Rainmaker signs on to new Stan Lee project By Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
VANCOUVER -- Stan Lee, the reigning emperor of comic book franchises, has struck a deal with Vancouver-based Rainmaker Animation for what both sides hope will be a series of computer-generated (CG) animation movies based on Lee's latest creation, Legion of 5.
The deal, which Rainmaker CEO Warren Franklin estimated at $24 million for first-phase development, calls for Rainmaker to make at least one Legion of 5 feature-length film, and possibly a series of films, with ancillary products that may include graphic novels, videogames and merchandise.
Franklin would not give specifics on the Legion of 5 concept, which is still in development at Lee's POW! Entertainment, other than to say it will involve five superhero characters with extraordinary powers. He also doesn't know at this stage if the first film will be made for theatrical or straight-to-DVD release.
The deal calls for Rainmaker to make the film(s) and to receive a percentage of ancillary revenue streams. Brighton Partners LLC, a Salt Lake City-based project development and financing group, is also a partner in the deal.
The deal came about after Rainmaker contacted Brighton Partners about a number of proposed projects. Brighton was involved with Stan Lee's company, which had projects it wanted to develop. Rainmaker's Mainframe Entertainment had produced the 2003 Spider-Man TV series, which impressed Lee - co-creator of Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Hulk and Iron Man.
"That led to a series of discussions about this new property he was developing," said Franklin. "The idea was we would make a fully animated idea, as opposed to other adaptations of his work which were live-action films.
"We decided the focus of the franchise would be a computer-animated film, and we could develop it for games and other platforms."
POW! Entertainment has a first-look arrangement with Disney, but Franklin said the Legion of 5 deal did not involve Disney.
The fact that Legion of 5 is a brand new property, not a tie-in to an existing franchise, made the deal sweeter for Rainmaker.
"We were interested in finding a property that had some brand recognition [in the Stan Lee name], but one where we'd be able to have a participation and a share in all the revenue streams," said Franklin.
The film will take at least two years to produce, which means a comic book or graphic novel could precede the release of the movie.
Franklin marvels at the 85-year-old Lee's energy.
"He has a lot of different ideas, and that's what keeps him going," said Franklin.
Rainmaker, which employs 350 people, is currently finishing production of the direct-to-DVD animation The Nutty Professor, is in production of the original feature-length animation Escape from Planet Earth, and is developing a series of animated movies based on the popular 1990s TV series ReBoot.
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