A series of paintings featuring a lonesome-looking pooch have inspired a new CG-animated movie in development at Warner Bros. Variety reports that the rights to Queenstown artist Ivan Clarke’s limited-edition book The Lonely Dog have been snapped by the studio, thanks to a connection to Richard Taylor, co-founder of New Zealand’s Weta Workshop, who won five Oscars for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. Hollywood go-to scribe Akiva Goldsman (The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons) and Kerry Foster are attached as producers.
According to the article, the painter was inspired by the sad look on his family’s dog’s face when he was left alone. Clarke decided to paint his pet as a fully clothed character’and imagine wild adventures for him in stories that he’d tell his children. His Lonely Dog series of paintings caught the attention of Taylor, who helped Clarke create a mythology for the characters and produced 90 editions of an oversized art book featuring the lonesome canine, priced for about $6,000 each.
Lonely Dog and his buddies live in the mythical land of Alveridge, a magical world where hounds ride Harleys, the upscale Catside fashion show attracts both dogs and cats, and the residents enjoy activities such as whalemilking, the rising of the blue moon and a rockfest known as The Midsummer Madness Festival. You can learn all about the Lonely Dog and his musical talents at www.lonelydog.com.
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