Animation studio Laika is set to produce “Crumble,” an original, live-action film with a script penned by writer and director Brian Duffield (“Spontaneous,” “No One Will Save You.”)
The film tells the story of a married couple who embark on a world-traveling adventure to find a cure for an ancient curse. Duffield is set to direct the feature, Academy Award winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller are tapped to produce.
“I’ll never forget seeing ‘Coraline’ on opening night at the AMC Burbank 16 and wondering who these wonderful new geniuses were,” Duffield said. “I can’t wait to make a movie with them and hopefully live up to their banner, and I couldn’t be more excited to get to go on a new adventure with my friends at Lord Miller.”
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“We’re so excited to partner with Brian and the entire team at Lord Miller on this special film,” Matt Levin, president of live-action film and series at Laika, said in a statement. “Brian has such a singular voice, and ‘Crumble’ perfectly embodies the bold, emotional, and inventive storytelling that we champion at Laika. Lord Miller is in a class of its own, and we could not ask for a better creative team to bring this story to life.”
Duffield’s critically acclaimed “No One Will Save You,” which starred Kaitlyn Dever, was released on Hulu in September 2023 and earned him a Critics Choice nomination for Best Movie Made for Television and a Writers Guild of America Award nod in the TV and New Media Motion Picture category. Prior to that, he wrote, produced and directed “Spontaneous,” produced the Elizabeth Banks-helmed “Cocaine Bear” and will produce director Jimmy Warden’s upcoming thriller “Borderline.”
The film will be the latest extension of Laika’s ongoing efforts to beef up its live-action division. The production company, responsible for producing critically acclaimed animation films like “Coraline” and “Kubo and the Two Strings,” hopes to add “Crumble” to this expansion, which already includes an upcoming adaptation of the action thriller novel “Seventeen” by John Brownlow.
Aditya Sood will also produce through their Lord Miller banner. Lucy Kitada and Nikki Baida from Lord Miller will serve as executive producers, and Duffield will also produce.
Brian Duffield is represented by UTA, Circle of Confusion and Behr Abramson Levy Johnson. UTA and Ziffren Brittenham represent Lord and Miller.