Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments
Planet 51
7/11/08 - Sony has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the
animated SF family film Planet 51 and has scheduled it for a
Nov. 20, 2009, release through its TriStar Pictures label.
06/06/08 - Sean William Scott, who plays an alien ufologist in the upcoming animated SF comedy Planet 51, said recently that the movie flips the conventions of the UFO story on their head. Dwayne Johnson plays an Earth astronaut who finds himself stranded, a la E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, on the title planet and must enlist the help of the green inhabitants to find his way home. Jessica Biel also stars. "The script is amazing," Scott said. "It's really funny, and it's right up SCIFI.COM's alley, because it starts off on some other planet, and there's all these aliens." Scott plays a variation on the UFO geek. "I play this guy who's a total conspiracy theorist and a comic-book geek," he said. "He's all, 'I told you! I told you they're real!' And so [Johnson is] the 'alien,' and we're trying to protect him." Gary Oldman, John Cleese and Justin Long also lend their voices. Planet 51 is scheduled for release on July 24, 2009.
04/25/08 - Dwayne Johnson voices the lead character in the upcoming animated SF comedy Planet 51 and looking at a fall 2009 release. The film will include the voices of Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel and Justin Long. The movie, from Joe Stillman, features Johnson as the voice of astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker, leader of an expedition to the title world, which is inhabited by green creatures who fear an alien invasion. Jorge Blanco is directing, with Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez co-directing.
11/28/07 - New Line is planning its first sci-fi animation movie Planet 51. Written by Joe Stillman, the story is set on Planet 51, whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their fears are realized when astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home. The film is produced by Ignacio Perez Dolset, directed by Jorge Blanco and co-directed by Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez.
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