Elephantmen heading to the big screen

[ENGLISH] Active Images says: Zucker Productions adapting ELEPHANTMEN for major motion picture Comicraft/Active Images is proud to announce the option of their Image Comics series ELEPHANTMEN by Zucker Productions for major motion picture development. The treatment for the movie is being drafted by Richard Starkings, creator and writer of ELEPHANTMEN. Starkings shares, « I’m very pleased to be working with producer Janet Zucker and everyone at Zucker Productions. Janet has a wonderful instinct for story and totally understands the more subtle tones of the ELEPHANTMEN series. »

« Richard has created a world of implausible ideas and impossible characters, a world where transgenic animals and human beings come together in a dark, yet hopeful universe, » says Janet Zucker. « Jerry (Zucker, Director of GHOST) and I can’t wait to bring the stories of Hip, Horn and Sahara to life on screen in a way that will simply take your breath away. »

Starkings was approached by a number of companies and directors interested in optioning the project, but until recently he brushed them away, preferring to concentrate on putting out a good book. « On the road to the creation of ELEPHANTMEN, I talked to everyone else in the business and listened to their advice. It’s taken a very long time to build the series — I created these characters fifteen years ago — and I’m very grateful for our loyal readers and the incredible professional support that the book has received. » says Starkings. « I didn’t set out with a movie in mind, but I am grateful that this opportunity has come along and allows me to continue to write something that is very dear to me. »

ELEPHANTMEN is an Eisner Award winning series first published in 2002 under Starkings’ Active Images imprint. In 2006 Image Comics approached Starkings to bring the book under their umbrella. The story of the Elephantmen takes place in Los Angeles in the not too distant future — in a world where human/animal hybrids were created to fight a war between Africa and China. Scarred by their experiences in war and seeking to somehow find their own humanity, the Elephantmen are now scattered throughout the world amongst the humans they were created to kill. ELEPHANTMEN is a brilliant commentary on racism, miscegenation, global warming, stem cell research and warfare. Created and written by Starkings, the series features artwork by Ladrönn, Moritat and Boo Cook.