Giant Ant Announces Animated Feature Based on “Tangles” Graphic Novel

LYLAS Pictures was founded by filmmaker Lauren Miller Rogen and producer and manager Jen Ray to tell female-driven stories. Their credits include Focus Features’ For A Good Time, Call… and Netflix’s original film Like Father, which was written and directed by Lauren. LYLAS is currently developing a slate of features and television shows with partners including Buzzfeed, Point Grey Pictures, Elevate Entertainment and Desert Whale Productions. They have also developed projects with Hello Sunshine, Lionsgate, The CW, The Tannenbaum Company and Temple Hill.
Miller Rogen lost her grandmother, grandfather, and mother to the disease. After her mother was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s at age 55, Miller Rogen and her husband founded the nonprofit organization Hilarity for Charity (HFC), to get more young people involved in raising awareness and educating others about living a brain-healthy life. To date, Hilarity for Charity has raised more than million to support family caregivers, brain health education and prevention research.
Monarch Media, Point Grey Pictures, LYLAS Pictures, and Vancouver animation studio Giant Ant are teaming up to bring the acclaimed graphic novel Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me, by Sarah Leavitt, to the big screen as a feature-length animated film. Giant Ant principal Leah Nelson is directing.
When Alzheimer’s disease begins to strip away her mother’s vibrant personality, a headstrong young woman is forced to return to her oddball family in the conservative small town she recently fled in order to care for her. She quickly realizes she must accept the cruel and warped reality of the disease – and the imperfect beauty of her family – in order to become the daughter they need.
Trev Renney, Sarah Leavitt, and Leah Nelson wrote the screenplay. Producers include Vicky Patel, Steve Barnett and Alan Powell through Monarch Media, Seth Rogen through Point Grey Pictures, and Lauren Miller Rogen through LYLAS Pictures.
Launched in 2011 by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Point Grey Pictures (PGP) is a production company dedicated to creating multi-genre film and television content anchored in dynamic, authentic and passionate storytelling. Known for box-office hits like NEIGHBORS and THIS IS THE END, to the first R-rated CGI film SAUSAGE PARTY, to the Academy Award-nominated THE DISASTER ARTIST and unconventional series like THE BOYS franchise, PREACHER, FUTURE MAN and BLACK MONDAY, Point Grey continues to bring a range of smart, irreverent narratives to audiences. Garnering over one billion dollars in global box office results, Point Grey has created a variety of successful films from indie to blockbuster.
From the release:
“I’m overjoyed at the opportunity to make this unique and special film. When I read the graphic novel, I was blown away by Sarah Leavitt’s ability to tell her story with such honesty and bold creativity and I knew it needed to be brought to life on screen. I was so fortunate to work with Sarah Leavitt and Trev Renney to adapt this story to the screenplay and the teams at Point Grey and LYLAS Pictures have wholeheartedly supported my creative vision. With Monarch Media now backing the project, we have a team of people who are not only committed to world-class storytelling, but to ensuring we do justice to this remarkable story.” – Leah Nelson, Director
Patel, Rogen and Miller Rogen are longtime Alzheimer’s activists, having been affected by the disease in very personal ways. Patel’s late father was diagnosed with the disease in 2003, inspiring her to become one of the nation’s leading fundraisers for brain science research. She was honored with the Alzheimer’s Foundation’s Jerome H. Stone Philanthropy Award, one of the organization’s highest honors.
Leah Nelson is co-founder of Giant Ant, an Emmy award-winning Animation studio. From their office in Vancouver they work with a global list of clients, including Apple, Cartoon Network, Airbnb & Warner Brothers, crafting a wide range of work across entertainment and advertising. They believe that everything they put in the world is a statement of their taste, and that love is always the secret ingredient.
Barnett, Powell and Patel are in post-production on “Something Here,” the musical previous known as the Untitled Florida Georgia Line Project, and are prepping to shoot “Valiant One,” starring Chase Stokes with Barnett directing, and “Road to Bethlehem,” which will be directed by Adam Anders (“The Prom”). Previous credits include the Netflix feature film “A Week Away.”