chase the light

The train is picking up steam… The Polar Express: Variety states that producer Steve Bing [LINK] has made “one of the boldest moves ever taken by an independent producer” and personally invested $80 million — reportedly half of the film’s production budget — in Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming children’s fantasy film. Adapted from Christian Van Allsburg’s Caldecott Medal-winning storybook about a boy who is whisked away on a magical steam engine to meet with Santa Claus at the North Pole, the film is being computer generated by Sony Pictures Imageworks from motion-captured performances of Tom Hanks and others, as illustrated in the teaser trailer here. The film will be arriving in theaters, from Warner Brothers and Castle Rock, November 19.

The guy’s only a year older than me and has invested $80 million of his own money in the film… and fathered Elizabeth Hurley’s kid. Well, as long as my paycheck doesn’t bounce and shows up on Thursdays I’m happy. Ok, back to work so I can make him the money back. The new trailer we’ve been working on should be on the front of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [LINK] in June.