XYZ Films & Starburns Industries To Produce Will Vinton Doc WELCOME TO MY DAYDREAM

XYZ Films and Starburns Industries announces today that they will produce the biographical documentary WELCOME TO MY DAYDREAM, about the stop-motion animation pioneer Will Vinton. The film will be directed by Marq Evans, and produced by XYZ Films and Starburns Industries, with XYZ handling worldwide sales for the project.

The film follows the life of legendary stop motion animator Vinton, an Oscar®-winning visionary who created many onscreen characters and is most well-known by audiences as the creator of the California Raisins. Vinton won his Oscar®, shared with Bob Gardiner, in 1975 for the animated short film Closed Mondays. He later was nominated for other animated shorts Rip Van Winkle (1978), The Creation (1981) and The Great Cognito (1983) and for his visual effects work on Walter Murch's feature RETURN TO OZ (1985). The film will feature new original Claymation scenes using characters that Will Vinton helped design before his passing in 2018.

Evans' feature directorial debut, THE GLAMOUR & THE SQUALOR, won top awards at several prestigious international film festivals before selling to Red BULL Media House and other distributors in 2016. Evans also produced and edited the upcoming feature documentary CUP OF COOL WATER, filmed during a 9-year span in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. In addition to films, he has produced award-winning content for the Smithsonian Institute, the United States Navy, and Clinton Global Initiative.

WELCOME TO MY DAYDREAM marks the latest from the new documentary division of XYZ Films. They just completed the upcoming film FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN, a genre-bending hybrid documentary directed by Don Argott and Sheena Joyce that stars Alec Baldwin as iconic automaker John DeLorean. The film will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival April 30th, and is scheduled for release by IFC Films June 7th.

"We're so happy to be working with this team to bring Will's story to the screen. We knew Marq was the real deal after watching THE GLAMOUR AND THE SQUALOR and we've been looking for the right project to do with Starburns. This came together very organically," said XYZ.

"We're honored to help share the story of a trailblazer in the world of stop-motion animation, whose influence on pop culture is undeniable and without whom the medium would not be what it is today," said Starburns.

"As fans of both companies long before having this chance to work with them, I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with XYZ Films and Starburns Industries. We have ambitious ideas for this film, and I couldn't think of two better companies to partner with to help execute our vision," said Evans.

XYZ Films is well-versed in the documentary world, having executive produced the acclaimed documentary ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD AND UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS, the story of the 1980's independent studio run by Golan-Globus, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

XYZ has handled other high-profile doc sales including all three installments of the skateboarding doc franchise THE MOTIVATION from filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough, LENNY COOKE by the Safdie brothers, KIM DOTCOM: CAUGHT IN THE WEB, THE SWELL SEASON, GAZA SURF CLUB, MACHETE MAIDENS: UNLEASHED, and the Madonna documentary STRIKE A POSE.

XYZ Films is an integrated content company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As an independent production company and worldwide sales agency, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian. XYZ recently won the 2017 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Macon Blair's I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore.

STARBURNS INDUSTRIES is an innovative and imaginative full-service production company specializing in stop-motion, traditional 2D, and CG animation. STARBURNS is a creator-driven studio whose founders are responsible for the Adult Swim shows RICK & MORTY, MORAL OREL, and MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENHOLE, as well as the Academy Award® nominated animated feature ANOMALISA and the upcoming Netflix animated feature BUBBLES. The studio is defined by an ability to create nuanced character performances and an aesthetic that best suits each individual project.

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