Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

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Sotiris
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Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Sotiris »

Nimona directed by Patrick Osborne ("Feast", "Pearl") for Blue Sky Studios will be released on February 14, 2020.
In a competitive situation, Fox Animation has landed the rights to Nimona, the New York Times best-selling graphic novel by Noelle Stevenson, for an adaptation to be directed by Patrick Osborne, the helmer behind the Oscar-winning animated short Feast. Studio exec-turned-screenwriter Marc Haimes is attached to pen the script for the project, which will be produced by Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment and the company’s president of production Adam Stone.

A mashup of genres, Nimona is set in a medieval future where knights go to night clubs riding hoverboards and carrying swords and tells of a young shape-shifter who teams up with a disgraced knight in order to reclaim his honor and overthrow a corrupt regime. Stevenson wrote and drew Nimona as a web comic while still a student at Maryland Institute College of Art (it was even her thesis). The popularity and acclaim of the comic led to Harvey and Eisner Awards, as well as her being awarded the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize for best web comic in 2012.

Vertigo partner John Powers Middleton will executive produce while creative exec Gabriel Chu will oversee the project for the company. Fox executives Vanessa Morrison and Darlene Caamano Loquet will oversee the project, which is in the development stages, for the studio.
Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat- ... ion-801920
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Mooky »

I'm apprehensive about this -- the graphic novel doesn't really lend itself to an adaptation from a major studio. Now, Cartoon Saloon, I could see them tackling this and it fitting their style, but Blue Sky Studios... Not so much, if at all. There's so much that can go wrong and the story will definitely be neutered because blood, killings, political schemes, authoritarian governments and queer characters don't translate well into family movies.
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Rumpelstiltskin »

A new article about the movie, but not much new information:

https://popculturetimes.com/2020/10/15/ ... l-updates/
Nimona is an animation movie film that is coming within a few years. However, it is an adaptation of a fantasy webcomic. Within recent years, it has turned into a trend of developing a movie from well established comic books. Nowadays always the film is not about superheroes or comedy. However, it has taken a mixture of both with some glance of romance. Noelle Stevenson the American writer and artist has composed this coming movie.

In 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios have produced the movie. In 20th century Fox Animation is considered as one of the significant animation houses in Hollywood. It’s name is taken with Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and even other animation houses. The Oscar-winning short film ‘Feast’ Director Patrick Osborne will direct ‘Nimona.’ With this, Marc Haimes has jotted down the movie’s script. Everyone has an idea that Nimona will be animated with this. The film will also join the adaptation of ‘Lumberjanes’ in the animation camp. However, Stevenson had also worked in the Lumberjanes comic series.
By the way, since Blue Sky now belongs to Disney, should this discussion be moved to the Disney Discussion board?
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by rodrigo_ca »

Disney Closing Blue Sky Studios, Fox’s Once-Dominant Animation House Behind ‘Ice Age’ Franchise

https://deadline.com/2021/02/blue-sky-s ... 234690310/

Production on the Patrick Osborne-directed Nimona, which is dated for Jan. 14, 2022, is being stopped and the film will no longer be released.
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Sotiris »

Nimona was 10 months away from completion when it was canceled. Also, Patrick Osborne was removed from the director's chair last year.
Borys Kit wrote:Blue Sky was in the middle production of Nimona, adapting the Noelle Stephenson graphic novel. Sources tell me the movie is about 75% complete. Could someone step in to acquire it and finish it?
Source: https://twitter.com/Borys_Kit/status/13 ... 9614606339
Amid Amidi wrote:Osborne was the officially announced director but was replaced by others last year.
Source: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/br ... 01814.html
Patrick Osborne wrote:Terribly sad I couldn't get it done while I was at the reins. It was an honor to play in the world you made Noelle.
Source: https://twitter.com/PatrickTOsborne/sta ... 5077595136
Patrick Osborne wrote:I was pushed out of the project in March last year, so I don’t know what it looks like now.
Source: https://twitter.com/PatrickTOsborne/sta ... 8571584513
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by estefan »

With all of the support online for it, I can definitely see Netflix acquiring the rights and finishing the movie. Disney has allowed a number of movies originally set up at Fox to be shopped around to other studios, like Mouse Guard, Richard Jewell, Spamalot, etc. They even sold "Woman in the Window" and "Fear Street" to Netflix, so they're not opposed to selling a movie they're disinterested in to them.

Here's hoping that happens.
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Mooky »

Yes, please, having Netflix buy the rights and finish the movie would be amazing, hopefully with the same crew. The story and its queer undertones would never fit with the current Disney sensibilities anyway.

Regardless of the movie ever being completed or not, I feel bad for the employees of Blue Sky Studios. That was a dick move on Disney's part, especially in this economy and in the middle of a pandemic.
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by Rumpelstiltskin »

It must be really hard for Noelle Stevenson, the creator of Nimona, too.

From her Twitter account:
Sad day. Thanks for the well wishes, and sending so much love to everyone at Blue Sky. Forever grateful for all the care and joy you poured into Nimona.
One of the replies (from Cristin McKee):
Thank you, Noelle. I considered this the most important movie of my career and I’m really sorry we won’t be able to make it anymore.
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

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The staffers said they were especially disappointed that "Nimona," based on the acclaimed fantasy web comic of the same name by Noelle Stevenson, would never see the light of day. They said it was to feature LGBTQ themes that are rarely explored in animated films, and one said it starred a gender-neutral character.

"The worst feeling is that 'Nimona' is not going to be seen by the world," the second staffer said. "We all believed in it." That person said the movie was on track to be completed by October ahead of its January release. The staffers had little hope that it would find another home considering it wouldn't even be completed. "It's heartbreaking to put so much time into a project and then have it not release," the first staffer said. "It didn't look like anything else in the animated world. It's a big loss of effort and time."
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-sk ... own-2021-2
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by DisneyFan97 »

I really wish someone would pick this up and finish it.
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by blackcauldron85 »

Here's some more info on Nimona (no, no news on it getting completed):
The Future Of Disney's First Animated Feature Film With Queer Leads, "Nimona," Is In Doubt https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/la ... characters

Or
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/la ... mobile_app
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by Disney's Divinity »

That puts a whole new spin on all this. Cowards. Meanwhile they claim to be promoting diversity in WDAS's lineup. As usual, that only extends so far.
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by Kyle »

I'm not shocked they're reluctant to pull the trigger on that. If the percentage of gay people in the us is, lets say 25% (and I'm rounding up here) that means its going to appeal to roughly a quarter of their usual audience. Not saying you to have to be gay to appreciate a movie about them, but people like to see themselves in characters.
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by UmbrellaFish »

Not really a great excuse. If your racial group had to clear 25% of the US population to “earn” a Disney movie, then Disney would only make movies about white people because no other group reaches that bar.

And if we’re going to talk pecentages— the movie was 75% done. The trigger had already been pulled!
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Well, I mean, Polynesians, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and South East Asians are probably not big groups of people either, some of them may make an even smaller percentage than LGBT people. The largest minorities in the U.S. are Black people and Latinos and/or Hispanic people. And yet Disney has only made one film that presents a cast of the former group (TP&TF) with no eagerness to do another apparently and they're only now getting around to a film with a cast that belongs to the latter group (Encanto).

Even if they actually think gay characters are box office poison, then wouldn't being in the middle of a pandemic be the perfect time to release such a movie? When, you know, all the movies' intakes are in the gutter anyway? And since they plan to get rid of Blue Sky, too.
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Re: Blue Sky Studios Shuts Down

Post by Sotiris »

Disney's Cancelled LGBTQ-Themed 'Nimona' Movie Would've Starred Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed - But There's Still Hope
https://collider.com/nimona-movie-cast- ... -blue-sky/
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Sotiris »

Nimona lives! DNEG Animation (Ron's Gone Wrong) is providing animation services. It's unclear though if they're making the movie from scratch or if they're continuing where Blue Sky left off.

'Nimona' Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed & Eugene Lee Yang Coming to Netflix In 2023
https://about.netflix.com/en/news/nimon ... to-netflix
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by Disney's Divinity »

So happy for them! My guess is they're making it from scratch.
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by blackcauldron85 »

It didn't even cross my mind that they wouldn't use what Blue Sky already created. Wikipedia says, "Nick Bruno and Troy Quane were announced as directors of the film, having previously directed Blue Sky's last film Spies in Disguise (2019). Quane started working on the film in March 2020.". So if one of the directors started working on this films 2 years ago then maybe they'll be able to retain at least some of the work? The voice cast hasn't changed so I doubt they'll have to start recording from scratch...

But I am super happy that it's been rescued and will be released!
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Re: Nimona (Blue Sky Studios)

Post by estefan »

It appears, based on comments from the directors and other artists working on the film, DNEG is continuing where Blue Sky left off rather than starting again from the beginning. Which is really neat.

Honestly, Netflix has allowed so many exciting animated films to come to fruition that might otherwise not have. They're the reason Klaus was able to finally get funding. Ditto Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Pinocchio, which he at one point said was probably never going to happen because of lack of studio interest. I love that Netflix is investing so much in animation and supporting a variety of movies. I love Disney+, but I do think this is an area Netflix is beating them at, which is strange. You would think the streaming service created by the studio most famous for animation would be doing the most original animation. But they're not. They even chose to write off Nimona and sell it to a competitor rather than complete it themselves to launch on D+.
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