Helmer chooses his next and sets up new production banner.
Variety reports that ‘Maleficent’ director and Oscar-winning production designer Robert Stromberg has teamed up with pre-vis company the Third Floor, ‘Avatar’ concept artist and production designer Dylan Cole and veteran storyboard/comicbook artist Mark Moretti to create the production banner Hydra.
Stromberg and his partners see the newly established company “an alternative to studio development — a place where filmmakers can come to get their CG and live-action ideas off the ground just enough to entice studio partners for financing and distribution.” Hyrdra will use an in-house fund to finance development, including a couple of projects already in the works.
First on the list of such projects for the Los Angeles-based banner is ‘Safari,’ a “large-scale adventure” feature that Stromberg has committed to direct. Although no story details were given, the project has been described as being in the vein of ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Avatar.’
Another project in development is the family film ‘The Otherworldly Adventures of Tyler Washburn’ based on the children’s book written and illustrated by Cole.