EXCLUSIVE: Veteran writer-producers John Hoberg and Kat Likkel (Elemental) have signed to write Alloy Entertainment‘s animated feature Christmas Forever, based on Penguin/Random House children’s book of the same name by Elysa Koplovitz Dutton.
A first-time author, Koplovitz Dutton is the executive vice president of film at Alloy Entertainment. She’ll produce alongside Alloy’s president and chief creative officer, Leslie Morgenstein, in the company’s first foray into animation.
Christmas Forever takes place on Christmas Eve, watching as a group of ornaments, tired of being stuck in storage all year, devise an escape plan to the North Pole where it will be Christmas forever.
Writing partners Hoberg and Likkel were two of the three scribes on Disney/Pixar’s Elemental, starring Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie, which last year earned nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office, and collected a slew of honors including Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for Best Animated Feature. Also known for work series like Galavant, Downward Dog, and My Name Is Earl, the duo currently has a deal for television at ABC Studios.
Alloy has been on a roll with three #1 films in a row at Netflix — Work It, starring Sabrina Carpenter, Purple Hearts, starring Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine, and You Are SO Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, starring Adam Sandler. Additionally, they produced the recent hit horror film Tarot for Sony’s Screen Gems. Currently, they’re developing In a Holidaze, an adaptation of the bestselling novel for Netflix, with Tiffany Paulsen adapting. Also on their slate is Pride, a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, co-produced by the Obamas’ Higher Ground. On the television side, Alloy’s You, starring Penn Badgley, is set to return for its final season on Netflix next year.
Hoberg and Likkel are repped by UTA, Industry Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
