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9 Story Media Group Options Bestselling Children Series OTIS THE TRACTOR

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otis-up

9 Story Media Group Options Bestselling Children Series

OTIS THE TRACTOR

Toronto, Canada –May 12, 2015 – 9 Story Media Group is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Penguin Young Readers for the option to produce an animated television series based on the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book series, Otis the Tractor. Written and illustrated by Loren Long, the series is published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. The Otis book series debuted in 2009, selling over 1.5 million copies to date across 9 titles. Under the terms of the deal, 9 Story has also optioned merchandising and licensing rights for the property.

“We are thrilled to bring Loren Long’s beloved characters into the 9 Story family,” said Natalie Dumoulin, Vice President of Creative Affairs for 9 Story. “Otis the Tractor is a character kids connect with universally – he may be small in stature, but he has a heart of gold and teaches his audience the values of loyalty, courage and friendship.”

“Otis is the person, or in this case, tractor, that we all want to be—brave, loyal, patient, determined, and a true friend to the end,” said Michael Green, President & Publisher, Philomel Books. “I can’t think of a better role model or companion for kids. And I’m so grateful that Otis has found a quality partner in 9 Story.”

“I’m excited to team up with 9 Story, and for Otis to putt-puff his way into even more homes, and make even more friends!” said Loren Long, author and illustrator of the Otis series.

#1 New York Times bestselling picture book Otis spent almost 20 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list in 2009. Loren Long’s “majestic, whimsical, and rousing” (Publishers Weekly) artwork and comforting, satisfying story immediately turned Otis into a beloved picture book character. Otis has continued to putt-puff-puttedy-chuff all over the bestseller list in titles such as Otis and the Puppy, Otis and the Tornado, an Otis Christmas, and Otis and the Scarecrow. In addition to the Otis series, Loren also illustrated such acclaimed books as Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could, Madonna’s Mr. Peabody’s Apples, and President Barack Obama’s book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and two sons.

9 Story Media Group is a leading content creator, marketer and distributor of kids & family focused intellectual property. Recognized around the world for best-in-class brands such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, Wild Kratts, Numb Chucks, Arthur and Peg + Cat, 9 Story represents over 1800 half hours of animated and live action programming, seen on some of the most respected international channels and platforms.  With one of North America’s largest animation studios, 9 Story employs over 250 creative and production staff and has produced over 900 half hours of award-winning children’s content. 9 Story is owned by senior management, ZM Capital and media entrepreneur Neil Court. www.9story.com

Penguin Young Readers is one of the leading children’s book publishers in the United States. The company owns a wide range of imprints and trademarksincluding Dial Books, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Philomel, Puffin, Speak, Firebird, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Viking, Razorbill, and Frederick Warne. These imprints are home to such award-winning, New York Times- bestselling authors as Laurie Halse Anderson, Jay Asher, Judy Blume, Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Ally Condie, Roald Dahl, Tomie dePaola, Sarah Dessen, Anna Dewdney, John Flanagan, Gayle Forman John Green, Oliver Jeffers, Mike Lupica, Richelle Mead, B.J. Novak, Richard Peck, Judy Schachner, Jacqueline Woodson and dozens of other popular authors. Penguin Young Readers Group is also the proud publisher of perennial brand franchises such as The Little Engine That Could, the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, Peter Rabbit, Spot, the Classic Winnie the Pooh, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Strega Nona, Madeline, Mad Libs, Alex Rider, the Rangers Apprentice, Skippyjon Jones, Flower Fairies, and Pippi Longstocking, among many others. Penguin Young Readers Group is a division of Penguin Group LLC, a Penguin Random House company.

For further information: 

Jennifer Ansley, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, 9 Story Media Group

+1 416 530-9900 ext 230, jennifera@9story.com

 

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Adam Fay

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
My name is Adam Fay and I am a freelance illustrator and designer. I am currently seeking character and background design work.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before working in animation I hosted at a seafood restaurant, was a cashier at my college campus bookstore, and one summer I did manual labor landscape work to “build character” as my parents said.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I had the great pleasure to work on the new Spongebob movie that came out a couple months ago. It was such a huge project, and I was completely overwhelmed. The work itself was really challenging, and it definitely pushed me, which I was grateful for. Most recently I was character and prop designer for a Comedy Central pilot, which was a lot of fun because it was a super small team of us, and it was all new. I really enjoyed being at the beginning of a project, helping set the style and look of the characters and props, as well as setting them all up in flash. It was cool to see it all start to come together. I have yet to see the fully finished pilot since I was there for the first half of production, but I still loved being apart of the small hectic group.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am from Marin County, which is north of San Francisco and south of wine country. It’s a pretty, but kind of boring suburb in the bay area. I went to a small high school in San Francisco, so I was able to hang out in more exciting places.  I’ve always liked Continue reading

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Robb Pratt does it again with 2D Flash Gordon tribute

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Robb Pratt who animated the two beautifully animated Superman tribute shorts Superman Classic and Bizarro has done it again with a brand new piece starring Flash Gordon ! All animated in 2d! Traditionally on PAPER no less!

Someone give this guy a feature deal already!

Incidentally we interviewed Robb a while back and he told me about the process on Bizarro:

 …the animation is traditional on paper, then scanned into the computer. No clean up, just tied the drawings down very tight. From there I scanned them into the computer and painted them in Photoshop. The BGs are pure digital – all drawn and painted in the computer. I used Final Cut Pro to composite everything together. At the end, I exported sequence images from Final Cut into AfterEffects to apply the anaglyph 3D effect. I think  that covers everything!

Also here’s a little bit of pencil test from the film as well for you to drool over.

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Iron Giant might get Theatrical re-Release?

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Comicbook.com is reporting that Brad Bird’s cult classic The Iron Giant might be coming back to the theaters for a re-release.

From the site:

Director and co-screenwriter Brad Bird (Tomorrowland) was asked if there was any truth to those rumors. “Listen, Warner Bros. and I have danced on and off for the last decade,” Bird told Collider. “There was going to be a 5-year-thing; there was talk about it being in 3D at one point. Then there was talk about reformatting it for IMAX or whatever. Discussions keep happening, but I think something will happen fairly soon. They know that people have a fondness for it. They don’t know exactly how to deal with that beyond maybe a Blu-ray or something like that. And I keep saying, “You know, you did it for Wizard of Oz and you did it for Blade Runner. I think you actually can do it.” And I think they’re kind of coming around to that idea. I’m trying to find the best way to support something like that.”

Listen to Brad Bird’s comments below

You can read the whole article here.

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Anton Bogaty

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
Anton Bogaty; director, animator

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Briefly sold discount golf course memberships door-to-door with a co-worker called Alfie.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m probably most happy with my own short films.

How did you become interested in animation?
An extension from an interest in film in general.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 
From the Southeast and, excluding brief excursions, I’m still fairly Continue reading