SpongeBob Documentary Gets I.O.U.S.A. Team

Nickelodeon has inked a deal with production company O'Malley Creadon to produce the first-ever SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS documentary in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. Acclaimed filmmaker Patrick Creadon (WORDPLAY and I.O.U.S.A) will co-produce, direct and write the documentary, along with co-producer Christine O'Malley. The one-hour original television documentary (title TBA) will chronicle the ascent of the absorbing character's journey to pop culture stardom. It will be telecast across MTV Networks' various TV platforms in July to commemorate the anniversary of the series' first episode.

"Patrick and Christine have a talent for finding a greater cultural significance in their film subjects," said Marjorie Cohn, Exec VP, Development and Original Programming, Nickelodeon and exec producer of the project. "We're excited to see how they will explore SPONGEBOB's ten year evolution from a cartoon character to an international pop culture phenomenon."

"After spending two years examining the financial health of the United States, Christine and I were ready to tackle something a little more upbeat," said Creadon. "Telling the SPONGEBOB story feels like the perfect fit. Plus, our three young children think this is the coolest thing ever."

Creadon (director) and O'Malley (producer) have been twice nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for their work, including WORDPLAY (2006) and the recent I.O.U.S.A (2008). WORDPLAY, Creadon's feature-length directorial debut, is a documentary film about THE NEW YORK TIMES crossword editor and National Public Radio personality, Will Shortz. It became only the fourth documentary ever to be awarded the "Golden Tomato" from Rottentomatoes.com for "Best Reviewed Documentary of The Year," and went on to become the second-highest grossing documentary of 2006, nominated for both a Critics' Choice Award and a National Board of Review Award for "Best Documentary of 2006."

I.O.U.S.A., Creadon and O'Malley's second documentary, had its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in the American Documentary Competition. The film examines America's current financial situation and explores ways to avoid a financial breakdown for the country. Kenneth Turan of the LOS ANGELES TIMES called it "the most unexpectedly frightening film at Sundance."