Even though most audiences may be fatiguing on the format, that hasn’t stopped producers from announcing new projects in glorious 3D. So prepare for “Windwalkers — Chronicle of the 34th Horde” which will be directed by Jan Kounen (“Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky”).
The animated movie will be adapted from Alain Damasio‘s novel “La Horde du Contrevent,” but will be filmed in English. Set in a futuristic world where unyielding winds threaten humanity, a special team is put together to venture to the Upper Reaches where it is thought the winds originate. We presume something more interesting is then found. Snarkiness aside, the film will have an expansive world with various groups and races, all of which are detailed on the Forge Animation website, the production house behind the movie. Magali Helle has written one draft of the script, but another writer is expected to be brought in for re-writes.
Though the film doesn’t sound incredibly appealing and may suffer from a mundane plot, it will get a boost from Marc Caro who will be working on the film’s visual effects. Caro is best known for his visually stunning films “Delicatessen” and “The City of Lost Children,” and this project will continue his working relationship with Kounen. The two previously collaborated on the western “Renegade” and Vincent Cassel‘s breakout film “Dobermann” (which is getting a sequel, though not with Kounen).
The film will have an estimated budget of $26 million and is the first project for the newly formed production house Forge Animation. And as is usual these days, a video game is also in the works. Check out some of the concept art below as well as an official summary which confirms that yes, this movie is about guys chasing wind. [Variety] —Matthew Newlin
Imagine a world buffeted by winds whose force surpass our understanding. Imagine a group of men born to chase those winds until their final breath. Within the deafening noise of the wind, on the Lower Slopes, an elite group of twenty-three children were raised for the sole purpose of facing the ever blowing gusts, climbing up windwards for the rest of their lives. Their sole purpose ; to find the mysterious source of the wind in the Upper Reaches. There have been thirty-three attempts in eight hundred years, thirty three Hordes that have failed. My name is Sol, scribe. I speak to you today in the name of the thirty-fourth, and most probably the last…
