LOS ANGELES -- Now we really need that eye-roll emoji.
Sony Pictures Animation is developing an emoji animated movie after winning a bidding war for a pitch by Anthony Leondis (Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch), who will co-write and direct, Mashable has confirmed.
And here’s the catch: There is no catch, since no one owns the intellectual property rights to an emoji movie. In other words, Sony can make one without paying a licensing fee -- and will want to do so pretty fast, lest other studios try to copycat it.
But by acquiring the pitch from Leonidis and co-writer Eric Siegel, which included a fully fleshed-out story, Sony has a smiley-head start.
Leondis has mostly directed straight-to-home-video shorts based on existing properties (like Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters), but just wrapped up his first feature-length film with DreamWorks Animation’s B.O.O.: Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations.
So what would an emoji movie look like?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯