Zoe Saldana Fantasy Drama I KILL GIANTS Bought By RLJE Films
RLJE Films, a brand of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), Umedia and XYZ Films announced today that RLJE has acquired the U.S. rights to the highly anticipated I Kill Giants, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival to critical praise. Based on the acclaimed Man of Action graphic novel by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura with a screenplay by Joe Kelly, the film was directed by Anders Walter, the Academy Award winning writer/director for the short Helium, and stars Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Imogen Poots (Need for Speed, That Awkward Moment), and Madison Wolfe (The Conjuring 2). XYZ Films is handling worldwide rights on the film, which was backed by Ingenious and financed by Umedia with the participation of Having Me Films.
I Kill Giants was produced by Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Michael Barnathan (The Help), Kyle Franke (Holidays), Joe Kelly (Big Hero 6), Kim Magnusson (Adam's Apples), Martin Metz (Submergence), Adrian Politowski (Deep), and Nick Spicer (The Invitation). Peter Bevan (Erased), Johanna Hogan (Maudie), Michelle Miller ("Scary Larry"), Susan Mullan (Brooklyn), Justin Nappi (All Is Lost), Mark Radcliffe (Home Alone) Xinyue Sun and Wei Zou executive produced the fantasy drama, which RLJE Films will release in theaters in 2018.
"We're thrilled to acquire an amazing film that was so well received at the Toronto International Film Festival," said RLJ Entertainment's Chief Acquisitions Officer, Mark Ward. "With the film's talented, veteran filmmakers and an amazing cast led by Madison Wolfe and Zoe Saldana, we couldn't be happier to share this beautiful film with audiences at large."
I Kill Giants tells the story of Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe), a teenage girl who chooses to escape the realities of school and a drab family life by retreating into her magical world of Titans and Giants. With the help of her new friend Sophia (Sydney Wade) and her school therapist (Zoe Saldana), Barbara will learn to battle her Giants and face her fears - tackling the mean bullies at school, her sister (Imogen Poots) and her difficult home life and eventually her biggest dread of the unknown.
Ward and Jess De Leo from RLJE negotiated the deal with Nate Bolotin at XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
