In a celebration of the power of creativity, The LEGO Movie centres on Emmet – an ordinary mini-figure who is mistakenly identified as ‘The Special’, a MasterBuilder, and co-opted into a mission to save the LEGO Universe. The evil Lord Business plans to re-create the universe to his own specification by gluing it together, so Emmet must think beyond the confines of the instruction booklet and embrace his imagination to defeat the tyrant.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller – along with producers Dan Lin (Terminator Salvation) and Roy Lee (The Departed) – assembled an enviable cast list, featuring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman and Will Ferrell, among many, many others. They also engaged with potential audiences through social media, running a LEGO-user competition asking for a new vehicle design that would be included in the movie. The result is a film that has received very positive early reviews, not least from our own Matt Donato, who characterized The LEGO Movie as “a (near) perfect family movie experience.” Such is the expectation of box-office glory for this project, Jared Stern (Wreck-It Ralph) has already been tapped to pen the sequel.
Following The LEGO Movie, Lord and Miller will deliver 22 Jump Street – the sequel to their 2012 hit. With the story once again developed by Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill, and a screenplay written by Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman (Grudge Match), the movie is expected to land in cinemas this June.
While their swift one-two 2014 box-office punch will indelibly carve the names of Lord and Miller at the top of the Hollywood tree, the talented team will soon return to their TV showrunning roots – executive producing The Last Man On Earth. This single-camera, half-hour comedy focuses on two characters who must overcome their fundamental differences in order to save the human race. It is created and written by Will Forte (Clone High, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs), will star Gita Merrill (15 North), boasts Seth Cohen (Workaholics) among its executive producers, and has a pilot commitment from FOX. Billed as an action/comedy/sci-fi show, a further cast list has yet to be announced – although with this creative pedigree already involved, satisfaction is almost guaranteed.
So, the Lord Miller train of versatility rolls on. Whether they are writing, directing, performing or producing; whether they are working in the world of animation, or the world of live-action; whether they are delivering for the big screen or small – Phil Lord and Chris Miller do not disappoint. For this phenomenal partnership, everything is indeed awesome.
The LEGO Movie is set to be released in the US on February 7th, 2014, and in the UK on February 14th.
