Friday 31 May 2013

Grumpy Cat ‘to star in own movie’

Grumpy Cat ‘to star in own movie’, Ubiquitous Internet meme Grumpy Cat is about to jump from computer screens to the big screen, earning herself -- and her human handlers -- a movie deal.
Deadline reports that the perpetually sour-pussed pussycat is getting a “Garfield”-style feature, where the cat -- a Snowshoe Siamese whose real name is Tardar Sauce -- will talk. No word yet on a plot, but that didn’t stop her agent, Ben Lashes, and rep, Al Hassas, from securing the one-picture deal from Broken Road Studios. And considering Broken Road recently optioned the rights to the story of
a group of adults who play a game of cross-country tag, we’d say Grumpy Cat is in appropriate company. “This started off as a picture of a cat, but rare is an image that evokes that much comedy,” said Broken Road’s Todd Garner. “You read all of the memes and the comments, and one is funnier than the next. We think we can build a big family comedy around this character.”
Since gaining Internet notoriety late last year after her owner’s brother posted a photo of the frowning feline on Reddit, Grumpy Cat’s popularity has continued to soar, prompting an appearance at South by Southwest, winning a Webby, and spawning a line of licensed merchandise sold at Walmart and Hot Topic, among other outlets. Grumpy is due in New York City this week to promote her new eponymous book, subtitled “Disgruntled Tips and Activities Designed to Put a Frown on Your Face.”
Much of the credit for this cat coup goes to Grumpy’s entourage, who are no strangers to quirky clients. Her agent, Lashes, helped guide the career of fellow meme Keyboard Cat, while her lawyer, Kia Kamran, represents the intellectual property rights to Mike Tyson’s face tattoo. Maybe they can work out a deal to have Tyson voice Grumpy in the movie?
As for what Grumpy herself thinks of the news, Lashes said the feline responded in typical fashion.
“She hates movies,” he said.

[via Deadline]