$6 million for RP animated movie
By Marinel Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:43:00 09/02/2008
Filed Under: Cinema, Entertainment (general)
MANILA, Philippines—A whopping $6 million has been allotted by the Japanese anime TV network Animax for the production of a full-length animated movie based on the script written by Carmelo S. J. Juinio, a Filipino, Inquirer Entertainment learned.
Juinio’s “Laminated Woman: To the Sand Planet Cerra,” now titled “LaMB,” is the first-ever animated film to be produced under the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and SPE Networks-Asia Joint Production Fund.
Animated band
Canadian band Simple Plan will sing the title track (“I Can Wait Forever”) for “LaMB.” The group will also perform as an “animated band” in the movie.
This was announced on Saturday by Tracy Wong, Animax Asia’s director for Creative Services and executive producer of “LaMB.”
Animax has tapped Ryosuke Tei (founder of the Japanese-based design agency Furi Furi) to be the director and, for storyboard artist, Yasufumi Soejima. Singapore-based animation studio Peach Blossom Media teams up with Imaginary Friends Studios to produce “LaMB,” Wong added.
“Summertime,” a song by the American group The Click Five, will also be featured in the production.
‘Professional bum’
Juinio, a Bachelor of Arts in English graduate of the Far Eastern University, is a self-confessed “professional bum” who swears that “LaMB” is the first script he has written. He used to work as copy editor for a defunct broadsheet and wrote theater reviews for another newspaper.
He jokingly describes himself as “older than the founder of Facebook but younger than US presidential candidate Barack Obama.”
Juinio sent a 50-page entry to the Animax Awards Pan-Asia scriptwriting contest in Japan last year but lost to Hayato Takamaga (Japan, “Takane no Jitensha”). Wong said over 3,000 entries were submitted.
Wong added that Juinio’s work impressed the jurors and was accorded a Special Award. “Everyone was drawn to it,” Wong said of Juinio’s work. “It’s the seemingly possible idea of Lamination that made the script so great. With technology, this could soon be a reality.”
The story of “LaMB” revolves around Eve, one of the many felons sealed in a “laminated” suit, or LaMBs for short. The virtual slavery that is Lamination ensures that those convicted of serious crimes remain productive.
The movie takes an interesting turn when Dr. Jack Grisworld, an employee in the planet Cerra, meets Eve and begins to question the humanitarian aspect of the penal system.
“We also based the award on the complexity of the script. It has romance and adventure and is action-packed. It really stood out,” Wong noted.
Juinio said winning the award had a “surreal feeling about it.” He initially received an e-mail from Animax Asia saying he had won something, “but the spam filter feature of my e-mail thought it was junk mail. I didn’t think much of it until I got a call from Leslie Castañeda (of Animax Philippines) who confirmed the news.”
“LaMb” is set for screening in March 2009. Wong said it will be showcased on “three screens—TV, online and mobile,” a campaign that is expected to run for six months.
Viewers will get to read prequels to “LaMB” through a series of Web manga or online graphic novels or through cellular phones. There will be online games as well. A pre-premiere hype on the Animax channel will feature a series of what Wong called “mobisodes” or mobile episodes.
“It promises to revolutionize the entire entertainment experience via how content is delivered and marketed to consumers,” Wong said.
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph
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