Given the length of time required to go from concept to cinema, it will be a couple of years before Sony's family strategy becomes apparent on screen. One of the first family pictures, set for a December 2010 release, will be an adaptation of the popular 1980s cartoon show "Smurfs" and will combine live action with computer animation.
And although Sony will not continue as MGM's financial partner and distributor of the James Bond movies -- the most recent, "Quantum of Solace," opened this weekend in the U.S. -- the studio is working with Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli on a remake of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," based on a novel by Bond creator Ian Fleming.
The word on family pictures is going out to producers who have close ties to the studio. Pascal's chief deputies, Matt Tolmach and Doug Belgrad, have been soliciting ideas. Neal Moritz, who produced such hits for Sony as the comedy "Click," said he was given a mandate to "identify movies that can become brands," including those that appeal to families.
So far, he's found more than one. Among them are "Goosebumps," based on R.L. Stine's popular series of horror tales aimed at tweens. "Problem Child" screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are adapting the material to appeal not only to the book's core fans -- 10-to-12-year-olds -- but their parents and younger siblings as well.
"We're trying to make this a big family movie," Moritz said. "Young kids will find it fun-scary versus scary-scary, and it'll also have an adult component."
He is also developing "Christian the Lion," based on the popular YouTube video of the real-life story of two young men joyfully reuniting in Africa with the grown-up lion they had bought from Harrods department store in London in 1969 when it was a cub.
And megastar Will Smith is developing "Monster Hunter," a comedy in which he will star as a child psychologist who works with kids who dream of monsters, and a remake of 1984's "The Karate Kid," with his son Jaden in the lead role.
Common Sense Media's Steyer expects the family film trend will continue, given the "deep hunger" among parents for movies they can enjoy with their kids.
"More and more studios have headed in that direction, and there are enormous opportunities for the Sonys of the world," he said. "Particularly in these tough economic times, they're looking at these family films from a hard-nosed business perspective. They're good for their bottom lines."
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claudia.eller@latimes.com
