RAJA GOSNELL SIGNS ON TO DIRECT LIVE-ACTION
“SANTA: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS”
Armory Films to Produce Alongside DNF Pictures & K. JAM Media
Los Angeles, CA (July 18, 2019) – Raja Gosnell (The Smurfs franchise, Scooby Doo, Never Been Kissed) has signed on to direct the live-action family film Santa: The Adventure Begins from a script penned by Tamara Taillie in her feature film debut. Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros (The Peanut Butter Falcon, Arctic, Mudbound) have come on board to produce alongside DNF Pictures’ Dean Altit (Realms, The Misfits) and K. JAM Media’s Kia Jam. (Lucky Number Slevin, The Misfits) Academy Award winner Barrie Osborne(Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Mulan) is executive producing and K. JAM Media’s Carolina Vianna Leite will serve as co-producer.
Santa: The Adventure Begins will bring the world's most beloved and recognizable mythical persona to life in an exciting holiday epic. This legendary story of Santa Claus reveals his humble origins as an orphan and young would-be toymaker. In a quest to know his true identity, Santa embarks upon a journey to the forbidden North. With a little help from his friends, Santa discovers the source of his extraordinary magic, and we learn how Santa finds his true love, his forever home and his destiny. Marisol Roncali and Chelsea Bloch (Deadpool 2, Fast &Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Jungle Cruise) are currently casting with principal photography set to begin late this year in Cologne, Germany, in cooperation with MMC Studios.
Producer Kia Jam commented: “My producing partners and I are thrilled to have Raja on board as our director for this film. He has proven time and time again that he is the master of family films and is the perfect film maker for us and our origin story of Santa Claus.”
Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole added: “This is a fantastic Santa origin story and we can’t think of anyone better than Raja to direct. We are very much looking forward to the world he is about to create.”
Gosnell has directed such films as: Columbia Pictures’ The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2; Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua; Fox’s Never Been Kissed; and Warner Bros.’ Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gosnell began his career as an editor working on classic films including: Academy Award® nominee Pretty Woman, Academy Award® nominee Home Alone and Academy Award® winner Mrs. Doubtfire. Gosnell is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency.
Armory Films’ slate includes: The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson and newcomer Zack Gottsagen, which received rave reviews and the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award out of its SXSW premiere and was acquired by Roadside Attractions which will release the film August 9th; Joe Penna’s Arctic, starring Mads Mikkelsen; Dee Rees’ lauded feature Mudbound, starring Carey Mulligan and Garrett Hedlund; and Charlie Day’s directorial debut El Tonto starring Day, Kate Beckinsale, Jason Sudeikis, which is currently in post-production.
ABOUT ARMORY:
Founded in 2013 by Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros, Armory Films is a film finance and production company that creates, develops, produces, and finances high concept and commercially viable content. With the ability to finance projects from initial creative inception through production and release, Armory has amassed an impressive slate spanning numerous genres and styles, nurturing distinctive stories into groundbreaking films.
Armory recently wrapped production in Los Angeles on Charlie Day’s directorial debut El Tonto starring Day, Kate Beckinsale, Jason Sudeikis, John Malkovich, Edie Falco, Jillian Bell, Ken Jeong, Adrien Brody, Ray Liotta and Travis Fimmel, and produced The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring newcomer Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Dakota Johnson and Bruce Dern, which received rave reviews and the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award out of its SXSW premiere. Roadside Attractions acquired the film for the US and will release August 9, 2019. Up next, they will be teaming with Don Handfield on the sci-fi comic book series The Dark Age.
They also produced Joe Penna’s Arctic, starring Mads Mikkelsen which made its world premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival where it was acquired by Bleeker Street for North American distribution and released earlier this year and produced and financed Dee Rees’ lauded feature Mudbound, starring Carey Mulligan and Garrett Hedlund, which rose to critical success since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. After being acquired by Netflix, the film went on to receive a record breaking four Academy Award Nominations, making the film a milestone in Netflix’s history in the awards race.
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