Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Emily the Strange

8/3/11 - Melisa Wallack has been drafted by Universal to pen Emily the Strange, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Chloe Moretz is attached to star as the punky goth cult figure created by skateboarder Rob Reger. Dark Horse's Mike Richardson is producing.  The story line is being kept under wraps, although the aim is to tell the origin of the punk and gothic figure and how she comes to gain her abilities that fuse technology and imagination. The story will also focus on her relationship with four cats: troublemaker Sabbath, schemer Nee-Chee, imaginative Miles and leader Mystery.  Reger is executive producing alongside Dark Horse's Keith Goldberg.

9/23/10 - Chloe Moretz will star as the title character in Universal's adaptation of counterculture icon Emily the Strange, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Universal just acquired the rights to character, created by skateboarder Rob Reger among a multitude of designs he was printing up for stickers, T-shirts and skateboards in Santa Cruz in the early 1990s. The Emily design took off, with Reger's company, Cosmic Debris, going on to become a multimillion-dollar business with toeholds in fashion, books and comics, toys, school supplies and accessories.  Dark Horse Entertainment has been developing the character as a movie project since 2008.  Dark Horse's Mike Richardson is producing. Reger is executive producing alongside Dark Horse's Keith Goldberg.  Universal executive VP production Scott Bernstein and director of development Maradith Frenkel will oversee the project for the studio.  The story line is being kept under wraps, although the aim is to tell the origin of the punk and gothic figure and her four cats: troublemaker Sabbath, schemer Nee-Chee, imaginative Miles and leader Mystery.

05/30/08 - Gothic icon Emily the Strange will be featured in a new film from Dark Horse Entertainment. The film will originate the character and her four mysterious cats.  Skateboarder Rob Reger created the character in the 1990s for stickers, T-shirts and skateboards sold through his company, Cosmic Debris. Since then, Emily has adorned a wide variety of merchandise, including toys, school supplies, accessories and other apparel. In 2005 she appeared in her first Dark Horse Comics series Emily the Strange #1: Chairman of the Bored. The character, often seen with four cats, has also become a figure for female empowerment and anti-conformity. Reger has remained the creative director behind the character and is one of several artists responsible for Emily.  Dark Horse Entertainment president Mike Richardson will be overseeing the project. He's been a producer on both Hellboy films and as well as 30 Days of Night. He and Reger are still looking for a director who "gets the character." The filmmaker choice may in turn dictate what format will serve the story best: live-action, animation, or a combination of the two. The project is not yet set-up at a studio, though Universal is a contender as Dark Horse has a first-look deal there.  The story line is being kept under wraps, though Reger, who concocted it, said it will offer up some backstory and will feature Emily's four cats--troublemaker Sabbath, schemer Nee-Chee, imaginative Miles and leader Mystery. It will also have 13 new characters with names like Earwig, Umlaut, McFreeley and Officer Summers. The story forms the basis of an Emily young adult novel, which will be published next year by HarperCollins.

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