IMAX Options Theatrical Rights to Best-Seller MOBY DICK

IMAX Corporation today announced that it has optioned theatrical rights, among others, to author Donovan Hohn's 2011 best-selling nonfiction book Moby Duck. The story, which tells the story of a ship in the North Pacific that loses a container carrying thousands of rubber duck bath toys and their mysterious journey that spans the globe, will be made into a theatrical documentary produced by IMAX; its production will be spearheaded by Drew Fellman (Born to Be Wild and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, writer/producer on both), who will produce and direct the project from a script he writes and develops.

"Moby Duck," which was published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, lends itself ideally to the IMAX experience by drawing from the rich IMAX heritage of 3D adventure documentaries. As a film, Moby Duck will dramatize such interlocking threads as oceanic currents, the effects of plastics on wildlife, and the phenomenon of gyres and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

"This is an exciting new project for IMAX Entertainment, one that goes hand-in-hand with our legacy but with a fun twist," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corporation and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "By optioning rights to 'Moby Duck,' a thrilling and entertaining global journey based on an unbelievable true story, IMAX continues to provide quality entertainment to our fans around the world. We are thrilled to work again with our partner Drew Fellman and look forward to this out-of-the-box addition to IMAX's decades-long success of documentary filmmaking."

"From the very first pages of 'Moby Duck,' I knew this riveting tale would make an amazing IMAX film that would be wildly entertaining and also tackle vital environmental issues," said Fellman. "This story of thousands of toys lost at sea illustrates how something as simple as a rubber ducky can reveal natural mysteries as deep as the ocean itself."

The IMAX 3D release of Moby Duck will be captured with IMAX cameras. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

When the writer Donovan Hohn heard of the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys at sea, he figured he would interview a few oceanographers, talk to a few beachcombers, and read up on Arctic science and geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far, and they carry you away. Hohn's accidental odyssey pulls him into the secretive arena of shipping conglomerates, the daring work of Arctic researchers, the lunatic risks of maverick sailors, and the shadowy world of Chinese toy factories. Moby Duck is a journey into the heart of the sea and an adventure through science, myth, the global economy, and some of the worst weather imaginable.