LIONSGATE UK ACQUIRES UK RIGHTS TO LAIKA’S COMEDY-ADVENTURE ANIMATION “MISSING LINK”
Jun 13th, 2018
LIONSGATE UK ACQUIRES UK RIGHTS TO LAIKA’S COMEDY-ADVENTURE ANIMATION “MISSING LINK”
Embargoed until 8am GMT Wednesday 13th June. Lionsgate UK announced today that they have acquired the UK rights to MISSING LINK, an animated comedy-adventure produced by LAIKA, the animation studio behind the Academy Award® nominated Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, and Coraline. AGC International, the international sales and distribution division of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, is handling international sales and orchestrated the deal with Lionsgate UK. LAIKA and AGC cemented a number of other key international distribution deals at the Cannes market where the film was one of the most high profile titles. Footage was screened today at CineEurope in Barcelona as part of a UK specific segment to the Lionsgate annual presentation.
Bursting with humor, heart, and a profound message of acceptance and finding one’s place, MISSING LINK is written and directed by Oscar® nominee Chris Butler (ParaNorman). LAIKA’s head of production and Oscar® nominee Arianne Sutner (ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings) is producing with Travis Knight, who earned an Academy Award® nomination and BAFTA win for his directorial debut on Kubo.
The charismatic Sir Lionel Frost (voiced by Hugh Jackman) considers himself to be the world’s foremost investigator of myths and monsters. The trouble is none of his small-minded high-society peers seems to recognize this. Sir Lionel’s last chance for acceptance by the adventuring elite rests on traveling to America’s Pacific Northwest to prove the existence of a legendary creature. A living remnant of Man’s primitive ancestry. The Missing Link. Zach Galifianakis is Mr. Link: the slightly silly, surprisingly smart and soulful beast upon whom Sir Lionel’s dreams depend. As species go, he’s as endangered as they get; he’s the last of his kind, and he’s lonely. Proposing a daring quest to seek out his rumored distant relatives, he enlists Sir Lionel’s help in an odyssey around the world to find the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Together with Adelina Fortnight (voiced by Zoe Saldana), an independent and resourceful adventurer who possesses the only known map to the group’s secret destination, the unlikely trio embarks on a riotous rollercoaster of a ride. Along the way, our fearless explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril, stalked at every turn by dastardly villains seeking to thwart their mission. Through it all, Mr. Link’s disarming charm and good-humored conviction provide the emotional and comedic foundation of this fun-filled family film.
In addition to Jackman, Saldana and Galifianakis, the estimable voice cast boasts a roster of internationally renowned and award-winning actors from all corners of the world. Oscar® winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit), Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Matt Lucas (Alice In Wonderland), David Walliams (Little Britain), Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones) and Ching Valdes-Aran (Nurse Jackie) bring their extraordinary talents to this globe-trotting spectacle.
“LAIKA has a track record of being industry leaders in animation, and Missing Link is shaping up to add to their pedigree – it’s a refreshing, unique, charming film that we are delighted to be adding to our 2019 theatrical slate,” comments Zygi Kamasa, CEO and Nicola Pearcey, President UK, EMEA Strategy & Operations for Lionsgate UK.
“We are thrilled to partner with Lionsgate as our UK distributor,” said Travis Knight, LAIKA’s President & CEO. “They understand LAIKA’s mission to make engaging films that matter to our audiences. Missing Link is in very good hands with Lionsgate’s exceptional team.”
For further information please contact:
Lorna Mann
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of LAIKA
About Lionsgate
The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global content platform whose films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences around the world. In addition to its filmed entertainment leadership, Lionsgate content drives a growing presence in interactive and location-based entertainment, gaming, virtual reality and other new entertainment technologies. Lionsgate’s content initiatives are backed by a 16,000-title film and television library and delivered through a global licensing infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the Company’s worldwide consumer base.
About LAIKA
Fueled by the vision of its owner, Nike co-founder and former Chairman Philip H. Knight, and its President & CEO Travis Knight, feature film animation studio LAIKA was founded in 2005. Located just outside Portland, Oregon, LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar® for its innovation in 3D printing in 2016. Its four films, Kubo and the Two Strings (2016); The Boxtrolls (2014); ParaNorman (2012), and Coraline (2009) were all nominated for Oscars® and PGA Awards as Outstanding Animated Film. Kubo, which marked the directorial debut of Travis Knight, also received an Oscar® nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects and the BAFTA Award as well as three Annie Awards, the National Board of Review and 19 regional and critics’ group awards. The Boxtrolls earned Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe Award nominations and 13 Annie Award nominations, more than any other film that year. ParaNorman garnered BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and GLAAD Media Award nominations, won two Annie Awards and was cited as the year’s best animated film by 14 critics’ groups. Coraline earned Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice nominations, and was named one of the year’s 10 Best Films by the American Film Institute (AFI). For more information, visit www.laika.com.
About AGC Studios
AGC Studios was founded and launched by Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford in February 2017 as a platform to develop, produce, finance and globally license a diverse portfolio of feature films, scripted, unscripted and factual television, digital and musical content from its dual headquarters in Los Angeles and London. The studio’s Hollywood output has a wide-ranging multicultural focus, designed for exploitation across an array of global platforms including major studio partnerships, streaming platforms, traditional broadcast and cable television networks and independent distributors, both in the US and internationally. AGC Studios is initially backed by three key strategic investors; Latin American private asset management firm MediaNet Partners; Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Symantec CEO and founder and chairman of Fibonacci Films, Greg Clark; and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, one of the leading media and entertainment companies in the Arabic-speaking world. Chief Operating Officer Miguel Palos is also a stakeholder in and co-founder of the business with Ford.
For more information, visit agcstudios.com