Having served as president of Warner Bros. Feature Animation and senior VP of Disney Feature Animation, Max Howard is championing independent animation by signing on as president of Venice, Calif.-based Exodus Film Group. He has been working with the company on the upcoming CG-animated feature Igor, and will continue to develop films in his new role.
Howard came from the theater to help create such Disney favorites as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and The Lion King. He spent 12 years at the Mouse House before moving on to Warner Bros., where he oversaw the award-winning animated feature The Iron Giant and the international hit Space Jam. More recently he served as exec producer on DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.
‘The time has come in feature animation where independently financing and producing films is a viable business with burdensome and expensive technology no longer being an obstacle,’ says Howard. ‘I am thrilled to be joining a terrific company whose focus is on bringing fun and compelling stories to the screen.’
‘Max is one of the most talented and experienced animation executives in the business today,’ says Exodus chief executive officer John D. Eraklis. ‘His track record of building outstanding animation teams worldwide is unparalleled. We couldn’t be more pleased that he’s joined our team.’
Currently in production for a fall 2008 release, Igor will tell the tale of a hunchbacked lab assistant who dreams of becoming a scientist and winning the annual Evil Science fair. Tony Leondis (The Prince of Egypt, Lilo & Stitch 2) is directing from a script by Chris McKenna (American Dad) and Exodus has lined up a voice cast that includes Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Jay Leno, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Molly Shannon and Jennifer Coolidge. The Weinstein Company will distribute the pic in North America and a number of foreign territories.
Other features on Exodus’ CG-animation slate include The Hero of Color City, which Magnolia Pictures will distribute in North America, and an adaptation of the Paul Bunyan tall tale titled Bunyan & Babe.
