One of the best animated short films of last year was Patrick Osborne's Feast (it also won the Oscar), which played in front of Disney's Big Hero 6. A charming story about a dog's place in a family, the filmmaker got his foot-in-the-door to Hollywood with his work on that short and now has his first big gig. Variety confirms the Tracking Board news that Patrick Osborne is attached to direct an adaptation of Paul Pope's graphic novel Battling Boy. We've actually been covering this one for years and years, reporting news on various rewrites and screenwriter updates as the film has been in development for about 7 years already. Read on.
This latest iteration of the Battling Boy adaptation, based on Paul Pope's graphic novel, is in development at Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. They picked up the rights back in 2008. Jeremy Kleiner and Sarah Esberg are producing, and they've brought in Osborne to direct. David Gordon Green and Josh Parkinson are credited on the latest draft of the script, which previously had John Gatins and Alex Tse on it. This new take is described "as a more comedic approach [with a] 'punk rock' vibe." Here's a synopsis:
Set in the world of Acropolis, which has become infested with a slew terrifying monsters and demons following the death of legendary hero/protector Haggard West, Battling Boy follows a thirteen-year-old demigod who must rid the land of the vile inhabitants as a part of his rite of passage. Battling Boy must deal with his arrogant superhero father, a city council that crafts an embellished image of him, uncontrollable powers from his variety of magical T-shirts, and the antics of Haggard’s vengeful daughter Aurora, all while attempting to survive a plethora of vicious monsters and save a corrupted city.
This isn't the first major gig that Patrick Osborne has landed since winning the Oscar in February. Over at Tracking Board they also remind us that he's attached to the Nimona movie at Fox Animation, based on Noelle Stevenson's webcomics. It's great to see Osborne landing so many big gigs after Feast, though I'm particularly intrigued about Battling Boy. Is this going to be a huge live-action movie, and can Osborne handle that kind of leap? And will it have a Scott Pilgrim vibe, or more like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Only time will tell. We'll be watching for more updates on Osborne, as well as Battling Boy and Nimona.
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