2/9/2006 - Major Movie News; Graphic Novels

 

A Canadian newspaper Globe Review ran an article today in which it gives a little more insight into the forth coming Degrassi movie. In the article it refers to Degrassi as "ready for the Big Screen" and "busting out of the TV into a feature film." This obviously answers the question of whether or not the Movie would be a theatrical release. The article also states Nickelodeon Movies, part of Viacom along with Paramount Pictures also has interest in the film.

The article mentions Kevin Smith (pictured right) as being the the main candidate of director. The film will be shot in Toronto and will be filmed this Spring along with Season 6. The film will take place after Season 5 but will be blended into Season 6 storylines, as Season 6 will had already began on TV by the time the movie is released. The article gives reassurance the storylines will blend well with the show as the writers will know what is happening in the movie as the write season 6.

The article also mentions the graphic novels that will be released this Spring. The novels will be written in Manga comic style, there will be at least 4 and they will contain about 100 pages each. The books will spin off the series and delve deeper into the characters lives.

 

Read the full article below:

"Degrassi Ready For The Big Screen Guy Dixon"

THE DIRECTOR
Degrassi: The Next Generation is getting set to bust out of the TV, with a feature film and a series of graphic novels planned.

Epitome Pictures in Toronto, which produces the show, is hoping to start filming the movie this spring. But the final details, including whether Kevin Smith (Clerks) will direct the project, are still being ironed out.

"Is Kevin interested in directing? Yes," says Stephanie Cohen, director of marketing at Epitome. Smith has already appeared as a guest star on the show several times and is a Degrassi fan. Word in the industry is that Nickelodeon Films, part of the Viacom conglomerate, which also includes Paramount Pictures, is interested in the project.

THE STORY
A final script isn't ready, but we know that the movie movie will be shot in and around Toronto. The idea is to advance the plotline of the TV show, picking up from where it ends off this season, its fifth.

"There would be new characters. But it would be based on our Degrassi cast," Cohen adds.

Epitome is planning a sixth season about the characters at Degrassi Community School, although the company is still waiting for the series to be officially renewed. The aim is to blend the plotlines of the film with those of season six.

"The writers on the feature film are very aware, working in tandem with the producers of the show, that there is no conflict [in the storylines]," Cohen says.

"If they take a character in a certain direction, it would be picked up in the following season -- even though the release of the feature wouldn't come until after the beginning of the next season. It's complicated."

THE BOOKS
Meanwhile, the first two in a series of at least four Degrassi graphic novels from Toronto's Madison Press Books are planned to be released this spring. Written and drawn like Japanese manga-style comic books, they will contain around 100 pages each. Simon & Schuster is releasing the titles in the United States. The comics would spin off from the series and go into even further detail about the characters' lives.

"So, it's what we can't do on the show, they can do in these books," says Cohen."


Source: Globe Review