Paramount Pictures and Entertainment One have closed a deal to co-finance “Clifford The Big Red Dog” and “Monster Problems,” with “Maze Runner” star Dyan O’Brien.
Under the deal, announced Thursday, eOne will distribute all rights directly in Canada and the UK, excluding television in the UK, and Paramount shall distribute all other rights including in the US.
“Monster Problems” is directed by Michael Matthews and stars O’Brien, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing, Jessica Henwick, and Arianna Greenblatt. Brian Duffield and Craig Johnson wrote the project. Paramount will produce alongside Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen via their 21 Laps banner. John Starke will serve as an executive producer. Production on the film began in March.
“Monster Problems” is set in a post-apocalyptic world and follows a young man who must fight monsters on his way to reunite with his high school love.
“Clifford The Big Red Dog,” based on the book series about a giant friendly dog, will be directed by Walt Becker with Jack Whitehall and Darby Camp set to star. The script was written by the writing teams of Jay Scherick and David Ronn and Annie Mumolo and Stan Chervin. The film is a CGI-live action hybrid produced by Paramount Pictures, Jordan Kerner and Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese.
“We are excited to be working with the incredibly talented creative teams involved in these two films and to join forces with Paramount as we continue with our ownership and distribution strategy to build a strong slate of high-quality, broad films,” said Nick Meyer, eOne’s film president. “We look forward to leveraging our flexibility and global resources to bring these impressive properties to audiences around the world with our terrific partners at Paramount.”