LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX
Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced
that Kristen Bell (Frozen,
TV's "The Good Place") will narrate the latest IMAX documentary
adventure Pandas, a heartwarming global story about
reintroducing captive born pandas to the wild. The film will be
released in select IMAX® and IMAX® 3D
theatres starting April 6, 2018.
The filmmakers from the acclaimed IMAX documentaries Born to
Be Wild and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar take audiences on an exciting
and educational new journey for the entire family, this time in
China with a species loved the
world over—Giant Pandas.
"I am thrilled to team up with IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures to
help tell this incredible story in the larger-than-life IMAX
format," said Kristen Bell.
"Pandas not only spotlights the important work being
done to protect these beloved and ridiculously cute animals, but it
provides us with inspiration and hope and showcases the great
things we can achieve when we work together."
Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX
Entertainment and Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp.,
added, "We're tremendously excited to have the talented and
engaging Kristen Bell join the IMAX
family to narrate Pandas. We can't wait to share
this heartfelt journey that will transport IMAX audiences to
the mountains of Sichuan in
China and spotlight the incredible
steps scientists are taking to protect and reintroduce these
magnificent and adorable pandas into the wild."
Jeff Goldstein, President
Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures, said, "We are so
pleased to continue the tradition of bringing these wonderful IMAX
adventures to families. We're proud to add Pandas to our
slate and to give people an opportunity to see these amazing
animals as never before."
"I am delighted to continue my longstanding partnership with
IMAX and Warner Bros. on Pandas," said producer/writer
Drew Fellman, who co-directed the
film with David Douglas. "Shooting
with IMAX cameras helped us deliver a dazzling and intimate
experience and we're thrilled to have Kristen Bell onboard to guide this one-of-a-kind
IMAX adventure."
Kristen Bell currently stars as
Eleanor Shellstrop in season two of the TV series "The Good Place,"
with Ted Danson, which has been
renewed for a third season by NBC. Up next, she will star in the
Netflix comedy "Like Father," opposite Kelsey Grammer, and lend her voice to the
animated film Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, both set for
release in 2018. Bell most recently executive produced and appeared
in the ABC special "Encore," about former high-school classmates
who get together for an encore performance of their old musical
theater productions. She also reprised her role as Anna in
Olaf's Frozen Adventure, a featurette based on the
blockbuster animated feature Frozen, released alongside
Coco. She is working on the sequel to Frozen,
scheduled to hit theaters in fall 2019. Frozen has grossed
over $1.2 billion worldwide, making
it the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Bell also
recently starred in A Bad Moms Christmas, alongside
Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn. The film is a sequel to 2016's
Bad Moms, the first STX film to gross over $100 million domestically.
In 2016, Bell was seen as Jeannie Van Der Hooven in the Showtime
series "House of Lies," opposite Don
Cheadle, which wrapped its fifth and final season. In
2014, Bell reprised her beloved title role in the film
Veronica Mars, which raised
$2 million on Kickstarter in less
than eleven hours and broke the record at the time for the fastest
project to reach $1 million and
$2 million. She appeared in a
guest-starring arc on NBC's hit series "Parks & Recreation,"
and played the lead role in the independent film The
Lifeguard, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
She also starred in and co-produced the comedy Hit &
Run, written and directed by her husband, Dax Shepard. Her other film credits include
CHIPs, How to Be a Latin Lover, The Boss,
Movie 43, Some Girls, Writers, Big
Miracle, You Again, Burlesque, When in
Rome, Couples Retreat,
Forgetting Sarah Marshall,
Pulse, Serious Moonlight and David Mamet's
Spartan. Her television credits include "Veronica Mars," "Unsupervised," "Deadwood,"
"Heroes" and "Party Down." Her Broadway credits include "The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The
Crucible," opposite Liam Neeson and
Laura Linney. Her Off-Broadway
credits include "Reefer Madness" and "A Little Night Music."
About Pandas
Pandas are beloved around the
world, and now they are coming to the big screen in the
IMAX® original film "Pandas," a breathtaking documentary
adventure and amazing experience for the whole family narrated by
Kristen Bell ("Frozen," TV's "The
Good Place").
At Chengdu Panda Base in China,
scientists are taking the captive breeding program to the next
level and preparing captive-born cubs for the wild. This film
follows one such researcher, whose passion leads her to initiate a
new technique inspired by a black bear rehabilitator in rural New
Hampshire. What starts as a cross-cultural collaboration
becomes a life-changing journey for one special panda named
Qian Qian. The film, captured with
IMAX® cameras, follows Qian
Qian on an exciting new adventure into the mountains of
Sichuan as she experiences nature
for the first time and discovers her wild side.
David Douglas and Drew Fellman, the filmmakers behind "Born to be
Wild" and "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar," directed the film, which Fellman
wrote and produced, with Douglas as director of photography.
Donald Kushner and Steve Ransohoff also produced the film, with
Li Xiao Dong, David Haring, and Elie
Samaha executive producing and Neal
Allen serving as line producer. "Born to be Wild" and
"Island of Lemurs: Madagascar"
editor Beth Spiegel and composer
Mark Mothersbaugh collaborated with
Douglas and Fellman once again, with sound design by Gus Koven.
IMAX Entertainment presents, in association with IMAX
Documentary Films Capital, Jin Yi Culture Investment (HK) and Panda
Productions, "Pandas." This film, distributed by Warner Bros.
Pictures and IMAX, will be released in select IMAX® and
IMAX® 3D theaters starting April
6, 2018. The film is rated G.
For the new trailer, downloadable photos and general press
information, please visit: www.IMAX.com/pandas and
https://mediapass.warnerbros.com.
About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in
entertainment technology, combines proprietary software,
architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you
beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top
filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with
audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is
among the most important and successful theatrical distribution
platforms for major event films around the globe.
IMAX is headquartered in New
York, Toronto and
Los Angeles, with additional
offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of September 30, 2017, there were 1,302 IMAX
theatres (1,203 commercial multiplexes, 11 commercial destinations
and 86 institutions) in 75 countries. On Oct. 8, 2015, shares of IMAX China, a subsidiary
of IMAX Corp., began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under
the stock code "HK.1970."
IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D
Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX
nXos® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about
the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with
IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter
(www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube
(www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).
This press release contains forward looking statements that
are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information
and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause
actual results to differ materially from future results expressed
or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
For additional information please contact:
Business
Media: IMAX Corporation– New York
Ann Sommerlath
212-821-0155
asommerlath@imax.com
Sloane &
Company– New York
Whit Clay
212-446-1864
wclay@sloanepr.com
|
Investors: IMAX Corporation – New
York
Michael K. Mougias
212-821-0187
mmougias@imax.com
Entertainment
Media: Principal Communications Group – Los
Angeles
Melissa Zukerman/Paul Pflug
323-658-1555
melissa@pcommgroup.com
paul@pcommgroup.com
Warner Bros.
Pictures Chris Nutley
818- 954-2708
chris.nutley@warnerbros.com
|
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SOURCE IMAX Corporation