Jack Black may have had success as a voice in animation, having played character in Kung Fu Panda, Shark Tale and Ice Age, but now he’s turning producer for a new CG movie that he’s just set up at the Universal based production company, Illumination Entertainment.
The film, which doesn’t have a title at the moment, is based in the world of cryptozoology, where hopeful scientist go around looking for evidence of lengendary animals, such as the Loch Ness monster and the yeti.
Not much more is known about the movie than that, although it’s certainly a sound area for an animated movie. According to Variety, the pitch was actually made to Illumination by screenwriter Jason Micallef, with Jack Black in the room (if someone famous is involved in a film, they’re often brought to pitches just to ensure execs take it seriously). Jack will produce the film alongside his Black Electric Dynamite production company partner, Ben Cooloey.
However, despite Black’s presence of the credit list, as yet he’s not taking a voice role in the movie, and will just be producing, although we wouldn’t be shocked if that changed.
Universal is hoping that Illumination can make them a success in CG animation, as it’s an area where the studio has been lagging behind most of the other Hollywood studios. Illumination’s first major release is the supervillain comedy, Despicable Me, which is out next summer and features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Danny McBride, Julie Andrews and Russell Brand.