in October 2014. His other credits include PACIFIC RIM, HELL BOY and FX’s “Sons of Anarchy.”

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING – SLIFF Review

High school is a tough place. We all know that. Its a struggle to survive at a time when hormones rule and pressure builds from every angle. Parents, teachers, friends, where to go to college, whether to even go to college? For Carson Phillips, everything is boiling to a point and all he wants is one simple thing… to get into his dream college.

Chris Colfer (GLEE) not only stars as the sharp-tongued Carson Phillips, he wrote this darkly comical satire on the high school experience. Directed by Brian Dannelly, the film is a good fit for someone whose resume includes TV shows like WEEDS, PUSHING DAISIES and THE UNITES STATES OF TARA. STRUCK BY LIGHTNING begins with the death of Carson Phillips. I know, its a risky way to start a film. After all, it goes to reason that Carson never makes it to college, but that’s not really what its all about, as we come to learn while Carson’s recently departed spirit narrates the film in retrospect.

Carson is the editor of his school’s newspaper. This would be a commendable accomplishment, except that he attends a small, rural country school, where everyone assumes they are destined to be stuck in the dreadful town of Clover for the remainder of their days and therefor aspire to do next to nothing with their lives. That is, all but one… Carson Phillips. Smarter than the average Clover resident — by his own measure — Carson dreams of becoming an accomplished journalist. The problem is, no one at his school cares.

Rebel Wilson (BRIDEMAIDS) plays Malerie, an odd character and Carson’s only friend. Allyson Janney plays Carson’s alcoholic mother, devastated when Carson’s father Neil (Dermot Mulroney) leaves them, she takes it out on Carson, day after day. Things for Carson are looking grim, until he comes up with not just a plan to get into his dream college, but a master plan for forcing the student body to contribute by way of blackmailing them with their dirty little secrets in exchange for their help.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING features all the high school stereotypes, dialed up to be especially unlikeable. For that matter, even Carson is difficult to like, with his smart mouth and arrogant attitude, but we root for him as the lesser of all evils. Clover is not a town most people will find inviting, but it lends to an idea that small town teenagers often struggle with what to do with their lives and how to achieve such goals. On the other hand, Carson ultimately learns a valuable lesson about life, albeit a short one in his case.

Like so many high school comedies today, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING does fall into the same general melting pot of modern teen-life stories. This is no DONNIE DARKO, but the film does still have a personality of its own buried just beneath the many cliches. The supporting cast offers an added touch of talent, including Christina Hendricks as Carson’s dad’s new fiance, Sarah Hyland as Claire, the stuck-up lead cheerleader who “probably sh*ts cupcakes,” Ashley Rickards as Vicki, the apathetic Goth girl, Angela Kinsey as the absent-minded blond bimbo school counselor, and Brad William Henke as the jaded high school principal with anger management issues.

Overall, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING is an exaggerated and humorous take on a certain set of truths about high school. Chris Colfer interjects a dialogue clearly inspired by his experience with GLEE, but fails to deliver anything refreshingly original. Instead of a film that could grow into a cult classic of the genre, the film settles for being an entertaining movie worth seeing with a bucket of popcorn in one arm and a lovely companion in the other. The film is not likely to stick with you for long, but you certainly will have a good time and plenty of laughs.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING screens during the 21st Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival on Tuesday, November 13th, 7:30pm at the Tivoli Theatre.

“Like” STRUCK BY LIGHTNING on Facebook.

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE – The Review

For those of you that are not already aware… I am a GLEEK. I absolutely adore the television show! Having said that, I am going to keep (or at least attempt to keep) my review as objective as possible.

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE is… well… just what it says in the title. It is a 3D concert put on by the cast of GLEE, while they remain in their characters from the show. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Finn Hudson (Corey Monteith), Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris), Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman (Mark Salling), Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), and the rest of the cast, as well as a few surprises make their way on stage performing songs from the hit FOX television show.

After seeing such films as JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER in 3D, I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed in this film. First off, this is supposed to be a concert put on by New Horizons, the show choir from William McKinley High School, which is all fictional. They keep the actors in character, which is understandable for what they are trying to do, but for some odd reason it just doesn’t work well. I think it’s because when they show the preparation for the show, with the cast members backstage, it feels too fake. Part of the appeal (for a 3D concert film) is to see real preparation. I want to experience the real emotions that the singer/musician/dancer etc. is going through before they go onstage, and even catch some real shenanigans behind the scenes. By having actors respond as their characters just really took me out of things. I don’t know… I really enjoy how they do things on the show, but it just wasn’t executed very well for the film. Maybe it’s because the characters we all know and love are underdogs, yet they are playing a big concert. It could have all been thought out and executed in a much better fashion.

Another giant disappointment is the fact that they do not play songs in their entirety. Instead, they do snippets, and then cut to clips, or the behind the scenes footage. The songs are all rushed. With the word “concert” in the title, I expected to hear the songs in their entirety! I don’t need all of that filler. Give me the songs that I have grown to love! With all of the random filler, they should have given it a different title. One of my favorite concert films is THE LAST WALTZ, which is the last concert, in entirety, by The Band. I am certainly not trying to compare the two films, because I am a firm believer in taking each movie for what it is worth… for what it is meant to be, but a concert film should be a concert. THE LAST WALTZ didn’t need filler, flashy effects, or extra content, it was about the music. The music from the show is what fans are there to see, and GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE should have delivered with, at least, that much.

The 3D itself was ok. It could have been better, but it also could have been worse. Still, there was no real need for it. If it were a real concert movie, it could have been a cool tool (hehe… I rhymed!) in making the audience feel more involved in the show. I’m getting kind of tired of the overuse of 3D when it is not necessary.

Also, anything more than a few shots of screaming fans is always too much… (I really don’t think I need to add more to that.)

So… the film was entertaining, but the filler and lack of complete songs left me slightly annoyed! (Don’t worry… I still love GLEE!)

OVERALL RATING: 2.5 out of 5 stars

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE | Special Advanced Showings

ATTENTION ALL GLEEKS:BE THE FIRST TO EXPERIENCE, CELEBRATE AND SHAREGLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE ON AUGUST 10 — TWO DAYS PRIOR TO FILM’S WORLDWIDE LAUNCH

SPECIAL SHOWINGS – AND FILM’S OFFICIAL AUGUST 12 DEBUT IN THEATRES –FOLLOW THE SOLD-OUT “GLEE LIVE!” INTERNATIONAL TOUR

Twentieth Century Fox announced today that special advance showings of GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE will unspool on August 10, 2011, giving fans of the global phenomenon, known as “Gleeks,” an early opportunity to celebrate, share and experience GLEE like never before…and in 3D…two days prior to the film’s global launch. Ticket holders for these special screenings will get a merchandise packet created especially for the event, including a GLEE logo lapel pin, commemorative ticket and lanyard, silicone bracelet, hat, commemorative GLEE RealD 3D glasses, and backpack.

The screenings will take place in 291 theaters across the U.S. and Canada. Tickets for the event go on sale July 13, for Gleeks on the official movie Facebook page (www.facebook.com/glee3dmovie). Public sales begin the next day at www.gleeksneak3d.com. Ticket sales end August 2, to allow for mailing of the special ticket and bag.

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE will enable fans who were unable to obtain tickets to
the recent, sold-out “Glee Live!” tour engagements or who live in markets not included in the tour, or who just want to see it again, to experience the concert in the immersive magic of a 3D theatrical event. The tour played 40 shows across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, selling more than 500,000 tickets.

GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE is a new way to see all your favorite characters — including Rachel (played by Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith), Mercedes (Amber Riley), Kurt (Chris Colfer), Artie (Kevin McHale), and Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) – as never before, with their spectacular musical performances, captured in 3D, interwoven with intimate behind-the-scenes revelations that are a story unto themselves.

“Glee” co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy produces GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE, and the director is Kevin Tancharoen.

About Fox Filmed Entertainment

One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation