Disney veteran Jean-Francois Camilleri, who has served as senior vp and GM of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France, will head the new unit. Disneynature will be based in France, where Camilleri and his team will oversee the initiation, development and acquisition of feature projects.
Disney also is assembling a team of filmmakers.
Producer-director Alastair Fothergill, whose credits include the "Planet Earth" series for the BBC and Discovery Channel, has entered a multipicture deal with Disneynature. His first release under the new banner is "Earth," which is produced by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media and co-directed by Mark Linfield. Lensed while making "Planet Earth," the feature "Earth" will be narrated by James Earl Jones and premiere theatrically in the domestic market on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. The film also will be released under the Disneynature banner in Latin America.
Not sure the level of commercial success they're looking for with this unit, but then again, look at the various documentaries films that have been released and became huge hits (re: "March of the Penguins"). Still, it is commendable that they are pursuing this, because I love watching this type of documentaries on TV as it is already. So the potential of watching this on the theater big screen, and I'm sure, later on DVD/Blu-Ray, is something I am looking forward to.
Zz.
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