River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Lionsgate International, and Focus Features have teamed to finance and distribute Apaches production of acclaimed filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayonas next film, A Monster Calls, based on the award-winning childrens fantasy novel by Patrick Ness (the “Chaos Walking” trilogy), the companies announced today. The film will be produced by Belen Atienza (The Impossible, Pans Labyrinth, The Orphanage) and is slated for a fall 2016 release.
Bayona won Spains equivalent of the Academy Award, The Goya, for his last film, The Impossible, which was distributed by Lionsgates Summit label and grossed more than $180 million at the worldwide box office. The Impossible is the second highest-grossing film of all time in Spain.
A Monster Calls is a visually distinctive drama about a young boy who attempts to deal with his mothers illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that deal with courage, loss and faith. Ness wrote the novel based on an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd, and he and illustrator Jim Kay won Britains prestigious Carnegie Medal and Greenaway Medal in 2012, presented to the years best childrens literature in the UK. Ness is adapting the screenplay from his novel. Executive Producers on the film are River Roads Bill Pohlad and Mitch Horwits, Participants Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King, and Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairman Patrick Wachsberger.
“It is an incredible privilege to bring Patrick Ness’ exceptional book to the screen and I couldn’t have imagined better partners joining me in this endeavor. After ‘The Orphanage’ and ‘The Impossible,’ ‘A Monster Calls’ is the perfect final chapter in a trilogy centered on the extraordinary strength of the mother-child bond,” said Bayona.
“We’re pleased to join with our friends at Participant, River Road and Focus Features in financing and distributing this cherished and compelling property that has already earned a tremendous following in the world of childrens literature,” said Wachsberger. “Were delighted to reunite with the creative forces behind our worldwide hit ‘The Impossible,’ and there is nobody better suited to creating the fantastical world of ‘A Monster Calls’ than the visionary filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona.”
River Road Entertainments Founder and CEO Bill Pohlad added, “River Road has collaborated to great success with Participant, Lionsgate International and Focus Features on several films, and we look forward to uniting for this distinguished project, which is in line with our effort to support captivating storytelling and incredibly talented filmmakers, like Juan Antonio Bayona.”
Participant’s EVP of Production Jonathan King said, “All of us at Participant are thrilled to be in such good company for this deeply moving tale about the power of storytelling, which could not be more perfectly aligned with our mission.”
Focus Features CEO Peter Schlessel continued, “Juan Antonio Bayona is a filmmaker whose storytelling skills and stunning visuals are truly distinctive. He captures emotional truths amidst fantastical and terrifying situations, making him the ideal director to bring this acclaimed novel to a wide audience. I am pleased to make this our first co-production as CEO of Focus Features.”
A Monster Calls will be distributed by Focus Features domestically, Universal Pictures International for its theatrical and home entertainment release in Spain and Lionsgate International throughout the rest of the world.
