They say originality is dead in Hollywood, but that’s only because you’ve never met the Sony Pictures Animation executive that decided to spend seven figures on the idea of making a movie about emojis.
The news about the project was first reported by Deadline, which notes that the pitch also got the attention of Paramount and Warner Bros. Writers Eric Siegel and Anthony Leondis pitched the idea, with Leondis directing.
SPA president Kristine Belson got the green-light from Sony studio chief Tom Rothman to get the project into development. The idea is to move quickly before emojis become unpopular. It seems unlikely that they would fall out of favor though. As long as people would rather text each other than call, there will be reasons to use emojis to convey emotions.
Leondis is the animation veteran on the project. As Cartoon Brew points out, Leondis recently helmed DreamWorks’ B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, which has been delayed indefinitely since November 2014. Belson was also an executive producer on that project (which might even be completed and collecting dust according to some rumors) so it’s clear that she thinks highly of Leondis.
Even though Sony wants this done soon, Deadline offered no plot synopsis or a timetable for when Sony wants to release it. This is the studio that’s hard at work on Angry Birds still.