'Fly Me to the Moon' bets on 3-D - Summit to release film in U.S. Aug. 8

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986662.html

 

By TOBIAS GREY

 

After years of tinkering on its first full-length animated feature, Belgian stereoscopic specialist nWave has finally pegged a U.S. release plan for "Fly Me to the Moon." Tale of three houseflies who stow away on Apollo 11's historic moon landing aims to book as many of the U.S.'s 1,200 3-D-capable screens as possible when Summit Entertainment unveils it Aug. 8.

 

The $27 million project is the first European toon to be made exclusively for 3-D release. Pic sold an impressive 100,000 tickets when it bowed on 14 digital screens in Belgium last January, with various distributors snapping up rights to more than 20 other territories, including the U.K., France and Russia.

 

Director Ben Stassen, a pioneer of 3-D filmmaking for Imax and other large-format venues, insists "Fly Me to the Moon" couldn't wait for the conversion of additional digital 3-D screens.

 

"If we had waited until next year to roll out our film, it would have gotten lost in the shuffle of upcoming 3-D releases," says Stassen, who has already begun work on his 3-D follow-up, "Around the World in 50 Years," a $46 million eco-fable about a sea turtle's slow journey to maturity after hatching in 1959.