MGM to Develop 'Punk Farm' Animated Movie

The reconstituted MGM, under its new management, emerges from bankruptcy, it’s developing an animated movie based on Punk Farm, a children’s book by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, as one of its first new projects.

David Silverman, who helmed The Simpsons movie for Fox in 2007, has been tapped to direct the feature from a script by David Stern and Jim Hecht, the studio has confirmed.

The tale involves five ordinary barnyard animals who, by night, form a punk rock band.

Arish Fyzee and Kevin Messick are producing the CG-animated pictures for Prana Animation Studios, which is based in Los Angeles and Mumbai and which has worked on such projects as Disney’s Tinkerbell as well as doing effects work for Tron: Legacy. Exec producers are Kristin Dornig and Anita Camarata, who is also serving as music supervisor.

Silverman, repped by Verve, also served as co-director of Sony’s Monsters, Inc.

Stern, also repped by Verne, is a writer on Sony’s Hotel Translyvania, while Hecht, repped by UTA and Management 360, was a writer on Fox’s Ice Age: The Meltdown.