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Good Luck Trolls
Press Release from DreamWorks Animation
Glendale, CA – June 23, 2010 – DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) announced today that it has reached an agreement with Dam Things from Denmark to debut the wildly popular Good Luck Troll on the big screen, introducing a new generation to one of the world’s most beloved toy lines.
Brother-sister writing team Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson LaBracio will pen the screenplay and Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment, who brought the package to DreamWorks Animation, will executive produce the feature film.
The Troll doll phenomenon was born in 1959 when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, too poor to afford a Christmas present for his young daughter Lajla, carved a doll for her based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. This modern-day Geppetto couldn’t have imagined that the Troll dolls would soon become one of the biggest toy crazes of the 1960s. The Trolls experienced a resurgence in the 1990s and their uniquely endearing faces and shocks of colorful hair continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of fans around the world.
“My father would have been very happy to know that his Troll has found its dream partner in DreamWorks Animation,” said Niels Dam, who now owns the family business. Calle Ostergaard, CEO of Dam Things, added, “We have been planning to bring the Good Luck Troll toy line back into homes around the world and we are excited to see how the talented storytellers and artists at DreamWorks Animation will bring them to life.”
“We are thrilled at the great creative possibilities we have in bringing the Trolls to family audiences around the world across a number of channels, including on the big screen,” DreamWorks Animation Head of Development Alex Schwartz said. “We look forward to working alongside Dam Things to build on the mythology of the Good Luck Trolls while delivering the sense of adventure, heart and comedy that DreamWorks Animation is known for.”
Dam Things is represented by Festa and Jay Handlin at Carlsmith Ball LLP. Writers Wilson and Wilson LaBracio, whose original material includes the feature films “Evergone” and “The Impossible Adventures of Phineas Roone,” are represented by Festa, Brad Rosenfeld at Preferred Artists, and Eric Suddleson of Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson LLP.
About DreamWorks Animation SKG
DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE Magazine for two consecutive years. In 2010, DreamWorks Animation ranks #6 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 20 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. DreamWorks Animation’s next feature film is Megamind, scheduled to be released in 3D on November 5, 2010.
About Dam Things
Dam Things, located in Gjol, Denmark, is best known for its Good Luck Troll, created by Danish woodcarver Thomas Dam in the late 1950s. Dam Things owns and enforces its rights to the classic Dam Trolls, and is the worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights for the iconic ugly-cute, wild-haired characters.
