Catherine Winder, President and Executive Producer of Rainmaker Entertainment (TSX:RNK), the Vancouver based multifaceted animation studio, has hired formidable New York and LA-based management and production firm Circle of Confusion to support the company’s expansion of its current slate of animated feature films.
Press Release from Rainmaker Entertainment
VANCOUVER, CANADA December 2, 2011 – Catherine Winder, President and Executive Producer of Rainmaker Entertainment (TSX:RNK), the Vancouver based multifaceted animation studio, has hired formidable New York and LA-based management and production firm Circle of Confusion to support the company’s expansion of its current slate of animated feature films. Putting this effort on the fast track, Circle of Confusion will identify brand building opportunities across multi-media platforms for Rainmaker’s library of animated characters and properties.
Effective immediately, Rainmaker Entertainment will be represented by Circle of Confusion’s David Alpert and Ken Freimann who will work with Winder on identifying the new properties and talent for the digital and emerging platforms including online, mobile and social media, and, in the process, taking its animated film slate to a new level.
Currently, Rainmaker Entertainment is in production on ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH, an animated feature film which will be distributed The Weinstein Company in 2012 and stars the voice talents of Brendan Fraser, Jessica Alba, Sarah Jessica Parker and James Gandolfini. Rainmaker Entertainment’s most recent effort, LUNA, premiered at SIGGRAPH 2011 and has been accepted into the competition at numerous festivals.
“There is so much that Rainmaker can offer the entertainment community, regardless of the platform,” said Winder in making the announcement. “Whether it’s translating an existing film or TV brand for online, mobile and gaming or developing an original property for all of today’s engagement platforms, Circle of Confusion understands the expertise that Rainmaker brings to the table.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Catherine and her talented management team at Rainmaker to take the company in this new direction,” said Freimann. “Based on both our experience in developing properties for the entertainment community and our ability to package and represent creatives’ potential, we’re confident in our ability to guide Rainmaker through its next growth phase, shepherding a development slate that is ripe with possibility.”
Alpert added: “Catherine and the Rainmaker team have a wealth of characters and storylines that are enormously appealing to today’s all-encompassing entertainment universe. The company’s development slate is overflowing with engaging stories and characters and we look forward to bringing them to audiences around the globe.”
About Circle of Confusion:Circle of Confusion is a feature film & television production and management company. In addition to representing established talent such as creators the Wachowskis (writer/directors of the Matrix Trilogy), Adam F. Goldberg (FOX's 'breaking_in', How To Train Your Dragon), Robert Kirkman (creator and executive producer The Walking Dead), Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Darkest Hour) they have shepherded up-and-comers such as 2009 Blacklist winner Christopher Weekes (The Muppet Man), and 2010 Blacklist winner Wes Jones (College Republicans).
Current projects on the Production side include the #1 basic-cable drama series The Walking Dead for AMC and the FX pilot Powers, starring Jason Patric and Lucy Punch. Feature films include Inherit the Earth at Sony (with Michael Bay), Existence 2.0 at Paramount (with Al Gough & Miles Millar adapting), Fire at Universal (with Zac Effron attached to star), Antwerp at Paramount (with J.J. Abrams) and Straight Outta Compton at New Line (with Ice Cube & Dr. Dre).
About Rainmaker EntertainmentRainmaker Entertainment Inc., a multifaceted animation studio, is one of Canada’s largest producers of CG animation. With an innovative history that spans over 15 years, Rainmaker today continues to tell engaging stories and create compelling characters for all media. The studio’s 200 creatively-inspired artists and storytellers are currently in development on the company’s first slate of proprietary projects. Originally established as Mainframe Entertainment, the company broke ground by producing the first ever CGI animation series ReBoot. In addition to developing its own properties, Rainmaker also produces feature length DVD’s for many top international brands including Barbie, Max Steel and Tony Hawk, and more. Rainmaker’s clients include Mattel, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and MTV. For more information, go to www.rainmaker.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
