Press release:
Film Rights Acquisition of an American children’s book THE PUP WHO CRIED WOLF by Chris Kurtz for Japanese CGI feature animation project
Tokyo’s production company Ichigo Ichie Films LLC has announced today that they signed the agreement to acquire the exclusive film rights of an American children’s book The Pup who Cried Wolf written by Chris Kurtz for a family genre CGI feature animation. The deal was negotiated by Eddie Gamarra at The Gotham Group on behalf of Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary LLC, Kurtz’s representatives.
The story is about a Lobo, a Chihuahua from New York City who feels he is truly a wolf in an undersized body, goes to Yellowstone National Park with his owner and dreams of running wild with his wolf brother.
Ichigo Ichie Films’s president and producer Hiro Masuda says he is aiming 2018 release. He is also planning to develop merchandising and commercial tie-ins with leading Japanese brands.
SYNOPSIS:
Lobo is a tiny Chihuahua with a big dream—to join a wolf pack. When Lobo’s owner takes her pets on vacation to Yellowstone National Park, Lobo thinks he’ll finally have the opportunity to find his wolf-brothers. But he doesn’t count on a strict park rule that will keep him on a leash! With the help of his endearingly quirky family—a smart Spanish-speaking parrot named Glory and a wisecracking white rat named Heckles—Lobo finally slips his leash and gets a chance to run with the wolves. But is the wild really where a feisty little five-pound pup belongs?
ABOUT Chris Kurtz
Award-winning author Chris Kurtz began his writing career by collaborating with his big sister, Jane Kurtz, to craft two picture books, Only a Pigeon (Simon & Schuster) and Water Hole Waiting (Greenwillow), a book School Library Journal called one of the best books of the year and a „gem for writing teachers.” In 2010, Chris published a young middle grade novel, The Pup Who Cried Wolf (Bloomsbury) and a middle grade novel, The Adventures of a South Pole Pig (Harcourt) in 2013. Chris is represented by Barry Goldblatt Literary LLC.
ABOUT Ichigo Ichie Films LLC:
Ichigo Ichie Films LLC was established in 2009 by Hiro Masuda. The company has been involved in development of the numbers of Japanese-International co-productions with US, Germany, France and Canada including Academy winning director’s project to be shot in Tokyo.
