I recently sat down with Cory Edwards to discuss the hit animation Hoodwinked. We sipped cognac [not really] and dined on fine caviar [I wish] as we contemplated him winning the weekend. And oh yeah, we talked sequels, The DVD, Xzibit, The Foo Fighters and how Robert Rodriguez helped get the film made (yes.. that Robert Rodriguez).
So what’s the concept here?
This is an old Thin Man, Agatha Christie type mystery. The frog in particular is based on the Nick Charles from the Thin Man.
It looks really good.
And we made ours for under a tenth of what most animation costs. We went with a look that was a stop motion miniature dolls look because we knew we could pull that off with our budget. We couldn’t have a thousand trees blowing in the wind like you might see in Shrek.
What were the obstacles?
Putting fur on the character was like launching the space shuttle. Fur is very new to the game. We didn’t crack that code until the very end. It took three and a half years, which by animation standards is pretty brisk. Some of this film I feel like we made twice. We had to redesign, reanimate. There were a lot of roads we had to go down and come back up.
How did the Weinstein brothers get involved?
The Weisnteins were hungry for some product; they wanted to show Disney what they could do with an animated project. They heard about it through Robert Rodriguez and his wife, they share the same lawyer as us, I’ve never met Robert but he was instrumental in getting our film made.
What other projects do you want to tackle?
I would love to work on a physical location. We’ve taken meetings with Disney, Dreamworks, Sony… I have a couple of things I want to do in live action. I’ve written a sci-fi comedy I’m excited about. I had a script for it and then Evolution comes out and then the entire town is not making sci fi comedy anymore. If a couple of bad movies get made it hurts the whole genre. I’ve also written a straight action like a Die Hard with a sense of humor to it.
Any thoughts on a sequel to Hoodwinked?
We’re writing the sequel right now… The idea is Red is not the first person to wear the hood, it’s like the secret of the Jedi, a secret monk-like society. It will be Red Riding Hood and the wolf together, that sounds like a lot of friction doesn’t it? These two are icons. A lot of new villains and side characters too. We sent the Weinsteins and our investor the basic treatment and they loved it. It’s a much bigger movie, more epic, across the ocean, in castles.
Has it been greenlit?
It pretty much has. We’ve been paid to write it, they are developing work for the animation. It’s called Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil right now because they take on a lot of villains from old stories. The Weinsteins have said they want to co-finance and we want to do it.
And you open against Last Holiday…
That’s right, it’s Red Riding Hood vs. Queen Latifah. I’m coming for you Latifah!
Thankfully you’ve got Xzibit on your side for back-up.
Yep, X to tha Z! He can growl like a bear…
He was in Derailed too. Him and the Weisntein’s must go out for tea…
Once you are in one Weinstein film you are in the family for life. He pimped my movie.
Will the DVD have deleted scenes?
We will. More on the songs, extra songs, it will all be on the DVD, we’ll have a lot of fun stuff on it too.
Any musical artists you didn’t get for the first one that you might try to get for the sequel?
We wanted to use the Foo Fighter’s “All My life” but they weren’t crazy about the idea because it’s been overused. The puzzle pieces didn’t fit. Next time I guess.
So there you have it… Hoodwinked opened numero uno, just ahead of Glory Road once all the figures were in. I think Mr. Edwards will have something special in store for the sequel, he’s a passionate guy with a nose for comedy.
Hey Smart guy, you read this whole article so how about reading a whole book with all your free time?
