Stuart Ford's IM Global has partnered with Lionsgate for the North American distribution of director Pete Travis' upcoming $45 million, 3D comic book adaptation "Dredd", based on the 2000 AD Publishing character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
"Dredd" starts production November 12 in Cape Town, South Africa, starring Karl Urban as 'Judge Joseph Dredd' and Olivia Thirlby as 'Cassandra Anderson' for producers DNA Films, from a screenplay by Alex Garland.
IM Global gained pre-sales of "Dredd" at TIFF in September with more than $30 million in foreign commitments.
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IM Global and parent company Reliance Big Entertainment sold the feature to Alliance for Canada, Universum for Germany, Aurum for Spain, Icon for Australia, Alliance for Canada, CP Media for Russia, eOne for Benelux, IDC for Latin America and Svensk for Scandinavia.
“The main thing about 'Dredd' is that it’s a fantastic comic," said producer Andrew Macdonald.
"Our idea is to make a very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie of 'Dredd' in 'Megacity', so we’ve got to get the tone right. He’s going to hit people and it’s going to feel real."
"Alex Garland’s script is faithful to the original concept that made 'Judge Dredd' a favourite bad-ass hero," said "Judge Dredd" co-creator Wagner.
DNA has also signed Michael Murphy ("District 9") as a South African co-producer, along with Jason and Chris Kingsley, owners of Rebellion/2000 AD.
"The incredible writers and artists of 2000 AD were formative influences on me," said screenwriter Garland."This adaptation of 'Judge Dredd' will have an emphasis on adrenaline and realism, but with all the scale and spectacle of 'Mega-City One'. We think Pete’s propulsive, edgy style is a perfect match for the project."
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Inspired by Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry", Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence and execute criminals on the spot.
With 'bionic' eyes implanted after a time-traveling mission to the 'City Of The Damned', Dredd uses a 'lawgiver' pistol, while riding a cannon-mounted, artificial intelligence 'lawmaster' chopper.
'Joseph Dredd' and his brother 'Rico' were cloned from the DNA of 'Chief Judge Fargo', the first chief judge. Their growth was artificially accelerated, emerging in 2066 with all the appropriate knowledge for their age, electronically implanted in their brains by computer during gestation.
The name 'Dredd' was chosen by genetic scientist 'Morton Judd', to "instill fear in the population."
In 2070 the Dredds saw action for the first time during the 'Atomic Wars', when as cadets, they were temporarily fast-tracked through the 'Academy Of Law', assigned the rank of full judge and sent to restore order, after the US Justice Department deposed 'President Booth'. Joseph excelled as a judge, rapidly gaining promotion to the rank of senior judge, saving the world from being destroyed during the 'Fourth World War'.
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