Annecy: UTA Independent Group to Handle Animortal’s ‘Chuck Steel’ Rights for North America

By Emiliano De Pablos

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – UTA Independent Film Group is handling North American sales to Animortal Studios’ “Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires,” a stop-motion action-horror-comedy movie directed by Mike Mort.

World premiering June 12 in Annecy’s Official Selection, “Chuck Steel” pays tribute to the look and feel of 1980s’ live-action movies.

Set in 1986, the film follows a cop-on-the-edge who doesn’t play by the rules and finds his work cut out for him when the L.A. Governor reduces the licensing hours for clubs and bars, triggering a sudden spate of high profile assaults in the city.

“Chuck Steel” marks the first feature project entirely developed and produced at Animortal’s stop-motion toon studio and VFX facility in South Wales’ Bridgend, which has also hosted some of the sets for Wes Anderson’s Berlinale winner “Isle of Dogs.”

British thesps Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”) and Paul Whitehouse (“Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul”) head the voice cast of the film, produced using 150-people crew, with 27 separate units either shooting or prepping simultaneously in the studio.

Animortal created for “Chuck Steel” 425 puppets to represent hundreds of different characters and creatures, and dozens of giant scale-model sets. The stop-motion content was shot at 24 frames per second instead of the usual 12.

“’Chuck Steel’ is a visually stunning stop-motion film that reflects UTA’s commitment to supporting features across every genre. We look forward to sharing Animortal’s compelling animation with audiences at Annecy,” said UTA Independent Film Group’s Jon Levy in a statement.

“We are very excited to partner with UTA. The group has packaged and represented some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed features and we are thrilled to be working with them,” said Animortal co-founders Mike Mort, Randhir Singh Heer and Oscar-winner Rupert Lywood (“Tsotsi”).

Animortal has started to handle in Annecy “Chuck Steel’s” international sales outside North America.

The film marks Mike Mort’s feature debut following a succession of multi-prized animated shorts, including Bafta Children’s Award winner “Aunt Tiger.”