Paul McCartney’s ‘High In The Clouds’ to be Adapted by Netflix and Gaumont

 

www.PaulMcCartney.com

DEC

10

2019

Paul’s ‘High In The Clouds’ to be Adapted by Netflix and Gaumont

Netflix and Gaumont are producing a new animated feature based on the popular children’s adventure novel ‘High In The Clouds’ written by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh.

Director: Oscar-nominee® Timothy Reckart (Head Over Heels, The Star)
Screenplay: Jon Croker (Paddington, Paddington 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) 
Created, Produced and Original Songs & Music by: Academy Award and 18-time Grammy Award winner Paul McCartney (100 Years, Jojo Rabbit, Yesterday, Live and Let Die, Vanilla Sky).
Producers: Bob Shaye  (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Golden Compass, The Mortal Instrument, When the Bough Breaks, and Ambition and upcoming Netflix Limited Series The Liberator), the late Michael Lynne, and Paul McCartney, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, Nicolas Atlan, Terry Kalagian (Gaumont)

The new animated adventure follows an imaginative teenage squirrel named Wirral, who finds himself pulled into a ramshackle gang of teenage rebels who live high in the clouds. After he accidentally antagonizes Gretsch the owl, the tyrannical leader (and fabulous singer!), who steals the voice of anyone who upstages her.

Paul said: “We are  thrilled to be partnering with Netflix. They complement what is already an amazing team with Gaumont and we can think of no-one better to be working with to bring our film to a global audience. I’ve always loved animated films and this is a hugely important passion project for me. I can’t wait for the world to see it.” 

“The development of ‘High In The Clouds’  has been a fantastic journey working together with Tim and Jon and of course my amazing Gaumont Animation and Family team, Terry Kalagian and Alex Soto. We feel fortunate as this has been an extremely collaborative creative process with the incomparable Paul McCartney and his team, including Lee Eastman who has offered invaluable guidance throughout the development stage. We at Gaumont are elated to be announcing this project and are excited to be working with Melissa Cobb, Gregg Taylor and the talented team at Netflix to be able to share this truly special musical animated feature film with audiences around the world.” Nicolas Atlan, President Gaumont Animation and Family.

"Bringing the world a new animated film from the heart and mind of the brilliant Paul McCartney is undoubtedly one of the greatest thrills we've experienced at Netflix.  We're beyond grateful to be partnering with Nicolas and the Gaumont team on ‘High In The Clouds’ and with Tim at the helm, this whimsical story celebrating individuality and the unifying power of music is in great hands,”  Gregg Taylor, Netflix Director of Original Animated Films.

media.netflix.com
PAUL McCARTNEY’S HIGH IN THE CLOUDS TO BE ADAPTED BY NETFLIX AND GAUMONT
NETFLIX Media Center
10 December 2019

• Netflix and Gaumont are producing a new animated feature from iconic songwriter, author and filmmaker, Paul McCartney titled HIGH IN THE CLOUDS based on the popular children’s adventure novel of the same title by McCartney and Geoff Dunbar, and  Philip Ardagh.
• Director: Oscar-nominee® Timothy Reckart (Head Over Heels, The Star)
• Screenplay: Jon Croker (Paddington, Paddington 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) 
• Created, Produced and Original Songs & Music by: Academy Award and 18-time Grammy Award winner Paul McCartney (100 Years, Jojo Rabbit, Yesterday, Live and Let Die, Vanilla Sky).
• Producers:   Bob Shaye  (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Golden Compass, The Mortal Instrument, When the Bough Breaks, and Ambitionand upcoming Netflix Limited Series The Liberator), the late Michael Lynne,  and Paul McCartney, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, Nicolas Atlan, Terry Kalagian (Gaumont)
• Logline: An imaginative teenage squirrel named Wirral finds himself pulled into a ramshackle gang of teenage rebels who live high in the clouds after he accidentally antagonizes Gretsch the owl, the tyrannical leader (and fabulous singer!), who steals the voice of anyone who upstages her.

“We are  thrilled to be partnering with Netflix.  They complement what is already an amazing team with Gaumont and we can think of no-one better to be working with to bring our film to a global audience.  I’ve always loved animated films and this is a hugely important passion project for me. I can’t wait for the world to see it,” says Paul McCartney.

“The development of HIGH IN THE CLOUDS has  been a fantastic journey working together with Tim and Jon and of course my amazing Gaumont Animation and Family team, Terry Kalagian and Alex Soto. We feel fortunate as this has been an extremely collaborative creative process with the incomparable Paul McCartney and his team, including Lee Eastman who has offered invaluable guidance throughout the development stage. We at Gaumont are elated to be announcing this project and are excited to be working with Melissa Cobb, Gregg Taylor and the talented team at Netflix to be able to share this truly special musical animated feature film with audiences around the world,” says Nicolas Atlan, President Gaumont Animation and Family.

"Bringing the world a new animated film from the heart and mind of the brilliant Paul McCartney is undoubtedly one of the greatest thrills we've experienced at Netflix.  We're beyond grateful to be partnering with Nicolas and the Gaumont team on HIGH IN THE CLOUDS and with Tim at the helm, this whimsical story celebrating individuality and the unifying power of music is in great hands,” says Gregg Taylor, Netflix Director of Original Animated Films.

ABOUT  PAUL McCARTNEY 

Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul McCartney’s career has been impossibly prolific and singularly influential. In the 1960s, Paul changed the world forever with The Beatles. He didn’t stop there, and has continued to push boundaries, as a solo artist, with Wings, and collaborating with numerous world-renowned artists. He has created a number of animated films in collaboration with Geoff Dunbar, including Rupert and the Frog Song, which won a BAFTA for best animated short film and became the bestselling short video of the year.  His animated releases also include Daumier’s Law, which won a BAFTA for best short animated film, Tropic Island Hum, and Tuesday. He has received 18 Grammys, and in 1996 was knighted by H.M. The Queen for his services to music. Paul is a dedicated philanthropist, passionately advocating for many causes including animal rights and environmental issues.

ABOUT NETFLIX

Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with over 158 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

ABOUT GAUMONT

Formed in France in 1895, Gaumont is the oldest film company in the world, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. Gaumont produces and distributes high-quality TV programming worldwide such as the award-winning series Narcos in its 5th season, and F is for Family in its 4th season for Netflix; the German show The Barbarians for Netflix; the 3rd season of the British show Tin Starfor Sky and Amazon Prime Video; the French show Arsene Lupin with Omar Sy for Netflix; and the animated show Do Re & Mi with Kristen Bell, for Amazon Prime Video. 

Gaumont co-produces and distributes around ten films a year in theaters, and the film library encompasses over 1400 titles from prestigious directors such as Louis Malle, Jean-Luc Godard, and more recently, Toledano and Nakache for The Intouchables, the highest-grossing French-language movie ever with over $450 million in revenue to date. 

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PR CONTACT:

Olivier Mouroux, Netflix 

OMouroux@Netflix.com 

PR CONTACT:

Alli Farrell, Gaumont

Alli.Farrell@gaumont.com

AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis