Hollywood to Make Feature of Korea’s Short Animation JOHNNY EXPRESS

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Korean Film News

NEWS & REPORTS

Hollywood to Make Feature of Korea’s Short Animation JOHNNY EXPRESS

Aug 11, 2015

Writer by Ha Sung-tae
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The First Animation Jointly Produced by A Major Hollywood Studio and A Korean Production.

A five-minute short animation swept a Hollywood studio off its feet. Illumination Entertainment, the producer of Despicable Me and Minions announced that it would make a feature of short animation Johnny Express directed by WOO Kyung-min.

According to foreign press, Illumination Entertainment signed a partnership agreement with MOFAC and Alfred, an amalgamation of MOFAC Studio, a Korean VFX company and Alfred Imageworks, a Korean motion graphic company. Christopher MELEDANDRI, the chairman of Illumination visited the headquarters of Alfred in Seoul, Korea during his Asian tour to promote Minions and went over the contract.

According to the contract, Johnny Express is expected to be MOFAC and Alfred’s first feature animation. In addition, Johnny Express will be Korea’s first project between a major Hollywood studio and a Korean production.

WOO is an animation director of Alfred Imageworks. The partnership for Johnny Express was first proposed by MELEDANDRI who watched WOO’s short animation. Illumination Entertainment of Minions, an animation studio established by MELANDANDRI has been maintaining an exclusive investment and distribution deal with Universal Pictures, achieving the success of the Despicable Me series.

WOO Kyung-min wrote the screenplay of Johnny Express and directed the film which depicts the activities of Johnny, a package-delivery specialist in space. Johnny Express has been in the worldwide spotlight. The animation picked up the Best Screenplay Prize in the short cut category of the 9th Korean Film Festival in Paris and the SICAF Choice Prize at the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity selected the animation as the most popular video.

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