Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) have tapped visual effects house Cinesite Studios to provide computer generated animation and digital visual effects for the feature film based on the The Addams Family, the macabre clan made famous by cartoonist Charles Addams.
Production is underway at Cinesite, Vancouver to immediately begin work on the feature. During the course of the production it is expected that over 200 artists, technicians and support staff will be employed to work on the film at the Vancouver studio. Line producer Barbara Zelinski will oversee for Cinesite Studios.
The film will be directed by Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2, Monster vs. Aliens, Sausage Party) produced by Vernon, Gail Berman under her banner The Jackal Group and Alex Schwartz. It will be executive produced by Andrew Mittman and Kevin Miserocchi. Tabitha Shick, MGM’s executive director, Worldwide Motion Pictures is overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. Pamela Pettler (Corpse Bride, Monster House) wrote the screenplay based on the cartoon series with revisions by Matt Lieberman.
Group CEO Antony Hunt said, “We couldn’t be more excited about our partnership with MGM and their trust in us as a leading animation studio to re-introduce The Addams Family to a brand-new generation.”
The Addams Family is a satirical inversion of the ideal American family- an eccentric, wealthy clan who delight in the macabre and is unaware that people find them bizarre or frightening. They originally appeared as an unrelated group of 150 single panel cartoons by Addams, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between debuting in 1938 and Addams’ 1988 death. They have since been adapted to other media, including the well-known television series, a series of live-action films, and most recently a Broadway musical.
The Addams Family (MGM) will be the fourth CG animated feature to be created by Cinesite after The Star (Sony Pictures Animation), Gnome Alone (3QU Media) and Charming (3QU Media). The production will be based in British Columbia while Cinesite’s Quebec studio continues work on the remaining projects within 3QU Media’s slate and other feature animation productions in development.