1492, CJ partner for family fantasy flicks

SEOUL – Three fantasy-adventure films will be co-produced by Hollywood and a major Korean distributor as early as next year.

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At a Friday press conference, Korea’s CJ Entertainment announced that they’re currently working on pre-production of three fantasy flicks -- “Killer Pizza,” “Carpe Demon” and “The Graveyard Boo” -- with 1492 Pictures led by Chris Columbus, who directed “Home Alone” and “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.” 

Columbus, who was present at the conference with the company’s producer Michael Barnathan, explained that CJ-1492 will entail various partnership models, including joint production and the use of local VFX facility, which will cut down the cost of post-production significantly.

“A lot of it is also to get to know more Korean directors who are capable of working in a global environment and create a market that can reach the world,” said Columbus.

1492 Pictures has produced family-oriented fantasy-adventure genre films including their latest “Percy Jackson and The Olympians – The Lightning.” CJ is Korea’s largest film company, which produced mega-hit disaster films such as “Haeundae.” CJ also jointly produced and invested in “August Rush” with Warner Bros.

Katherine Kim, the head of CJ, said the partnership will also help to bridge the Hollywood and Korean film industries by securing more overseas films to local VFX studios and location shoots while introducing local talent abroad. Columbus added that the company's interest also lies on understanding the appeal of the Asian film market.