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Lionsgate has acquired a stake in Primal Media, the UK production company formed by Gogglebox founders Mat Steiner and Adam Wood. The deal with Primal marks another step in Lionsgate’s expansion into the unscripted arena. In the past year, it has partnered with U.S. reality producer Pilgrim Studios and is growing an in-house slate including Kicking & Screaming (Fox), Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian (E!), Monica The Medium (Freeform), Douglas Family Gold (Oxygen) and Tra…...

The executive has expanded her responsibilities as part of the recent reorganisation of Bron Media Corp.

Gilbert already serves on the board of Bron Media Corp.

“It was important for Bron Animation to have its own identity and defined leadership group,” said CEO Aaron L Gilbert, “and Brenda has been a driving force behind our animation group since 2013.”

Ms Gilbert has appointed three vice-presidents to the Bron Animation leadership team. Adam Wood has been named vice-president of creative, Teunis de Raat vice-president of digital and Luke Carroll’s (pictured) role has been expanded to vice-president of production and development.

“These three talented people lead our incredible creative, technical and production teams at Bron Animation,” she said.

Bron Animation is in production on Henchmen, its first feature-length animation featuring the voice talents of James Marsden, Thomas Middleditch, Rosario Dawson and Alfred Molina.

While the majority of animation production takes place at Bron’s headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia...

James Marsden and Thomas Middleditch will lend their voices to animated comedy Henchmen.

The duo are joined by Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina and Nathan Fillion, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Jane Krakowski, Rob Riggle, Craig Robinson and Will Sasso have also been cast.

Silicon Valley's Middleditch will star as Lester, who joins the Union of Evil and is assigned to a crew of workers which includes Stew (Robinson), Jane (Krakowski) and fallen henchman Hank (Marsden).

After the group survive a shift working for The Gluttonator (Will Sasso), they are sent to work at the Vault of Villainy, where Lester accidentally steals the 'ultimate weapon'.

Meanwhile, the evil Baron Blackout (Molina) and his henchman Biff (Riggle) are determined to defeat their nemesis Captain Superior (Fillion) - a situation which causes a whole host of problems.

Hank soon finds himself in an impossible situation - if he wants to save his team...

Last August, an animated short film from Bron Studios premiered at the computer graphics conference Siggraph, and caught the attention of Gary Sanchez Productions heads Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, and Chris Henchy. The short, titled Henchmen: Ill Suited, told the tale of a dreamy janitor working in a supervillain museum who winds up inside of a dangerous super suit. Not much has been heard of it since Siggraph, but now we’ve received word that a feature film adaptation is officially moving forward and already has a talented group of actors all set to lend their voices.

Several of the actors already have a history of comic book-inspired properties, like X-Men alum James Marsden, Daredevil and Sin City actress Rosario Dawson, Spider-Man 2‘s Alfred Molina and Nathan Fillion, who’s voiced Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in several animated DC films. Joining them are Silicon Valley‘s Thomas Middleditch,...

Indie producer Bron Studios has set the voice cast for its first animated feature film Henchman, based on the Adam Wood short that premiered during Siggraph 2014 last summer. James Marsden, Thomas Middleditch, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Jane Krakowski, Rob Riggle, Craig Robinson and Will Sasso will lend their voices to the pic, about a band of blue-collar workers at the Union of Evil who must come together to save the world. The movie is in production…...

James Marsden, Thomas Middleditch, Rosario Dawson and Alfred Molina have joined Bron Studios’ first animation.

Production on Henchmen is underway at the company’s studios in Burnaby and Duncan, British Columbia. Gary Sanchez Productions, which came aboard last August, is no longer involved with the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Nathan Fillion, Jane Krakowski, Rob Riggle, Craig Robinson and Will Sasso have also signed on to the story about a ‘fallen henchman’ in a world of super-villains who must find his inner hero to rescue a new recruit and win the girl.

Henchmen is a Bron Studios production in association with CW Media Finance. Adam Wood directs from his screenplay, while Bron Studios’ Aaron L Gilbert and Luke Carroll produce.

Jason Cloth of CW Media Finance and Bron’s Brenda Gilbert serve as executive producers.

eOne holds Canadian rights and Wme Global represents sales for the rest of the world.

“We are absolutely...

Former Pixar animator Adam Wood sold the feature film rights to his short Henchmen: Ill Suited, which is set for the big screen in an adaptation from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and their Gary Sanchez Productions. Our friends at Film School Rejects just tracked down the animated short, which screened at convention Siggraph last week. It features a goofy janitor who works nights at a museum in Supervillain City. His klutzy shenanigans set off a crazy chain of events that finds him donning a high-tech suit with incredible superpowers. The full-length film version will obviously elaborate on this story, and Deadline notes that Wood (who is directing) will also focus on a “fallen henchman” named Hank overseeing a "motley crew of blue-collar workers in the...

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It must be a nice feeling to have your phone ring and hear Will Ferrell and Adam McKay on the other end, and it's a feeling familiar to former Pixar animator Adam Wood. The duo, via their Gary Sanchez Productions shingle, have snapped up the feature film rights to his short "Henchmen: Ill Suited," and now you can see what got the comedy pair so excited in the first place. The folks at Film School Rejects have tracked down the Siggraph 2014 short, and it does a lot with a little. We are introduced to a lowly janitor who works in the museum of Supervillain City and who accidentally winds up in a powerful space suit, which of course leads to all sorts of trouble. Obviously, the feature will expand the character and story, with the plot  centering on blue collar stiff Hank rescuing not only the accident prone janitor but his love interest.

“Produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay” might not mean a lot these days. Under their Gary Sanchez banner, they’ve given us disappointments like The Campaign, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and this summer’s Tammy, to name just a few. Even Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was a slight letdown. Their future might seem no better, with movies like a Hansel and Gretel sequel, a Flintstones feature and an adaptation of the TV series Manimal all in development. But maybe their first animated feature could be something to actually look forward to. Titled Henchmen, the film will be co-written and directed by Adam Wood, a former Pixar animator who also helmed a direct-to-video mermaid movie starring Barbie. As in the doll. While the feature won’t be out for another two years, according to Deadline, Wood recently completed a related short titled Henchmen: Ill Suited. It’s not exactly a teaser trailer, as...

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay will produce a Henchmen feature film adaptation.

The Anchorman creative team will serve as executive producers on the film based on the animated short, alongside their Gary Sanchez Productions partner Chris Henchy, reports Deadline.

Adam Wood's original short film Henchmen: Ill Suited centres around the janitor of Supervillain City's Bad Guy Museum.

He ends up in possession of a super-powered suit, and chaos ensues.

The feature will also introduce a Hank, the leader of the henchmen's Union of Evil.

It is unclear at this stage whether the project is being developed as a live action or animated film.

Watch a teaser for the original Henchmen short below:...

Gary Sanchez Productions has come on board Bron Studios’ Henchmen.

Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Chris Henchy will serve as executive producers and creative collaborators. Jason Cloth also serves as executive producer via his Creative Wealth Media Finance, one of the film’s main backers.

Director Adam Wood is currently in production on the feature after Dennis McNicholas completed a re-write on the story of a fallen villain who must save a youngster in a world of super-villains.

Gary Sanchez Studios partners Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy are teaming up to executive produce Henchmen, based on the animated short film Henchmen: Ill Suited from Bron Studios.

The short film follows a janitor who works at a bad guy museum in Supervillain City, who somehow gets a hold of a high-powered space suit and causes all sorts of havoc and mayhem. The animated feature will include this character, but it will also focus on a "fallen henchman" named Hank, who is overseeing a "motley crew of blue-collar workers in the Union of Evil." Hank must take a risk for the first time in his life to rescue the janitor in the super suit and save the missing woman he secretly loves. Henchmen: Ill Suited will premiere at the Siggraph 2014 animation convention in Vancouver later this week.

Adam Wood, who directed the Henchman short film, is...

Bron Studios has an animated short film premiering at Siggraph 2014 (an annual conference on computer graphics and techniques) called Henchmen: Ill Suited, which has apparently already captured the attention of Gary Sanchez Productions heads Adam McKay, Will Ferrell, and Chris Henchy. According to Deadline, the trio have signed on to produce a feature film adaptation of the short, titled Henchmen.

Targeted for release in 2016, the film will be directed by Adam Wood, the director of the short film. Meanwhile, Saturday Night Live writer Dennis McNicholas has been brought on to write the script.

Henchmen: Ill Suited tells the tale of a dreamy janitor working in the “bad guy museum” of Supervillain City, and ends up in an out-of-control super-suit that causes havoc and mayhem. The feature-length version will tell a similar story, but focus on a “fallen henchmen” named Hank, who oversees a “motley crew of blue-collar workers” in the Union of Evil.

A feature film adaptation of the short Henchmen: Ill Suited is moving ahead with some serious pedigree behind the scenes. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy have come aboard Henchmen as executive producers and creative collaborators through their Gary Sanchez Productions company. Based on the short film by Adam Wood, the story revolves around a janitor working in the bad guy museum of Supervillain City who happens upon a super-powered suit, causing mayhem as a result. The feature adaptation will also focus on a “fallen henchman named Hank overseeing a motley crew of blue-collar workers in the Union of Evil.” The short is animated, but it’s unclear if the feature film will move into the live-action realm or remain animated. Per Deadline, Dennis McNicholas (Saturday Night Live) is completing a script rewrite, and Wood will direct the feature-length adaptation. Gary Sanchez will partner with Bron Studios on the production,...

Funnymen Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are often looking for the next big thing, a new way to entertain audiences with their unique brand of comedy. Sometimes they throw their collective weight behind talented comedians like Kristen Wiig. Other times they test the waters for cult television properties like Manimal to see if they can be adapted into winning contemporary films. And now it sounds like they are bringing their Gary Sanchez production brand to animation, partnering with Bron Studios for an in-development project. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy will serve as executive producers and creative collaborators on Henchmen, an animated feature set up at Bron Studios that's due out in 2016. Adam Wood is directing Henchmen, which currently is undergoing a rewrite by Saturday Night Live scribe Dennis McNicholas. THR reports that the story of Henchmen "follows a new recruit at the .Union of Evil. who is assigned...

There is a feature film adaptation of the short film Henchmen: Ill Suited by Adam Wood on the way with some pretty big names bringing it together. Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy have joined as executive producers and creative collaborators on the film with their Gary Sanchez Productions company. Here is the film’s synopsis: In a world of super-villains, evil schemes and global domination… someone has to take out the trash. Welcome to the world of...

Gary Sanchez Prods’ Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Chris Henchy will become creative collaborators and exec producers on Henchmen, a feature-length adaptation of the Siggraph 2014 short Henchmen: Ill Suited, from Bron Studios. The production is targeting a 2016 debut.

The story line starts with a variant of the Sorceror’s Apprentice story line. In this case, a dreamy janitor working in the bad guy museum of Supervillain City ends up inside a somewhat out-of-control super-powered space suit, and causes all kinds of mayhem. The synopsis for the feature-length adaptation suggests there will still be a hapless young twerp in a super suit, but will also focus on a “fallen henchman” named Hank overseeing a “motley crew of blue-collar workers in the Union of Evil.” The “risk-nothing” sentiments of Hank are challenged when he must become a hero and rescue the kid in the suit and the missing woman he loves.

Here’s an original idea: A horror-themed game show. Sony Pictures Television‘s UK production joint venture Gogglebox created and is producing Release The Hounds, a one-hour format that mixes the two genres by sending three unsuspecting contestants into a forest at dusk as they seek out chests full of prize money. Little do they know, in order to win big, they’ll face the “scariest challenges ever endured on TV” – those include navigating a field of crucified scarecrows, descending beneath the floorboards in a deserted cabin, and reading bedtime stories in the nursery from hell. The ultimate challenge is to out-run a pack of hounds who are trained to guard the cash. ITV2 has given the first commission to the show and will air the UK version as a special later this month, in time for Halloween. Executive producers are Gogglebox founders Adam Wood and Mat Steiner. The format...

The British Columbia-based studio will begin production in autumn on the CGI feature.

Adam Wood makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Jay D Waxman about two low ranking thugs who must find their inner hero after they stumble upon a super villain’s ultimate weapon.

Wood recently served as animation director on Escape From Planet Earth and is a former CG animator at Pixar. He is currently directing Bron Animation’s Mighty Mighty Monsters specials Halloween Havoc, New Fears Eve and Pranks For The Memories.

Bron Managing director Aaron Gilbert [pictured] will produce alongside Barbara Zelinski.

Bron is ramping up its recruiting efforts, and will send a team to computer animation festival Siggraph in Anaheim this month. Bron’s chief technical officer Terry Bates, visual effects supervisor Teunis De Raat, lead pipeline technical director Kirk Chantraine and technical director Dimitry Kachkovski will attend with Bron partner Brenda Gilbert.