The Minions strike again, as Chris Meledandri’s animation studio Illumination has inked an exclusive writing contract with a critically-lauded screenwriter found in Greg Kalleres, according to Deadline. Kalleres has tackled a plethora of projects and has only more in his creative chamber.
As of right now he’s penning the upcoming film The Day Donny Herbert Woke Up, loosely derived from the New York Times highest grossing novel, with Sony and Misher Films on board to produce. Kalleres’ film Our Condolences was a finalist on the 2018 Black List, and will be handled by Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell through the latter’s Gloria Sanchez Productions. Dan Rush who directed Everything Must Go is slated to helm the film with Ferrell attached to star.
Kalleres’ also has a television project in the works, an original half hour comedy entitled Date With Death. The program is currently in development with Fox. Before his work in film, Kalleres got started writing and producing commercials – an area he still maintains expertise in. Amongst the various brands he’s written and produced for include ESPN, Nike, CFDA, Brand Jordan, Budweiser, New York Magazine, Twitter and Google.
Illumination’s next release is Minions: The Rise of Gru, a sequel to 2015’s Minions that’s currently eyeing a summer 2020 release. Steve Carell will be reprising his role as supervillain Gru for the sequel.