Exodus Film Group has announced that Howie Mandel, Luis Guzmán, Paul Blackthorne, Jamal Trulove, Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson have signed on to lend their voices to the upcoming animated feature Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk. The star-studded cast also includes previously announced Nick Cannon, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Coolidge and Kenan Thompson.
Set in NYC, Pierre The Pigeon-Hawk is a musically-driven animated comedy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and community. Born as a product of forbidden love between a hawk and a pigeon, Pierre is rejected by both communities. Dejected and confused, Pierre sets out on a mission to find out where he belongs. During his adventure, he unites with a band of unlikely friends including a bear that has recently escaped from the Central Park Zoo, an owl whose genius is outweighed only by his madness, and a pair of ragtag, pop-cultured city squirrels with attitude. Amidst a journey of self-discovery, Pierre finds the courage to inspire animals from all backgrounds to change their ways and open their minds to a new way of thinking. It will take a hybrid bird to unite a hybrid world.
Howie Mandel previously hosted NBC’s Emmy-nominated Deal or No Deal and is currently a judge on NBC’s Emmy-nominated America’s Got Talent. He has lent his voice to such films as Warner Bros.’ Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Animal Planet’s The Great Polar Bear Adventure. Mandel is represented by WME and 3 Arts Entertainment.
Luis Guzmán is known for roles in Steven Soderbergh’s Academy Award-winning Traffic, New Line Cinema’s Academy Award-winning Boogie Nights, New Line Cinema’s Academy Award-nominated Magnolia and Columbia Pictures’ Anger Management. His recent credits include Netflix’s Sandy Wexler, Warner Bros.’ Keanu and We’re the Millers and CBS’ Code Black. Recent voice-over work includes DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo and Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Guzman is repped by The Gersh Agency and Gravesend Entertainment.
Paul Blackthorne’s credits include Sony Pictures Classics’ Academy Award-nominated Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, Disney’s A Christmas Carol, Universal’s Dumb and Dumber To and The CW’s Arrow. Blackthorne is repped by Imperium 7 Talent Agency and Seven Summits Pictures & Management.
Actor, musician and social activist Jamal Trulove made his acting debut in A24’s critically acclaimed The Last Black Man in San Francisco, directed by Joe Talbot. Trulove is repped by The Stars Agency and Tru Narrativ.
Actor and musician Evan Ross’s film credits include: Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2, Mark and Jay Duplass’ Jeff, Who Lives at Home and Warner Bros.’ ATL. Ross is repped by CAA, Vault Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham.
Ashlee Simpson’s acting credits include the animated Space Dogs: Adventure to the Moon alongside Alicia Silverstone, The WB’s Emmy-nominated 7th Heaven and The CW’s Melrose Place. She has written and performed songs for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender and Columbia Pictures’ The House Bunny. Simpson is repped by Vault Entertainment.
John D. Eraklis is directing and producing alongside Cannon’s Ncredible Entertainment and Ciaran Crampton and Chase Muratore’s Sugar Water Entertainment. Sugar Water Entertainment is providing financing in partnership with Toonz Media Group and Michael Goldman, Jamal Trulove and Delbert Whetter are Executive Producing. Highland Film Group is handling international sales with CAA Media Finance handling domestic sales. The film is being produced and directed remotely and is in pre-production at Toonz Media Group studio in New Zealand.
Exodus Film Group is a boutique production company based in Venice Beach, California. Exodus develops and produces a wide range of projects in both animation and live-action for all media. Past productions include the animated features Igor, The Hero of Color City and Bunyan & Babe.
Founded by Nick Cannon in 2009, Ncredible Entertainment has quickly become a powerhouse brand in the entertainment industry. Under this banner, Cannon produces numerous TV and film projects, including Nickelodeon’s Make It Pop, TeenNick Top 10 and React To That.
Highland Film Group’s slate also includes: Andrew Baird’s Zone 414, Mark Earl Burman’s Ambush, Ray Giarratana’s The Tiger Rising. Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’s Becky and Jiu Jitsu starring Nicolas Cage.
Toonz Media Group is India’s, and one of Asia’s, most active animation production studios (over 10,000 minutes of 2D and CGI kids and family content per year), having worked with many of the leading entertainment studios, channels and networks including Exodus Film Group, Marvel, Nickelodeon, Turner, Disney, Netflix, Dreamworks, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, BBC, Amazon, Google, Hulu, HBO and Lionsgate — to date over 75 animation and live action series, as well as five feature films, including Bunyan and Babe and The Hero of Color City with Exodus Film Group.
Mr P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group, commented, “I am delighted that Toonz is partnering on and co-producing Pierre The Pigeon-Hawk in our New Zealand studio, and bringing our two decades of animation production experience and expertise to create this original kids and family comedy.”
